Current research is directed towards understanding the electronic structure and bonding within simple transition metal systems through an investigation of their rotationally resolved gas phase electronic spectra. Recent research has involved principally the metals iron, chromium, rhenium and rhodium. This latter observation is of particular interest since the study of small molecular fragments attached to various transition metals is an area of great significance to surface chemistry. The metal of current focus is rhodium since it is one of the most important metals in catalysis. We believe these observations are representative of the rich chemistry to be explored.
Similar experiments aimed at detecting related polyatomic systems are underway.
Return to Chemistry faculty research interests.