Spectroscopic Probes of Transition Metal Ions in a Microsolution Environment

该奖项是作为Lynmarie A. Posey博士化学博士后研究奖学金的启动资助增量，以支持她在范德比尔特大学的研究。研究了过渡金属离子在微溶液环境下的溶剂化行为。研究离子与其近邻之间的局部微观力的细节是一项实验挑战，因为大块溶剂对可测量性质的影响往往掩盖了局部效应。在这项研究中，电喷雾离子源与质谱联用将允许二价过渡金属阳离子在受控溶剂环境中分离为气相簇，然后可以使用激光光谱进行探测。局部环境的限制应该揭示振动分辨电子吸收光谱，提供结构信息以及金属-配体键的强度和配体在离子强场下的扰动。对离子-溶剂相互作用的进一步了解将挑战理论学家开发更精确的势能表面，并最终为学习如何操纵溶剂化离子的化学反应性提供基础。

This award is made as the starter grant increment of Dr. Lynmarie A. Posey's Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Chemistry Award in support of her research at Vanderbilt University. The research is concerned with the behavior of solvated transition metal ions in a microsolution environment. Investigating the details of the local microscopic forces between an ion and its nearest neighbors presents an experimental challenge because the influence of the bulk solvent on measurable properties often overshadows local effects. In this research, an electrospray ion source coupled with mass spectrometry will allow divalent transition metal cations to be isolated in a controlled solvent environment as gas phase clusters, which can then be probed using laser spectroscopy. Restriction of the local environment should reveal vibrationally resolved electronic absorption spectra, providing structural information as well as the strength of the metal-ligand bond and perturbation of the ligand by the strong field of the ion. %%% The enhanced understanding of ion-solvent interactions will challenge theoreticians to develop more accurate potential energy surfaces and ultimately provide a foundation for learning how to manipulate the chemical reactivity of solvated ions.