Douberly Research Group

Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602

 

Principal Investigator: Gary E. Douberly

CurriculumVitae

Office: (706)542-3857

email: gdouberly@chem.uga.edu

B.S. Chemistry, 2000 University of Central Florida

Ph.D. Chemistry, 2006 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Advisors: Roger E. Miller and Tom Baer

Postdoctoral Associate, 2006-2008, University of Georgia; Advisor: Michael A. Duncan

 

 

 

Research Interests:

Helium Nanodroplet Isolation Spectroscopy (HENDI)

A recent review of the HENDI method and its applications to a variety of problems in chemistry and physics can be found here.

Research in the Douberly group employs infrared laser spectroscopy to study neutral and ionic molecular assemblies isolated in ultra-cold (0.4 Kelvin) helium nanodroplets.  Liquid helium droplets are formed by the condensation of gaseous helium in a cryogenic nozzle expansion.  The droplets are approximately 10 nm in diameter, and molecular assemblies are formed within each droplet by the sequential “pick up” of individual atoms or molecules.  The interaction between the molecular solute and the helium solvent is extremely weak due to the quantum nature of helium at 0.4 Kelvin.  As a result, helium droplets provide a unique environment to probe the structural and dynamical properties of  the isolated species with high resolution laser spectroscopy methods.  For example, the correlation between the structure of biological macromolecules and their function is well recognized, and the development of high resolution spectroscopy  techniques is essential if we are to achieve a microscopic understanding of this relationship.  Trapping model biomolecule systems in low temperature helium droplets provides an opportunity to investigate the three dimensional structure, preferred conformations, rearrangements upon solvation, and thermochemistry of these systems at a high level of detail.  We are also interested in using helium droplets as a tool to probe hydrocarbon radical reactions and the reactivity of neutral and ionic metal clusters, along with the reactivity of other systems that play important roles in combustion chemistry and catalysis.  The low temperature and rapid cooling provided by the helium droplet results in a perfectly suited medium to bring reactants together in a way such that they are stabilized in high energy metastable configurations.  The products that result from vibrational or electronic excitation of the metastable reactants can be interrogated with infrared or electronic spectroscopy.  Multi-laser schemes allow for a systematic study of how product branching ratios change as vibrational energy is placed into different modes of the reacting system.  The Douberly research group aims to develop helium nanodroplets into a general technique for studying the laser driven chemistry of highly reactive species near absolute zero. 

Recent Publications:

Spectroscopy of Molecular Clusters in Helium Nanodroplets

  1. Douberly G.E., and Miller R.E., “Vibrational dynamics of the linear and bent isomers of HF-N2O trapped in 0.4 K helium nanodroplets” Chemical Physics. (2009), 361, 118-124.

  2. Stiles P.L., Douberly G.E., and Miller R.E., "High resolution infrared spectroscopy of Mg-HF and Mg(HF)2 in solvated in helium nanodroplets" Journal of Chemical Physics (2009), 130, 184313.

  3. Merritt J.M., Douberly G.E., Stiles P.L., and Miller R.E., “Infrared spectroscopy of pre-reactive Aluminum-, Gallium-, and Indium-HCN entrance channel complexes solvated in helium nanodroplets” Journal of Physical Chemistry A. (2007), 111(49), 12304-12316.

  4. Douberly G.E., and Miller R.E., “Rotational dynamics of HCN-M (M=Na, K, Rb, Cs) van-der-Waals complexes  formed on the surface of helium nanodroplets” Journal of Physical Chemistry A. (2007), 111(31), 7292-7302.

  5. Douberly G.E., Merritt J.M., and Miller R.E., “Infrared – infrared double resonance spectroscopy of the isomers of HCN-Acetylene and HCN-Cyanoacetylene in helium nanodroplets” Journal of Physical Chemistry A. (2007),  111(31), 7282-7291.

  6. Paesani F., Whaley K.B., Douberly G.E., and Miller R.E., “Rovibrational Spectra for the HCCCN-HCN and HCN-HCCCN binary complexes in 4He droplets” Journal of Physical Chemistry A. (2007), 111(31), 7516-7528.

  7. Choi M.Y., Douberly G.E., Falconer T.M., Lewis W.K., Lindsay C.M., Merritt J.M., Stiles P.L., and Miller R.E., “Infrared spectroscopy of helium nanodroplets: novel methods for physics and chemistry” International Reviews of Physical Chemistry. (2006), 25(1-2), 15-75.

  8. Lindsay C.M., Douberly G.E., and Miller R.E., “Rotational and vibrational dynamics of H2O and HDO in helium nanodroplets” Journal of Molecular Structure. (2006), 786, 96-104.

  9. Douberly G.E., Merritt J.M., and Miller R.E., “Infrared-infrared double resonance spectroscopy in helium nanodroplets: photo-induced isomerization” Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. (2005), 7(3), 463-468.

  10. Douberly G.E., and Miller R.E., “The isomers of HF-HCN formed in helium nanodroplets: infrared spectroscopy and ab initio calculations” Journal of Chemical Physics. (2005), 122, 024306.

  11. Merritt J.M., Douberly G.E., Miller R.E., “Infrared-infrared double resonance spectroscopy of cyanoacetylene in helium nanodroplets” Journal of Chemical Physics. (2004), 121(3), 1309-1316.

  12. Douberly G.E., Nauta K., Miller R.E., “The infrared spectrum of acetylene-HF in helium nanodroplets” Chemical Physics Letters. (2003), 377(3,4), 384-390.

  13. Douberly G.E., Miller R.E., “The growth of HF polymers in helium nanodroplets: Probing the barriers to ring insertion” Journal of Physical Chemistry B. (2003), 107 (19), 4500-4507.

 

Infrared Spectroscopy of Gas Phase Carbocations and Protonated Molecular Clusters (Michael A. Duncan Lab)

  1. Ricks A.M., Douberly G.E., and Duncan M.A., “Infrared Spectroscopy of proton-bridged nitrogen dimers” Journal of Chemical Physics, (2009) in press.

  2. Douberly G.E., Ricks A.M., and Duncan M.A., “Infrared spectroscopy of perdeuterated protonated water clusters in the vicinity of the clathrate cage structure” Journal of Physical Chemistry A, (2009), 113, 8449-8453.

  3. Ricks A.M., Douberly, G.E., and Duncan, M.A., “Infrared spectroscopy of protonated naphthalene and its relevance for the unidentified infrared bands” Astrophysical Journal Letters, (2009), 702, 30-306.

  4. Ricks A.M., Douberly G.E., and Duncan M.A., "IR photodissociation spectroscopy of O4+, O6+ and O8+ ions" International Journal of Mass Spectrometry (2009), 283, 69-76.

  5. Ricks A.M., Bakker J.M., Douberly G.E., and Duncan M.A., "Infrared spectroscopy and structures of cobalt carbonyl cations Co(CO)n+ (n=1-9)" Journal of Physical Chemistry A. (2009), 113, 4701-4708.

  6. Douberly G.E., Ricks A.M., Schleyer, P.v.R., and Duncan M.A., “Infrared spectroscopy of gas phase benzenium ions: Protonated benzene and protonated toluene from 750 to 3400 cm-1” Journal of Physical Chemistry A. (2008), 112, 4869-4874.

  7. Douberly G.E., Ricks A.M., Ticknor B.W., McKee, W. C., Schleyer, P.v.R., and Duncan M.A., “Infrared spectroscopy of protonated acetylene and its clusters” Journal of Physical Chemistry A. (2008), 112(9), 1897-1906.

  8. Douberly G.E., Ricks A.M., Ticknor B.W., and Duncan M.A., “Structure of protonated carbon dioxide clusters: Infrared photodissociation spectroscopy and ab initio calculations,” Journal of Physical Chemistry A. (2008), 112(5), 950-959.

  9. Douberly G.E., Ricks A.M., Schleyer, P.v.R., and Duncan M.A., “Infrared Spectroscopy of Gas Phase C3H5+: Allyl and 2-Propenyl Cations,” Journal Chemical Physics, (2008), 128, 021102.

  10. Douberly G.E., Ricks A.M., Ticknor B.W., and Duncan M.A., “The structure of protonated acetone and its dimer: Infrared photodissociation spectroscopy from 800 to 4000 cm-1,” Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, (2008), 10, 77-79.

  11. Douberly G.E., Ricks A.M., Ticknor B.W., Schleyer, P.v.R., and Duncan M.A., “Infrared spectroscopy of the t-butyl cation in the gas phase” Journal of the American Chemical Society. (2007), 129, 13782.