The great advantage of our methodology is that we utilize spectroscopic methods which can directly detect the chemical species of interest. In addition, we can measure either decay or growth kinetics in real time. While many radicals of atmospheric interest can be studied by laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, the technique is limited to molecules that fluoresce. Other spectroscopic methods such as absorption and Raman scattering, are hampered by sensitivities that are lower by 2-4 orders of magnitude. Therefore, the development of new sensitive spectroscopic techniques are imperative to a better understanding of atmospheric radicals.
Peroxy radicals are key players in many atmospheric chemical cycles.
Once the spectroscopy of these type of species has been developed, their reaction chemistry could be studied by the kinetic methods discussed above.