Atmospheric Photolysis of Volatile Organic Compounds
Volatile organic compounds, aka “VOCs”, are gaseous molecules that make up a small but vitally important part of the Earth’s atmosphere. Many of these compounds, whether naturally occurring or man-made (like pollutants from hydrocarbon combustion), react with sunlight and transform their structures over time. Our lab uses time-resolved infrared (IR) spectroscopy to “watch” how a variety of VOCs react with sunlight over time. This way, we can not only determine the atmospheric lifetimes of VOCs, but also the structures of the resulting photoproducts.
Solution-Phase Photochemistry of Environmentally Relevant Molecules
In addition to VOCs, there are many larger “non-volatile” photoactive compounds that play important roles in environmental chemistry. From naturally occurring “dissolved organic matter” to pharmaceutical products to industrial waste, our lab investigates a wide variety of photoactive molecules. Whether reacting with sunlight in natural waters or undergoing UV disinfection in wastewater, light initiates a host of interesting chemistry in solution. Here at WCSU, we monitor structural changes resulting from UV or visible irradiation via time-resolved absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence, and/or mass spectrometry.