Optical Stark and Zeeman Studies of Gas-Phase Metal Containing Molecules

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The Experimental Physical Chemistry Program supports Timothy Steimle of Arizona State University in his continuing investigations into the geometrical and molecular properties of small metal-containing transient molecules. The permanent electric and magnetic dipole moments will be determined. The magnetic hyperfine and nuclear electric quadrupole interactions will be analyzed and combined with the dipole moments to construct a molecular orbital-based description of trends in chemical bonding. Three experimental projects are proposed: (i) the detection and characterization of small polyatomic transition metal-containing compounds suspected to be products of simple model organometallic reactions; (ii) the first Zeeman study of transition metal dimers; and (iii) the detection and characterization of gas-phase gallium nitride. Supersonic molecular beam samples will be generated using a laser ablation/reaction scheme and high resolution laser-induced fluorescence spectra in the presence of static electric and magnetic fields will be recorded. Time-of-flight mass spectrometry employing resonance enhanced multi-photon ionization techniques will be developed for the gallium nitride beam diagnostics. The transition metal systems are important having relevance to catalysis, surface chemistry, ligand field theory and ultimately to the understanding of electronic and geometrical requirements for chemical reactivity. The particular study of gallium nitride may eventually prove useful to the semiconductor industry.