Theoretical and Experimental Studies of Liquid-X Interfaces

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Professor Stuart A. Rice is supported by a grant from the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Program to continue his studies involving liquid-liquid, and liquid-vapor interfaces. Rice will use a combination of theory and experiment to perform studies of: 1) the molecular packing and properties of several phases of liquid supported monolayers; 2) the influence of a monolayer on the structure of the adjacent region of the supporting liquid; 3) the influence of the monolayer on the distribution of solutes in the adjacent region of the supporting liquid; and 4) the structural consequences of segregation of the components in a liquid-vapor interface of a metallic mixture. Experimental studies will involve the use of grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Simulations will involve the use of Molecular Dynamics and Monte Carlo techniques as well as Car-Parinello theory. %%% Very little is known about the sturcture of the interface between two immiscible phases. Many chemical and biological phenomena depend on the nature of this interface. For example, the interface between long chain amphiphiles and water is a model for biological membranes which occur in the cell wall. Professor Rice is using a combination of theoretical and experimental methods which have only recently become available to explore the detailed structure of these phase boundaries and the factors which influence this structure.