| This dissertation covers the continued development of an ultra-rapid-scanning Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and its application to chemical systems.; Currently this unique instrument is capable of consistently gathering 200 full-range mid-IR spectra per second, making it the fastest FT-IR spectrometer in existence. While many of the basic tenets of the spectrometer's design have been developed previously, the instrument remains a prototype with a new field of time-resolved spectroscopy awaiting its examination. Primarily, the work that is described here covers the first reproducible and reliable measurements made with this instrument. Secondarily, this dissertation functions as the start of an operator's manual.; The basics of FT-IR spectrometry are covered in Chapter 1 with special emphasis paid to those factors that limit time resolution. Comparisons between spectrometers that utilize Michelson interferometers and other novel interferometer designs are drawn to show how higher efficiencies can be built into an interferometer that incorporates rotating, rather than reciprocating, optical elements.; Chapter 2 is a detailed users manual of the spectrometer and provides the first written overview of the operational parameters which have, until now, remained in scattered notebooks and by observation only.; Measurements to determine the rates of adsorption of gaseous aldehydes on silica gel and aminopropylsilyl (APS) derivatized silica gel are described in Chapters 3--5. The construction of a gas mixing and injecting apparatus and two different models, one developed by the author and one developed by Husheng Yang utilizing data from the author, to describe the observed rates of adsorption are covered. Rates were determined for formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, and 1,3-butadiene vapors over bare and APS silica gels. Formaldehyde appears to condense onto APS groups, forming a Schiff base, but this is not the case for acetaldehyde or acrolein.; The results of examining the rapid conversion of CO to CO2 by Co3O4 catalyst is described in Chapter 6. Under optimized conditions the catalyst appears to produce a significant amount of vibrationally excited CO2 which was observable for several milliseconds.; Chapter 7 summarizes other experimental work done by the author on the spectrometer and Chapter 8 discusses improvements to yield better performance. |
