A Brief History of the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University of Zurich: Written on the Occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Institute 1931–2006

A brief history of the Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Zurich, is presented ranging from the early days when Paul Karrer recognized and encouraged research into physical chemical processes, the creation of an Institute of Physical Chemistry in 1931 by Hans von Halban, and continuing through to the present. The professors and their research interests that have contributed to the excellent reputation of the Institute are described.

Dissociation and Recombination in the Photochemical Decay of Carbonyl Cyanide CO(CN)2 in Cryogenic Matrixes

The photochemistry of CO(CN)2 in cryogenic matrixes has been investigated employing pulsed laser excitation at 193 nm. During irradiation, the parent molecule, the intermediate, and the final photoproducts were monitored by IR spectroscopy. Four new species were identified including the isocyano isomer of the parent NCC(O)NC, cyanogen NCCN, isocyanogen CNCN, and CO according to spectroscopic features and ab initio calculations. After prolonged irradiation, the only remaining species were CO and the two isomers NCCN and CNCN. A reaction scheme is proposed which is in agreement with the first dissociation step being a branching of the decay path into the radical channel to CN+OCCN and the molecular channel to CO+(CN)2. The caged radicals of the former reaction either recombine to the parent molecule and its isomer which are both photolyzed again or they react directly to the stable and final products.

Photochemistry of Molecules Relevant to the Atmosphere: Photodissociation of Nitric Acid in the Gas Phase

This Minireview gives an account of the photochemical decay of nitric acid HNO3 in the gas phase, which has been well investigated under bulk and molecular-beam conditions. Due to the importance of this molecule in atmospheric chemistry, attention was paid to the irradiation regions around 300 and 200 nm, where solar photolysis of HNO3 is expected to be particularly efficient. While the low-energy region is characterized by the products OH and NO2, the high-energy region gives rise to a variety of photochemical decay pathways, dominated by channels which lead to the products HONO + O in different electronic states.

Production and characterization of Ti:sapphire thin films grown by reactive laser ablation with elemental precursors

Crystalline Ti:sapphire (Ti:Al(2)O(3)) thin films were grown at low temperatures upon Al(2)O(3) (0001) substrates by reactive crossed-beam laser ablation at 248 nm by use of a liquid Ti-Al alloy target and O(2) . The films were investigated ex situ by x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. Low-temperature luminescence was identical to that for Ti(3+) ions in bulk samples of Al(2)O(3) .