A Helium Nanodroplet Instrument for Infrared Spectroscopy of Molecular Ions

Travis Jones, speaker
Date & Time:
Location:
Chemistry Building, Room 553

Helium nanodroplets provide a cold, inert, and optically transparent environment for doping atomic and molecular species. Helium's weak interaction with dopants is minimally perturbing, and facilitates the collection of high-resolution vibrational and rotational spectra. An instrument was designed that facilitates the ionization of dopant molecules using resonant two-photon ionization. Excitation of the molecular ions then occurs using a tunable OPO/OPA infrared laser. Dissipation of the excitation energy is coupled to the helium nanodroplet environment, evaporating all helium atoms, providing background-free IR spectra collected from a time-of-flight mass spectrometer as a function of laser frequency.

Type of Event:
Travis Jones
Department:
Graduate Student, Department of Chemistry
University of Georgia