Lauren Benz, Ryan Quiller, and Meaghan Colling
The study of the interaction of metal oxides with atmospheric constituents is an area which has both practical and fundamental significance. Our current work involves the investigation of the effect of water on reactions of volatile organic compounds and other environmentally relevant species such as oxygen and ozone over a model oxide substrate, namely, titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide is not only a natural oxide present in the earth's crust, but it is a major ingredient in paints and surface coatings, making it a suitable model for this research. Temperature programmed reaction spectroscopy will be the main tool employed here. Once the model substrate is investigated in a controlled, ultra-high vacuum environment, we plan to explore reactivity of the single crystalline substrate in an ambient pressure, high humidity environment.
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