Tuesday, October 3, 2017 - 10:30pm
 
*Abstract:* Ionic liquids are complex solvents. Due to their unique
properties, they are being explored for applications as carbon capture
absorbents, electrolytes, and energy storage media. From a fundamental
perspective, ionic liquids are at the forefront of research because of
their structural and dynamical heterogeneity. Many important physical
and chemical properties are dictated by the solvation shell around a
molecule. The solvation shells are characterized by structure with short
length-scales and dynamics on femtosecond to picosecond time-scales,
which makes them difficult to observe with many conventional
spectroscopies. Ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy, however, can measure
the dynamics of the solvation shell around molecules directly. Here, we
use ultrafast 2D-IR spectroscopy and supporting theory to explore the
dynamics of ionic liquids relevant to several important applications.
The vibrations of CO2 report carbon capture from the carbon dioxide's
point of view. Our spectroscopic results suggests design principles for
next generation carbon capture materials.

Speaker: 

Prof Sean Garrett-Roe

Institution: 

U Pitts

Location: 

RH 104