Microwave Studies of Hydrated Acids and Ion Pairs

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).In this project supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program, Professor Kenneth Leopold and his group at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities will employ Fourier Transform microwave spectroscopy (FTMW) to investigate the intermolecular interactions within gas phase clusters containing acids or ionic compounds and 1 - 3 water molecules. The goal of the research is to understand how water molecules interact with solutes such as inorganic acids, organic acids, and ionic compounds in general. A key question is: how do water molecules promote the separation of negative and positive charges in acids and salts? In order to study ionic compounds that are difficult to produce in the gas phase, Professor Leopold's group will also develop a laser ablation system to facilitate production of gas phase samples of difficult compounds (low volatility ionic and refractory materials). This research has important consequences not only with regard to the behavior of interacting molecules and ions, but for chemical processes in our atmosphere. Many environmentally important processes involve salts or ionic species that are surrounded (hydrated) by water molecules. In addition to the graduate and undergraduate students directly involved in the research, Professor Leopold will invite participation of high school teachers and students, who will benefit from a research experience that involves rigorous spectroscopic studies and the broader integrating themes of atmospheric and environmental chemistry.