Tolga Karsili receives NSF grant to study chemical reactions cleaning the atmosphere

Tolga Karsili of our Department of Chemistry has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Quantum Chemical Studies of the Thermal and Photo-induced Chemistry of Criegee Intermediates.

Dr. Karsili and his students will be studying the chemistry of so-called Criegee intermediates, which are formed by the reaction of ozone with organic compounds in the atmosphere. These reactions produce radicals which break down pollutants and clean the atmosphere, and are often referred to as atmospheric detergents. The project involves graduate and undergraduate students, as well as high-school students, including members of underrepresented groups.