Dynamical probes of chemical interactions at interfaces

We report on the application of two experimental techniques developed in the field of atomic and molecular physics to investigate the dynamics of catalytic processes on a molecular scale in (model) catalysts. With these techniques, time-resolved pump-probe laser spectroscopy and molecular beam scattering, better insights into the fundamental processes relevant to catalysis can be obtained. With the first technique, time-resolved (picosecond) non-linear infrared spectroscopy, zeolite catalysts and zeolite-adsorbate interactions are investigated. Microscopic structural information on the bare catalyst, as well as insights into the dynamics of interaction processes between catalyst and reactant (viz. zeolite and adsorbate) on a molecular scale are obtained. With the second technique, a molecular beam experiment, we obtain dynamical information on the interaction between catalytic metal surfaces and molecules; transient surface species and steric effects are observed.