B.S., Berea College (1960)

M.S., University of Florida (1963)

Ph.D., University of Tennessee (1965)

Our research involves fundamental studies in the area of Chemical Physics.  The formation, structure and decay of singly- and multiply-charged negative ions are studied both experimentally and theoretically.  The binding of electrons to molecules with sufficiently large dipole or quadrupole moments results in weakly-bound dipole or quadrupole bound anions.  The electron affinities of these molecules are inferred from Rydberg Charge exchange cross sections or directly determined from measurements of electric field detachment thresholds.  Multiply-charged negative ions are produced using electro-spray ionization or through negative ion charge exchange with an alkali atom (e.g., TCNQ- + Na → TCNQ– + Na+).  This research benefits from collaborations with the Aarhus (Denmark) Electrostatic Ion Storage Ring.  Studies of molecules possessing extremely large electron affinities (e.g., PF₆, PtF₆, AuF₆) is also underway.  Vibrational spectroscopy of singly- and multiply-charged negative ions is also carried out at the FELIX Free Electron Laser in Holland.  Another component of our research involves investigations of Chirality at the fundamental and applied level.  This includes the development of a new chiro-optical method: multi-photon ionization circular dichroism.

AAAS Fellow

APS Fellow

OSA Fellow

Ziegler Professor

Murphy, N.C., Compton, R.N., Pagni, R.M., Effect of Chiral Perturbations on the Crystallization of 4, 4′,-dimethylchalcone from Ethyl Acetate, Crystal Growth and Design, 2007, 7, 449.

Cannon M., Liu Y., Suess L., Dunning, F.B., Steill, J.D., Compton, R.N., Temperature dependence of negative ion lifetimes, J. Chem. Phys. 2007, 127, 064314.

Panja, S., Kadhane, U., Jens Ulrik Andersen, J. U. Anne I. S. Holm, A.I.S.,  Hvelplund, P.,  Maj-Britt Suhr Kirketerp,  M-B. S., Brøndsted Nielsen, S. Støchkel, K., Compton, R.N., Forster, J.S., Dianions of 7,7,8,8-tetracyano-p-quinodimethane and perfluorinated tetracyanoquinodimethane: Information on excited states from lifetime measurements in an electrostatic storage ring and optical absorption spectroscopy , J. Chem. Phys. 2007, 127, 124301.

Fischer A.T., Pagni R.M., Compton R.N. A study of the liquid and solvent properties of optically active and racemic alpha-methylbenzylamine, J. Phys. Chem.2007, 111, 8187.

Murphy, N.C., Compton, R.N., Pagni, R.M., Effect of Chiral Perturbations on the Crystallization of 4, 4′,-dimethylchalcone from Ethyl Acetate, Crystal Growth and Design, 2007, 7, 449.

Henry, T.B.,  Fu-Min Menn, F-M., Fleming, J.T., Wilgus, J.Robert N. Compton, R.N.,  Sayler, G.S., Attributing effects of aqueous C-60 nano-aggregates to tetrahydrofuran decomposition products in larval zebrafish by assessment of gene expression,  Env. Health Perspectives 2007, 115, 1059.

Watheq Al-Basheer, Richard M. Pagni, Robert N. Compton, Spectroscopic and Theoretical Investigation of (R)-3-Methylcyclopentanone. The Effect of Solvent and Temperature on the Distribution of Conformers, J. Phys. Chem. A 2007, 2293-2298.

Nasrin Mirsaleh-Kohan, Wesley D. Robertson and Robert N. Compton “Electron Ionization Time-of –Flight Mass Spectrometry: Historical Review and Current Applications” Mass Spectrometry Reviews, 27, 237-285 (2008).

Steill JD, Oomens J, Eyler JR, Compton, RN , Gas-phase infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy of isolated SF6- and SF5- anions, J. Chem. Phys. 129, 244302 (2008).

Stokes ST, Bowen KH, Sommerfeld T, Ard S, Mirsaleh-Kohan N, Steill JD, Compton RN, Negative Ions of Nitroethane and its Clusters, J. Chem. Phys. 129, 064308 (2008)

Ard S, Garrett WR, Compton RN, et al.,  Rotational States of Dipole-Bound Anions of HCN, Chem. Phys. Lett., 473, 223-226 (2009).

Murphy NC, Compton RN, Pagni RM,  The Photochemistry of Racemic and Optically Active 2-Iodooctane in Acetonitrile-Water Mixtures, PROGRESS IN REACTION KINETICS AND MECHANISM , 35, 81-92 (2010).

Ard, S , Mirsaleh-Kohan, N, Steill, JD, Oomens J, Nielsen, SB, Compton, RN, Dissociation of dicarboxylate and disulfonate dianions, J. Chem. Phys. 132, 094301(2010).

Mirsaleh-Kohan, Nasrin, Robertson, Wesley D., Lambert,Jason, Compton R.N.,  Krasnokutski, Serge A.  Yang, Dong-Sheng, Ionic and vibrational properties of an ultra-low ionization potential molecule: Tetrakis(dimethylamino)ethylene, International Journal of Mass Spectroscopy , 304, 56-65(2011).

Park, June-Woo, Henry, Theodore B., Ard Shaun,  Menn, Fu-Min, Compton, Robert N., Sayler, Gary S., The association between nC(60) and 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) decreases EE2 bioavailability in zebrafish and alters nanoaggregate characteristics  Nanotoxicology, 5, 406-416(2011).

Park, June-Woo, Henry, Theodore B., Ard Shaun,  Menn, Fu-Min, Compton, Robert N., Sayler, Gary S., The association between nC(60) and 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) decreases EE2 bioavailability in zebrafish and alters nanoaggregate characteristics  Nanotoxicology, 5, 406-416(2011).

Henry, Theodore B.,  Petersen, Elijah J.,  Compton, Robert N. Aqueous fullerene aggregates (nC(60)) generate minimal reactive oxygen species and are of low toxicity in fish: a revision of previous reports , Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 22, 533-537 (2011).

Andrew Fischer, Pagni, R.M., Compton, R.N. and Kondipudi, D. Laser Induced Crystallization, Nanoclusters:A Bridge Across Disciplines, Ch.8 329-350 (2011).

Ralf Tonner, Peter Schwerdtfeger, Amanda L. May, Jeffrey D. Steill, Giel Berden, Jos Oomens, Shawn R. Campagna, and Robert N. Compton,  Stability of Gas-Phase Tartaric Acid Anions Investigated by Quantum Chemistry, Mass Spectrometry, and Infrared Spectroscopy,  J. Phys. Chem. A, 116 (19), pp 4789–4800 (2012).

Lambert, Jason, Compton R. N., Crawford T. Daniel, The optical activity of carvone: A theoretical and experimental investigation , J. Chem. Phys.136, 114512(2012).

Joseph A. Teprovich, Jr., Matthew S. Wellons, Robert Lascola, Son-Jong Hwang, Patrick A. Ward, Robert N. Compton, and Ragaiy Zidan, Synthesis and Characterization of a Lithium-Doped Fullerane (Li-x-C-60-H-y) for Reversible Hydrogen Storage, Nano Letters 12, 582-589(2012).