Chemical and Biological Sciences is one of the research program areas at the Ames Laboratory located on the Iowa State University campus. Within Chemical and Biological Sciences, two research divisions existFundamental Interactions and Molecular Processes.
The Fundamental Interactions division consists of the Chemical Physics program. The primary research focus of this program is on the development and application of methods that enable the study of surface phenomena, heterogeneous catalysis, cluster science and nucleation theory, and mechanisms in organometallic chemistry.
The Molecular Processes division consists of Chemical Energy, which is focused on catalysis, and Chemical Separations and Analysis, which is focused on analytical applications. Current projects in the Chemical Energy area include chemical kinetics and reactivity of transition metal complexes, new synthetic routes to inorganic catalytic materials using organometallic precursors and molecular "stepping stones", spectroscopic and kinetic characterization of metal oxide catalysts, spectroscopic and phenomenological studies of catalysts and advanced materials, and organometallic complexes in homogeneous catalysis. Chemical Separations and Analysis projects are in the areas of analytical separations, analytical spectroscopy, lasers in analytical chemistry, chemical analysis at liquid-solid interfaces, and metal hydride batteries.