Professor Kelley's research focuses on using the laser light scattering techniques of resonance Raman and hyper-Raman spectroscopy to study the atomic-level details of how materials interact with light. These studies reveal the detailed mechanisms of fast photochemical reactions such as those involved in human vision, photography, xerography, and solar energy conversion. Her group carries out experiments and also develops theoretical and computational tools for analyzing the data.

She also has an interest in materials with strong nonlinear optical responses, which can be used to convert electrical signals to optical signals in fiber-optic communications and in advanced optical microscopy methods. Her group uses Raman and other spectroscopic methods to understand and predict the nonlinear optical properties of molecules and the manner in which those properties are modified by the intermolecular interactions present in useful materials.

Professor Kelley's group is also working to better understand and exploit the enhancement of scattering intensities observed for molecules adsorbed to the surfaces of metal nanoparticles (surface enhanced Raman and hyper-Raman scattering). These techniques provide amplification of the normally weak signals needed for sensitive analytical and bioanalytical applications.

Jamie J. Grenland, Chen Lin, Ke Gong, David F. Kelley, and Anne Myers Kelley. Resonance Raman investigation of the interaction between aromatic dithiocarbamate ligands and CdSe quantum dots. J. Phys. Chem. C, in press. Ke Gong, David F. Kelley, and Anne Myers Kelley. Non-uniform excitonic charge distribution enhances exciton-phonon coupling in ZnSe/CdSe alloyed quantum dots. J. Phys. Chem. Letters 8, 626-630 (2017). Ke Gong, David F. Kelley, and Anne Myers Kelley. Resonance Raman spectroscopy and electron-phonon coupling in zinc selenide quantum dots. J. Phys. Chem. C 120, 29533-29539 (2016). Anne Myers Kelley. Comparison of three empirical force fields for phonon calculations in CdSe quantum dots. J. Chem. Phys. 144, 214702 (2016). Chen Lin, Ke Gong, David F. Kelley, and Anne Myers Kelley. Electron-phonon coupling in CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots. ACS Nano 9, 8131-8141 (2015). Chen Lin, Ke Gong, David F. Kelley, and Anne Myers Kelley. Size-dependent exciton-phonon coupling in CdSe nanocrystals through resonance Raman excitation profile analysis. J. Phys. Chem. C 119, 7491-7498 (2015). Chen Lin, David F. Kelley, Mikaela Rico, and Anne Myers Kelley. The “surface optical” phonon in CdSe nanocrystals. ACS Nano 8, 3928-3938 (2014). Jonathan D. Mooney, Jonathan I. Saari, Anne Myers Kelley, Brenna R. Walsh, Michael M. Krause, and Patanjali Kambhampati. Control of phonons in semiconductor quantum dots via femtosecond pulse chirp-influenced wavepacket dynamics and polarization. J. Phys. Chem. B 117, 15651-15658 (2013). Joshua A. Baker, David F. Kelley, and Anne Myers Kelley. Resonance Raman and photoluminescence excitation profiles and excited-state dynamics in CdSe nanocrystals. J. Chem. Phys. 139, 024702 (2013). Anne Myers Kelley. Resonance Raman overtone intensities and electron-phonon coupling strengths in semiconductor nanocrystals. J. Phys. Chem. A 117, 6143-6149 (2013).