Anthony J. Merer

Professor Emeritus

Office: Wesbrook W23
Office Phone: (604) 822-2950

FAX: (604) 822-2847
Email: merer@chem.ubc.ca

Curriculum Vitae: B.A., Oxford (1960); D. Phil., Oxford (R.F. Barrow, 1963); Postdoctoral, N.R.C., Ottawa (G. Herzberg and A.E. Douglas, 1963-65) and Chicago (R.S. Mulliken, 1966-67); Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1970-72); Barringer Award, Spectroscopy Society of Canada (1984); John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellow (1986-87); Killam Research Prize, Univ. of B.C. (1986); Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1987); Canada Council Killam Research Fellowship (1988-90); John C. Polanyi Lecture Award, Chemical Institute of Canada (1999); Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada (1999); Jacob Biely Faculty Research Prize, UBC (2000); Editor, Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy (1995-).

Physical: High-resolution molecular electronic spectroscopy of gases; free-radical studies by laser techniques; vibration-electronic coupling; molecular beam spectroscopy

  View Publications  

Research Interests

Very high resolution spectroscopy, combining tunable dye lasers with sub-Doppler experiments, such as can be done with molecular beams, has opened up a new area where the finer details of an electronic spectrum in the visible region can be observed almost routinely. There are two interesting lines of research to be pursued. One involves the nuclear hyperfine structure of gas molecules, particularly free radicals, where the splittings of the rotational lines give direct information on the average positions of the unpaired electrons near a spinning nucleus; these are related to the nature of the various chemical bonds. The other investigates the apparently random disruptions of the normal patterns of lines that arise when levels of two electronic states interact; it is beginning to emerge that however simple the molecule may be, there are always perturbations of this type that can be observed. They can have a profound influence on the lifetimes of the excited molec ules and the efficiency of the fluorescence processes.

Dr. Merer's group is engaged in molecular beam studies of metal-containing radicals in the gas phase. These compounds are made by reaction of laser-ablated metal atoms with various reagents, and investigated by very high resolution laser induced fluorescence. The objective is to measure their geometrical structures, and to investigate their chemical bonding by studies of their hyperfine parameters. Reaction of early transition metals such as Ti, V, Nb, Ta and W with methane under supersonic jet-cooled conditions leads to the formation of metal methylidynes, with the formula MCH. These are linear molecules, and are examples of the simplest possible type of organometallic compound, where a metal atom is bonded to a CH group. There is a lot of interesting chemistry to be worked out here; for example exactly how these methylidynes are formed, when ground state transition metal atoms are known not to react with methane, and why it is that Fe, Co, Y and Re, to name a few, do not form methylidynes. Instead, under ablation conditions yttrium reacts with methane to give dicarbide, YC₂. This has an interesting structure, where the Y atom is ionically bonded to the side of the C₂ group, forming a T-shaped molecule. Other active projects include (i) optical-optical double resonance, where two tunable lasers are used to reach highly excited (Rydberg) states of metal containing molecules, (ii) Fourier transform electronic spectroscopy in the near-infrared, a spectral region that is being opened up for very high resolution by advances in detector technology; and (iii) microwave-optical double resonance studies of free radicals (in collaboration with Prof. M.C.L. Gerry).

Professors Merer and Gerry are members of UBC's Chemistry-Physics High Resolution Spectroscopy Group. This group is well equipped for state-of-the-art research, with a Bomem DA 3.002 Interferometric Spectrophotometer and a Laser Analytics infrared diode laser shared between its members, in addition to their own equipment.