Emeritus Professor Murray McEwan
Position
Emeritus Professor
Fields of Study
Ion-molecule reactions
Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry
Qualifications
MSc(Hons), PhD(Cant), FRSNZ, FNZIC
Room
154
Contact Details
Telephone: +64 3 364 2987 extn 7410
Fax: +64 3 364 2110
Email: murray.mcewan@canterbury.ac.nz
Research Interests
Abstract
The enormous clouds of gas and dust that exist between the stars act as chemical factories producing vast quantities of a whole range of different chemical species. We are interested in how these chemicals are synthesised. The experimental techniques we have to investigate these processes include a flowing afterglow selected ion flow drift tube (FA-SIFDT) and an Ion Cyclotron Resonance mass spectrometer.
Ion-neutral processes of specific interest are ion-atom reactions and the competition between bimolecular and termolecular association reactions.
The sensitivity of the FA/SIFDT instrument has shown it to be capable of detecting trace chemicals in air down to the low ppb range. We have utilized this aspect of FA-SIFDT technology in a number of applications from medicine, environmental pollution and the detection of volatile organic compounds.