Resonance Raman Studies of Excited-State Structure and Dynamics

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In this project in the Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Richard Mathies of the University of California, Berkeley, will use a combination of Raman and femtosecond laser methods to try to elucidate the molecular mechanism and the ground and excited-state molecular dynamics of condensed phase photochemical and photobiological reactions. The mode-specific dynamics of nuclear motion that occur immediately after optical excitation will be followed on a femtosecond time scale, and key intermediates in the photochemical reactions will be identified and characterized using picosecond Raman and absorption spectroscopy. The types of reaction to be explore include hydrogen shift reactions, visual pigment isomerization, photochrome isomerization, and electron transfer in bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers. %%% These planned studies by Professor Mathies aim at understanding the physical and chemical processes that take place in the liquid or solid state when light excites specific constituents. The proposed combination of systems and techniques should aid in developing a complete description of the atomic motions which occur during chemical reactions, from the early dynamics of the transient excited species to those of the relaxed equilibrium products. Included in this research are studies of biological systems involving light-sensing pigments.