Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Photochemistry
- Photoelectron Spectroscopy
- Femtosecond Laser Spectroscopy
- Chemical Structure and Dynamics
Current research
Our research focuses on the use of femtosecond laser sources for the study of photochemistry and how molecules react to the absorption of ultraviolet light.
Using light pulses of ultrashort duration, we monitor chemical reactions as they happen, allowing us to follow changes in the arrangements of the electrons and the nuclei in real time. Depending on the type of chemistry we are trying to observe we use a wide range of techniques that utilise light pulses cover energy ranges from the infrared to the X-ray.
A particular focus of ours has been on the use of high harmonic generation sources of extreme ultravioloet light for photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. The extra energy available in these pulses allows us to follow all aspects of a reaction, from starting materials all the way through to final products..
More recently we have started working with X-ray free electron laser sources where we use the X-rays for both scattering and spectroscopy measurements.