In this dissertation, I present electronic spectra of a few polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): tetracene, pentacene, pyrene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene and benzo[a]pyrene using resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy. The work of tetracene and pentacene also combine a laser desorption source with a ZEKE spectrometer, demonstrating...
In this dissertation, I describe spectroscopic studies of jet-cooled polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and one nitrogen substituted PAH (PANH) using pulsed field zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy and resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy. Recently, there has been a demand for far-infrared (FIR) spectral information of astrophysically relevant molecules...
The core-electron ionization potentials for mono- and
di(trifluoromethyl)benzene, for chlorofluoromethanes and for
chlorine have been measured in order to give information on
the electron distribution in these molecules and to investigate
differences between the inductive effect of fluorine
and that of CF3. For trifluoromethylbenzene the measured
ionization potentials in eV...
Studies of anisotropic and isotropic Raman line shape yield information about the rotational motion (rotational correlation function) and non-reorientational (vibrational) lifetimes. The rotational motion of carbon disulfide has been studied previously by the techniques of Raman spectroscopy (6, 43), Rayleigh scattering (43, 46) and direct measurement (47). This work was...
Eleven hand specimen whole rock (WR) samples (25-200 g each) and
33 fragments (0.5-0.8 g each) from a single basaltic flow at Picture
Gorge, Oregon were analyzed via instrumental neutron activation
analysis (INAA) for 12 elements (Na, Fe, Cr, Sc, Co, La, Sm, Eu, Yb,
Lu, Hf and Ta). Standard...
In this report, three studies are presented that utilize computations to predict transformations, identities, and properties of environmental organic molecules. Each study shows how computations can lead to models of chemical behavior. The importance of this research is rooted in the need for understanding how human behavior and health intersect...
Water is an absolute necessity for life as we know it. It provides a useful medium in which chemical reactions take place that allowed for the development of single cellular organisms. When combined with the evolutionary accident that was pho- tosynthesis, water became not only a useful medium chemical reactions,...