CN Radicals Research Articles

Theoretical Investigations of the Reactions of N- and O-Containing Species on a C(100):H 2 × 1 Reconstructed Diamond Surface

Quantum mechanical and hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical cluster models were used to investigate possible reaction mechanisms whereby gas-phase NHx (x = 0-2), CNHx (x = 0, 1), and OH radicals can add to, and incorporate in, a C-C dimer bond on the C(100):H 2 × 1 diamond surface during chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from microwave-activated C/H containing gas mixtures containing trace amounts of added N or O. Three N incorporation routes are identified, initiated by N, NH, and CN(H) addition to a surface radical site, whereas only OH addition was considered as the precursor to O incorporation. Each is shown to proceed via a ring-opening/ring-closing reaction mechanism analogous to that identified previously for the case of CH3 addition (and CH2 incorporation) in diamond growth from a pure C/H plasma. On the basis of the relative abundances of N atoms and NH radicals close to the growing diamond surface, the former is identified as the more probable carrier of the N atoms appearing in CVD grown diamond, but fast H-shifting reactions postaddition encourage the view that NH is the more probable migrating and incorporating species. CN radical addition is deemed less probable but remains an intriguing prospect, since, if the ring-closed structure is reached, this mechanism has the effect of adding two heavy atoms, with the N atom sitting above the current growth layer and thus offering a potential nucleation site for next-layer growth.

Sensitivity Enhancement of Dielectric Plasma Etching Endpoint Detection by Optical Emission Spectra With Modified $K$ -Means Cluster Analysis

The sensitivity enhancement of etching endpoint detection is demonstrated by analyzing the optical emission spectra with the modified K-means cluster analysis for small area dielectric etching processes in inductively coupled plasma. K-means cluster analysis algorithm is modified for real-time endpoint detection and applied to enhance the sensitivity of optical emission signals. The proposed technique demonstrates endpoint detection as low as 1.0% open area SiN x etching and five times improved sensitivity compared to the average of normalized single wavelengths related to CN radical. This technique is expected to be applied not only to endpoint detection but also to fault detection of semiconductor fabrication processes.

CN radical hydrogenation from solid H2 reactions, an alternative way of HCN formation in the interstellar medium

Context. Molecular hydrogen (H2) is the most abundant molecule of the interstellar medium (ISM) in gas phase and it has been assumed to exist in solid state or as coating on grains. Aims. Our goal is to show that solid H2 can act as a hydrogenation agent, reacting with CN radicals to form HCN. Methods. In a H2 matrix, we studied the hydrogenation of the CN radical generated from the vacuum ultraviolet photolysis (VUV-photolysis) of C2N2 at 3.8 K. We modified the wavelengths and the host gas in order to be sure that CN radicals can abstract H from H2 molecules. Results. HCN monomers, dimers, and oligomers have been characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). H2CN as well as CN radicals have also been clearly observed during the photolysis performed at 3.8 K. Conclusions. H2 is a hydrogenation reagent towards CN radicals producing HCN. This type of reaction should be taken into account for the reactivity at low temperature in contaminated H2 ice macro-particles (CHIMPs), H2 flakes or in the first sublayers of grains where solid H2 has accumulated.

Matrix isolation and ab initio study on HCN/CO2 system and its radiation-induced transformations: Spectroscopic evidence for HCN⋯CO2 and trans-HCNH⋯CO2 complexes.

Spectroscopic characteristics and X-ray induced transformations of the HCN⋯CO2 complex in solid Ar and Kr matrices were studied by FTIR spectroscopy and ab initio calculations at the CCSD(T) level. The complex was prepared by deposition of the HCN/CO2/Ng gas mixtures (Ng = Ar or Kr). The comparison of the experiment and calculations prove formation of a linear, H-bonded NCH⋯OCO complex with a substantial red shift of the C-H stretching band and a blue shift of the H-C-N bending band in respect to the monomer. This result is in contrast with the previous gas-phase observations, where only T-shape complex was found. Irradiation of deposited matrices leads to formation of CN radicals and HNC molecules and subsequent annealing results in appearance of H2CN and trans-HCNH in both matrices plus HKrCN in the case of Kr. In the presence of CO2, the strongest absorption of trans-HCNH radical demonstrates an additional blue-shifted (by 6.4 cm-1) feature, which was assigned to the N-coordinated complex of this radical with CO2 on the basis of comparison with calculations. To our knowledge, it is the first experimentally observed complex of this radical. No evidence was found for HKrCN⋯CO2 complex, which was explained tentatively by steric hindrance.

Generation of Microwave Capillary Argon Plasmas at Atmospheric Pressure

A technique has been developed to generate stable Ar plasmas at atmospheric pressure inside of a quartz capillary tube. The microwave plasma in the capillary tube is produced by utilizing a single mode resonant circular cavity applicator with 2.45 GHz frequency excitation. The plasma can be confined or fully exposed outside the cavity as plasma jets depending on the operating conditions. The profile of the plasma front has been characterized as a conical tip or split branching jet plume. The measured discharge length and the power density of the plasma range from 6 to 10 cm and 35 to 75 W $\cdot $ cm $^{-3}$ , respectively. Addition of CH4 into the Ar plasma results in an increase in the abundances of excited CN and C2 carbon radicals and a concomitant decrease in the intensity of the Ar emission.

Microwave Plasma-Activated Chemical Vapor Deposition of Nitrogen-Doped Diamond. II: CH4/N2/H2 Plasmas.

We report a combined experimental and modeling study of microwave-activated dilute CH4/N2/H2 plasmas, as used for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of diamond, under very similar conditions to previous studies of CH4/H2, CH4/H2/Ar, and N2/H2 gas mixtures. Using cavity ring-down spectroscopy, absolute column densities of CH(X, v = 0), CN(X, v = 0), and NH(X, v = 0) radicals in the hot plasma have been determined as functions of height, z, source gas mixing ratio, total gas pressure, p, and input power, P. Optical emission spectroscopy has been used to investigate, with respect to the same variables, the relative number densities of electronically excited species, namely, H atoms, CH, C2, CN, and NH radicals and triplet N2 molecules. The measurements have been reproduced and rationalized from first-principles by 2-D (r, z) coupled kinetic and transport modeling, and comparison between experiment and simulation has afforded a detailed understanding of C/N/H plasma-chemical reactivity and variations with process conditions and with location within the reactor. The experimentally validated simulations have been extended to much lower N2 input fractions and higher microwave powers than were probed experimentally, providing predictions for the gas-phase chemistry adjacent to the diamond surface and its variation across a wide range of conditions employed in practical diamond-growing CVD processes. The strongly bound N2 molecule is very resistant to dissociation at the input MW powers and pressures prevailing in typical diamond CVD reactors, but its chemical reactivity is boosted through energy pooling in its lowest-lying (metastable) triplet state and subsequent reactions with H atoms. For a CH4 input mole fraction of 4%, with N2 present at 1–6000 ppm, at pressure p = 150 Torr, and with applied microwave power P = 1.5 kW, the near-substrate gas-phase N atom concentration, [N]ns, scales linearly with the N2 input mole fraction and exceeds the concentrations [NH]ns, [NH2]ns, and [CN]ns of other reactive nitrogen-containing species by up to an order of magnitude. The ratio [N]ns/[CH3]ns scales proportionally with (but is 102–103 times smaller than) the ratio of the N2 to CH4 input mole fractions for the given values of p and P, but [N]ns/[CN]ns decreases (and thus the potential importance of CN in contributing to N-doped diamond growth increases) as p and P increase. Possible insights regarding the well-documented effects of trace N2 additions on the growth rates and morphologies of diamond films formed by CVD using MW-activated CH4/H2 gas mixtures are briefly considered.

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF NEAR-IR WATER (H2O) EMISSION IN COMET C/2014 Q2 (LOVEJOY) WITH THE GIANO/TNG SPECTROGRAPH

ABSTRACT We observed the Oort cloud comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) on 2015 January 31 and February 1 and 2 at a heliocentric distance of 1.3 au and geocentric distance of 0.8 au during its approach to the Sun. Comet Lovejoy was observed with GIANO, the near-infrared high-resolution spectrograph mounted at the Nasmyth-A focus of the TNG (Telescopio Nazionale Galileo) telescope in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. We detected strong emissions of radical CN and water, along with many emission features of unidentified origin, across the 1–2.5 μm region. Spectral lines from eight ro-vibrational bands of H2O were detected, six of them for the first time. We quantified the water production rate [Q(H2O), (3.11 ± 0.14) × 1029 s−1] by comparing the calibrated line fluxes with the Goddard full non-resonance cascade fluorescence model for H2O. The production rates of ortho-water [Q(H2O)ORTHO, (2.33 ± 0.11) × 1029 s−1] and para-water [Q(H2O)PARA, (0.87 ± 0.21) × 1029 s−1] provide a measure of the ortho-to-para ratio (2.70 ± 0.76)). The confidence limits are not small enough to provide a critical test of the nuclear spin temperature.

LIF diagnostics of hydroxyl radical in a methanol containing atmospheric-pressure plasma jet**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11465013 and 11375041), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province, China (Grant Nos. 20151BAB212012 and 20161BAB201013), and the International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of China (Grant No. 2015DFA61800).

In this paper, a pulsed-dc CH3OH/Ar plasma jet generated at atmospheric pressure is studied by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and optical emission spectroscopy (OES). A gas–liquid bubbler system is proposed to introduce the methanol vapor into the argon gas, and the CH3OH/Ar volume ratio is kept constant at about 0.1%. Discharge occurs in a 6-mm needle-to-ring gap in an atmospheric-pressure CH3OH/Ar mixture. The space-resolved distributions of OH LIF inside and outside the nozzle exhibit distinctly different behaviors. And, different production mechanisms of OH radicals in the needle-to-ring discharge gap and afterglow of plasma jet are discussed. Besides, the optical emission lines of carbonaceous species, such as CH, CN, and C2 radicals, are identified in the CH3OH/Ar plasma jet. Finally, the influences of operating parameters (applied voltage magnitude, pulse frequency, pulsewidth) on the OH radical density are also presented and analyzed.

An experimental study on discharge characteristics in a pulsed-dc atmospheric pressure CH3OH/Ar plasma jet

Recently, C/H/Ar plasma discharges found enormous potential and possibility in carbonaceous compounds conversion and production. In this work, a pulsed-dc CH3OH/Ar plasma jet generated at atmospheric pressure is investigated by means of optical and electrical diagnosis concerning the variation of its basic parameters, absolute concentration of OH radicals, and plasma temperature with different CH3OH/Ar volume ratios, in the core region of discharge with needle-to-ring electrode configuration. The voltage–current characteristics are also measured at different CH3OH/Ar ratios. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) results here show that only small amounts of added methanol vapor to argon plasma (about 0.05% CH3OH/Ar volume ratio) is favorable for the production of OH radicals. The optical emission lines of CH, CN, and C2 radicals have been detected in the CH3OH/Ar plasma. And, the plasma temperatures increase with successive amount of added methanol vapor to the growth plasma. Moreover, qualitative discussions are presented regarding the mechanisms for methanol dissociation and effect of the CH3OH component on the Ar plasma discharge at atmospheric pressure.

Hyperfine Coupling Constants from Internally Contracted Multireference Perturbation Theory.

We present an accurate method for calculating hyperfine coupling constants (HFCCs) based on the complete active space second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) with full internal contraction. The HFCCs are computed as a first-order property using the relaxed CASPT2 spin-density matrix that takes into account orbital and configurational relaxation due to dynamical electron correlation. The first-order unrelaxed spin-density matrix is calculated from one- and two-body spin-free counterparts that are readily available in the CASPT2 nuclear gradient program [M. K. MacLeod and T. Shiozaki, J. Chem. Phys. 142, 051103 (2015)], whereas the second-order part is computed directly using the newly extended automatic code generator. The relaxation contribution is then calculated from the so-called Z-vectors that are available in the CASPT2 nuclear gradient program. Numerical results are presented for the CN and AlO radicals, for which the CASPT2 values are comparable (or, even superior in some cases) to the ones computed by the coupled-cluster and density matrix renormalization group methods. The HFCCs for the hexaaqua complexes with V(II), Cr(III), and Mn(II) are also presented to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of our code.

Millimeter wave spectra of carbonyl cyanide.

More than 30 cyanide derivatives of simple organic molecules have been detected in the interstellar medium, but only one dicarbonitrile has been found and that very recently. There is still a lack of high-resolution spectroscopic data particularly for dinitriles derivatives. The carbonyl cyanide molecule is a new and interesting candidate for astrophysical detection. It could be formed by the reaction of CO and CN radicals, or by substitution of the hydrogen atom by a cyano group in cyanoformaldehyde, HC(=O)CN, that has already been detected in the interstellar medium. The available data on the rotational spectrum of carbonyl cyanide is limited in terms of quantum number values and frequency range, and does not allow accurate extrapolation of the spectrum into the millimeter-wave range. To provide a firm basis for astrophysical detection of carbonyl cyanide we studied its millimeter-wave spectrum. The rotational spectrum of carbonyl cyanide was measured in the frequency range 152 - 308 GHz and analyzed using Watson's A- and S-reduction Hamiltonians. The ground and first excited state of v5 vibrational mode were assigned and analyzed. More than 1100 distinct frequency lines of the ground state were fitted to produce an accurate set of rotational and centrifugal distortion constants up to the eighth order. The frequency predictions based on these constants should be accurate enough for astrophysical searches in the frequency range up to 500 GHz and for transition involving energy levels with J ≤ 100 and Ka ≤ 42. Based on the results we searched for interstellar carbonyl cyanide in available observational data without success. Thus, we derived upper limits to its column density in different sources.

Translational, rotational and vibrational relaxation dynamics of a solute molecule in a non-interacting solvent.

Spectroscopically observing the translational and rotational motion of solute molecules in liquid solutions is typically impeded by their interactions with the solvent, which conceal spectral detail through linewidth broadening. Here we show that unique insights into solute dynamics can be made with perfluorinated solvents, which interact weakly with solutes and provide a simplified liquid environment that helps to bridge the gap in our understanding of gas- and liquid-phase dynamics. Specifically, we show that in such solvents, the translational and rotational cooling of an energetic CN radical can be observed directly using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. We observe that translational-energy dissipation within these liquids can be modelled through a series of classic collisions, whereas classically simulated rotational-energy dissipation is shown to be distinctly faster than experimentally measured. We also observe the onset of rotational hindering from nearby solvent molecules, which arises as the average rotational energy of the solute falls below the effective barrier to rotation induced by the solvent.

Dynamical Effects and Product Distributions in Simulated CN + Methane Reactions.

Dynamics of collisions between structured molecular species quickly become complex as molecules become large. Reactions of methane with halogen and oxygen atoms serve as model systems for polyatomic molecule chemical dynamics, and replacing the atomic reagent with a diatomic radical affords further insights. A new, full-dimensional potential energy surface for collisions between CN + CH4 to form HCN + CH3 is developed and then used to perform quasi-classical simulations of the reaction. Coupled-cluster energies serve as input to an empirical valence bonding (EVB) model, which provides an analytical function for the surface. Efficient sampling permits simulation of velocity-map ion images and exploration of dynamics over a range of collision energies. Reaction populates HCN vibration, and energy partitioning changes with collision energy. The reaction cross-section depends on the orientation of the diatomic CN radical. A two-dimensional extension of the cone of acceptance for an atom in the line-of-centers model appropriately describes its reactivity. The simulation results foster future experiments and diatomic extensions to existing atomic models of chemical collisions and reaction dynamics.

Kinetics investigation of the hydrogen abstraction reaction between CH3SS and CN radicals.

The reaction mechanisms and rates for the H abstraction reactions between CH3SS and CN radicals in the gas phase were investigated with density functional theory (DFT) methods. The geometries, harmonic vibrational frequencies, and energies of all stationary points were obtained at B3PW91/6-311G(d,p) level of theory. Relationships between the reactants, intermediates, transition states and products were confirmed, with the frequency and the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) analysis at the same theoretical level. High accurate energy information was provided by the G3(MP2) method combined with the standard statistical thermodynamics. Gibbs free energies at 298.15 K for all of the reaction steps were reported, and were used to describe the profile diagrams of the potential energy surface. The rate constants were evaluated with both the classical transition state theory and the canonical variational transition state theory, in which the small-curvature tunneling correction was included. A total number of 9 intermediates (IMs) and 17 transition states (TSs) were obtained. It is shown that IM1 is the most stable intermediate by the largest energy release, and the channel of CH3SS + CN → IM3 → TS10 → P1(CH2SS + HCN) is the dominant reaction with the lowest energy barrier of 144.7 kJ mol(-1). The fitted Arrhenius expressions of the calculated CVT/SCT rate constants for the rate-determining step of the favorable channel is k =7.73 × 10(6) T (1.40)exp(-14,423.8/T) s(-1) in the temperature range of 200-2000 K. The apparent activation energy E a(app.) for the main channel is -102.5 kJ mol(-1), which is comparable with the G3(MP2) energy barrier of -91.8 kJ mol(-1) of TS10 (relative to the reactants).

Pressure dependent low temperature kinetics for CN + CH3CN: competition between chemical reaction and van der Waals complex formation.

The gas phase reaction between the CN radical and acetonitrile CH3CN was investigated experimentally, at low temperatures, with the CRESU apparatus and a slow flow reactor to explore the temperature dependence of its rate coefficient from 354 K down to 23 K. Whereas a standard Arrhenius behavior was found at T > 200 K, indicating the presence of an activation barrier, a dramatic increase in the rate coefficient by a factor of 130 was observed when the temperature was decreased from 168 to 123 K. The reaction was found to be pressure independent at 297 K unlike the experiments carried out at 52 and 132 K. The work was complemented by ab initio transition state theory based master equation calculations using reaction pathways investigated with highly accurate thermochemical protocols. The role of collisional stabilization of a CNCH3CN van der Waals complex and of tunneling induced H atom abstractions were also considered. The experimental pressure dependence at 52 and 132 K is well reproduced by the theoretical calculations provided that an anharmonic state density is considered for the van der Waals complex CH3CNCN and its Lennard-Jones radius is adjusted. Furthermore, these calculations indicate that the experimental observations correspond to the fall-off regime and that tunneling remains small in the low-pressure regime. Hence, the studied reaction is essentially an association process at very low temperature. Implications for the chemistry of interstellar clouds and Titan are discussed.

Reaction kinetics of the CN radical with methyl bromide

The kinetics of the CN+CH3Br reaction were studied using transient infrared laser absorption spectroscopy to detect CN reactants and HCN products. This reaction has a rate constant of k=(2.20±0.6)×10−12 exp (453±98/T)cm3molecule−1s−1 over the range 298–523K. Hydrogen abstraction to produce HCN+CH2Br is only a minor reaction product, with a branching fraction of 0.12±0.02. Other product channels, including BrCN+CH3, CH2CN+HBr, CH3CN+Br are likely. An upper limit of 0.01 was established for the HBr yield. These results are in qualitative agreement with recent ab initio calculations.

Reaction Dynamics of CN Radicals in Acetonitrile Solutions.

The bimolecular reactions that follow 267 nm ultraviolet photolysis of ICN in acetonitrile solution have been studied using transient absorption spectroscopy on the picosecond time scale. Time-resolved electronic absorption spectroscopy (TEAS) in the ultraviolet and visible spectral regions observes rapid production and loss (with a decay time constant of 0.6 ± 0.1 ps) of the photolytically generated free CN radicals. Some of these radicals convert to a solvated form which decays with a lifetime of 8.5 ± 2.1 ps. Time-resolved vibrational absorption spectroscopy (TVAS) reveals that the free and solvated CN-radicals undergo geminate recombination with I atoms to make ICN and INC, H atom abstraction reactions, and addition reactions to solvent molecules to make C3H3N2 radical species. These radical products have a characteristic absorption band at 2036 cm(-1) that shifts to 2010 cm(-1) when ICN is photolyzed in CD3CN. The HCN yield is low, suggesting the addition pathway competes effectively with H atom abstraction from CH3CN, but the delayed growth of the C3H3N2 radical band is best described by reaction of solvated CN radicals through an unobserved intermediate species. Addition of methanol or tetrahydrofuran as a cosolute promotes H atom abstraction reactions that produce vibrationally hot HCN. The combination of TEAS and TVAS measurements shows that the rate-limiting process for production of ground-state HCN is vibrational cooling, the rate of which is accelerated by the presence of methanol or tetrahydrofuran.

Recombination, Solvation and Reaction of CN Radicals Following Ultraviolet Photolysis of ICN in Organic Solvents.

The fates of CN radicals produced by ultraviolet (UV) photolysis of ICN in various organic solvents have been examined by transient electronic and vibrational absorption spectroscopy (TEAS and TVAS). Near-UV and visible bands in the TEAS measurement enable direct observation of the CN radicals and their complexes with the solvent molecules. Complementary TVAS measurements probe the products of CN-radical reactions. Geminate recombination to form ICN and INC is a minor pathway on the 150 fs -1300 ps time scales of our experiments in the chosen organic solvents; nonetheless, large infrared transition dipole moments permit direct observation of INC that is vibrationally excited in the C≡N stretching mode. The time constants for INC vibrational cooling range from 30 ps in tetrahydrofuran (THF) to 1400 ps in more weakly interacting solvents such as chloroform. The major channel for CN removal in the organic solvents is reaction with solvent molecules, as revealed by depletion of solvent absorption bands and growth of product bands in the TVA spectra. HCN is a reaction product of hydrogen atom abstraction in most of the photoexcited solutions, and forms with vibrational excitation in both the C-H and C≡N stretching modes. The vibrational cooling rate of the C≡N stretch in HCN depends on the solvent, and follows the same trend as the cooling rate of the C≡N stretch in INC. However, in acetonitrile solution an additional reaction pathway produces C3H3N2(•) radicals, which release HCN on a much longer time scale.

Structure and properties of the radiation-induced intermediates produced from HCN in noble gas matrices

In this work we report the results of systematic studies on the radiation-induced transformations in HCN/Ng systems (Ng=Ne, Ar, Kr or Xe) at 7K using a combination of FTIR and EPR spectroscopy. It was shown that HCN underwent efficient decomposition producing H atoms, CN radicals and HNC isomer. The thermally induced reactions of H atoms in different matrices result in the formation of two isomeric radicals, H2CN and trans-HCNH, the former being predominated. The temperature dependent dynamics of CN and H2CN radicals in a krypton matrix was observed by EPR spectroscopy in solid krypton. The vibrational frequencies, IR intensities and magnetic resonance parameters of H2CN and trans-HCNH radicals calculated at the CCSD(T) level are in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. It was found that HCNH radical could be effectively bleached with visible light. The comparison of experimental and computational data made it possible to assign a new vibrational band at 918cm−1 in an Ar matrix (and the corresponding bands in Kr and Xe) to trans-HCNH radical. In addition, HKrCN was found in the case of krypton, whereas HXeCN and HXeNC were produced in solid xenon. The reaction mechanisms and contribution of different channels are discussed.

Precursor of N atoms of hydrogenated amorphous carbon nitride films formed from the microwave discharge of C2H2/N2 gas mixture

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon nitride films with the [N]/([N] + [C]) ratios of 0.29–0.44 were formed from the microwave discharge of the gas mixture of C2H2 with an excess amount of N2. The ratio of the fluxes, s = Φa-CN/ΦCN(X), was evaluated in this study, where Φa-CN was the flux of N atoms incorporated into the films and ΦCN(X) was that of CN radicals in the gas phase. ΦCN(X) was evaluated from the density of CN radicals using the A2Πi–X2Σ+ laser-induced fluorescence spectra and from the flow speed using the time-resolved emission, and Φa-CN from the film mass calibrated against atomic compositions. The s value was in the range of 0.22–0.78, being 1.2–1.7 times the sticking probability of CN radicals corrected in this study, 0.19–0.45. Then, the contribution of CN radicals was evaluated to be 60–80% of the N source of the films. The chemical structure and mechanical property of the films were analyzed in terms of Raman scattering, IR absorption, and nanoindentation measurements.