An Innovative Approach for the Generation of Species of the Interstellar Medium.

The large amount of unstable species in the realm of interstellar chemistry drives an urgent need to develop efficient methods for the in situ generations of molecules that enable their spectroscopic characterizations. Such laboratory experiments are fundamental to decode the molecular universe by matching the interstellar and terrestrial spectra. We propose an approach based on laser ablation of nonvolatile solid organic precursors. The generated chemical species are cooled in a supersonic expansion and probed by high-resolution microwave spectroscopy. We present a proof of concept through a simultaneous formation of interstellar compounds and the first generation of aminocyanoacetylene using diaminomaleonitrile as a prototypical precursor. With this micro-laboratory, we open the door to generation of unsuspected species using precursors not typically accessible to traditional techniques such as electric discharge and pyrolysis.

Unveiling Five Naked Structures of Tartaric Acid.

The unbiased, naked structures of tartaric acid, one of the most important organic compounds existing in nature and a candidate to be present in the interstellar medium, has been revealed in this work for the first time. Solid samples of its naturally occurring (R,R) enantiomer have been vaporized by laser ablation, expanded in a supersonic jet, and characterized by Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. In the isolation conditions of the jet, we have discovered up to five different structures stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen-bond networks dominated by O-H⋅⋅⋅O=C and O-H⋅⋅⋅O motifs extended along the entire molecule. These five forms, two with an extended (trans) disposition of the carbon chain and three with a bent (gauche) disposition, can serve as a basis to represent the shape of tartaric acid. This work also reports the first set of spectroscopy data that can be used to detect tartaric acid in the interstellar medium.

Rotational Spectrum of Saccharin: Structure and Sweetness.

We present the first high-resolution rotational study of the artificial sweetener saccharin. By combining laser ablation (LA), narrow- and broadband Fourier transform microwave techniques (FTMW), and supersonic expansions, we have transferred the solid of saccharin (mp 229 °C) to a supersonic jet and captured its rotational spectrum. The rotational constants were accurately determined by fitting more than 60 rotational transitions for the parent and 34S isotopic species in the 6.4-10.4 GHz frequency range. Experiment and complementary quantum-chemical calculations provide accurate geometrical parameters for saccharin, the first artificial sweetener investigated by high-resolution microwave spectroscopy. The detailed structural information extracted from the rotational and 14N nuclear quadrupole coupling constants provided useful data in the context of the old theories of sweetness.

The Structural Signs of Sweetness in Artificial Sweeteners: A Rotational Study of Sorbitol and Dulcitol.

A gas-phase study on the artificial sweeteners sorbitol and dulcitol has been carried out for the first time by using a combination of chirped-pulse Fourier-transform microwave (CP-FTMW) spectroscopy and laser ablation (LA). The isolation conditions provided by the supersonic expansion reveal the intrinsic conformational structures of these sweeteners. The three and five observed conformers for sorbitol and dulcitol, respectively, are stabilized by networks of cooperative intramolecular hydrogen bonds between vicinal hydroxyl groups in clockwise or counterclockwise arrangements. Suitable places in the structure of seven out of eight conformers identified for both polyalcohols meet the requirements of the glucophore proposed by Shallenberger and Acree's molecular theory of sweet taste. Present results provide the first linkage between sweetness and structure in sugar alcohols.

Laser ablated hydantoin: A high resolution rotational study.

Laser ablation techniques coupled with broadband and narrowband Fourier transform microwave spectroscopies have allowed the high resolution rotational study of solid hydantoin, an important target in astrochemistry as a possible precursor of glycine. The complicated hyperfine structure arising from the presence of two 14N nuclei in non-equivalent positions has been resolved and interpreted in terms of the nuclear quadrupole coupling interactions. The results reported in this work provide a solid base for the interstellar searches of hydantoin in the astrophysical surveys. The values of the nuclear quadrupole coupling constants have been also discussed in terms of the electronic environment around the respective nitrogen atom.

The shape of D-glucosamine.

The bioactive amino monosaccharide D-glucosamine has been generated in the gas phase via laser ablation of D-glucosamine hydrochloride. Three cyclic α-(4)C1 pyranose forms have been identified using Fourier transform microwave techniques. Stereoelectronic hyperconjugative forces - essentially linked with the anomeric or gauche effect - and cooperative OH···O, OH···N and NH···O chains, extended along the entire molecule, are found to be the main factors driving the conformational behavior. The orientation of the NH2 group within each conformer has been determined by the values of the nuclear quadrupole coupling constants. The results have been compared with those recently obtained for the archetypical D-glucose.

Geometry and microwave rotational spectrum of the FC16O18O• radical.

The rotational spectrum of an asymmetrically substituted isotopologue of the fluoroformyloxyl radical FC(16)O(18)O(•) with resolved fine and hyperfine structures were measured and analyzed for the very first time. The molecular parameters of this radical obtained from the spectral analysis were processed along with the symmetrical isotopologues FC(16)O2(•) and FC(18)O2(•) and accurate substitution geometry was attained. In addition to those, coupled cluster quantum chemistry calculations were used to scale the experimental parameters, and in this manner, trustworthy values of the equilibrium and ground state geometries were derived.

A journey across dopamine Metabolism: A rotational study of DOPAC.

DOPAC, a relevant scaffold in dopamine metabolism, was probed in the gas phase and interrogated by high-resolution rotational spectroscopy. Herein, three distinct conformers were isolated in a supersonic jet and identified for the first time through an examination of the trend of the rotational constants and the dipole moment selection rules. Additionally, we examined the plausible relaxation pathways of the low-energy conformers of DOPAC, which helped us to claim the indirect detection of two additional conformers, providing conclusive experimental evidence of the flexible nature of this biomolecule. The current investigation sheds some light on the differences between jet-cooled rotational experiments and matrix-isolation infrared spectroscopy.

The fluoroformyloxyl radical geometry and ground-state rotational spectra of the free FC18O2· radical.

The rotational spectra of the isotopically substituted free fluoroformyloxyl radical FC(18)O(2·) were measured using the Prague millimeter-wave high-resolution spectrometer. More than 110 rotational-fine-hyperfine transition lines were observed and assigned to appropriate quantum numbers in the frequency range of 235-270 GHz. The obtained transition frequencies were analyzed with standard effective Hamiltonians to acquire a set of precise rotational, centrifugal-distortion, fine, and hyperfine structure molecular constants. Merging the new FC(18)O(2·) isotopologue molecular parameters with those previously obtained for the ordinary FC(16)O(2)[middle dot] radical, the substitution molecular geometry in the ground vibronic state was evaluated. The molecular parameters for both radical isotopologues were also calculated by several quantum chemistry methods and their calculated mutual ratios are in remarkable agreement with the experimental FC(16)O(2·)/FC(18)O(2·) parameter ratios. The measurements, assignments of the 18-oxygen isotopologue FC(18)O(2·) radical millimeter-wave transitions, as well as the derivation of the fluoroformyloxyl radical ground-state geometry have been carried out for the first time.

Laboratory Detection of Cyanoacetic Acid: A Jet-Cooled Rotational Study.

Herein we present a laboratory rotational study of cyanoacetic acid (CH2(CN)C(O)OH), an organic acid as well as a -CN bearing molecule, that is a candidate molecular system to be detected in the interstellar medium (ISM). Our investigation aims to provide direct experimental frequencies of cyanoacetic acid to guide its eventual astronomical search in low-frequency surveys. Using different jet-cooled rotational spectroscopic techniques in the time domain, we have determined a precise set of the relevant rotational spectroscopic constants, including the 14N nuclear quadrupole coupling constants for the two distinct structures, cis- and gauche- cyanoacetic acid. We believe this work will potentially allow the detection of cyanoacetic acid in the interstellar medium, whose rotational features have remained unknown until now.

The ground state rotational spectrum of the fluorosulfate radical.

The rotational spectra of the fluorosulfate (FSO(3)) molecular radical in its vibronic ground state were measured in the millimeter-wave region and analyzed in detail using the matrix elements of the rotational, fine, and hyperfine Hamiltonian terms. The analysis of the assigned transition frequencies made it possible to derive very precise values of the rotational, centrifugal distortion and fine structure constants and to confirm the C(3v) molecular symmetry of the vibronic ground state unambiguously. In addition, an effective parameter of the "A(1)-A(2) splitting" was determined. The rotational transitions of the FSO(3) free radical were observed, identified, and analyzed for the first time.

Laser Ablation Assists Cyclization Reactions of Hydantoic Acid: A Proof for the Near-Attack Conformation Theory?

In the course of the investigation of the rotational spectrum of prebiotic hydantoic acid by Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy coupled to a laser ablation source in a supersonic expansion, rotational signatures of two cyclic molecules, hydantoin and 2,5-oxazolidinedione, have been unexpectedly observed along with the four most stable conformers of hydantoic acid. Interestingly, two of them presented folded geometric arrangements that might act as precursors in the cyclization reactions assisted by laser ablation. They could play the role of near-attack conformations (NACs) in the framework of the NAC theory for intramolecular reactions. A detailed analysis of the spectrum further revealed the simultaneous formation of other species in the jet, showing that the laser ablation of solid organic precursors constitutes an alternative tool in the generation of new chemical species.

Detailed study of fine and hyperfine structures in rotational spectra of the free fluoroformyloxyl radical FCO2.

More than 160 new hyperfine components of rotational transitions of the free fluoroformyloxyl radical FCO(2) have been measured using the Prague millimeter wave high resolution spectrometer. The frequencies of these transitions together with the previously measured data were analyzed in detail and precise values of magnetic hyperfine and fine parameters were obtained. These new parameters significantly improve the values of previously determined hyperfine parameters which were rather unreliable. The new fine and hyperfine parameters obtained in this study are compatible with those of the simultaneously electron paramagnetic resonance study. Besides that, significantly improved ground state rotational and centrifugal distortion constants of the fluoroformyloxyl radical were derived.