pump-IR Probe Research Articles

Ultrafast internal rotational dynamics of the azido group in (4S)-azidoproline: Chemical exchange 2DIR spectroscopic investigations

The azido group in 4-azidoproline (Azp) derivative, SA (Ac-(4S)-Azp-NHMe), can form an intramolecular electrostatic interaction with the backbone peptide in the s-trans and Cγ-endo conformations of SA. As a result, the azido group exists as two forms, bound and free, which are defined by the presence and absence of such interaction, respectively. The bound and free azido forms are spectrally resolved in the azido IR spectrum of SA in CHCl3. Using the two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) and polarization-controlled IR pump–probe methods, we investigated the internal rotational and orientational relaxation dynamics of the azido group and determined the internal rotational time constant of the azido group to be 5.1ps. The internal rotational motion is found to be responsible for the early part of the orientational relaxation of the azido group in SA. Thus, the femtosecond 2DIR spectroscopy is shown to be an ideal tool for studying ultrafast conformational dynamics of SA.

Transient absorption studies of vibrational relaxation and photophysics of Prussian blue and ruthenium purple nanoparticles

Transient infrared and visible absorption studies have been used to characterize vibrational and electronic dynamics of Prussian blue (PB) and ruthenium purple (RP) nanoparticles produced and characterized in AOT reverse micelles. Studies include excitation and probing with both infrared (near 2000 cm(-1)) and visible (800 nm) pulses. From IR pump-IR probe measurements of the CN stretching bands, vibrational population lifetimes are determined to be 32 ± 4 ps for PB and 44 ± 14 ps for RP. These times are longer than those for ferrocyanide (4 ps) and ruthenocyanide (4 ps) in normal water and are closer to the times for these species in heavy water (25-30 ps) and for ferrocyanide in formamide (43 ps). The PB and RP lifetimes are also longer than those (<15 ps) previously measured for CN stretching bands following intervalence excitation and back-electron transfer (BET) for dinuclear mixed-valence compounds containing Fe, Ru, and Os in heavy water and formamide [A. V. Tivansky, C. F. Wang, and G. C. Walker, J. Phys. Chem. A 107, 9051 (2003)]. In 800 nm pump-IR probe experiments on RP and PB, transient IR spectra and decay curves are similar to those with IR excitation; a ground state bleach and a red shifted (by ~40 cm(-1)) excited state decay are observed. These results for the visible pumping are consistent with rapid (<1 ps) BET resulting in population in the ground electronic state with vibrational excitation in the CN mode. In addition, transient absorption studies were performed for PB and RP probing with visible light using both visible and IR excitation. The early time response for the 800 nm pump-800 nm probe of PB exhibits an instrument-limited, subpicosecond bleach followed by an absorption, which is consistent with the previously reported results [D. C. Arnett, P. Vohringer, and N. F. Scherer, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 117, 12262 (1995)]. The absorption exhibits a biexponential decay with decay times of 9 and 185 ps, which could have been attributed to the CN band excitation indicated from 800 pump-IR probe results. However, IR pump-800 nm probe studies reveal that excitation of the CN band directly results in a decreased visible absorption that decays in 18 ps rather than an induced absorption at 800 nm. Characteristics of the IR pump-800 nm probe, especially that it induces a bleach instead of an absorption, unambiguously indicate that the transient absorption from the 800 nm pump-800 nm probe is dominated by states other than the CN bands and is attributed to population in other, probably lower frequency, vibrational modes excited following visible excitation and rapid BET.

Water dynamics in small reverse micelles in two solvents: Two-dimensional infrared vibrational echoes with two-dimensional background subtraction

Water dynamics as reflected by the spectral diffusion of the water hydroxyl stretch were measured in w(0) = 2 (1.7 nm diameter) Aerosol-OT (AOT)/water reverse micelles in carbon tetrachloride and in isooctane solvents using ultrafast 2D IR vibrational echo spectroscopy. Orientational relaxation and population relaxation are observed for w(0) = 2, 4, and 7.5 in both solvents using IR pump-probe measurements. It is found that the pump-probe observables are sensitive to w(0), but not to the solvent. However, initial analysis of the vibrational echo data from the water nanopool in the reverse micelles in the isooctane solvent seems to yield different dynamics than the CCl(4) system in spite of the fact that the spectra, vibrational lifetimes, and orientational relaxation are the same in the two systems. It is found that there are beat patterns in the interferograms with isooctane as the solvent. The beats are observed from a signal generated by the AOT/isooctane system even when there is no water in the system. A beat subtraction data processing procedure does a reasonable job of removing the distortions in the isooctane data, showing that the reverse micelle dynamics are the same within experimental error regardless of whether isooctane or carbon tetrachloride is used as the organic phase. Two time scales are observed in the vibrational echo data, ~1 and ~10 ps. The slower component contains a significant amount of the total inhomogeneous broadening. Physical arguments indicate that there is a much slower component of spectral diffusion that is too slow to observe within the experimental window, which is limited by the OD stretch vibrational lifetime.

Relationship between protein structural fluctuations and rebinding dynamics in ferric haem nitrosyls

The interaction of nitric oxide (NO) with haem proteins is widespread in biology. In the current paper, we present the first ultrafast 2D-IR (two-dimensional infrared) spectroscopic analysis of haem nitrosylation, which has been combined with time-resolved IR pump-probe studies to investigate the relationship between equilibrium vibrational dynamics of the haem environment and ligand rebinding behaviour following photolysis of NO from the Fe(III)-NO site. Studies of two haem proteins, Mb (myoglobin) and Cc (cytochrome c), which play different physiological roles, reveal marked contrasts in the ultrafast fluctuations of the protein pockets containing the haem, showing that the Mb pocket is somewhat more flexible than that of Cc. This correlates strongly with slower observed photolysis rebinding kinetics of Mb-NO compared with Cc-NO, and indicates a direct link between ultrafast fluctuations and biological functionality. Furthermore, this indicates the validity of linear response theories in relation to protein ligand binding. Finally, 2D-IR shows that Cc-NO displays two distinct structural sub-sites at room temperature that do not exchange on the timescales accessible via the NO vibrational lifetime.

Temperature-Independent Vibrational Dynamics in an Organic Photovoltaic Material

Ultrafast orientational motion and spectral diffusion of the carbonyl stretch vibration of the functionalized fullerene, PCBM, blended with the conjugated polymer, CN-MEH-PPV, are examined with two-dimensional infrared and polarization-resolved IR pump probe spectroscopy. In previous contributions from our group, the carbonyl stretch frequency of PCBM has been used as a local vibrational reporter to measure the temperature dependence of the time scale for dissociation of charge transfer excitons in CN-MEH-PPV:PCBM polymer blends. It was found that the rate of charge separation is independent of temperature, indicating that charge separation occurs through an activationless pathway. This assignment was supported by the observation at room temperature that thermal fluctuations do not give rise to spectral diffusion of the carbonyl stretch vibration on the picosecond and longer time scale. In this contribution, we examine the temperature dependence of the carbonyl vibrational dynamics to determine whether thermal fluctuations might give rise to spectral diffusion at other temperatures. We find that the time scale for fast wobbling-in-cone orientational motion is independent of temperature on the subpicosecond time scale. Similarly, spectral diffusion is not observed on the picosecond and longer time scale at all temperatures examined confirming our earlier interpretation of the frequency shift dynamics exclusively in terms of charge separation. Interestingly, the half angle characterizing the wobbling-in-cone orientational motion does increase at higher temperature due to increased free-volume resulting from thermal expansion of the polymer blend.

Vibrational Dynamics of LiBH4 by Infrared Pump−Probe and 2D Spectroscopy

Employing femtosecond IR pump-probe and 2D spectroscopy, we measure the vibrational dynamics of LiBH(4) and several of its deuterium isotopomers. We find that the vibrational lifetime of various BH and BD stretching modes uniformly is approximately 1.5 ps for all BH(4-x)D(x)(-) units (0 <or=x <or=4). Subsequently, vibrational energy cascades down through BH and BD bending, facilitated by a strong Fermi resonance, into external (librational and translational) modes with a 3 ps time constant. Final thermalization of the energy is completed in about 100 ps. The vibrational spectra are purely homogeneously broadened indicating low inhomogeneity due to static disorder. We furthermore measured the anharmonic constants of various modes, which sets the benchmark for future ab initio calculations, and completed the first FTIR assignment of the stretching vibrations for the five BH(4-x)D(x)(-) units.

Femtosecond polarization resolved spectroscopy: A tool for determination of the three-dimensional orientation of electronic transition dipole moments and identification of configurational isomers

A method is presented that combines femtosecond polarization resolved UV/visible pump-IR probe spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations in determining the three-dimensional orientation of an electronic transition dipole moment (tdm) within the molecular structure. The method is demonstrated on the approximately planar molecule coumarin 314 (C314) dissolved in acetonitrile, which can exist in two ground state configurations: the E- and the Z-isomer. Based on an exhaustive search analysis on polarization resolved measurement data for four different vibrational modes, it is concluded that C314 in acetonitrile is the E-isomer. The electronic tdm vector for the electronic S(0)-->S(1) transition is determined and the analysis shows that performing the procedure for four vibrational modes instead of the minimally required three reduces the 1sigma probability area from 2.34% to 2.24% of the solution space. Moreover, the fastest rotational correlation time tau(c) for the C314 E-isomer is determined to be 26+/-2 ps.

Ultrafast Nonlinear Coherent Vibrational Sum-Frequency Spectroscopy Methods To Study Thermal Conductance of Molecules at Interfaces

It is difficult to study molecules at surfaces or interfaces because the total number of molecules is small, and this is especially problematic in studies of interfacial molecular dynamics with high time resolution. Vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, where infrared (IR) and visible pulses are combined at an interface, has emerged as a powerful method to probe interfacial molecular dynamics. The nonlinear coherent nature of SFG helps overcome the sensitivity issues, especially when femtosecond IR pulses are used. With femtosecond pulses, a range of vibrational transitions can be probed simultaneously and high time resolution can be achieved. Ultrafast SFG experiments use three pulses, a pump pulse to generate nonequilibrium conditions with a pair of probe pulses, and two time delay parameters. Mapping SFG intensity as a function of the two time delays creates a two-dimensional surface, where one axis (t(1)) provides information about molecular dynamics driven by the pump pulses, and the other axis (t(2)) about the dynamics of the SFG probing process. We present examples of ultrafast SFG measurements drawn from our studies of heat transport through interfacial molecules that are models for molecular wires in electronic circuits. In these flash-heating experiments, a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of long-chain molecules adsorbed on a metal surface is subjected to a large amplitude (up to 800 K) temperature jump. Specific vibrational reporter groups on the SAM molecules probed by SFG serve as tiny ultrafast thermometers approximately 1.5 A thick with a approximately 1 ps response time. These SFG thermometers can monitor ultrafast heat transport through the SAM molecules. By varying the lengths of the molecular wires we can tell if the heat is propagating ballistically along the chains, at constant speed, or diffusively. In our analysis of 2D SFG methods, we first describe a simpler situation where the visible probe pulse is effectively infinite in duration. This is the usual way time-resolved SFG measurements are made, and the SFG experiment then becomes a function of a single time delay, the pump-IR probe delay t(1). Unfortunately, in this case the SFG signals have a large contribution from the nonresonant (NR) background generated by the metal surface, which adds a great deal of noise to the data, and the time resolution is limited by the molecule's vibrational dephasing time constant T(2), which is often 1 ps or more. We have recently shown that the NR background can be suppressed using a time delay t(2) between IR and visible probe pulses. In this now 2D SFG method, one would expect that information about the molecular response to the pump pulses would be contained in slices along the t(1) axis, but by simulating the experiment we show that the t(1) and t(2) parameters interact. Changing t(2) to suppress the NR background causes t(1) slices to shift in time. We also show how to improve the time resolution of ultrafast SFG experiments while maintaining NR suppression using femtosecond visible pulses at appropriate t(2) delay values.

Femtosecond IR Pump-Probe Spectroscopy of Nonlinear Energy Localization in Protein Models and Model Proteins

This paper reviews our experimental and theoretical efforts toward understanding vibrational self-trapping of the amide I and N-H mode of crystalline acetanilide (ACN), other similar hydrogen-bonded crystals, as well as of model peptides. In contrast to previous works, we used nonlinear IR spectroscopy as the experimental tool, which is specifically sensitive to the anharmonic contributions of the intramolecular interactions (as the nonlinear IR response of set of harmonic oscillators vanishes exactly). Our work reconfirms the previous assignment of the two bands of the amide I mode of ACN as being a self-trapped and a free exciton state, but in addition also establishes the lifetimes of these states and identifies the relevant phonons. Furthermore, we provide evidence for vibrationally self-trapped states also in model alpha-helices. However, given the short lifetime, any biological relevance in the sense of Davydov's initial proposal can probably be ruled out.

Three-Dimensional Orientation of the Qy Electronic Transition Dipole Moment within the Chlorophyll a Molecule Determined by Femtosecond Polarization Resolved VIS Pump−IR Probe Spectroscopy

Chlorophyll a (Chl a) is the most abundant pigment on earth. In all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, it plays a pivotal role as an antenna and reaction center pigment in the primary steps of photosynthesis. In the past, a true three-dimensional (3D) experimental determination of the Qy electronic transition dipole moment orientation could not be obtained. With combined femtosecond polarization resolved VIS pump-IR probe experiments and theoretical calculations of the infrared transition dipole moments (tdm's) in the electronic ground state, we determined the 3D orientation of the Qy electronic tdm of Chl a within the molecular structure. Polarization resolved experiments provided angles of the Qy electronic tdm with three different infrared tdm's, whose orientations within the molecular structure were taken from our theoretical calculations. The orientation of the Qy tdm results from the intersection of all three angles and was found to have an angle of (78 +/- 3)degrees with the x-axis, (12 3)degrees with the y-axis, and (86 +/- 2)degrees with the z-axis.

Sub‐Picosecond Mid‐Infrared Spectroscopy of Phytochrome Agp1 from Agrobacterium tumefaciens

The photoinduced primary reaction of the biliverdin binding phytochrome Agp1 (Agp1-BV) from Agrobacterium tumefaciens was investigated by sub-picosecond time-resolved Vis pump-IR probe spectroscopy. Three time constants of tau(1)=0.7+/-0.05 ps, tau(2)=3.3+/-0.2 ps and tau(3)=33.3+/-1.5 ps could be isolated from the dynamics of structurally specific marker bands of the BV chromophore. These results together with those of accompanying sub-picosecond Vis pump-Vis probe spectroscopy allow the extension of the reaction scheme for the primary process by a vibrationally excited electronic ground state. The isomerization at the C15=C16 bond occurs within the lifetime of the excited electronic state. A quantum yield of 0.094 for the primary reaction is determined, suggesting that the quantum yield of formation of the P(fr) far-red-absorbing form is already established in the primary photoreaction of the P(r) (red-absorbing) form.

Ultrafast vibrational relaxation of liquid H 2O following librational combination band excitation

Dispersed pump–probe responses excited by ∼165 fs pulses resonant with the bend–libration combination band in neat H 2O centered at 2130 cm −1 are reported. This is the first IR pump–probe study of the energy relaxation dynamics in this region of the liquid water spectrum. The observed transient responses are best described by a kinetic model where the initial combination band energy relaxes via a concerted process to a bend fundamental and low frequency modes. The bend subsequently decays to another intermediate vibrational level, presumably the librational band, before this energy is distributed to low frequency modes and appears as heat as well in the sample volume in accordance with the results of Lindner et al. [L. Lindner, P. Vohringer, M.S. Pshenichnikov, D. Cringus, D.A. Wiersma, M. Mostovoy, Chem. Phys. Lett. 421 (2006) 329]. The lifetime of the bend–libration combination band is determined to be 140 ± 15 fs and the lifetime of the libration levels, leading to the hot ground state from the delayed heating route, is 840 ± 100 fs. This libration decay rate is consistent with the results of previous IR pump–probe measurement analyses for the appearance of heat following excitation resonant with the bend or stretch fundamentals. An additional pulse width limited absorption component is seen in all responses which may be attributed to the underlying continuum of intermolecular states in this region of the H 2O spectrum.

Exciton transport in Cu 2O, exciton detection by field ionization in a Schottky barrier and intraexcitonic transitions

This contribution consists of several parts. In a first part we discuss transport measurements of excitons in Cu 2O, their detection by spatially and temporally resolved pump-and-probe beam spectroscopy and by field ionization in a Schottky barrier; in the next one we report on transitions from the 1s para to the 2p para exciton state observed in visible pump-IR probe spectroscopy and finally we discuss qualitatively a phase diagram for bulk semiconductors including excitonic Bose–Einstein condensation and the transition to an electron–hole plasma.

Molecular dynamics simulation study of N-methylacetamide in water. II. Two-dimensional infrared pump–probe spectra

A theoretical description of two-dimensional (2D) IR pump–probe spectroscopy of a three-level system is presented by taking into account the system–bath interaction. By using the correlation function of the fluctuating amide I mode frequency of N-methylacetamide in D2O, which was obtained by carrying out both ab initio calculations and MD simulations, the time-resolved 2D pump–probe spectra as a function of pump–probe pulse delay time are calculated and compared with experiment. We found that the vibrational dephasing becomes homogeneous on the 2 ps time scale, which is a bit faster than the experimental result. It is theoretically shown that the degree of slant of 2D contours is linearly proportional to the correlation function of the fluctuating amide I mode frequency. Consequently, it is suggested that the 2D IR pump–probe spectroscopy can provide a direct information on the vibrational frequency fluctuation dynamics and on the magnitude of static inhomogeneity.

Transient infrared spectroscopy of Mn 2(CO) 10 with 400 nm excitation

We report an ultrafast 400 nm pump–IR probe study of Mn 2(CO) 10 photochemistry in cyclohexane and isopropanol at room temperature. While both Mn 2(CO) 9 and Mn(CO) 5 are produced with UV dissociation, long wavelength excitation at 400 nm yields predominantly the monometal product, Mn(CO) 5. The Mn(CO) 5 vibrational energy relaxation (VER) is analyzed in terms of the narrowing of its IR absorption band. The initial band broadening is attributed to population in low frequency vibrational modes (M–C stretches and bends) and the VER decay time is found to be on the 60 ps time scale in both solvents.

Amide I vibrational modes in glycine dipeptide analog: Ab initio calculation studies

Coupling between two local amide I vibrational motions of peptides has been quantitatively estimated by assuming that the two peptides interact with each other via dipole–dipole interaction, the so-called transition dipole coupling (TDC) model. The TDC theory has been applied to describing amide I IR and Raman band envelopes and further used to interpret the two-dimensional IR pump–probe and photon echo spectra of polypeptides recently. In order to quantitatively test the validity of the TDC model or in general dipole–dipole interaction model for a dipeptide, we carry out systematic investigations, by using both the ab initio calculation methods and extended TDC theory, on the potential energy surface, vibrational frequencies of symmetric and antisymmetric amide I vibrational normal modes, transition dipole and transition polarizability, IR and Raman intensities of the two modes, IR-Raman noncoincidence phenomena in the full Ramachandran space for a model dipeptide, glycine dipeptide analog. It is found that the spectroscopic properties of dipeptide can be quantitatively well described by the TDC model, but the quantities related to the potential energy surface such as absolute magnitudes of vibrational frequencies and frequency splitting between the two normal modes cannot be accounted for by using the TDC model. A further investigation of dimeric system with two formamide molecules is presented and the applicability of the TDC model to through space vibrational interaction as a function of intermolecular distance between the two peptides is examined.

Dynamics of Photosubstitution Reactions of Fe(CO)5: An Ultrafast Infrared Study of High Spin Reactivity

The photosubstitution reactions of Fe(CO)5 with alcohols and triethylphosphine have been studied in room temperature solution using femtosecond UV pump IR probe techniques. The dynamics of Fe(CO)5 in alcohols show that the coordination of the hydroxyl group of the solvent with triplet Fe(CO)4 is generally much faster than the coordination timescale observed with comparable singlet species. The physical reason for this is the fact that the metal C−H agostic bond is much weaker for triplets, thus allowing fast rearrangement to the hydroxyl group of the alcohol. In the case of triethylphosphine photosubstitution, the reaction is divided into parallel channels which include intersystem crossing and a spin conserving double carbonyl loss. The intermediates observed were studied using density functional theory (DFT) as well as ab initio quantum chemical calculations.

Two-dimensional vibrational spectroscopy. VIII. Infrared optical Kerr effect and two-color infrared pump–probe measurements

The infrared optical Kerr effect (IR-OKE) and two-color infrared pump–probe spectroscopies, which can be directly used to study intermolecular vibrational energy relaxation pathways, are theoretically studied. The IR-OKE method involves an intense IR pulse with controlled frequency to build up large population on a specific intramolecular vibrationally excited state. After a finite mixing time, which is also experimentally controlled, the time evolution of the nonequilibrium density matrix is detected by using the femtosecond optical Kerr effect measurement. Due to the nonequilibrium population distribution initially induced by the intensive infrared pulse, the measured OKE signal differs from that measured for a molecular system initially in thermal equilibrium state. Particularly, it is found that the deviation from the harmonic response can be specifically measured by using this method. By following the same procedure developed in this paper, the two-color IR pump–probe absorption spectroscopy is also considered and the corresponding nonequilibrium IR response function is theoretically investigated with a direct comparison with complementary IR-OKE response function. By using the perturbation theory, the corresponding response functions are obtained in terms of the molecular properties such as linear and nonlinear spatial derivatives of dipole and polarizability and cubic and quartic anharmonic coefficients. Also, it is emphasized that this method is conceptually quite similar to the transient nuclear Overhauser effect nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Triplet Organometallic Reactivity under Ambient Conditions: An Ultrafast UV Pump/IR Probe Study

The reactivity of triplet 16-electron organometallic species has been studied in room-temperature solution using femtosecond UV pump IR probe spectroscopy. Specifically, the Si-H bond-activation reaction of photogenerated triplet Fe(CO)(4) and triplet CpCo(CO) with triethylsilane has been characterized and compared to the known singlet species CpRh(CO). The intermediates observed were studied using density functional theory (DFT) as well as ab initio quantum chemical calculations. The triplet organometallics have a greater overall reactivity than singlet species due to a change in the Si-H activation mechanism, which is due to the fact that triplet intermediates coordinate weakly at best with the ethyl groups of triethylsilane. Consequently, the triplet species do not become trapped in alkyl-solvated intermediate states. The experimental results are compared to the theoretical calculations, which qualitatively reproduce the trends in the data.

Ultrafast infrared spectroscopy in biomolecules: Active site dynamics of heme proteins

Rapid advances in the generation of intense tunable ultrashort mid-infrared (IR) laser pulses allow the use of ultrafast IR pump-probe and vibrational echo experiments to investigate the dynamics of the fundamental vibrational transition of CO bound to the active site of heme proteins. The studies were performed using a free-electron laser (FEL) and an experimental set up at the Stanford University FEL Center. These novel techniques are discussed in some detail. Pump-probe experiments on myoglobin-CO (MbCO) measure CO vibrational relaxation (VR). The VR process involves loss of vibrational excitation from CO to the protein and solvent. Infrared vibrational echoes measure CO vibrational dephasing. The quantum mechanical treatment of the force-correlation function description of vibrational dynamics in condensed phases is described briefly. A quantum mechanical treatment is needed to explain the temperature dependence of VR in Mb-CO from 10 to 300 K. A molecular-level description including elements of heme protein structure in the treatment of vibrational dynamics is also discussed. Vibrational relaxation of CO in Mb occurs on the 10−11-s time scale. VR was studied in proteins with single-site mutations, proteins from different species, and model heme compounds. A roughly linear relationship between carbonyl stretching frequency and VR rate has been observed. The dominant VR pathway is shown to involve anharmonic coupling from CO through the π-bonded network of the porphyrin, to porphyrin vibrations with frequencies > 400 cm−1. The heme protein influences VR of bound ligands at the active site primarily via altering the through π-bond coupling between CO and heme. Preliminary vibrational echo studies of the effects of protein conformational relaxation dynamics on ligand dephasing are also reported. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.