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Welcome to the Continetti Lab Homepage! |
Research OverviewOur research focuses on measuring and understanding the dynamics and energetics of transient species in the gas phase using photoelectron, photofragmentation and translational spectroscopies. Production of excited transient neutrals by both photodetachment of negative ions and electron-cation recombination processes provide complementary approaches to studying the dissociation pathways and dynamics of a wide range of molecules and clusters. |
Reaction Dynamics of Transient Species |
Rapid Expansion of Supercritical Solutions |
Mass Spectrometry |
Our reaction dynamics experiments employ photoelectron-photofragment coincidence spectroscopy in fast ion beams to study dissociative photodetachment, three-body dissociation dynamics, energetics, and photodissociation of anions. We are also carrying out studies of the dissociative charge exchange and dissociative recombination of trihydrogen and hydrocarbon cations with low energy electrons using multiparticle coincidence detection techniques. 
Supercritical solvents can dissolve a variety of involatile species. Expansion of these into the gas phase provides an approach to forming beams of a variety of species and has potential practical applications in novel negative ion sources and the formation of nanoparticles of polymers, biomolecules, and ceramics. In collaboration with Prof. David Miller in the Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, we are developing molecular beam sources based on the rapid expansion of supercritical solutions.
We are investigating new techniques for the creation of ion beams using a mass spectrometer with both linear and reflectron time-of-flight capabilities and a very flexible ion source chamber for testing of a variety of ion sources.