Thesis
Rayleigh optical activity
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2026
- Thesis identifier
- T18188
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- It was predicted over fifty years ago by Laurence D. Barron and collaborators [1, 2] that an isotropic sample of small chiral molecules should exhibit differential Rayleigh scattering with respect to left- and right-handed circular polarisations of light (Rayleigh optical activity or RayOA). In this thesis, we generalise the theory of RayOA to dense samples and present the first-ever experimental observation of the phenomenon for small chiral molecules, obtained using a bespoke instrument. Our measurements for the enantiomers of α-pinene are in precise agreement with our quantum-chemical predictions, establishing RayOA as a viable new technique in the chiroptical toolkit. [References in thesis text].
- Advisor / supervisor
- Martin, Robert W.
- Arnold, Aidan S.
- Resource Type
- Funder
Relations
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PDF of thesis T18188 | 2026-10-02 | Public | Download |