Collisions and Reactions at the Surfaces of Cold Salty Water and Hot Ionic Liquids

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In this project, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Gilbert Nathanson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison will conduct a research program to study collisions and reactions of gases at the surfaces of cold salty water and hot alkali carbonates. The long-term objective of this research is to develop a molecular picture of gas-liquid interfaces by exploring the interfacial analogues of collisional energy transfer, bulk solvation, hydrogen bonding, the "like dissolves like" rule, and acid-base and oxidation-reduction reactions. The present work has three specific goals: 1) to investigate the interfacial dissociation of hydrogen chloride gas in water and the ways in which dissolved ions enhance or suppress dissociation of this common acid; 2) to explore exothermic gas-liquid reactions, such as the halogen atom exchange F2(g) + I- = F- + IF(g), which may lead to non-thermal ejection of the IF product into the gas phase, and 3) to learn how molten carbonate solutions capture sulfur dioxide gas in order to model flue gas desulfurization in coal-burning power plants. Graduate and undergraduate students, both women and men, will participate in this research.