Molecule-surface scattering with velocity controlled molecular beams

在这个由化学系实验物理化学项目资助的奖项中，加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的Alec Wodtke教授和他的研究生们将研究激发态CO分子与金[Au(111)]表面的碰撞。这项研究与德国科学基金会(DFG)资助的一个合作奖项相协调，该奖项授予马克斯·普朗克学会弗里茨·哈伯研究所分子物理系的Gerard Meijer博士。这一合作项目结合了Meijer小组在将分子束加速/减速到明确定义的速度(通过Stark速度控制)方面的专业知识与Wodtke小组在分子束-表面散射方面的专业知识，以前所未有的控制来研究分子-表面散射中的能量传递。从多相催化到大气化学，气体-表面相互作用在许多领域都很重要。发展对这些过程的理解不仅需要了解表面如何发生反应，还需要了解能量如何在表面和气相之间转移。像Wodtke教授这样的工作的目标是更好地理解能量是如何从气相物种转移到表面的。沃特克实验室最近的研究表明，以前的理论模型是不完整的。除了拟议的研究工作的更广泛的科学影响外，沃特克教授的学生还将大量接触到德国最好的化学物理实验室之一--在美国培训一批新的全球科学家。

In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Division of Chemistry, Professor Alec Wodtke of the University of California - Santa Barbara, together with his graduate students, will investigate the collisions of excited CO molecules colliding with a gold [Au(111)] surface. This research coordinates with a collaborative award funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) to Dr. Gerard Meijer from the Department of Molecular Physics, Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society. This collaborative project combines the expertise of the Meijer group in accelerating/decelerating molecular beams to well-defined velocities (via Stark velocity control) with the Wodtke group's expertise in molecular beam-surface scattering to investigate energy transfer in molecule-surface scattering with unprecedented control. Gas-surface interactions are important in a number of areas, from heterogeneous catalysis to atmospheric chemistry. Developing an understanding of these processes requires not only understanding how reactions occur at surfaces, but also how energy is transferred between the surface and the gas phase. The goal of work like that of Prof. Wodtke is to develop a better understanding of how energy is transferred from gas-phase species to a surface. Recent work out of the Wodtke laboratory shows that previous theoretical models are incomplete. In addition to the broader scientific impact of the proposed research work, Prof. Wodtke's students will receive significant exposure to one of the finest Chemical Physics laboratories in Germany -- training a new group of globally-engaged scientists in the United States.