Chemical and Biochemical Applications of Lasers aims to give a general introduction to as well as an evaluation of the successful application of lasers in various areas, especially in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry. The book begins with a basic knowledge of general laser physics and the types of lasers, then moves on to more specific topics that include the Raman spectra of biological materials; laser spectroscopy of gas phase ions; and optical analogs of magnetic spectroscopy. The text also discusses the molecular beams; the energy flow in polyatomic molecules; and the different properties of molecules in relation to electronical excitation and quasi-electric light scattering. Studies of different chemical reactions are also included. The text is recommended for chemists, biochemists, and chemical physicists who want to know more about lasers and its applications to their respective fields. The book will also be helpful for those concerned with the chemical reactions lasers can bring about and for those who want to conduct further studies regarding laser uses.

Chemical and Biochemical Applications of Lasers, Volume III presents the fundamental principles and methods of selective photophysical and photochemical processes. The book discusses isotopic separations and related research for each eight classes of laser methods, and their applications in chemistry, biology, and materials science. The experimental results on multiphoton infrared processes and their theoretical interpretation are likewise thoroughly discussed and described. Organic and inorganic chemists, physical chemists, and optical physicists will find the text a valuable reference material.

Chemical and Biological Applications of Lasers, Volume V focuses on the laser applications in photochemistry and spectroscopy. This book examines the spectroscopic detection of single atoms and explores the purification of industrial chemicals. Organized into seven chapters, this volume starts with an overview of the methods developed for laser detection of single atoms, including fluorescence, photoionization, photodeflection, and their combinations. This text then discusses the methods of high resolution spectroscopy, which provide detailed information on molecular structure and reaction kinetics studies. Other chapters review several laser photodissociation studies, which explain dissociation dynamics. This book discusses as well the possibilities for selective photochemical reactions and examines the potential of lasers for practical application in chemical processing. The final chapter considers the various metals that can undergo a photochemical change in oxidation state in ordinary solvents. This book is a valuable resource for physicists, chemists, electrochemists, photochemists, electrical engineers, and chemical engineers.

Laser ablation refers to the phenomenon in which an intense laser beam irradiates the surface of a solid to induce instant local removal of atoms by a thermal or non-thermal mechanism. Through eight chapters of original research studies and literature reviews written by experts from the international scientific community, this book presents theoretical and experimental aspects of the laser ablation phenomenon for processing material including pulsed laser deposition of thin films, laser surface modification, laser machining and laser nanoparticle formation. It also includes a study of the dynamics of plasmas generated by laser ablation of multi-component materials and an overview of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) techniques for chemical analysis.

Chemical and Biochemical Applications of Lasers, Volume II illustrates the current and potential applications of lasers in new fields of research in chemistry, biology, and other important fields. The book covers the laser spectroscopy of molecular jets; methods of high-resolution spectroscopy; vibrational relaxation in condensed phases; the distributions of quantum states encountered in chemical lasers and laser-induced chemical reactions; the hydrodynamics of biological systems; and developments in lasers such as the rare gas halide ultraviolet laser, which will find important new applications in chemistry and biology. Chemists, biologists, and physicists will find the book educational and insightful.

Chemical and Biochemical Applications of Lasers, Volume IV focuses on the practical applications of standard commercial laser systems. This book examines the structural studies of DNA by fluorescence microscopy and discusses photochemistry and structural spectroscopy. Organized into eight chapters, this volume starts with an overview of a few cases of laser-induced fluorescence studies of biological molecules. This text then examines the sharp fluorescence spectra of complex molecules in solids that are obtained when a narrow-band laser selectively excites molecules in particular sites. Other chapters describe the theory and application of resonance Raman spectroscopy to various biological systems. This book provides as well a thorough treatment of coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy and its application in combustion diagnostics and analytical chemistry. The final chapter explores laser control of the sequential photochemical reaction of the drug psoralen with the two strands of the DNA double helix. Physicists, chemists, electrochemists, and chemical engineers will find this book useful.

The possibility of initiating chemical reactions by high-intensity laser exci tation has captured the imagination of chemists and physicists as well as of industrial scientists and the scientifically informed public in general ever since the laser first became available. Initially, great hopes were held that laser-induced chemistry would revolutionize synthetic chemistry, making possible "bond-specific" or "mode-specific" reactions that were impos sible to achieve under thermal equilibrium conditions. Indeed, some of the early work in this area, typically employing high-power continuous-wave sources, was interpreted in just this way. With further investigation, however, a more conservative picture has emerged, with the laser taking its place as one of a number of available methods for initiation of high-energy chemical transformations. Unlike a number of these methods, such as flash photolysis, shock tubes, and electron-beam radiolysis, the laser is capable of a high degree of spatial and molecular localization of deposited energy, which in turn is reflected in such applications as isotope enrichment or localized surface treatments. The use of lasers to initiate chemical processes has led to the discovery of several distinctly new molecular phenomena, foremost among which is that of multiple-photon excitation and dissociation of polyatomic molecules. This research area has received the greatest attention thus far and forms the focus of the present volume.