Photoelectron Spectroscopy of the 6-Azauracil Anion

Abstract

We report the photoelectron spectrum of the 6-azauracil anion. The spectrum is dominated by a broad band exhibiting a maximum at an electron binding energy (EBE) of 1.2 eV. This spectral pattern is indicative of a valence anion. Our calculations were carried out using ab initio electron propagator and other many-body methods. Comparison of the anion and corresponding neutral of 6-azauracil with those of uracil shows that substituting a nitrogen atom for C-H at the C6 position of uracil gives rise to significant changes in the electronic structure of 6-azauracil versus that of uracil. The adiabatic electron affinity (AEA) of the canonical 6-azauracil tautomer is substantially larger than that of canonical uracil. Among the five tautomeric, 6-azauracil anions studied computationally, the canonical structure was found to be the most stable. The vertical detachment energies (VDE) of the canonical, valence-bound anion of 6-azauracil and its closest "very-rare" tautomer have been calculated. Electron propagator calculations on the canonical anion yield a VDE value that is in close agreement with the experimentally determined VDE value of 1.2 eV. The AEA value of 6-azauracil, assessed at the CCSD(T) level of theory to be 0.5 eV, corresponds with the EBE value of the onset of the experimental spectrum.