Mode-Selective Differential Scattering as a Probe of Polyatomic Ion Reaction Dynamics

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Anderson is supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program to continue his studies of reactions of small polyatomic ions containing from three to about fifteen atoms by mode-selected differential scattering methods, using a high-resolution guided-ion beam scattering instrument. The goal is both to probe detailed reaction mechanisms for these complex systems, and to provide insight into the effects of different types of reactant nuclear motion on chemical reactivity. Mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) and multiphoton ionization (MPI) will be used to develop routes to prepare vibrationally mode-selected reactant ions, and then to carry out experiments with these ions. The information gained from these studies will advance the understanding of reaction dynamics in complex systems, and thus may aid in developing approaches to optimize chemical reactions. When ions and molecules collide with one another, changes in their chemical bonding arrangement can occur under certain circumstances. These studies seek to improve the detailed understanding of how internal molecular motions affect the outcomes of collisions in which bonding changes occur. Such knowledge is central to attaining useful insights about the nature of chemical change.