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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

collisional energy transfer, donor molecule energy, chemical reactions

College

Physical and Mathematical Sciences

Department

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Abstract

When chemical reactions take place, energy is transferred between the different atoms and molecules as they collide. The energy transfer in these collisions is the rate-limiting step of reactions. Therefore, to be able to accurately model reactions we need a good understanding of how energy is transferred. The probability distribution function, P(E,E’), is fundamental to predicting the efficiency of specific energy transfer events. It has not been possible, until recently, to measure this function experimentally because energy transfer studies only obtained measurements of the average energy transfer. Using an ultra high-resolution IR diode (~0.0003 cm-1), we can measure energy transfer in a state resolved fashion. Probabilities measured using this technique can be resorted as a function of energy to obtain P(E,E’). Some trends have been observed and several empirical models proposed, but additional data is necessary to develop an accurate theoretical model to describe this process.

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