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• 1 2020-05-06T01:03:21+00:00 Tiffany Vallejo 3 plain 2020-05-08T23:54:45+00:00

  
  The Design & Building of a Surface Science Ultra-High Vacuum Chamber

  Overview: Reactions on metal catalysts involve many simultaneous reactions making them challenging to study. Ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chambers are surface science equipment used to isolate reaction steps in atomically clean environments. Thus, the design and building of a UHV will provide the ideal conditions to study molecular interactions on metal surfaces.
  
  Abstract: Catalysts increase the efficiency and selectivity of a wide range of chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy barriers for desired reaction pathways. This results in decreased energy usage and wasteful byproducts, helping to reduce pollution.  Reactions on metal catalysts involve various simultaneous reactions making them challenging to study. To study the fundamental processes of individual reactions, we need to isolate them using an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber. Ultra-high vacuum chambers can generate atomically clean environments, limiting potential surface contaminations.  Standard UHV components include an ion gun, quadrupole mass spectrometer, ion gauge, and turbomolecular pumps.  Overall, the UHV chamber configuration provides an ideal high vacuum environment to generate the proper conditions to study the reaction steps in the molecular interactions on the metal surface. Therefore, we will design and build a surface science UHV chamber to provide the ideal conditions needed to investigate the surface reactions at the gas-surface interface in heterogeneous catalysis.  When completed, this UHV chamber will offer an opportunity to study methanol decomposition on platinum, an industrially crucial heterogeneous reaction. 
  
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