Loss of CO2 from Monodeprotonated Phthalic Acid upon Photodissociation and Dissociative Electron Detachment.

The decarboxylation (CO2 loss) mechanism of cold monodeprotonated phthalic acid was studied in a photodissociation action spectrometer by quantifying mass-selected product anions and neutral particles as a function of the excitation energy. The analysis proceeded by interpreting the translational energy distribution of the generated uncharged products, and with the help of quantum calculations. In particular, this study reveals different fragmentation pathways in the deprotonated anion and in the radical generated upon electron photodetachment. Unlike the behavior found in other deprotonated aryl carboxylic acids, which do not fragment in the anion excited state, a double loss of CO2 molecules takes place in the phthalic monoanion. Moreover, at higher excitation energies the phthalic monoanion experiences decarboxylative photodetachment with a statistical distribution of product translational energies, which contrasts with the impulsive dissociation reactions characteristic of other aryl carboxylic anions.

Influence of the N atom and its position on electron photodetachment of deprotonated indole and azaindole.

Electron photodetachment of cold deprotonated indole and azaindole anions has been studied by use of a mass-selective photofragmentation spectrometer capable of negative ion and neutral particle detection. The electron affinities of the indolyl radical and the 5-, 6- and 7-azaindolyl radicals have been measured with an uncertainty of less than 0.002 eV. The presence of the nitrogen atom in the six-membered ring of the azaindolide anions stabilises the electron by 0.3 to 0.4 eV, i.e. about 10-15%, compared to the indolide anion. No fragmentation was observed in either the anionic or radical forms of the species studied. The appearance of dipole-bound states in the spectra of deprotonated 6- and 7-azaindole anions allowed us to analyse the vibrational structure of the neutral 6- and 7-azaindolyl radicals produced following photodetachment. Although no dipole-bound states were clearly identified for deprotonated indole or 5-azaindole, the shape of the photodetachment threshold suggests the presence of a very weakly dipole-bound state or dipole resonance, which cannot be resolved with our laser resolution.

Influence of the N atom position on the excited state photodynamics of protonated azaindole.

We present a study of the photofragmentation of three protonated azaindole molecules - 7-azaindole, 6-azaindole, and 5-azaindole - consisting of fused pyrrole-pyridine bicyclic aromatic systems, in which the pyridinic (protonated) nitrogen heteroatom is located at the 7, 6, and 5 positions, respectively. Photofragmentation electronic spectra of the isolated aforementioned azaindolinium cations reveal that their photodynamics extends over timescales covering nine orders of magnitude and provide evidence about the resultant fragmentation pathways. Moreover, we show how the position of the heteroatom in the aromatic skeleton influences the excited state energetics, fragmentation pathways, and fragmentation timescales. Computed ab initio adiabatic transition energies are used to assist the assignation of the spectra, while geometry optimisation in the excited electronic states as well as ab initio calculations along the potential surfaces demonstrate the role of ππ*/πσ* coupling and/or large geometry changes in the dynamics of these species. Evidence supporting the formation of Dewar valence isomers as intermediates involved in sub-picosecond relaxation processes is discussed.

Carbonyl stretch of CH⋯O hydrogen-bonded methyl acetate in supercritical trifluoromethane.

Infrared spectroscopy in the gas phase was used to study the formation reaction of the CH⋯O hydrogen bonding complex involving the CH group of trifluoromethane, as a hydrogen donor, and the carbonyl group of methyl acetate, as a hydrogen acceptor, under different (T, p) conditions. The hydrogen-bonded carbonyl stretch of the molecular pair was monitored in dilute mixtures of methyl acetate in trifluoromethane at near-critical temperatures, from gas- to liquid-like densities. In the gas region, it was possible to discriminate the carbonyl signal of the hydrogen-bonded complex from that of the free ester and have access to their relative concentration. The equilibrium constant of the hydrogen bonding reaction and the standard enthalpy and entropy changes in the process were determined using the spectroscopic data. CH⋯O bonding was favored by lowering temperature or pressurizing F3CH in the mixture, remaining essentially no free carbonyl groups about the critical density. The carbonyl band of the hydrogen-bonded pair appeared as a single symmetric peak up to liquid-like densities, suggesting that the 1:1 methyl acetate-trifluoromethane complex has the most abundant stoichiometry. Spectral features as frequency shift and bandwidth of the hydrogen-bonded carbonyl were studied as a function of temperature and solvent-density. A bathochromic (red) vibrational shift was registered for the bound carbonyl band against density, with a sudden change in behavior in the near-critical region, while the width of this band remains mostly unresponsive.

Static and dynamic scavenging of ammoniated electrons by nitromethane.

We studied the time-resolved scavenging efficiency of nitromethane for transient electron species in liquid ammonia, at a temperature of 298 K. UV excitation of iodide ions produced fully solvated electrons, as well as transient (I, e-) and (counterion, e-) pairs, the overall concentration of which was monitored by NIR absorption with subpicosecond time resolution. After the UV pulse, the solution absorbance decays almost completely in a few hundreds of picoseconds due to geminate electron-iodine atom recombination and a competitive annihilation channel involving the scavenger. Recombination of transient (I, e-) pairs follows the well-known kinetic model, while the electron-nitromethane reaction proceeds by two distinct mechanisms: static scavenging (interpreted in terms of the encounter complex model), with a characteristic time shorter than the temporal resolution of the apparatus, or via a diffusion-limited bimolecular reaction, with a rate constant of 1.1 × 1011 M-1 s-1.

Tautomerism and electronic spectroscopy of protonated 1- and 2-aminonaphthalene.

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the excited states of protonated 1- and 2-aminonaphthalene are presented. The electronic spectra are obtained by laser induced photofragmentation of the ions captured in a cold ion trap. Using ab initio calculations, the electronic spectra can be assigned to different tautomers which have the proton on the amino group or on the naphthalene moiety. It is shown that the tautomer distribution can be varied by changing the electrospray source conditions, favoring either the most stable form in solution (amino protonation) or that in the gas phase (aromatic ring protonation). Calculations for larger amino-polyaromatics predict that these systems should behave as "proton sponges" i.e. have a proton affinity larger than 11 eV.

Photodissociation Electronic Spectra of Cold Protonated Quinoline and Isoquinoline in the Gas Phase.

Photofragmentation electronic spectra of isolated single-isomeric N-protonated quinoline (quinolinium) and isoquinoline (isoquinolinium) ions have been measured at a temperature of ∼40 K using a mass-selective, 10 cm-1 spectral resolution, photodissociation spectrometer. Additionally, ab initio adiabatic transition energies calculated using the RI-ADC(2) method have been employed to assist in the assignment of the spectra. Three electronic transitions having ππ* character were clearly evidenced for both protonated ions within the UV and deep-UV spectral ranges. The corresponding spectra at room temperature were previously reported by Hansen et al., together with TD-DFT calculations and a careful analysis of the possible fragmentation mechanisms. This information will be complemented in the present study by appending better resolved spectra, characteristic of cold ions, in which well-defined vibrational progressions associated with the S1 ← S0 and S3 ← S0 transitions exhibit clear 0-0 bands at hν0-0 = 27868 and 42230 cm-1, for protonated quinoline, and at hν0-0 = 28043 and 41988 cm-1, for protonated isoquinoline. Active vibrations in the spectra were assigned with the help of calculated normal modes, looking very similar to those of the structurally related protonated naphthalene. Finally, we have observed that the bandwidths associated with the deep-UV S3 ← S0 transition denote a lifetime for the S3 excited state in the subpicosecond time scale, in contrast with that of S1.

Photodissociation UV-Vis Spectra of Cold Protonated Azobenzene and 4-(Dimethylamino)azobenzene and Their Benzenediazonium Cation Fragment.

Gas phase photodissociation electronic spectra of protonated azobenzene (ABH(+)) and 4-(dimethylamino)azobenzene (dmaABH(+)) were measured in a cryogenically cooled ion trap at temperatures of a few tens of Kelvin. Experimental results were complemented with electronic structure calculations in the ground state at the MP2/cc-pVDZ level of theory, and in the low lying excited states using the RI-CC2 method. Calculated energies revealed that only the trans isomers of the azonium molecular ions (protonation site on the azo group) will likely exist in the trap at the temperatures achieved in the experiment. The first transition of trans-ABH(+) is π* ← π, and the absorption band in the spectrum appears strongly red-shifted from that of the neutral molecule. The calculations showed that upon excitation the quasi-planar ground state (S0) transforms into a chairlike excited state (S1) by twisting the CNNC dihedral angle about 96°. A 41 cm(-1) active vibrational progression found in the ABH(+) spectrum may be associated with the twisting of the azo bond. Conversely, the electronic spectrum of dmaABH(+) exhibits a steep and unstructured S1 ← S0 absorption corresponding to a less distorted S1 state. The next two quasi-degenerate bands in the ABH(+) spectrum evidence sharper onsets and a charge transfer character. Using a second fragmentation laser and an additional He cooling pulse in the trap, it was possible to measure the UV spectrum of cold benzenediazonium fragments.

Electric deflection of middle-size ammonia clusters containing (E(-), Na(+)) pairs.

Effective polarizabilities of Na(NH3)n (n = 8-27) clusters were measured by electric deflection as a function of the particle size. A significant field-induced shift of the beam intensity profile without the occurrence of broadening revealed that the clusters behave as liquidlike polar objects in the conditions of the experiment (cluster temperatures were estimated in the range of 110-145 K). Most of the cluster polarity is attributed to the spontaneous promotion of the alkali atom valence electron to a diffuse state stabilized by the cluster solvent field, with the consequent formation of (e(-), Na(+)) pairs. The average modulus of the dipole of Na-NH3 clusters, µ0, was determined using the Langevin-Debye theory, and the data was compared with previous measurements obtained for Na-H2O clusters. Sodium-doped ammonia clusters exhibit much larger µ0 values and a step size dependence which is not present when the solvent is water. This evidence suggests that while the (e(-), Na(+)) structure is rather compact in Na(H2O)n clusters and remains almost unchanged during the solvation process, in Na(NH3)n the unpaired electron abandons the proximity of the Na(+) ion and gradually extends and occupies new solvent shells.

Electronic spectra of the protonated indole chromophore in the gas phase.

The electronic spectroscopy of cold protonated indole was investigated experimentally and theoretically. Two isomers were observed by experiment: The first isomer corresponds to the lowest-energy isomer in the calculations, absorbing at ~350 nm and protonated on the C3 atom of the pyrrole ring. According to our calculations, the absorptions of the other isomers protonated on carbon atoms (C2, C4, C5, C6, and C7) are in the visible region. Indeed, the absorption of the second observed isomer starts at 488 nm and was assigned to protonation on the C2 carbon of the pyrrole ring. Because good agreement was obtained between the calculated and experimental transitions for the observed isomers, reasonable ab initio transition energies can also be expected for the higher-energy isomers protonated on other carbon atoms, which should also absorb in the visible region. Protonation on the nitrogen atom leads to a transition that is blue-shifted with respect to that of the most stable isomer.

Solid-gas reactions for nitroxyl (HNO) generation in the gas phase.

We present a novel nitroxyl (HNO) generation method, which avoids the need of using a liquid system or extreme experimental conditions. This method consists of the reaction between a gaseous base and an HNO donor (Piloty's acid) in the solid phase, allowing the formation of gaseous HNO in a fast and economical way. Detection of HNO was carried out indirectly, measuring the nitrous oxide (N2O) byproduct of HNO dimerization using infrared spectroscopy, and directly, using mass spectrometry techniques and an electrochemical HNO sensor.

Role of the charge-transfer state in the electronic absorption of protonated hydrocarbon molecules.

The vibrationally resolved electronic spectra of isolated protonated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)--naphthalene, anthracene, and tetracene--have been recorded via neutral photofragment spectroscopy. The S1←S0 transitions are all in the visible region and do not show a monotonic red shift as a function of the molecular size, as observed for the neutral analogues. Comparison with ab initio calculations indicates that this behavior is due to the nature of the excited state, which has a pronounced charge-transfer character for protonated linear PAHs with an even number of aromatic rings.

Structural transitions and dipole moment of water clusters (H2O)(n=4-100).

The properties of water clusters (H(2)O)(n) over a broad range of sizes (n=4-100) were studied by microcanonical parallel tempering Monte Carlo and replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations at temperatures between 20 and 300 K, with special emphasis in the understanding of relation between the structural transitions and dipole behavior. The effect of the water interaction potential was analyzed using six nonpolarizable models, but more extensive calculations were performed using the TIP4P-ice water model. We find that, in general, the dipole moment of the cluster increases significantly as the cluster melts, suggesting that it could be used to discriminate between the solidlike and liquidlike phases. The effect of a moderate electric field on the cluster heat capacity and total dipole moment was found to be negligible.

Electric susceptibility of sodium-doped water clusters by beam deflection.

The electric susceptibility of neutral sodium-doped water clusters Na(H(2)O)(N), N = 6-33, was determined by beam electric deflection. The clusters behave as polarizable particles; their intensity profiles exhibit global shifts toward the high-field region without the occurrence of broadening. In the conditions of the experiment, sodium-water clusters have a "floppy" structure and hence the electric susceptibility presents both electronic and orientacional terms. Measured susceptibilities are somewhat higher than those of pure water clusters, and the contribution per water molecule is similar for both cluster types.

Is ammonia a better solvent than water for contact ion pairs?

The existence of a charge-transfer-to-solvent process when a KI contact ion pair (CIP) dissolved in supercritical water (SCW) is excited by UV light was confirmed by use of electronic structure calculations applied to molecular dynamics trajectories. We observed similar behavior with fluid density as that found for the KI-CIP in supercritical ammonia (SCA); nevertheless, there are some distinct features in the two supercritical solvents. First, the effect of the solvent field due to the molecules lying beyond the first solvation shell is very different in SCW compared with that observed in SCA; in SCW it actually has a destabilizing effect over the ground and excited states. Second, our results for the thermodynamic behavior of the CIP indicate that SCA is better solvent than SCW for this species. The differences found can be attributed to the solvent molecules surrounding the CIP and bridging the two ions; they shield more efficiently the ion pair from long-range solvent effects in SCA. The different behavior is partially attributed to a stronger solvent-solvent interaction in SCW than in SCA.

Solvent triggered change of the electron excitation route of KI in supercritical NH3.

The UV-spectroscopic behavior of KI contact ion pairs (CIPs) dissolved in supercritical NH3 was studied combining classical molecular dynamics simulations with electronic structure calculations, and the results show that an abrupt change of the photoexcitation route of KI CIPs occurs at very low solvent densities. Few NH3 solvating molecules are required to hamper the well-known photoinduced intramolecular electron (e-) transfer observed in isolated ion pairs of alkali metal halides in the vapor drawing the e- to solvent cavities leading to a charge-transfer-to-solvent process.

Influence of ion pairing on the UV-spectral behavior of KI dissolved in supercritical NH3: from vapor phase to condensed liquid.

The UV-spectroscopic behavior of KI dissolved in supercritical ammonia enabled us to identify two species that contribute to the optical absorption depending on the fluid density rho1 and the temperature T. At low rho1 and high T, contact ion pairs (CIPs) prevail, while at high density of ammonia, solvent separated ion pairs (SSIPs) and free iodide ions dominate the optical absorption of the solute. The features of the electron excitation process depend on the state of the K+ I- species present. Starting with isolated KI in the vapor, where the process is an interionic charge transfer, when the CIP becomes solvated the UV absorption shifts strongly to the blue. As rho1 increases, the amounts of SSIP and of free iodide increase progressively and their electronic excited states become those characteristic of the charge-transfer-to-solvent process. This study suggests there is a strong influence of the cation on the electronic transition of dissolved iodide when it is forming CIPs. Moreover, the fact that K+-NH3 interaction is much larger than that of I(-)-NH3 suggests that the electronic photoinduced excited state of CIPs is similar to the ground state observed for alkali metals in NH3 clusters.

A fast ruthenium polypyridine cage complex photoreleases glutamate with visible or IR light in one and two photon regimes.

We introduce a new caged glutamate, based in a ruthenium bipyridyl core, that undergoes heterolytic cleavage after irradiation with visible light with wavelengths up to 532nm, yielding free glutamate in less than 50ns. Glutamate photorelease occurs also efficiently following two-photon (2P) excitation at 800nm, and has a functional cross section of 0.14GM.

Development of the charge-transfer-to-solvent process with increasing solvent fluid density: the effect of ion pairing.

The study of the UV spectroscopic behaviour of alkali metal iodides dissolved in supercritical ammonia showed that two absorbing species contributed to the UV absorption of the solutions. The two species differed in the type of interaction of iodide with the cation, i.e. going from contact ion pairs to free iodide ion, the observed absorption band varied according to the species that prevailed as the solvent density (rho(1)) changed. This experimental evidence was supplemented with molecular dynamics simulations and electronic structure calculations which showed that at very low rho(1) when the contact ion pair is the dominant species, a sudden change from the internal charge transfer photoexcitation route to a charge-transfer-to-solvent transition occurred. This finding emphasized the importance of solvation at very low rho(1) not only for the photoexcitation process, it also allows connecting the thermodynamic behaviour of the solutes in solution with that observed in their vapour phase. We have tried to draw a consistent picture of the available information of UV photoexcitation for iodides in vapour, in solution either forming contact ion pairs or present as free iodide ions, including their behaviour in small clusters of highly polar molecules. The importance of the cation has been clearly shown in this investigation. A relation between the photoexcited electron in contact ion pairs and the solvated electron of alkali metals in small NH(3) clusters has been conjectured.