Mount Allison Chemistry Department

Research Interests

Novel chemical, analytical and medical applications of muon magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Molecular magnetism using muon magnetic resonance. Electron and molecular dynamics of transient intermediates generated by muon implantation. Applications to green chemistry.

The muon (µ), a lepton, is an elementary particle, and similar to the electron (positron) comes in two charges, µ- and µ+. It is produced 100% spin polarized from pion decay and the spin polarization can be monitored as a function of time. Both positive and negative muons can be transported in a beam line in an accelerator facility such as the TRIUMF or ISIS accelerator and stopped in a sample of interest, creating a straightforward signal on a microsecond time scale. This signal (Muon Spin Rotation or Relaxation or Resonance) is analyzed to yield amplitudes, frequencies and relaxations, which can be attributed to the interactions of the muon spin with its environment alike studies in magnetic resonance spectroscopy but with much larger sensitivity and with almost no limit of material or thermodynamic condition. Positive muons form the muonium atom (Mu=µ+e-), which is an unusual ultralight isotope of the hydrogen atom (Protium): mMu = 1/9 mH! As such, its study provides an exceptionally sensitive probe of quantum mass effects in chemical reaction and intramolecular dynamics. Many of the mentioned studies are to probe novel chemical systems using the established muon magnetic resonance techniques however we (Dr. Ian clark and James Lord from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and myself) have recently developed novel spectroscopic techniques to probe laser-enhanced Mu reactivity studies for the first time.

My research is carried out both at my laboratory at Mount Allison University (Studies of supercritical fluid chemistry and photodynamic therapy) and in central facilities in Canada and Europe (Neutron and Muon spectroscopies). These include TRIUMF national laboratory in Vancouver and ISIS at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK.



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Academic Staff

	Dr. Khashayar Ghandi
	BSc (Shiraz University, Iran) MSc (Tehran University, Iran), PhD (Simon Fraser)
	Assistant Professor *Adjunct Professor - Simon Fraser University

	Office:	Barclay 319
	Phone:	(506)364-2370
	Email:	kghandi@mta.ca
	Discipline:	Physical Chemistry
	Research Area:	Free Radical, Chemical Dynamics, Green Chemistry, Photochemistry and Photodynamic Therapy
	Group Website

Research Interests Novel chemical, analytical and medical applications of muon magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Molecular magnetism using muon magnetic resonance. Electron and molecular dynamics of transient intermediates generated by muon implantation. Applications to green chemistry. The muon (µ), a lepton, is an elementary particle, and similar to the electron (positron) comes in two charges, µ- and µ+. It is produced 100% spin polarized from pion decay and the spin polarization can be monitored as a function of time. Both positive and negative muons can be transported in a beam line in an accelerator facility such as the TRIUMF or ISIS accelerator and stopped in a sample of interest, creating a straightforward signal on a microsecond time scale. This signal (Muon Spin Rotation or Relaxation or Resonance) is analyzed to yield amplitudes, frequencies and relaxations, which can be attributed to the interactions of the muon spin with its environment alike studies in magnetic resonance spectroscopy but with much larger sensitivity and with almost no limit of material or thermodynamic condition. Positive muons form the muonium atom (Mu=µ+e-), which is an unusual ultralight isotope of the hydrogen atom (Protium): mMu = 1/9 mH! As such, its study provides an exceptionally sensitive probe of quantum mass effects in chemical reaction and intramolecular dynamics. Many of the mentioned studies are to probe novel chemical systems using the established muon magnetic resonance techniques however we (Dr. Ian clark and James Lord from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and myself) have recently developed novel spectroscopic techniques to probe laser-enhanced Mu reactivity studies for the first time. My research is carried out both at my laboratory at Mount Allison University (Studies of supercritical fluid chemistry and photodynamic therapy) and in central facilities in Canada and Europe (Neutron and Muon spectroscopies). These include TRIUMF national laboratory in Vancouver and ISIS at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK.

Recent Publications "Laser-muon spin spectroscopy in liquids—A technique to study the excited state chemistry of transients" Khashayar Ghandi, Ian P. Clark, James S. Lord and Stephen P. Cottrell, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 9, 353-359 (2007). (cover article) "The first report of a muoniated free radical formed from reaction of Mu with Br2" Khashayar Ghandi, Stephen P.Cottrell, Donald Fleming and Clive Johnson, Physica b, 374, 303-306 (2006). “Theoretical studies of alkyl radicals in the NaY and HY zeolites” Khashayar Ghandi, Federico E. Zahariev and Alexander Wang, J. Phys. Chem. A 109, 7242-7250 (2005).

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