MRI: Acquisition of Transient Absorption Spectrometer for Multidisciplinary Research in Chemistry, Materials Science and Solar Energy Conversion

在重大研究仪器计划(MRI)的这一奖项和化学研究仪器计划(CRIF)的支持下，来自阿默斯特学院的伊丽莎白·杨教授及其同事Alexi Arango(曼荷莲大学)、Michael Barnes(马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校)和Sankaran Thayumanavan(马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校)将为五个学院联合体(阿默斯特学院、曼荷莲学院、史密斯学院、汉普郡学院和马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校)获得一台带有飞秒钛：蓝宝石放大系统的瞬时吸收光谱仪。通常，发射红光和近红外光的可调谐钛宝石激光器被用来照射物质，以研究它们对短能量脉冲的响应。这提供了有关分子结构和原子间相互作用的信息。超快(飞秒)方法允许研究重要的生物学机制，如光合作用反应中心的电荷转移动力学，这些机制对植物如何利用太阳能生产食物具有重要影响。该奖项将加强各级的研究和教育，特别是在以下领域：(A)研究有机光伏材料中的电荷分离(CS)和复合(CR)动力学；(B)基于BODIPY光氧化剂和薄膜双层光伏组件中的CS和CR的共价连接的供体-受体(D-A)分子的研究；以及(C)晶体和半晶体聚合物聚集体中激子动力学的研究。

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) and support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Program (CRIF), Professor Elizabeth Young from Amherst College and colleagues Alexi Arango (Mount Holyoke), Michael Barnes (University of Massachussetts-Amherst) and Sankaran Thayumanavan (University of Massachussetts-Amherst) will acquire a transient absorption spectrometer with a femtosecond Ti:sapphire amplifier system for a five-college consortium (Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Hampshire Colleges and University of Massachusetts-Amherst). In general, tunable Ti:sapphire lasers that emit red and near-infrared light are used to irradiate a substance to investigate how they respond to short energy pulses. This provides information on the molecular structure and interactions between atoms. The ultrafast (femtosecond) methods allow study of important biological mechanisms such as the charge transfer dynamics in photosynthesis reaction centers that have important implications in how plants utilize solar energy to produce food.This award will enhance research and education at all levels, especially in areas such as (a) investigation of charge separation (CS) and recombination (CR) dynamics in organic photovoltaic materials; (b) studys of covalently-linked donor-acceptor (D-A) molecules based on BODIPY photooxidant and CS and CR in thin-film bilayer photovoltaic assemblies; and (c) studies of exciton dynamics in crystalline and semicrystalline polymer aggregates.