Yuan T. Lee

LEE, YUAN T.

Principal Investigator, Materials and Molecular Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, USA,
Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry, University of Berkeley, USA.

Research Interests :
As a postdoctoral researcher, Lee experimented with and further developed Herschbach's invention of the "crossed molecular beam technique"--a technique (derived from elementary particle physics) in which beams of molecules are brought together at supersonic speeds under controlled conditions to allow detailed observation of the events that occur during chemical reactions. Lee extended Herschbach's technique, introducing mass spectroscopy to identify the products resulting from the reactions of oxygen and fluorine atoms with complex organic compounds.

Awards :
Harrison Howe Award, Rochester Section, American Chemical Society, 1983.
Peter Debye Award of Physical Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 1986.
National Medal of Science, 1986.
1986 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry with Dudley Herschbach and John Polanyi "for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes "

Last publications :
Crossed beam reaction of phenyl radicals with unsaturated hydrocarbon molecules. I. Chemical dynamics of phenylmethylacetylene (C6H5CCCH3;X1A') formation from reaction of C6H5(X2A1) with methylacetylene, CH3CCH (X1A1). R.I. Kaiser, O. Asvany, Y.T. Lee, H.F. Bettinger, P.v.R. Schleyer, H.F. Schaefer III., J. Chem. Phys. 2000, 112, 4994-5001.

The reaction of benzene with a ground state carbon atom, C(3Pj). Bettinger H.F.; Schleyer P.v.R.; Schaefer H.F.; Schreiner P.R.; Kaiser R.I.; Lee Y.T.; J. Chem. Phys. 2000, 113, 4250-4264.

Reaction of the ethynyl radical, C2H, with methylacetylene, CH3CCH, under single collision conditions: Implications for astrochemistry. Frank Stahl, Paul von Ragué Schleyer, H. F. Bettinger, R. I. Kaiser, Y. T. Lee, and H. F. Schaefer III; J. Chem. Phys. 2001, 114, 3476-3487.

Chemical dynamics of d1-methyldiacetylene (CH3CCCCD; X1A1) and d1-ethynylallene (H2CCCH(C2D); X1A') formation from reaction of C2D(X 2S+) with methylacetylene, CH3CCH(X1A1). R. I. Kaiser, C. C. Chiong, O. Asvany, Y. T. Lee, F. Stahl, P. von R. Schleyer, and H. F. Schaefer III; J. Chem. Phys. 2001, 114, 3488-3496.

The Almost Bottleable Triplet Carbene: 2,6-dibromo-4-tert-butyl- 2',6'-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4'-isopropyldiphenylcarbene. H. Lee Woodcock, Damian Moran, Paul von Ragué Schleyer, and Henry F. Schaefer III ; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001; 123, 4331-4335.

A combined crossed molecular beam and ab initio investigation of C2 and C3 elementary reactions with unsaturated hydrocarbons - pathways to hydrogen deficient hydrocarbon radicals in combustion flames. Ralf I. Kaiser, Trung N. Le, Thanh L. Nguyen, Alexander M. Mebel, Nadia Balucani, Yuan T. Lee, Frank Stahl, Paul v. R. Schleyer, Henry F. Schaefer III.; Faraday Discuss. 2001, 119, 51-66.

A combined crossed-beam, ab initio, and Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus investigation of the reaction of carbon atoms C(P-3(j)) with benzene, C6H6(X (1)A(1g)) and d(6)-benzene, C6D6(X (1)A(1g)). I. Hahndorf, Y. T. Lee, R. I. Kaiser, L. Vereecken, J. Peeters, H. F. Bettinger, P. R. Schreiner, P. v. R. Schleyer, W. D. Allen, H. F. Schaefer III; J. Chem. Phys. 2002, 116 (8), 3248-3262.