Vibrational Energy Relaxation of Liquid Aryl-Halides X-C6H5 (X = F, Cl, Br, I)

Abstract

Anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy was used to probe vibrational energy dynamics in liquid ambient-temperature aryl-halides, X-Ph (X = F, Cl, Br, I; -Ph = C(6)H(5)), following IR excitation of a 3068 cm(-1) CH-stretching transition. Five ring vibrations and two substituent-dependent vibrations were monitored in each aryl-halide. Overall, the vibrational relaxation (VR) lifetimes in aryl-halides were shorter than those in normal benzene (H-Ph). The aryl-halide CH-stretch lifetimes increased in the order F, Cl, Br, I, ranging from 2.5 to 3.4 ps, compared with 6.2 ps in H-Ph. The aryl-halide energy transfer processes were similar overall with four exceptions. Three of the four exceptions could be explained as a result of faster VR of midrange vibrations (1000-1600 cm(-1)) in the heavier aryl-halides. The fourth appeared to result from a coincidental resonance in chlorobenzene that does not occur in the other aryl-halides. Among the aryl-halides, the decay of CH-stretching excitations (∼3070 cm(-1)) was slower in the heavier species, but the decay of midrange vibrations was faster in the heavier species. This seeming contradiction could be explained if VR depended primarily on the density of states (DOS) of the lower tiers of vibrational excitations. The DOS for the first few (1-4) tiers is similar for all aryl-halides in the CH-stretch region, but DOS increases with increasing halide mass in the midrange region.