Engineering Research Equipment: Time-Resolved Fluorescence Spectrometer

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Abstract - Brennecke - 9411716 This is an equipment grant to enable the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Notre Dame to purchase a Time Resolved Fluorescence Spectrometer which will be dedicated to support research in engineering. Initially, the equipment will be used to study solvation and reactivity in supercritical fluids (SCFs), specifically: (1) use of SCFs to study reversible diffusion-influenced reactions; (2) study of the transition of diffusion-controlled reactions from Stokes-Einstein diffusion in liquids in kinetic theory and (3) use of fluorescence probes to study preferential solvation in SCF mixtures. SCFs have found a variety of applications in extractions and separations because of their unique physical properties that can be varied between those of normal gases and liquids. They also show potential for use as solvents for reactions; for example, the use of supercritical water to oxidize hazardous organic wastes. The above projects are important in advancing those technologies because they involve the application of sophisticated spectroscopic techniques to study fundamental quantities, such as the solvation of species and the solvent effect on reaction rates. The understanding gained from these experiments will aid in predicting what reaction could benefit from operation at supercritical conditions.