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Spectroscopic Characterization Of Lanthanum-Mediated Hydrocarbon Activation, Dilrukshi C. Hewage

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Lanthanum (La)-promoted hydrocarbon activation reactions were carried out in a laser vaporization metal cluster beam source. Reaction products were identified by time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and the approximate ionization thresholds of La-hydrocarbon complexes were located with photoionization efficiency spectroscopy. The accurate ionization energies and vibrational frequencies of the La complexes were measured using mass analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy. Their molecular structures and electronic states were investigated by combing the MATI spectroscopic measurements with quantum chemical and Franck-Condon factor calculations.

In this dissertation, La-mediated C-H and C-C bond activation reactions were investigated for several small alkynes (acetylene, propyne) and alkenes (propene, …