The hard facts about soft landing ions
Thursday, April 28, 2016 - 05:20
in Physics & Chemistry
When determining how complex molecules drive, hinder, or halt reactions relevant to fuel production, pollution abatement, and energy storage, scientists often contend with other unrelated molecules that obscure their studies. Some researchers avoid these troublemakers by using ion soft- and reactive-landing techniques. With these methods, molecules are precisely sorted by their mass-to-charge ratio, kinetic energy, and ionic charge state. The scientists can concentrate the purified molecules into a beam and control its size, shape, and position to prepare highly tailored films and structures.