Marco Allodi '08, Jovan Livada '08, and Meghan Dunn '06 recently published a paper in the Journal of Physical Chemistry A with their faculty research advisors. Allodi was first author, Dunn second, and Livada third. The paper, "Do Hydroxyl Radical-Water Clusters, OH(H2O)n, n=1-5, Exist in the Atmosphere?" explores the effects of hydration on the hydroxyl radical. The hydroxyl radical (OH) is known as the "vacuum cleaner" in the atmosphere, as it is responsible for breaking down pollutants in the air. It has been proposed that under humid conditions, water molecules would bind to the hydroxyl radical, causing significant changes in its reactivity. The students used sophisticated quantum chemical calculations to model the structures and frequencies for hydroxyl radical/water clusters containing one to five water molecules. The reaction between hydroxyl radical clusters and methane was examined as a function of water cluster size to gain an understanding of how cluster size affects hydroxyl radical reactivity. These clusters are not predicted to be abundant in the atmosphere, and surprisingly, water actually impedes the ability of the hydroxyl radical to oxidize organic pollutants.
This research was started by Meghan Dunn in 2005, and finished over the summer of 2006 by Marco Allodi and Jovan Livada. Dunn and Allodi helped write the paper with their faculty research advisors, Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Karl Kirschner and Winslow Professor of Chemistry George Shields. This is the 6th paper co-authored by chemistry graduate, and Goldwater Scholar Dunn, who is now enrolled in a Ph.D. program studying atmospheric chemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder. This is the first paper published by Allodi and Livada, junior chemistry majors at Hamilton, both of whom are interested in pursuing research in graduate school.
This research was started by Meghan Dunn in 2005, and finished over the summer of 2006 by Marco Allodi and Jovan Livada. Dunn and Allodi helped write the paper with their faculty research advisors, Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Karl Kirschner and Winslow Professor of Chemistry George Shields. This is the 6th paper co-authored by chemistry graduate, and Goldwater Scholar Dunn, who is now enrolled in a Ph.D. program studying atmospheric chemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder. This is the first paper published by Allodi and Livada, junior chemistry majors at Hamilton, both of whom are interested in pursuing research in graduate school.
