Donald Land

Our goal is to understand the details of chemistry at interfaces, and specifically how changes in surface structure bring about changes in the chemistry and bonding of adsorbates. Interfaces play key roles in fuel cells, catalysts, microelectronics manufacturing, corrosion, wear, and waste remediation. In addition, interactions at the interface between biomedical implants and biological fluids play a deciding role in the assimilation of these devices. Microscopy and molecular kinetics studies of surface reactions are used to elucidate the relationship between structure and function in surface chemistry. We use a barrage of specialized techniques to analyze the outer-most atomic/molecular layer at interfaces. Because of the infinitesimal amount of sample, this field relies on recent technologies which probe only the surface region. Indeed, a substantial portion of our research includes development and refinement of techniques which provide time resolved information from surfaces.

Education, Awards and Professional Highlights

• Appointed to faculty, UC Davis (1991)
• Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow, Institut füer Grenzfläechenforschung und Vakuumphysik, Forschungszentrum, Jülich (1990-1991)
• Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Surface and Interface Science, University of California, Irvine (1989-1990)
• Ph.D. University of California, Irvine (1989)
• B.A. Lawrence University of Wisconsin (1984)

Representative Publications

• D.M. Jaramillo, D.E. Hunka, and D. P. Land. Iodobenzene on Pd(111) Studied by TDS and LITD-FTMS. Surface Science, 445, 23-31 (2000).
• N.A. Thornburg, I. M. Abdelrehim, and D. P. Land. Kinetics of propene desorption from Pd(111) studied by thermal desorption spectroscopy and laser-induced thermal desorption with Fourier transform mass spectrometry. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 103, 8894-8898 (1999).
• T.E. Caldwell and D. P. Land. In situ kinetics and mechanism of furan decomposition and desorption with CO formation on Pd(111). Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 103, 7869-7875 (1999).
• M.N. Rocklein and D. P. Land. Thermal Surface Chemistry of Fe(CO)5 on Pd(111) studied by FT-TPD and LITD-FTMS. Surface Science, 436, L702-L706 (1999).
• D.E. Hunka, T. Picciotto, D. M. Jaramillo, and D. P. Land. Dehydrogenation of cyclohexene to benzene on Pd(111). Surface Science, 421, L166-L170 (1999).
• M.N. Rocklein and D.P. Land. Mass spectra of Fe(CO)5 using FTMS and using laser induced thermal desorption FTMS with electron ionization, charge exchange, and proton transfer. International Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Ion Processes, 177, 83-89 (1998).
• J.S. Loring and D.P. Land. Theoretical determination of parameters for optimum surface specificity in overlayer attenuated-total-reflection infrared spectroscopy. Applied Optics, 37, 3515-3526 (1998).
• T.E. Caldwell, I.M. Abdelrehim, and D.P. Land. A laser-induced thermal desorption Fourier transform mass spectrometry study of acetylene cyclization on S/Pd(111): The formation and kinetics of benzene, thiophene, and 1,3-butadiene. Langmuir, 14,1407-1410 (1998).
• T.E. Caldwell, I.M. Abdelrehim, and D.P. Land. Preadsorbed oxygen atoms affect the product distribution and kinetics of acetylene cyclization to benzene on Pd(111): A laser-induced thermal desorption Fourier transform mass spectrometry study. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 102, 562-568 (1998).
• I.M. Abdelrehim, N.A. Thornburg, and D.P. Land. An Ultrahigh Vacuum Surface Analysis Instrument Incorporating a Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometer and a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer. Review of Scientific Instruments, 12, 4572-4582 (1997).
• T.E. Caldwell and D.P. Land. Desulfurization, deoxygenation and denitrogenation of heterocycles by a palladium surface: A mechanistic study of thiophene, furan and pyrrole on Pd(111) using laser-induced thermal desorption with Fourier-transform mass spectrometry. Polyhedron, 16(18), 3197-3211 (1997).
• T.E. Caldwell, I.M. Abdelrehim, and D.P. Land. Thiophene Decomposition on Pd(111) Studied by LITD/FTMS: Observation of C4 Products. Surface Science, 367, L26-L31 (1996).
• I.M. Abdelrehim, T.E. Caldwell, and D.P. Land. Coverage Effects on the Kinetics of Benzene Formation from Acetylene on Pd(111): A Laser-Induced Thermal Desorption / Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry Investigation. Journal of Physical Chemistry, 100, 10265-10268 (1996).
• T.E. Caldwell, I.M. Abdelrehim, and D.P. Land. Furan Decomposes on Pd(111) To Form H and CO plus C3H3, Which Can Dimerize to Benzene at 350 K. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 118, 907-908 (1996).
• I.M. Abdelrehim, N.A. Thornburg, J.T. Sloan, T.E. Caldwell, and D.P. Land. Kinetics and Mechanism of Benzene Formation from Acetylene on Pd(111) Studied by Laser-Induced Thermal Desorption/Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 117, 9509-9514 (1995).