Research Projects

The project proposal aims to determine the energies associated with the adsorption of CO and CO2 on the surface of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and N-heterocyclic PAH (N-PAH) in the gas phase. The adsorption process on π-electronic systems, such as graphene and aromatic microporous materials, is a potent way to mitigate greenhouse gases. Adsorption is considered the fundamental elementary step in the catalytic reduction process, where gas molecules form a weakly bound complex via non-covalent interaction on aromatic molecular surfaces. The experiments will be conducted in the gas phase complexes of PAH/N-PAH (M) with CO/CO2 (G) molecules. The proposed aromatic adsorbent molecules include naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, and their N-doped counterparts. The gas phase complexes will be characterized using existing spectroscopic methods, such as resonant two photon ionization, IR-UV, and UV-UV double resonance spectroscopy. The experimental data will be used to determine the structure and bonding of the non-covalently bound molecular complexes. The desorption energy of MGn complexes will be determined using state-of-the-art stimulated-emission pumping R2PI spectroscopy (SEP-R2PI). A newly developed method based on UV-UV hole-burning spectroscopy will be implemented to determine the desorption/dissociation energy of molecular complexes bound via non-covalent interactions and the structure and nature of bonding. The outcome of the proposal will be used as a guide to design and develop efficient CO/CO2 capture and activation materials.