1- Photochemical Mechanisms and Spectroscopic Properties of Magnesium and Aluminum Molecules
This project aims to predict the structure, spectroscopy, stability, and photochemical mechanisms of the formation and destruction of magnesium and aluminum-bearing molecules. This research aids in identifying these species in Earth's atmosphere and the interstellar medium. In Earth's atmosphere, such species may form through reactions between these metals, introduced via spacecraft entry and meteoroids, and abundant atmospheric components. The specific molecules we studied included AlO+, AlOH, AlNO, AlOS0,+1, AlSO2 , HAlOH, OAlOH, Al2O, AlOSi0,+1 ,AlCH, AlOP, AlNS, AlNCO, HAlNP, MgCH, HMgNC, HMgCN, and HAlNCO. This comprehensive study enhances our understanding of these molecules, contributing valuable insights into atmospheric and interstellar chemistry.
2- Solving the Mysteries of Venus's Atmosphere: Water Depletion and the enigmatic near-UV absorber
This ongoing project aims to investigate the depletion of water in Venus's atmosphere and the large variability of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and sulfur monoxide (SO). Building upon recent findings on the photochemistry of HClSO, ClSSO, ClSO, and ClSO2, this project aims to further elucidate the role of chlorine-sulfur compounds in Venus’s atmospheric processes. By combining advanced computational methods, the project will explore these related species' formation, stability, and photochemical reactions. Understanding these phenomena is necessary to comprehend the atmospheric chemistry and climatic conditions of Venus. Additionally, our research seeks to elucidate the photochemical mechanisms contributing to the observed variations in the sulfuric species. These studies address the water depletion issue and aim to illuminate the enigmatic UV-Vis absorption, ultimately enhancing our understanding of Venus's complex and dynamic atmosphere.
3- Sulfur Photochemistry in Earth's and Venus's Atmospheres: Implications for Climate Change Mitigation
Studying the chemical makeup of other planets in the universe helps us to understand chemistry in the present Earth’s atmosphere. A hot topic of Venus is understanding the impact of sulfur in the atmospheric environment of Venus. This turns out to be very important for understanding the impact of sulfur in the atmosphere of Earth. In particular, a very topically current issue in geoengineering Earth with sulfur compounds. With climate change so difficult to manage and nations unwilling to take decisive action, what if we could mitigate its effects by setting up a kind of chemical umbrella, a layer of sulfuric acid in the upper atmosphere that could reflect the sun’s radiation and cool the Earth? The aim is to generate sulfuric acid (H2SO4), in the right part of the atmosphere, such that it might reflect enough sunlight to slow the Earth’s warming. In this project, we examined the photochemistry of many sulfuric species and how they react to light in the Earth's atmosphere. We used high-level quantum chemical and new ab initio molecular dynamics methodologies to assess the potential impact of photochemistry of these species. The significant finding from these studies reveals that HOSO2 absorbs a lot of light in the stratosphere and could undergo photolysis on short timeframes, while SO3 might instead linger. Additionally, we found that the production of SO + OH from the photodissociation of HOSO may lead to ozone depletion due to the reactivity of SO with ozone. The issue of climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing our planet, and time is of the essence in finding effective solutions.
