This grant from the Organic Dynamics Program supports the work of Professor Barry K. Carpenter at Cornell University who will assess the circumstances under which dynamics play a role in the outcome of a reaction. Specifically designed molecules will be synthesized for the study of the fundamentals of intramolecular energy transfer, which will test the `statistical' TST and RRKM models. Dynamically controlled reactions in supercritical fluids will be studied in order to analyze the components of solvent effects on molecular dynamics. A vector model for intramolecular dynamics will be evaluated and a new molecular dynamics-based model will be development. %%% In this project Professor Barry K. Carpenter will assess the circumstances under which dynamics play a role in the outcome of a reaction, which is highly significant subject to a large area of chemistry. Classical theories that are half a century old will be tested with carefully designed experiments. The results may impinge upon vast areas of chemical dynamics theory and may change the way we think about reaction dynamics in the future.
