Applied Mathematics Commons^™

Exploration Of Aqueous Interfaces And Their Effect On Ion Behavior, Oneka T. Cummings

Doctoral Dissertations

An in-depth understanding of a wide range of physical, chemical, atmospheric and biological processes can only be achieved after the structure and dynamics of interfaces and the interfacial behavior of aqueous species, such as ions, are thoroughly studied and understood. This dissertation describes computational studies conducted to gain a more comprehensive understanding of such interfaces and the behavior of ions in the bulk and interfacial regions of the (1) air/water interface, and (2) alkane/water interfaces.

At the air/water interface the effect of counterion (sodium cations) charge and the influence of ion pairing on anion (chloride) propensity for the air/water interface …

Novel Algorithms And Instrumentation For Vibrational Spectroscopic Methods Of Analysis, Mohamed F. Abdelkader

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Raman spectroscopy is a form of vibrational spectroscopy that has been increasingly applied to qualitative analysis of chemicals, explosives, pharmaceuticals, and fuels due to its non-invasive and non-destructive nature; its ease of sampling; and its high molecular specificity. These characteristics of Raman spectroscopy also facilitate its use for both in-line and at-line analysis. The principle limitation of Raman spectroscopy is optical interference arising from both analyte and non-analyte fluorescence. In this dissertation, a solution to this problem is presented in the form of a novel spectrometer design which operates in a sequentially shifted excitation mode to eliminate fluorescence backgrounds, fixed …