Significant Vibrational Excitation Research Articles

Exploring the Unusual Reactivity of the Hydrated Electron with CO2.

Many questions remain about the reactions of the hydrated electron despite decades of study. Of particular note is that they do not appear to follow the Marcus theory of electron transfer reactions, a feature that is yet to be explained. To investigate these issues, we used ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations to investigate one of the better studied reactions, the hydrated electron reduction of CO2. The rate constant for the hydrated electron-CO2 reaction complex to react to form CO2- is for the first time estimated from AIMD simulations. Results at 298 and 373 K show the rate constant is insensitive to temperature, consistent with the low measured activation energy for the reaction, and the implications of this behavior are examined. The sampling provided by the simulations yields insight into the reaction mechanism. The reaction is found to involve both solvent reorganization and changes in the carbon dioxide structure. The latter leads to significant vibrational excitation of the bending and symmetric stretch vibrations in the CO2- product, indicating the reaction is vibrationally nonadiabatic. The former is estimated from the calculation of an approximate collective solvent coordinate and the free energy in this coordinate is determined. These results indicate that AIMD simulations can reasonably estimate hydrated electron reaction activation energies and provide new insight into the mechanism that can help illuminate the features of this unusual chemistry.

Nonadiabatic Reactive Quenching of OH(A2Σ+) by H2: Origin of High Vibrational Excitation in the H2O Product.

The nonadiabatic dynamics of the reactive quenching channel of the OH(A2Σ+) + H2/D2 collisions is investigated with a semiclassical surface hopping method, using a recently developed four-state diabatic potential energy matrix (DPEM). In agreement with experimental observations, the H2O/HOD products are found to have significant vibrational excitation. Using a Gaussian binning method, the H2O vibrational state distribution is determined. The preferential energy disposal into the product vibrational modes is rationalized by an extended Sudden Vector Projection model, in which the h and g vectors associated with the conical intersection are found to have large projections with the product normal modes. However, our calculations did not find significant insertion trajectories, suggesting the need for further improvement of the DPEM.

Influence of a Supercritical Electric Dipole Moment on the Photodetachment of C_{3}N^{-}.

Threshold photodetachment spectroscopy of the molecular ion C_{3}N^{-} has been performed at both 16(1) and 295(2) K in a 22-pole ion trap. The 295(2) K spectrum shows a large increase in the cross section with an onset about 200 cm^{-1} below threshold, which is explained by significant vibrational excitation of the trapped ions at room temperature. This excitation disappears at cryogenic temperatures leading to an almost steplike onset of the cross section at threshold, which cannot be adequately described with a Wigner threshold law. Instead, we show that the model developed by O'Malley for photodetachment from neutrals with large permanent dipoles [Phys. Rev. 137, A1668 (1965)PHRVAO0031-899X10.1103/PhysRev.137.A1668] fits very well to the data. A high-resolution scan of the threshold region yields additional features, which we assign to the rotational P and R branches of an electronic transition to a dipole-bound state with ^{1}Σ^{+} symmetry. This state is found 2(1) cm^{-1} below threshold in very good agreement with a recent computational prediction. We furthermore refine the value of the electron affinity of C_{3}N to be 34 727(1) cm^{-1}.

Theoretical Analysis of Optical Absorption and Emission in Mixed Noble Metal Nanoclusters.

In this work, we studied theoretically two hybrid gold-silver clusters, which were reported to have dual-band emission, using density functional theory (DFT) and linear and quadratic response time-dependent DFT (TDDFT). Hybrid functionals were found to successfully predict absorption and emission, although explanation of the NIR emission from the larger cluster (cluster 1) requires significant vibrational excitation in the final state. For the smaller cluster (cluster 2), the Δ H(0-0) value calculated for the T1 → S0 transition, using the PBE0 functional, is in good agreement with the measured NIR emission, and the calculated T2 → S0 value is in fair agreement with the measured visible emission. The calculated T1 → S0 phosphorescence Δ H(0-0) for cluster 1 is close to the measured visible emission energy. In order for the calculated phosphorescence for cluster 1 to agree with the intense NIR emission reported experimentally, the vibrational energy of the final state (S0) is required to be about 0.7 eV greater than the zero-point vibrational energy.

Femtochemistry in the electronic ground state: Dynamic Stark control of vibrational dynamics

We study the interplay of vibrational and rotational excitation in a diatomic molecule due to the non-resonant dynamic Stark effect. With a fixed peak intensity, optimal Gaussian pulse durations for maximizing vibrational or rotational transitions are obtained analytically and confirmed numerically for the H2 and Cl2 molecules. In general, pulse trains or more advanced pulse shaping techniques are required in order to obtain significant vibrational excitation. To that end, we demonstrate that a high degree of selectivity between vibrational and rotational excitation is possible with a suitably phase-modulated Gaussian pulse.

Dynamics of Isolated 1,8-Naphthalimide and N-Methyl-1,8-naphthalimide: An Experimental and Computational Study.

In this work we investigate the excited-state structure and dynamics of the two molecules 1,8-naphthalimide (NI) and N-methyl-1,8-naphthalimide (Me-NI) in the gas phase by picosecond time- and frequency-resolved multiphoton ionization spectroscopy. The energies of several electronically excited singlet and triplet states and the S1 vibrational wavenumbers were calculated. Nonadiabatic dynamics simulations support the analysis of the radiationless deactivation processes. The origin of the S1 ← S0 (ππ*) transition was found at 30, 082 cm(-1) for NI and at 29, 920 cm(-1) for Me-NI. Furthermore, a couple of low-lying vibrational bands were resolved in the spectra of both molecules. In the time-resolved scans a biexponential decay was apparent for both Me-NI and NI. The fast time constant is in the range of 10-20 ps, whereas the second one is in the nanosecond range. In accordance with the dynamics simulations, intersystem crossing to the fourth triplet state S1 (ππ*) → T4 (nπ*) is the main deactivation process for Me-NI due to a large spin-orbit coupling between these states. Only for significant vibrational excitation internal conversion via a conical intersection becomes a relevant deactivation pathway.

Velocity map imaging of O-atom products from UV photodissociation of the CH2OO Criegee intermediate.

UV excitation of jet-cooled CH2OO X(1)A' to the excited B(1)A' electronic states results in dissociation to two spin-allowed product channels: H2CO X(1)A1 + O (1)D and H2CO a(3)A″ + O (3)P. In this study, the higher energy H2CO a(3)A″ + O (3)P channel is characterized by velocity map imaging and UV action spectroscopy, in both cases utilizing 2 + 1 resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization detection of O (3)P products, which complements a prior experimental study on the lower energy H2CO X(1)A1 + O (1)D channel [Lehman et al., J. Chem. Phys. 139, 141103 (2013)]. Anisotropic angular distributions indicative of rapid dissociation are obtained at 330 and 350 nm, along with broad and unstructured total kinetic energy distributions that provide insight into the internal excitation of the H2CO a(3)A″ co-fragment. A harmonic normal mode analysis points to significant vibrational excitation of the CH2 wag and C-O stretch modes of the H2CO a(3)A″ fragment upon dissociation. At each UV wavelength, the termination of the kinetic energy distribution reveals the energetic threshold for the H2CO a(3)A″ + O (3)P product channel of ca. 76 kcal mol(-1) (378 nm) and also establishes the dissociation energy from CH2OO X(1)A' to H2CO X(1)A1 + O(1)D products of D0 ≤ 49.0 ± 0.3 kcal mol(-1), which is in accord with prior theoretical studies. The threshold for the H2CO a(3)A″ + O (3)P channel is also evident as a more rapid falloff on the long wavelength side of the O (3)P action spectrum as compared to the previously reported UV absorption spectrum for jet-cooled CH2OO [Beames et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 20045 (2012)]. Modeling suggests that the O (3)P yield increases uniformly from 378 to 300 nm.

An ab initio based full-dimensional global potential energy surface for FH2O(X2A′) and dynamics for the F + H2O → HF + HO reaction

A global potential energy surface (PES) for the ground electronic state of FH(2)O is constructed based on more than 30,000 ab initio points at the multi-reference configuration interaction level. The PES features a pre-reaction van der Waals well and two post-reaction hydrogen-bonded complexes, as well as a "reactant-like" transition state with a classical barrier of 3.8 kcal/mol. The adiabatic F + H(2)O → HF + OH reaction dynamics on this PES was investigated using a standard quasi-classical trajectory method. In agreement with experiment, the HF product contains significant vibrational excitation with limited rotational excitation, while the OH product is internally cold, reflecting its spectator role in the reaction. The products are primarily scattered in the backward direction, consistent with a direct abstraction mechanism.

Linking photochemistry in the gas and solution phase: S–H bond fission in p-methylthiophenol following UV photoexcitation

Gas-phase H (Rydberg) atom photofragment translational spectroscopy and solution-phase femtosecond-pump dispersed-probe transient absorption techniques are applied to explore the excited state dynamics of p-methylthiophenol connecting the short time reactive dynamics in the two phases. The molecule is excited at a range of UV wavelengths from 286 to 193 nm. The experiments clearly demonstrate that photoexcitation results in S-H bond fission--both in the gas phase and in ethanol solution-and that the resulting p-methythiophenoxyl radical fragments are formed with significant vibrational excitation. In the gas phase, the recoil anisotropy of the H atom and the vibrational energy disposal in the p-MePhS radical products formed at the longer excitation wavelengths reveal the operation of two excited state dissociation mechanisms. The prompt excited state dissociation motif appears to map into the condensed phase also. In both phases, radicals are produced in both their ground and first excited electronic states; characteristic signatures for both sets of radical products are already apparent in the condensed phase studies after 50 fs. No evidence is seen for either solute ionisation or proton coupled electron transfer--two alternate mechanisms that have been proposed for similar heteroaromatics in solution. Therefore, at least for prompt S-H bond fissions, the direct observation of the dissociation process in solution confirms that the gas phase photofragmentation studies indeed provide important insights into the early time dynamics that transfer to the condensed phase.

Ion Pair Formation in Multiphoton Excitation of NO2 Using Linearly and Circularly Polarized Femtosecond Light Pulses: Kinetic Energy Distribution and Fragment Recoil Anisotropy

The NO(2) ion pair photodissociation dynamics leading to NO(+)(X(1)Sigma(+),v) + O(-)((2)P(3/2) or (2)P(1/2)), induced by a 1 kHz femtosecond laser with wavelengths near 400 nm, has been characterized using the coincidence vector correlation method. The ion pair production after four-photon absorption reaches more than 15% of the primary ionization. The kinetic energy release of the fragments demonstrates a significant vibrational excitation of the NO(+)(X(1)Sigma(+),v) molecular fragment. Recoil ion fragment emission is strongly aligned along the polarization axis of linearly polarized light or preferentially emitted in the plane perpendicular to the propagation axis of circularly polarized light. The formalism describing the recoil anisotropy for bound-to-bound n-photon transition inducing prompt axial recoil dissociation of a nonlinear molecule has been developed to interpret the measured anisotropies in terms of excitation pathways via near-resonant intermediate states of specific symmetries. Possible reaction pathways are discussed that are consistent with the data and supported by calculations of potential energy surfaces and transition moments.

Probing the Charge Transfer Reaction Coordinate of 4-(Dimethylamino)benzonitrile with Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy

Femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) and femtosecond transient absorption have been used to probe the photoinduced charge transfer (CT) dynamics of 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile in methanol and n-hexane. Through a combined analysis of temporal changes in the Raman modes and transient absorption kinetics, a more complete picture of the reaction coordinate of the intramolecular charge transfer process has been established. FSRS spectra of the phenyl C═C stretching mode (Wilson mode 8a) at 1607 cm(-1), which shifts to 1581 cm(-1) in the CT state, and transient absorption measurements ranging from 360 to 700 nm support internal conversion from the locally excited to the charge transfer state in 4-5 ps and then a subsequent vibrational relaxation within the CT state manifold on a 6-8 ps time scale. Dramatic shifting and narrowing of the 1581 cm(-1) quinoidal C═C stretch (ν(8a)) on the ∼7 ps time scale indicates that the quinoidal distortion is an important probe of the CT reaction dynamics. The cause of the spectral shifts is determined by comparing the observed shifts in the vibrational spectrum to anharmonic couplings computed for the benzonitrile radical anion by density functional theory (DFT) and with quantitative theoretical models of the solvent induced vibrational peak shifts. The DFT calculations indicate that the 10 cm(-1) downshift of the C═C stretch is most likely attributable to significant vibrational excitation in nontotally symmetric modes that are strongly anharmonically coupled to the C═C stretch.

Crossed-Beam Investigation of O(3P) + C2H5 → C2H4 + OH

The reaction dynamics of ground-state atomic oxygen [O((3)P)] with an ethyl radical (C(2)H(5)) in the gas phase was investigated using high-resolution laser spectroscopy in a crossed-beam configuration. An exothermic channel of O((3)P) + C(2)H(5) --> C(2)H(4) + OH was identified, and the nascent distributions of OH (X (2)Pi: upsilon'' = 0, 1) showed significant internal excitations with an unusual bimodal feature of low and high rotational N''-components with neither spin-orbit nor Lambda-doublet propensities. On the basis of the ab initio and statistical calculations, the reaction mechanism can be rationalized by two competing mechanisms: abstraction vs addition. The low N''-components with significant vibrational excitation can be described in terms of the direct abstraction process as a major channel. The extraordinarily hot rotational distribution of high N''-components implies that a portion of the fraction proceeds through the indirect short-lived addition-complex forming process. From the comparative analysis of the reactions of O((3)P) + several hydrocarbon molecules and radicals, the reactivity and mechanistic characteristics of the title reaction are discussed.

Ab Initio and Dynamics Study of the O(3P) + NH3 and O(3P) + N2H4 Reactions at Hyperthermal Collision Energies

The reactions between ground-state oxygen atoms (O((3)P)) and the ammonia (NH(3)) and hydrazine (N(2)H(4)) molecules have been studied using electronic-structure and dynamics calculations. Ab initio calculations have been used to characterize the primary reaction channels accessible at hyperthermal energies. These reaction channels are i) hydrogen abstraction, O + NH(3)(N(2)H(4)) --> OH + NH(2)(N(2)H(3)), ii) H-elimination O + NH(3)(N(2)H(4)) --> H + ONH(2)(ON(2)H(3)), and iii) N-N breakage (in the reaction involving hydrazine), O + N(2)H(4) --> ONH(2) + NH(2). Hydrogen abstraction is the lowest-barrier process, followed by N-N breakage and H-elimination. Comparison of our highest-accuracy calculations (CCSD(T)/CBS//MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ) with a variety of lower-cost electronic-structure methods shows that the BHandHLYP method, in combination with the 6-31G* basis set, captures remarkably well the essential features of the potential-energy surface of all of the reaction channels investigated in this work. Using directly the BHandHLYP/6-31G* combination, we have propagated quasiclassical trajectories to characterize the dynamics of the O + NH(3) and O + N(2)H(4) reactions at hyperthermal energies. The trajectory calculations reveal that hydrogen abstraction is the dominant reaction channel, with cross sections between a factor of 2 and an order of magnitude larger than those for the H-elimination and N-N breakage channels. The dynamics calculations also indicate that most of the energy is partitioned into products relative translation but significant vibrational excitation of products is possible as well. Analysis of angular distributions and opacity functions suggests that whereas the hydrogen-abstraction reactions proceed through a mechanism with a substantial component of stripping dynamics, H-elimination and N-N breakage are dominated by rebound dynamics.

Photodissociation Dynamics of Thiophenol-d1: The Nature of Excited Electronic States along the S−D Bond Dissociation Coordinate

The S-D bond dissociation dynamics of thiophenol-d1 (C6H5SD) pumped at 266, 243, and 224 nm are examined using the velocity map ion imaging technique. At both 266 and 243 nm, distinct peaks associated with X and A states of the phenylthiyl radical (C6H5S*) are observed in the D+ image at high and low kinetic energy regions, respectively. The partitioning of the available energy into the vibrational energy of the phenylthiyl radical is found to be enhanced much more strongly at 266 nm compared to that at 243 nm. This indicates that the pipi* electronic excitation at 266 nm is accompanied by significant vibrational excitation. Given the relatively large anisotropy parameter of -0.6, the S-D dissociation at 266 nm is prompt and should involve the efficient coupling to the upper-lying n(pi)sigma* repulsive potential energy surface. The optical excitation of thiophenol at 224 nm is tentatively assigned to the pisigma* transition, which leads to the fast dissociation on the repulsive potential energy surface along the S-D coordinate. The nature of the electronic transitions associated with UV absorption bands is investigated with high-level ab initio calculations. Excitations to different electronic states of thiophenol result in unique branching ratios and vibrational excitations for the fragment of the phenylthiyl radical in the two lowest electronic states.

Nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of vibrational energy relaxation of HOD in D2O

Vibrational energy relaxation of HOD in deuterated water is investigated performing classical nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. A flexible SPC/E model is employed to describe the intermolecular interactions and the intramolecular potential of the D(2)O solvent. A more accurate intramolecular potential is used for HOD. Our results for the OH stretch, OD stretch, and HOD bend vibrational relaxation times are 2.7, 0.9, and 0.57 ps, respectively. Exciting the OH stretching mode the main relaxation pathway involves a transition to the bending vibration. These results are in agreement with recent semiclassical Landau-Teller calculations. Contrary to this previous work, however, we observe a strong coupling of bending and OH stretching mode to the HOD rotation. As a result almost half of the total vibrational energy is transferred through the HOD rotation to the bath. At the same time the most efficient acceptor mode is the D(2)O rotation indicating the importance of resonant libration-to-libration energy transfer. We also find significant vibrational excitation of the D(2)O bending mode of the D(2)O solvent by V-V energy transfer from the HOD bending mode.

Femtosecond TRIR Studies of ClNO Photochemistry in Solution: Evidence for Photoisomerization and Geminate Recombination

The photochemistry of nitrosyl chloride (ClNO) in the solution phase is investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultrafast time-resolved infrared (TRIR) spectroscopies. The NO-stretch fundamental transition for ClNO dissolved in cyclohexane, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, dichloromethane, and acetonitrile is measured, with the frequency and line width of this transition demonstrating a strong dependence on solvent polarity. Following the photolysis of ClNO dissolved in acetonitrile at 266 nm, the subsequent optical-density evolution across the entire width of the NO-stretch fundamental is measured. Analysis of the optical-density evolution demonstrates that geminate recombination of the primary photofragments resulting in the reformation of ground state ClNO occurs with a quantum yield of 0.54 +/- 0.06. In addition, an increase in optical density is observed at 1860 cm(-1) that is assigned to the NO-stretch fundamental transition of the photoisomer, ClON, having a formation quantum yield of 0.07 +/- 0.02. This work represents the first definitive observation of ClNO photoisomerization in solution. Finally, essentially no evidence is observed for significant vibrational excitation of the NO fragment following photodissociation, in marked contrast to the behavior observed in the gas phase. An environment-dependent dissociation scheme is proposed in which the interplay between solvent polarity and the location of the ground state potential-energy-surface minimum along the Cl-N coordinate provides for the optical preparation of different excited states thereby affecting the extent of NO vibrational excitation following photolysis.

Quantum Mechanical Calculations for the H2O + hν → O(1D) + H2 Photodissociation Process

Quantum mechanical wavepacket calculations for the photodissociation of water in the second absorption band are presented. Using O + H2 Jacobi coordinates, partial cross sections for the O(1D) + H2 channel are calculated for different initial rotational states. Conical intersection and Renner-Teller effects are included. The branching ratios for the four accessible dissociation channels at 121.6 nm are in good agreement with experiment (J. Chem. Phys. 1982, 77, 2432). The calculations predict significant rotational and vibrational excitation of the H2 fragments. Photodissociation of ortho and para water produces predominantly, but not exclusively, ortho and para H2 fragments, respectively.

Velocity map imaging of ion–molecule reactive scattering: The Ar++ N2charge transfer reaction

We present a velocity map imaging spectrometer for the study of crossed-beam reactive collisions between ions and neutrals at (sub-)electronvolt collision energies. The charge transfer reaction of Ar(+) with N(2) is studied at 0.6, 0.8 and 2.5 eV relative collision energies. Energy and angular distributions are measured for the reaction product N. The differential cross section, as analyzed with a Monte Carlo reconstruction algorithm, shows significant large angle scattering for lower collision energies in qualitative agreement with previous experiments. Significant vibrational excitation of N(+)(2) is also observed. This theoretically still unexplained feature indicates the presence of a low energy scattering resonance.

Dynamical Study of H2 and D2 Desorbing from a Cu(111) Surface

A theoretical study of H(2) and D(2) desorbing from Cu(111) is reported. The study makes use of the LEPS PES of Dai and Zhang [J. Chem. Phys. 1995, 102, 6280]. The LEPS parameters have been modified in order to lower the barrier threshold in conformity with accurate ab initio electronic structure calculations. The topological study of the modified PES by the CHAIN method reveals unambiguously that the transition state (TS) is located at the top of a unique early barrier along the desorption path. The adsorbed H atoms are supposed to be in thermal equilibrium with the metal surface. Batches of classical trajectories (CT) are then carried out from the TS onto the products with their initial conditions canonically distributed and the effect of their possible recrossing of the TS taken into account according to Keck's method [Discuss. Faraday Soc. 1962, 33, 173]. Product state distributions are then calculated using the Gaussian weighting procedure [Chem. Phys. Lett. 2004, 397, 106] to account for the quantization of the vibration motion of the desorbed diatom. These distributions are in overall good agreement with experimental measurements. On average, the early barrier to desorption results in a significant vibrational excitation of the final diatom and a strong deexcitation of its rotational angular momentum J from the TS onto the products. Moreover, the orientation of the rotation plane is roughly random for low values of J (both cartwheel and helicopter motions are observed) while it is more likely parallel to the metal surface for large values of J (predominance for helicopter motion). These findings are analyzed in some details.

Experimental and theoretical studies of charge transfer and hydride transfer in the reactions of OD + and C 2H 4

We present a crossed beam and density functional theory (DFT) study of the dynamics of charge transfer and hydride transfer in collisions of OD + with C 2H 4 at relative collision energies between 19.3 and 102 kJ mol −1 (0.20–1.06 eV). Charge transfer to form C 2H 4 + is a direct process occurring through large impact parameters. A comparison of the internal energy distributions of reaction products with the photoelectron spectrum of C 2H 4 is consistent with a Franck–Condon picture for long distance electron transfer. Charge transfer with H/D rearrangement to form C 2H 3D + + OH does not occur, unlike the related system D 2O + + C 2H 4, in which comparable amounts of C 2H 4 + and C 2H 3D + are observed. This difference is accounted for by the significantly smaller proton affinity of OH relative to H 2O. Reactive processes are initiated by the formation of a protonated oxirane triplet diradical, which undergoes intersystem crossing to the singlet manifold. Formation of C 2H 3 + + HOD, nominally a hydride transfer reaction, is shown to occur at the lowest collision energy through transient singlet intermediates in which the timescale for rate-limiting hydrogen atom migration corresponds to a significant fraction of a rotational period. Formation of hydride transfer products is sufficiently exothermic (ΔH = −489 kJ mol −1) that a fraction of the C 2H 3 + products may be formed above the dissociation threshold to C 2H 2 +. Increasing collision energy results in enhanced yields of C 2H 2 + relative to C 2H 3 +, consistent with unimolecular decay of the most highly excited C 2H 3 + products. However, the very small translational energy releases at all collision energies also require significant vibrational excitation in the HOD products; the most probable internal excitation in HOD is approximately 60 kJ mol −1 at all collision energies.