Ronald Bercaw Graduate Student, Department of Chemistry University of Georgia Learn more about the speaker Friday, April 19, 2024 - 11:30am iSTEM Building 2, Room 1218 Physical Seminar Helium nanodroplet isolation spectroscopy is a technique useful for studying highly reactive, open shell systems due to its low temperature, fast adiabatic cooling, and minimally perturbative matrix. The technique is particularly good at studying pre-reactive complexes with low activation barriers and small, hydrocarbon systems where rotational resolution is maintained due to the superfluid nature of the droplets. These types of systems are relevant to understanding combustion, astrochemistry, and atmospheric chemistry. An in-depth explanation of how the technique works will be presented. Recent work in developing a broadband, tunable infrared light source to increase the throughput of helium nanodroplet isolation spectroscopy experiments is shown. Work towards finding a suitable cyano radical precursor and preliminary spectra of systems involving the cyano radical is also presented. Research Areas: Physical Chemistry
