Spectroscopic Investigations of Exotic Carbon, Silicon and Sulfur Molecules

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In this award, supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program with partial cofunding from the Galactic Astronomy Program, Patrick Thaddeus and Michael McCarthy of the Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory will study the rotational and electronic spectra of postulated carbon and silicon molecules using Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy in combination with supersonic molecular beam, long-path millimeter-wave spectroscopy, and laser spectroscopy. The rotational spectra of many new molecules, including larger pure carbon clusters, similar semiconductor and mixed-metal clusters, reactive six-member carbon rings and their derivatives, and other molecules containing heteroatoms such as N, O, S, or P, will be detected with available instrumentation. With planned instrument refinements, even larger reactive species will be detected and studied. The molecules to be examined play important roles in reactive intermediates in industrial processes, including combustion and semiconductor growth, and are astronomically relevant because they are similar in composition and structure to molecules that have already been detected in dense molecular clouds or in the gas streaming away from evolved stars. This research is expected to impact a number of areas of scientific research and technological innovation, because of the important role that carbon and silicon chemistry play in fields as diverse as combustion, materials science, and astronomy. Many of the reactive molecules to be studied are little known so far; in fact, few of them have been identified in any region of the spectrum. Students and collaborators will benefit from their active involvement in this research project.