Vibrational Energy Flow in Liquids and on Surfaces

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Dr. George Ewing is supported by a grant from The Experimental Physical Chemistry Program to study the flow of vibrational energy in liquids and on surfaces. This basic research program will contribute substantially to our understanding of vibrational energy storage in molecules contained in solution and adsorbed on surfaces. Dr. Ewing has demonstrated that energy can be stored in high vibrational levels of molecules dissolved in cryogenic liquids. Most recently he has also shown that molecules which have been pumped into these high levels can undergo chemical reactions. He will continue to explore the properties of these high energy liquid systems which may serve as laser media and which also exhibit vibrational to electronic energy transfer. In a second quite distinct research effort, Dr. Ewing is studying the fate of vibrational energy in molecules adsorbed on alkali halide surfaces. Three properties are being investigated: 1) the vibrational relaxation rate of adsorbed molecules; 2) vibrational predissociation which results when absorbed infrared energy exceeds the physisorbed surface bond strength; and 3) fluorescence from the vibrationally excited adsorbed molecule.