A Gas-Phase Spectroscopic Investigation of Small Metal-Containing Molecules: CuBe, OThF and SmO Open Access

Abstract

Nuclear science is poised to revolutionize our energy infrastructure and fundamental physics research; however, the hazards of radioactive material have limited experimental studies. One approach to studying radioactive materials is computational chemistry, but these materials, especially f-block elements, are challenging to model accurately. Likewise, accurate computational methods are necessary for screening and predicting the properties of laser-coolable molecules. Gas-phase spectroscopy provides accurate measurements to benchmark these computational methods. Yet, many f-block and laser-cooling candidate molecules have not been studied with gas-phase spectroscopy. To address these challenges, the electronic structure of the ground and excited states of OThF and SmO has been characterized with gas-phase spectroscopic techniques. The electronic structure of the alkali-earth and transition metal molecule, CuBe, was also characterized. In this dissertation, I will highlight key findings of each study and discuss how they impact the research applications of each molecule.

Table of Contents

Introduction

...Molecular Spectroscopy

...Motivation

...Dissertation Organization

Experimental Methods

...Laser Ablation and Supersonic Expansion

...Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF)

...Resonantly Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization

Electronic Structure and Spectroscopy of Copper Beryllium

...Introduction

...Experimental Methods

...Results and Analysis

...Electronic Structure Calculations

...Discussion

...Conclusion

Electronic Structure and Excited State Mixing of OThF

...Introduction

...Computational Results

...Results

...Discussion

Electronic Spectroscopy of SmO

...Introduction

...Experimental Methods

...Results and Discussion

...Conclusion

Appendix A: SmO's Einstein A Coefficient

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Chemistry
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Physics, Molecular Chemistry, General Chemistry, Physical
Keyword	Spectroscopy Physical Chemistry
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Michael Heaven, Emory University
Committee Members	Lili Wang, Emory University Francesco Evangelista, Emory University

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