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Biological and Chemical Physics Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Biological and Chemical Physics

Determining The Kinetic Isotope Effect Of Ruthenium Compound Ru(Bpy)₂(Bpyno)(Pf₆)₂ Using Artificial Photosynthesis, Alexandra I. Kirkvold May 2020

Determining The Kinetic Isotope Effect Of Ruthenium Compound Ru(Bpy)₂(Bpyno)(Pf₆)₂ Using Artificial Photosynthesis, Alexandra I. Kirkvold

Honors Thesis

The world’s demand for energy is ever-increasing, but its fuel resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. A potential solution for this crisis lies in using ruthenium-based compounds to produce hydrogen for use in fuel cells. This research uses the process of artificial photosynthesis to learn more about a promising ruthenium-based compound, Ru(bpy)₂(bpyNO)(PF₆)₂. The experiment tests the reaction for oxygen production in both H2O and D2O to determine the Kinetic Isotope Effect of the compound and, thus, aid future research working to understand the reaction mechanisms. The analysis shows that the reaction demonstrates an inverse …


Achieving A Stable Magneto-Optical Trap, Chasen S. Himeda Apr 2018

Achieving A Stable Magneto-Optical Trap, Chasen S. Himeda

Honors Thesis

The utilization of the Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) as a method for cooling and confining atoms is a recent development in the field of modern optical physics. Producing an effective MOT relies on a constant magnetic field throughout the trapping region and successful laser cooling, a technique used to achieve optical molasses by slowing particles using a three-dimensional intersection of laser beams. A successful MOT occurs when the trapped atoms slow down to approximately 30 cm/s at a temperature in the microkelvin range and is observable when a small bright orb of atoms is located in the center of the chamber. …