Controlling and Probing the Microscopic Structure and Dynamics of Liquids

在这个由实验资助的教师早期职业发展奖 物理化学计划在化学部，约翰Fourkas的 波士顿学院将使用超快非线性光学技术来探测 纯液体和溶液中的分子间相互作用 限制在微孔玻璃中或保持在非平衡状态 持续的紧张状态。 瞬态光栅光学克尔效应 研究将探测这些系统中的重定向扩散速率， 提供关于液体的局部结构的信息。 这 结构将对吸引力敏感， 和疏水力，例如由离子溶质引起的疏水力。 这些 力参与各种各样的过程，包括蛋白质 折叠和气泡聚结。 教育部分 该计划涉及设计一个外展计划， 在学校进行示范，为小学教师举办研讨会， 设计本科化学实验，涉及当代 研究问题，并开发通信技能课程， 研究生课程。 液体中分子的局部组织，特别是水， 负责许多溶液相性质。 像氢这样的力 键合对分子在溶解时的行为有很大的影响， 水 Fourkas教授将研究这些力量的性质， 溶解的分子对这种局部秩序的影响。 这些研究 将提供可应用于以下领域的信息， 理解蛋白质折叠和分子与酶的结合。

In this Faculty Early Career Development Award funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program in the Chemistry Division, John Fourkas of Boston College will use ultrafast nonlinear optical techniques to probe intermolecular interactions in pure liquids and solutions subjected to confinement in microporous glasses or maintained in a non-equilibrium state of sustained tension. Transient Grating Optical Kerr Effect studies will probe the reorientational diffusion rates in these systems, providing information on the local structure of the liquid. This structure will be sensitive to attractive forces such as hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic forces such as those caused by ionic solutes. These forces are involved in a wide variety of processes including protein folding and bubble coalescence. The educational component of this program involves designing an outreach program to provide science demonstrations at schools and seminars for grade school teachers, designing undergraduate chemistry experiments involving contemporary research problems, and developing courses in communications skills in the graduate curriculum. The local organization of molecules in liquids, water in particular, is responsible for many solution phase properties. Forces such as hydrogen bonding have a large impact on the way molecules behave when dissolved in water. Professor Fourkas will study the nature of these forces and the effects that dissolved molecules have on this local order. These studies will provide information which can be applied to areas such as understanding protein folding and the binding of molecules to enzymes.