Multiphoton ionization studies of clusters of immiscible liquids. II. C6H6–(H2O)n, n=3–8 and (C6H6)2–(H2O)1,2

Abstract

Resonant two-photon ionization (R2PI) time-of-flight mass spectroscopy is used to record S0–S1 spectra of the neutral complexes C6H6–(H2O)n with n=3–8 and (C6H6)2–(H2O)1,2. Due to limitations imposed by the size of these clusters, a number of vibronic level arguments are used to constrain the gross features of the geometries of these clusters. Among the spectral clues provided by the data are the frequency shifts of the transitions, their van der Waals structure, the fragmentation of the photoionized clusters, and the complexation-induced origin intensity and 610 splitting. In the 1:3 cluster, simple arguments are made based on the known structures of the 1:1 and 1:2 clusters which lead to the conclusion that all three water molecules reside on the same side of the benzene ring. Three structures for the 1:3 cluster are proposed which are consistent with the available data. Of these, only one is also consistent with the remarkable similarity of the 1:4 and 1:5 spectra to those of the 1:3 cluster. This structure involves a cyclic water trimer in which one of the water molecules is near the sixfold axis in a π hydrogen-bonded configuration. This structure is then expanded in the 1:4 and 1:5 clusters to incorporate the fourth and fifth water molecules in cyclic structures which place the additional water molecules far from the benzene ring without disturbing the interaction of the other water molecules with the benzene ring. For 1:n clusters with n≥6, subtle and then significant changes are observed in the spectra which indicate changes in the way the water cluster interacts with the benzene ring. This development occurs at precisely the water cluster size which calculations predict that cagelike water cluster structures will begin to compete and eventually be favored over large cyclic structures. Finally, cursory scans of the 2:1 cluster show that this cluster also fragments efficiently upon photoionization by loss of a single water molecule and that it possesses a distinctly asymmetric structure with a sizable 610 splitting. Two potential structures are proposed for the 2:1 cluster which can both reasonably explain the observations—a BBW structure in which the water molecule (W) is π hydrogen bonded to a single benzene molecule (B) and a BWB structure in which the water molecule bridges the two benzenes via π hydrogen bonds to both.