CAREER: Ultrafast x-ray imaging of molecular dynamics in solution: a research program that enhances students' learning

布朗大学的Christoph Rose-Petruck教授通过实验物理化学计划的CAREER资助获得资助。 他将利用新获得的超快X射线脉冲来研究伴随着溶液中金属羰基化合物光解的分子运动。 其优点在于，使用X射线吸收光谱法，可以首次对超短寿命分子物种进行直接结构测定。 Rose-Petruck教授将制作一本"虚拟实验室手册"，让学生在实验室进行真实的实验之前，先用模拟仪器练习和处理样本原始数据。 在更高级的水平上，学生将与Rose-Petruck的"虚拟研究项目"合作，并在小组工作中从模拟研究项目中学习。迄今为止，进行反应的化学物质的结构只能使用基于光的技术来推测，这些技术在很大程度上依赖于理论解释。 有了超快x射线脉冲，科学家们将有更大的机会以直接的方式获得非常短命的物种的“快照”。 了解化学反应中的结构变化将有助于设计更有效的合成途径。 这里的教育计划以互动的方式利用万维网来改善实验室的学习。

Professor Christoph Rose-Petruck of Brown University is funded through a CAREER grant in the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program. He will utilize newly acquired ultrafast X-ray pulses to study the molecular motions accompanying the photolysis of metal carbonyls in solution. The advantage here is that using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, direct structural determinations can be made for the first time on ultra-short lived molecular species. Professor Rose-Petruck will produce a "Virtual Laboratory Manual" which enables students to practice with simulated instruments and deal with sample raw data before performing the real experiment in the laboratory. At a more advanced level, students will then work with Rose-Petruck's "Virtual Research Project" and in group work, learn from a simulated research project.The structures of chemical species undergoing reactions have to date only been surmised using light-based techniques that rely heavily on theory for interpretation. With ultrafast x-ray pulses, scientists will have a greater chance of getting "snapshots" of very short lived species in a direct manner. Understanding structural changes in a chemical reaction will lead to the design of more efficient synthetic pathways. The educational plan here utilizes the World Wide Web in an interactive fashion to improve learning in the laboratory.