The study of gas-phase molecular reaction dynamics has long proved to be a central and fruitful field of research, with impact in many areas of science, for both experimental and theoretical physical chemists/chemical physicists.
While further advances in the characterization of gas-phase reactions are actively pursued, the methods and concepts developed so far are also the basis of the molecular approach of investigations of reaction dynamics at interfaces (gas-liquid and gas-solid) and in condensed phases.
Work in several labs has been focused on developing a theoretical understanding of this ultrafast dynamics. The hope is to discern the molecular mechanisms of events such as solvation and vibrational relaxation - the elementary steps that determine the course of chemical reactions in liquids.
This Discussion is particularly timely because of the exciting developments of the last decade in the various areas and of the prospect that they are generating. Because of the broad topic area which underlies what is perhaps the core of chemistry, namely chemical reactivity, a large audience is anticipated.
Aims
This discussion was intended to bring together practitioners, both experimentalists and theorists, of reaction dynamics in the gas phase, at interfaces and in the condensed phase. The vision was to define the state-of-the-art as we move into the second decade of the new millennium and to outline the future prospects for this whole exciting area of research, with impact in many fields of science.
Themes
Bimolecular reaction dynamics in the gas-phase
Photodissociation dynamics in the gas and liquid-phase
Reaction dynamics at interfaces (gas-liquid and gas-solid)
Ultrafast reaction dynamics in the condensed phase
Scientific Committee
Professor Piergiorgio Casavecchia (University of Perugia, Italy) (Chair)
Professor David C. Clary (University of Oxford, UK)
Professor Dr Peter Hamm (University of Zürich, Switzerland)
Professor George C. Schatz (Northwestern University, USA)
Professor Andrew J. Orr-Ewing (University of Bristol, UK)
Professor Alec Wodtke (University of California Santa Barbara, USA; Georg-August University of Göttingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Germany)
While further advances in the characterization of gas-phase reactions are actively pursued, the methods and concepts developed so far are also the basis of the molecular approach of investigations of reaction dynamics at interfaces (gas-liquid and gas-solid) and in condensed phases.
Work in several labs has been focused on developing a theoretical understanding of this ultrafast dynamics. The hope is to discern the molecular mechanisms of events such as solvation and vibrational relaxation - the elementary steps that determine the course of chemical reactions in liquids.
This Discussion is particularly timely because of the exciting developments of the last decade in the various areas and of the prospect that they are generating. Because of the broad topic area which underlies what is perhaps the core of chemistry, namely chemical reactivity, a large audience is anticipated.
Aims
This discussion was intended to bring together practitioners, both experimentalists and theorists, of reaction dynamics in the gas phase, at interfaces and in the condensed phase. The vision was to define the state-of-the-art as we move into the second decade of the new millennium and to outline the future prospects for this whole exciting area of research, with impact in many fields of science.
Themes
Bimolecular reaction dynamics in the gas-phase
Photodissociation dynamics in the gas and liquid-phase
Reaction dynamics at interfaces (gas-liquid and gas-solid)
Ultrafast reaction dynamics in the condensed phase
Scientific Committee
Professor Piergiorgio Casavecchia (University of Perugia, Italy) (Chair)
Professor David C. Clary (University of Oxford, UK)
Professor Dr Peter Hamm (University of Zürich, Switzerland)
Professor George C. Schatz (Northwestern University, USA)
Professor Andrew J. Orr-Ewing (University of Bristol, UK)
Professor Alec Wodtke (University of California Santa Barbara, USA; Georg-August University of Göttingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Germany)
