Research Themes in the Chemistry Department
While all the subjects of
chemical research in the Chemistry Department are diverse, several
predominant themes span traditional research fields and research groups.
These themes include: charge transfer for energy
conversion, chemistry with ionizing radiation, catalysis and surface
science, nanoscience, combustion, and nuclear chemistry.
Charge transfer for energy conversion
Transfer of
electrons and holes in or between molecules or nano-objects is key to both
natural and synthetic energy capture. The Chemistry Department has a long
and distinguished history of experiments and theory in this field which is
important for solar energy conversion. Members of the Chemistry Department
conduct experimental and theoretical investigations of charge transfer using
excitation by pulses of light or electrons.
Chemistry with ionizing radiation
Complementary to
photochemical excitation, creation of transient molecular ions and free
radicals using electron pulses is the premier method for study of fast
chemical processes. A combination of photo- and electron excitation provides
insights into chemistry beyond what can be learned with photoexcitation
alone. The Department's
Laser-Electron Accelerator Facility (LEAF) is a
world-leading instrument for these studies.
Catalysis Science
Meeting the energy needs of the twenty-first century will require large
improvements in the efficiency of industrial chemical reactions in general
and the establishment of the "hydrogen economy" in particular. Since
heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis will play an important role in
achieving these goals, there is a growing research effort in experimental
and theoretical studies of catalysis at interfaces, by nanoparticles, and by
transition metal complexes in solution. The expertise related to this field
cuts broadly across many groups in the Chemistry Department. Active
collaborations among members of several groups reflect the interdisciplinary
nature of this work. Click on the link below for a summary of catalysis
research at Brookhaven:
Surface Electrochemistry and Electrocatalysis
Basic information is sought on electrochemical interfaces and fuel cell
electrocatalytic systems by studying the structural-, electronic-, and
electrocatalytic-properties of atomic and molecular monolayers on
single-crystal and nanoparticle substrates. The focus is on synthesizing and
characterizing Pt monolayers on suitable single crystal and nanoparticle
metal, metal oxide or alloy supports as the electrocatalysts for O2
reduction, and for H2, methanol and ethanol oxidation, as well as
key materials properties and materials interactions that limit battery
lifetime, performance and thermal stability. Programs include
Metal- and Metal Oxide-Supported
Platinum Monolayer Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction and Advanced
Cathode Catalysts: Oxygen Reduction Catalysts with Ultra-low Platinum
Content.
Nanoscience
The fast growing new field of nanoscience benefits greatly from collaborations
among researchers in chemical dynamics, surface science and catalysis.
Collaborations among groups in the Chemistry Department include members of
the first four programs in the list above. As mentioned, a new
collaboration combines catalysis and nanoscience. Active
collaborations have been established involving Chemistry
Department programs (Catalysis on the Nanoscale: Preparation, Characterization and Reactivity
of Metal-Based Nanostructures,
Injection of Electrons and Holes
into Nanostructures,
Surface Chemical Dynamics), along with researchers from the Brookhaven
Materials Science Department and the
newly created Center for Functional
Nanomaterials.
Combustion
The extraction of useful energy from the combustion of fossil and
alternative fuels will remain a key technology supporting modern society for
many years. Understanding the underlying chemical reactions well enough to
optimize efficiency and minimize emissions is a key challenge to
experimental and theoretical gas phase chemistry. Members of the
Gas-Phase Molecular Dynamics group develop
and apply spectroscopic and theoretical tools to study fundamental problems
in combustion chemistry.
Nuclear Chemistry
Nuclear chemistry has a rich
history in the Brookhaven Chemistry Department, going back to the founding
of the Laboratory in 1947.
Current activities include
Solar Neutrino Research, a group founded by
Physics Nobel-prize winning Chemist Raymond Davis Jr. (Nobel Laureate
in 2002), who was the first to observe neutrinos from the Sun and to
discover the "Solar Neutrino Problem", that the number of solar neutrinos
detected on Earth was only a fraction of that predicted by solar theory. The
Solar Neutrino Group was/is a participant in two major solar neutrino
experiments that have elucidated the nature of the Solar Neutrino Problem:
from 1986-1998 in
GALLEX at the
Gran
Sasso Laboratory in Italy, and from 1996 to the present in the Canadian
Solar Neutrino
Observatory
(SNO). In fact, SNO "solved" the Problem some thirty years after
its discovery by demonstrating that two-thirds of the neutrinos emitted by
the Sun "disappear" by being transformed into the two other known neutrino
varieties. Such a transformation requires that neutrinos have a hitherto
unknown property, non-zero rest mass.
Heavy-ion
research, in the form of the
PHOBOS
experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), is based in the
Chemistry Department. These experiments examine the nuclear chemistry of,
perhaps, the quark-gluon plasma formed shortly after the "Big Bang" at the
beginning of our universe. Experiments and theory in the PHOBOS
collaboration represent an extension of the contributions of chemists to a
field often exclusively closely associated with physics.
For decades, the Chemistry Department has participated in
programs using neutron activation to determine provenance and for
autoradiography in art history. This continues with
Nuclear
Reactors and Medieval Sculpture: Research in Art History at BNL.
Research Programs Funded in the Chemistry Department
The following table represents a
complete compilation of the research programs funded in the Chemistry
Department. Individual programs listed here represent grants, contracts, or
the funding equivalents to grants or contracts, not research groups, per
se. Therefore, persons may be listed in more than one program. For the
organization of the Chemistry Department into research groups, see the
Chemistry Department Organization Chart.
Bold indicates Principal Investigators, *
indicates retired, † indicates Stony Brook graduate
students
Last Modified: January 31, 2008
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