RUI: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: High Resolution Absorption and Emission Spectroscopy of Diatomic Metal Halides, Nitrides and Dimers

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In this award, the Chemical Structure, Dynamics, and Mechanisms Program supports the collaborative research projects of Professors Leah O'Brien, of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and James O'Brien, of the University of Missouri, St. Louis. They and their students will develop an instrument (ILS-FTS) that will integrate intracavity laser absorption spectroscopy with high resolution Fourier transform detection, and will operate in the 9,500-25,000 cm-1 region. The proposed ILS-FTS instrument will utilize the improved resolution and wavelength accuracy made possible with FTS detection, enabling the acquisition of high-resolution spectra of diatomic molecules over a very wide spectral range. The ILS-FTS instrument will be used in: (i) rovibrational electronic studies, such as for PtCl, where lines closer to rotational bandheads can be resolved and utilized in the rotational analysis than is possible currently using traditional methods; and (ii) rovibrational electronic spectra of metal dimers, such as Pt2 and Pd2, where the rotational constants for the molecules are too small to be examined using traditional approaches. The ILS-FTS configuration may be capable of sub-Doppler Lamb-dip (saturation) spectroscopy, allowing detection of molecules with hyperfine interactions and those with smaller rotational constants. Emission studies are also possible with the FTS, which will assist in the search for new metal-ligand molecules. The metal-containing diatomic radicals to be studied are characterized by open shell structures, which give rise to a host of interactions between nuclear, electronic, vibrational, and rotational angular momenta.The work will lead to deeper understanding of metal-ligand interactions and potentially provide insight on metal-catalyzed reactions. The proposed research will foster development of a successful inter-institutional collaboration of faculty and students at a primarily undergraduate institution and a research university. The proposed work will open new areas research, enhance the research infrastructure at both Universities, and will further develop students and faculty with skills in contemporary spectroscopy and instrument development. The project also contains an outreach program that will allow talented high school students to participate in the research.