Ranajit Talukdar

retired

Chemical Processes & Instrument Development

Affiliation

CIRES

Dr. Ranajit K Talukdar was a research scientist in NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, USA. His research focused on laboratory studies and instrument development to improve our understanding of tropospheric and stratospheric chemical processes, regional and global air quality, and climate and their impact on society. It involved the studies of gas phase and heterogeneous reactions (e.g., the gas-to-liquid and gas-to-solid phase reactions). This includes both daytime and nighttime atmospheric chemical processes. Recent research projects include (1) reactive and non-reactive uptake of trace atmospheric species such as nitrogen oxides and halogenated inorganic compounds on pure liquid and HCl doped sulfuric acid under atmospheric conditions, nitration reaction of amino acids and related protiens, liquid phase reactions of various oxygenated volatile organic compounds and amines of atmospheric importance; (2) reaction of HOx with oxygenated hydrocarbons; and (3) measurements of reaction rate coefficients, interpretation of reaction mechanisms, photolysis quantum yields, and reaction yields. Various experimental techniques, such as pulsed laser photolysis- pulsed laser induced fluorescence, in the ultraviolet and visible region, chemical ionization mass spectrometry, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy are employed to accomplish this goal. New experimental techniques have been developed to study the gas-to-liquid phase reactions using online FTIR and electrospray mass spectrometry.

Current Interests

Heterogeneous reactions and homogeneous gas phase reactions using Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry (CIMS) and Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (ESIMS)
Identify chemical compositions of atmospheric aerosols, both organic and inorganic components

Education

BS, MS: University of Calcutta, India
PhD: Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Bombay University, India

last modified: March 18, 2015