The Spectroscopy and Microscopy of Chemical Compounds in Ice within the Environmental and Pharmaceutical Domains

Ice is a scantily explored reaction medium that catalyzes a large number of processes and reactions; some of these, such as bromine explosion and the related ozone layer depletion, have a major impact on the natural environment. Ice in nature hosts many compounds; however, neither their location on ice nor the chemical identity have been sufficiently explained thus far, despite being of essential importance for the compounds' (photo)reactivity. In this project we will examine the compounds' behaviour via optical spectroscopies and environmental electron microscopy. We intend to contribute to the understanding of factors that cause the degradation of proteins in freezing and lyophilization, change the acidity of sea ice surface, and alter the structure of compounds during vitrification for cryo-microscopy. We will monitor the chemical compounds in various ice phases and follow their dynamics. The information thus obtained is needed for the parameterization of atmospheric chemistry models, design of pharmaceutical stabilization, or prediction of the behaviour of cometary ices.