Ultrafast Dynamics of Molecular Solids Under High Pressure

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In this project supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Chronister will combine high-pressure diamond anvil techniques and ultrafast nonlinear coherent spectroscopic methods as a high-resolution probe of molecular solids. Infrared and visible photon echo experiments will be conducted on mixed molecular solids and amorphous glasses in order to elucidate the dynamical processes taking place in condensed phases. The proposed experiments will examine electronic and vibronic dynamics in inhomogeneously broadened solids as a function of temperature and density and will be used to refine theories of optical and vibrational dephasing in amorphous and mixed crystalline solids. High pressure applied to materials provides a way of altering the interactions between molecules in a solid in a continuously controlled manner. This allows for the systematic study of the attractive and repulsive forces that exist on an atomic level. Chronister will measure the behavior of solids under high pressure and low temperature conditions. The information gathered is difficult to obtain because the pressures involved are extremely high and temperatures are very low. However, these data will ultimately aid our understanding of the dynamic interactions between species in solid solution and their host materials. The sorts of studies undertaken here also reveal much about the behavior of materials under extreme conditions.