Correction: The molecular structure of the surface of water-ethanol mixtures.

Correction for 'The molecular structure of the surface of water-ethanol mixtures' by Johannes Kirschner et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2021, 23, 11568-11578, DOI: 10.1039/D0CP06387H.

Double-valence photoionization of SUVA134a molecule (CFH2 CF3 ).

RATIONALE: In this work we investigate the single-photon double ionization of the SUVA 134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane) molecule in the energy range from 21.21 to 320 eV. Our experimental data are supported by Thomas' and Samson's models. It is shown that the double photoionization of the SUVA 134a can be expressed as a sum of the so-called shake-off (SO) and the knockout (KO) processes. METHODS: The experiments were executed at the TGM beamline at Laboratório Nacional de Luz Síncrotron in Campinas, Brazil. The source of EUV and X-ray radiation was a bending magnet that enabled us to work in the photon energy range of 21.21 to 320 eV. The spectrometer was devised to collect 100% of the ions with kinetic energies up to 30 eV. The photoelectron-photoion (PEPICO) and photoelectron-photoion-photoion (PE2PICO) coincidence techniques were used in the present work. RESULTS: The ratio of double-to-total photoionization as a function of the photon energy for the SUVA molecule exhibits remarkably similar behavior with other atomic and molecular systems. SO depends on large excess energy above the ionization threshold, enabling the photoelectron to leave the interaction region rather speedily to yield a sudden change in the Coulomb field that the shaken electron feels. The measured asymptotic SO probability is PSO (∞) = 0.09. CONCLUSIONS: The present analysis shows that the separation of SO and KO processes relies on the experimental evidence that there is no significant interference between SO and KO. The analysis also shows that the separate formulation of KO and SO presents a factual portrayal of double photoionization. Despite having 50 electrons, SUVA has lower double-to-total photoionization fraction (9%) in comparison, for instance, to argon atoms (~20%), which has 18 electrons. This lower e-e correlation could be attributed to its larger volume, that is, lower electron density.

The molecular structure of the surface of water-ethanol mixtures.

Mixtures of water and alcohol exhibit an excess surface concentration of alcohol as a result of the amphiphilic nature of the alcohol molecule, which has important consequences for the physico-chemical properties of water-alcohol mixtures. Here we use a combination of intensity vibrational sum-frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopy, heterodyne-detected VSFG (HD-VSFG), and core-level photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) to investigate the molecular properties of water-ethanol mixtures at the air-liquid interface. We find that increasing the ethanol concentration up to a molar fraction (MF) of 0.1 leads to a steep increase of the surface density of the ethanol molecules, and an increased ordering of the ethanol molecules at the surface. When the ethanol concentration is further increased, the surface density of ethanol remains more or less constant, while the orientation of the ethanol molecules becomes increasingly disordered. The used techniques of PES and VSFG provide complementary information on the density and orientation of ethanol molecules at the surface of water, thus providing new information on the molecular-scale properties of the surface of water-alcohol mixtures over a wide range of compositions. This information is invaluable in understanding the chemical and physical properties of water-alcohol mixtures.

Ionization and Fragmentation of DCOOD Induced by Synchrotron Radiation at the Oxygen 1s Edge: The Role of Dimer Formation.

The ionization and photofragmentation of molecules in the core region has been widely investigated for monomers and dimers of organic molecules in the gas phase. In this study, we used synchrotron radiation to excite electrons of the oxygen K-edge in an effusive molecular beam of doubly deuterated formic acid. We used time-of-flight mass spectrometry and employed the spectroscopic techniques photoelectron-photoion coincidence and photoelectron photoion-photoion coincidence to obtain spectra of single and double coincidences at different pressures. Our results indicate the presence of ions and ion pairs that have charge-to-mass ratio higher than the monomer DCOOD, as the (DCOOD)·D(+), and pairs (DCO(+), DCO(+)) and (CO(+), DCO(+)). Comparing the spectra obtained for different pressures we can ascertain that these ions are formed by the fragmentation of DCOOD dimers.

Communication: Protonation process of formic acid from the ionization and fragmentation of dimers induced by synchrotron radiation in the valence region.

The ionization and fragmentation of monomers of organic molecules have been extensively studied in the gas phase using mass spectroscopy. In the spectra of these molecules it is possible to identify the presence of protonated cations, which have a mass-to-charge ratio one unit larger than the parent ion. In this work, we investigate this protonation process as a result of dimers photofragmentation. Experimental photoionization and photofragmentation results of doubly deuterated formic acid (DCOOD) in the gas phase by photons in the vacuum ultraviolet region are presented. The experiment was performed by using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer installed at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory and spectra for different pressure values in the experimental chamber were obtained. The coupled cluster approach with single and double substitutions was employed to assist the experimental analysis. Results indicate that protonated formic acid ions are originated from dimer dissociation, and the threshold photoionization of (DCOOD)⋅D(+) is also determined.

Ionization and Fragmentation of Formamide Induced by Synchrotron Radiation in the Valence Region via Photoelectron Photoion Coincidence Measurements and Density Functional Theory Calculations.

We have performed a theoretical and experimental study of the formamide (HCONH2) photofragmentation and photoionization processes in the gas phase. The experiment was perfomed by using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer using the photoelectron photoion coincidence (PEPICO) technique in the valence region, from photons with energy between 10 and 20 eV. We have obtained both mass and partial ion yield spectra, identified by the mass-to-charge ratio as a function of the photon energy. With this setup, we could ascertain the threshold energy for the production of formamide cation and its cationic fragments. The theoretical analysis of the formamide photofragmentation channels are fulfilled by the density functional theory (DFT) and the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The theoretical analysis allowed us to estimate, for example, which atoms are lost during the photofragmentation. We have also developed a theoretical-experimental analysis of the main fragments produced in the dissociation: m/q = 45 (HCONH2+), m/q = 44 (CONH2+), m/q = 29 (HCO+), m/q = 17 (NH3+), and m/q = 16 (NH2+).

Theoretical-experimental study of formic acid photofragmentation in the valence region.

Photoionization and photofragmentation studies of formic acid (HCOOH) are performed for the valence shell electron ionization process. The total and partial ion yield of gaseous HCOOH were collected as a function of photon energy in the ultraviolet region, between 11.12 and 19.57 eV. Measurements of the total and partial ion yield of gaseous formic acid molecule are performed with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer at the Synchrotron Light Brazilian Laboratory. Density functional theory and time dependent density functional theory are employed to calculate the ground and excited electronic state energies of neutral and ionic formic acid as well as their fragments and normal vibration modes. The ionization potential energies, the stability of electronic excited states of HCOOH(+), and the energies of opening fragmentation channels are estimated from theoretical-experimental analysis. Additionally, the main formic acid photofragmentation pathways by exposition of photons within that energy range are determined experimentally. These produced ions primarily have the following mass/charge ratios: 46 (HCOOH(+)), 45 (COOH(+)), 29 (HCO(+)), and 18 (H(2)O(+)).

Auger electron spectroscopy as a probe of the solution of aqueous ions.

Aqueous potassium chloride has been studied by synchrotron-radiation excited core-level photoelectron and Auger electron spectroscopy. In the Auger spectrum of the potassium ion, the main feature comprises the final states where two outer valence holes are localized on potassium. This spectrum exhibits also another feature at a higher kinetic energy which is related to final states where outer valence holes reside on different subunits. Through ab initio calculations for microsolvated clusters, these subunits have been assigned as potassium ions and the surrounding water molecules. The situation is more complicated in the Auger spectrum of the chloride anion. One-center and multicenter final states are present here as well but overlap energetically.

pH-dependent X-ray Photoelectron Chemical Shifts and Surface Distribution of Cysteine in Aqueous Solution.

The distribution and protonation states of amino acids in water droplets are of considerable concern in studies on the formation of clouds in the atmosphere as well as in many biological contexts. In the present work we use the amino acid cysteine as a prototypical example and explore the protonation states of this molecule in aqueous solution, which are strongly affected by the acidity of the environment and also can show different distributions between surface and bulk. We use a combination of X-ray photoelectron chemical shift measurements, density functional theory calculations of the shifts, and reactive force field molecular dynamics simulations of the underlying structural dynamics. We explore how the photoelectron spectra distinctly reflect the different protonation states that are generated by variation of the solution acidity and how the distribution of these protonation states can differ between bulk and surface regions. At specific pH values, we find that the distribution of the cysteine species at the surface is quite different from that in bulk, in particular, for the appearance in the surface region of species which do not exist in bulk. Some ramifications of this finding are discussed.

Ethanol Solvation in Water Studied on a Molecular Scale by Photoelectron Spectroscopy.

Because of the amphiphilic properties of alcohols, hydrophobic hydration is important in the alcohol-water system. In the present paper we employ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate the bulk and surface molecular structure of ethanol-water mixtures from 0.2 to 95 mol %. The observed XPS binding energy splitting between the methyl C 1s and hydroxymethyl C 1s groups (BES_[CH3-CH2OH]) as a function of the ethanol molar percentage can be divided into different regions: one below 35 mol % with higher values (about 1.53 eV) and one starting at 60 mol % up to 95 mol % with 1.49 eV as an average value. The chemical shifts agree with previous quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations [ Löytynoja , T. ; J. Phys. Chem. B 2014 , 118 , 13217 ]. According to these calculations, the BES_[CH3-CH2OH] is related to the number of hydrogen bonds between the ethanol and the surrounding molecules. As the ethanol concentration increases, the average number of hydrogen bonds decreases from 2.5 for water-rich mixtures to 2 for pure ethanol. We give an interpretation for this behavior based on how the hydrogen bonds are distributed according to the mixing ratio. Since our experimental data are surface sensitive, we propose that this effect may also be manifested at the interface. From the ratio between the XPS C 1s core lines intensities we infer that below 20 mol % the ethanol molecules have their hydroxyl groups more hydrated and possibly facing the solution's bulk. Between 0.1 and 14 mol %, we show the formation of an ethanol monolayer at approximately 2 mol %. Several parameters are derived for the surface region at monolayer coverage.

Surface-Altered Protonation Studied by Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Reactive Dynamics Simulations.

The extent to which functional groups are protonated at aqueous interfaces as compared to bulk is deemed essential to several areas in chemistry and biology. The origin of such changes has been the source of intense debate. We use X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and all-atom reactive molecular dynamics simulations as two independent methods to probe, at the molecular scale, both bulk and surface distributions of protonated species of cysteine in an aqueous solution. We show that the distribution of the cysteine species at the surface is quite different from that in the bulk. We argue that this finding, however, cannot be simply related to a change in the extent of proton sharing between the two conjugate acid/base pairs that may occur between these two regions. The present theoretical simulations identify species at the surface that are not present in the bulk.

Photon energy dependence of fragmentation of small argon clusters.

Photofragmentation of small argon clusters with size below ten atoms is reported. In this size range significant modifications from the electronic properties and geometry take place. When tuning the photon energy through the argon 2p edge, the fragmentation pattern is changed. Specifically, cation dimer production is enhanced at the 2p(32)-->4s resonance, while above the 2p edge almost complete atomization is observed. In both cases, the widths of the peaks in the mass spectra indicate that a large amount of kinetic energy is imparted to the fragment due to the formation of multiply charged clusters. A model based on "Coulomb explosion"-charge separation, simply resulting in a complete atomization of the cluster with no dependence on the photon energy-is insufficient to explain the observed photofragmentation of small clusters.