In this project in the Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Kenneth Hedberg of Oregon State University will use gas-phase electron diffraction techniques to study the molecular structures of several different kinds of systems, including high-temperature species such as fullerenes and metal halides, molecules with internal rotation such as conjugated and internally H-bonded structures, and small-ring systems. Normal coordinate calculations and high-level theoretical calculations will assist with the formulation of structural models. The aim of this project is to understand the chemical and physical properties of substances due to the structures and internal motions of the individual molecules that comprise them. The studies will result in accurate pictures of the spatial arrangements of the atoms in the molecules and will yield precise values for bond lengths, bond angles, and torsion angles. Descriptions of chemical and biological phenomena almost invariably draw on system models that rely on the such accurate molecular structures.
