Dr Duncan Wild

Job Title: Postdoctoral Research Scientist

Company: Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry

City of Residence: Göttingen , Germany

Year Graduated & Degree: BSc(Hons) 1998 PhD, 2003

At the moment I am constructing a time resolved photoelectron spectrometer (TRPES) at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen. With this machine, we will probe small bare anions and also anionic clusters in the gas phase. The systems we wish to investigate include the simple heterogeneous trihalide anions (XYX-, where X and Y are different halides) solvated by small molecules, for example ammonia (NH 3 ) or water (H2O). We will use a laser system that has pulses with widths of around 100 femtoseconds (1 femtosecond = 1 x 10 -15 seconds) allowing us to probe chemical reactions, such as bond breaking, in real time. In the experiments we will start a chemical reaction with one laser pulse, and probe the outcome at various time intervals with a second pulse. This technique is based on the one that earned Ahmed H. Zewail the Nobel prize for Chemistry in 1999.

While the TRPES machine is being assembled I am undertaking quantum mechanical calculations on small anion-neutral clusters to predict structures, energetics, and infrared spectra. These studies are important for following anion solvation at the microscopic level, and extending to larger clusters to approximate bulk solvation. The systems I have investigated include the halide anions (F-, Cl-, and Br-) solvated by ammonia and hydrogen sulphide. Following on from these studies I am currently using vibrational self consistent field (VSCF) theory to provide more accurate infrared spectra for the smaller complexes with one molecule bound to the anion. These calculations account for vibrational mode anharmonicity and mode-mode couplings, which are neglected in the initial quantum mechanical calculations.

Living abroad is an experience that I would recommend to anyone, especially in Europe where so many different countries and cultures are but a short flight away! During my time here I have travelled throughout Germany , also to England and France for conferences and meetings (not to mention short holidays to the Czech Republic , Amsterdam , England , and Ireland !). This terrific opportunity is a direct result of my undergraduate and doctoral studies at Melbourne University .

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