Coupling Gas-Phase and Condensed-Phase Chemistry using Deposition of Well-Defined Gaseous Ions
Abstract
A fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical phenomena underlying the deposition and reactivity of mass-selected polyatomic ions on surfaces is critical to the design of new functional interfaces. Furthermore, understanding ion-surface interactions is important for modeling and mitigating charge accumulation on surfaces, which presents a bottleneck to the implementation of electrospray-based ionic liquid thrusters in space missions. In this project, we will generate new building blocks for materials synthesis using ion soft landing, a technique, in which ions of well-defined composition and charge are gently deposited onto surfaces. Our studies will use metal chalcogenide clusters as model systems of interest to the design of novel cluster-assembled materials. We will also examine charge build up on surfaces following collisions of ionic liquid cluster ions with model surfaces representing solar panels. Our research will utilize two state-of-the-art high-flux ion soft landing instruments developed in our laboratory along with a suite of surface characterization techniques to identify reaction products generated by collisions of reactive ions with surfaces and characterize their electronic and magnetic properties. Our studies will establish the reactivity-selectivity ladder necessary for controlling the formation of new cluster-based products on surfaces with unique electronic and magnetic properties. Furthermore, we will quantify the amount of charge accumulated in ionic layers obtained by depositing ionic liquid clusters and other ions on surfaces and use co-deposition of mass-selected ions of opposite polarity to control the extent of charge imbalance in the layers. We will further examine how charge imbalance affects the physical properties of the layers and the reactivity of soft-landed fragment ions. Collectively, our studies will address several science gaps relevant to the U.S. Space Force missions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 29, 2024
- Source ID
- FA95502310137
Entities
People
- Julia Laskin
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Purdue University
- United States Air Force