Comprehensive high resolution study of the MSiH4(M=28,29,30) tetradecad stretching bands: Appearance and applications of the isotopic substitution effect in molecules of spherical symmetry.

A set of new relations between different spectroscopic parameters of the high symmetry XY4 spherical top molecules is derived on the basis of the general isotopic substitution theory, and a comprehensive high accurate analysis of the five stretching bands (the bands ν1+ν3(F2), 2ν3(F2), 2ν3(E), 2ν3(A1), and 2ν1(A1); the three latter ones are forbidden in absorption) of the tetradecad of the SiH4 molecule is made. The high resolution spectra of MSiH4(M=28,29,30) in their natural abundance were recorded with a Bruker IFS125 HR Fourier transform infrared spectrometer at the Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany with an optical resolution of 0.003 cm-1 and theoretically analyzed (in this case, for the first time both for all five bands of the 29SiH4 and 30SiH4 species, and for 2ν3(E), 2ν1(A1) bands of the 28SiH4 one). The number of 2713 transitions of the 28SiH4 species (which is more than fourteen times higher compared to analogous studies carried out earlier) belonging to all five ro-vibrational bands of the tetradecad (which are 272, 1897, 15, 369, and 160 transitions of the ν1+ν3(F2), 2ν1(A1), 2ν3(A1), 2ν3(F2), and 2ν3(E) bands) were assigned with the values of quantum number Jmin/Jmax = 5/22, 1/24, 14/20, 4/24, and 6/23, respectively. The analysis of the obtained experimental data was made on the basis of the Hamiltonian model which takes into account all effects and resonance interactions which are possible in such molecular system. The weighted fit of the 2713 transitions led to a set of 40 rotational, centrifugal distortion, tetrahedral splitting, and resonance interaction parameters which reproduce the initial experimental data with an accuracy of drms=4.11×10-4 cm-1. An analogous analysis was made for the two other isotopologues, 29SiH4 and 30SiH4, of silane. In this case, the initial values of the most important spectroscopic parameters of both species were theoretically estimated on the basis of results of the isotopic substitution theory. As the result of the analysis, two sets of the 12 spectroscopic parameters were obtained from the weighted fits for the 29SiH4 and 30SiH4 molecules which reproduce the 461 and 375 initial ro-vibrational transitions with the drms of 3.91×10-4 and 4.9710-4 cm-1.

Improved Theory of the Effective Dipole Moments and Absolute Line Strengths of the XY2 Asymmetric Top Molecules in the X2B1 Doublet Electronic States.

A new effective dipole moment model for the XY2 (C2v-symmetry) molecule in a doublet electronic state is derived that includes (as special cases) all currently known models of effective dipole moments for such types of molecules, and allows us to take into account the influence of spin-rotation interactions on the effective dipole moment operator that were not considered in the preceding studies. Necessary for the analysis of absolute line strengths, the matrix elements of this dipole moment operator are derived. A comparison with the previous analog models is made and discussed. The efficiency of the obtained results is illustrated, which have been applied to a set of the "forbidden" ΔKa=2 transitions of the ν3 band of the OClO free radical molecule.

Effective Dipole Moment Model for Axially Symmetric C3v Molecules: Application to the Precise Study of Absolute Line Strengths of the ν6 Fundamental of CH335Cl.

The effective dipole moment model for molecules of axial C3v symmetry is derived on the basis of the symmetry properties of a molecule which, on the one hand, is of the same order of efficiency (but much simpler and clearer in applications) as the analogous models derived on the basis of the irreducible tensorial sets theory, and, on the other hand, mathematically more correct in comparison with concepts like the Herman-Walles function used in the models. As an application of the general results obtained, we discuss high-resolution infrared spectra of CH335Cl, recorded with the Zürich prototype ZP2001 (Bruker IFS125 HR) Fourier transform infrared spectrometer at a resolution of 0.001 cm-1 and analyzed in the region of 880-1190 cm-1 (ν6 bending fundamental centered at ν0 = 1018.070790 cm-1). Absolute strengths of more than 2800 transitions (2081 lines) were obtained from the fit of their shapes both with Voigt and Hartmann-Tran profiles, and parameters of the effective dipole moment of the ν6 band were determined by the computer code SYMTOMLIST (SYMmetric TOp Molecules: LIne STrengths), created on the basis of a derived theoretical model. As the first step of the analysis of the experimental data, assignments of the recorded lines were made. A total of 5124 transitions with Jmax = 68, Kmax = 21 were assigned to the ν6 band. The weighted fit of 2077 upper energy values obtained from the experimentally recorded transitions was made with a Hamiltonian which takes into account different types of ro-vibrational effects in doubly degenerate vibrational states of the C3v-symmetric molecule. As the result, a set of 25 fitted parameters was obtained which reproduces the initial 2077 upper "experimental" ro-vibrational energy values with a root mean square deviation drms=4.7×10-5 cm-1. At the second step of the analysis, the computer code SYMTOMLIST was used for determination of the parameters of the derived effective dipole moment model. Six effective dipole moment parameters were obtained from the weighted fit procedure which reproduces absolute experimental strengths of the 2804 initial experimental transitions with a relative drms=3.4%.

High resolution spectroscopy of asymmetric top molecules in nonsinglet electronic states: the ν3 fundamental of chlorine dioxide (16O35Cl16O) free radical in the X2B1 electronic ground state.

Highly resolved spectra of the 16O35Cl16O isotopologue of chlorine dioxide were recorded with a Bruker IFS 125HR Fourier transform infrared spectrometer in the region of the ν3 band. The analysis was made in the frame of the spin-rotational effective Hamiltonian (in A-reduction and Ir-representation) taking into account spin-rotational coupling operators up to the sixth order and the corresponding reduction of the Hamiltonian. The mathematical description of the ro-vibrational spectra was implemented to the specially created computer program ROVDES. Under the present experimental conditions, we were able to assign more than 5200 spin-rotational transitions to the ν3 band. This number is 2.4 times higher compared to the previous studies available from the literature. The vibrational ground state parameters were improved, and the 2220 upper spin-rotation-vibration energy levels were determined and used as initial data in the inverse spectroscopic problem with the derived effective spin-rotational Hamiltonian. A total of 37 fitted parameters were determined (22 rotational and centrifugal parameters and 15 parameters of spin-rotation coupling). The appearance of strong Coriolis resonance interactions between the (001) and (100) vibrational states in the sets of (001)[N,Ka = 9], (001)[N,Ka = 17], (001)[N,Ka = 18] and (001)[N,Ka = 19] spin-rotation-vibration levels was experimentally observed for the first time and explained. The drms = 1.4 × 10-4 cm-1 reproduction of the initial "experimental" upper ro-vibrational energy values was achieved which is considerably better compared to the use of parameters from a previous study ([J. Ortigoso et al., J. Mol. Spectrosc., 1992, 155, 25-43]).

High resolution ro-vibrational analysis of molecules in doublet electronic states: the ν1 fundamental of chlorine dioxide (16O35Cl16O) in the X2B1 electronic ground state.

We report the spectrum of the ν1 fundamental of chlorine dioxide centered in the infrared atmospheric window at 945.592 cm-1 measured with essentially Doppler limited resolution at an instrumental line width of 0.001 cm-1 using the Zürich prototype ZP2001 Bruker IFS 125 HR Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The ro-vibrational line analysis is carried out with an improved effective Hamiltonian and a newly developed computer code ROVDES for the ro-vibrational spectra of open-shell free radical molecules including spin-rotation interactions. Accurate values of rotational, centrifugal and spin-rotational parameters were determined for 16O35Cl16O in the vibronic ground state X2B1 from more than 3500 ground state combination differences. The 7239 assigned transitions for the ν1 fundamental with Nmax = 76 and Kmaxa = 26 provide a set of 32 accurate effective Hamiltonian parameters for the ν1 fundamental (v1v2v3) = (100) (21 rotational and centrifugal distortion parameters and 11 spin-rotational interaction parameters). This effective Hamiltonian (A - reduction and Ir - representation) reproduces 1703 upper state energies from the experiment with a root-mean-square deviation drms = 1.67 × 10-4 cm-1 and the 7239 transition wavenumbers with drms = 3.45 × 10-4 cm-1. Our results provide a considerable improvement over previous results with which we compare and should provide a benchmark for theoretical studies with applications to atmospheric spectroscopy and laser chemistry, which are discussed in relation to our spectra.

On the method of precise abundance determination of isotopologues in a gas mixture.

A method is presented which allows one to derive partial pressures of isotopologue molecules in a gaseous mixture under the conditions of rapid isotope exchange. For this purpose, isotopic relations between effective dipole moment parameters of a "parent" molecule and its related isotopically substituted species are derived on the basis of the general isotopic substitution theory. The efficiency of the method is illustrated. The result was derived for the fundamental bands and is valid for any asymmetric top molecule. The discussed general consideration offers the possibility to obtain analogous results both for any overtone as well as combinational bands of any asymmetric top molecule, and (with minor corrections) for any symmetric and/or spherical top molecule. The validity and efficiency of the general results are confirmed by comparison of the general results obtained in the present paper with the experimental results for the H2O/HDO molecules with a deviation of 3 to 4%.

Hypercooling Temperature of Water is about 100 K Higher than Calculated before.

For deeply supercooled liquids the transition from a two-stage freezing process to complete solidification in just one freezing step occurs at the hypercooling temperature, a term that seems to be almost unknown in water research; to our knowledge, it has only been mentioned by Dolan et al. for high-pressure ice. The reason for the absence of this expression may be that the best estimate to be found in the literature for the hypercooling temperature of water is about -160 °C (113 K). This temperature is far below the limit of experimentally realizable degrees of supercooling near -40 °C (233 K), which marks the homogeneous nucleation temperature TH of common pure water; in fact, it is even below the glass-transition temperature (133 K). Here we show that, surprisingly, a more thorough analysis taking into account the temperature dependence of the heat capacities of water and ice as well as of the enthalpy of freezing shows that the hypercooling temperature of water is about -64 °C or 209 K, almost 100 K higher than estimated before. One of the most exciting consequences is that existing experiments are already able to reach these degrees of supercooling, and it is our prediction that a transition in the freezing behavior occurs at these temperatures.

A Non-Exploding Alkali Metal Drop on Water: From Blue Solvated Electrons to Bursting Molten Hydroxide.

Alkali metals in water are always at the brink of explosion. Herein, we show that this vigorous reaction can be kept in a non-exploding regime, revealing a fascinating richness of hitherto unexplored chemical processes. A combination of high-speed camera imaging and visible/near-infrared/infrared spectroscopy allowed us to catch and characterize the system at each stage of the reaction. After gently placing a drop of a sodium/potassium alloy on water under an inert atmosphere, the production of solvated electrons became so strong that their characteristic blue color could be observed with the naked eye. The exoergic reaction leading to the formation of hydrogen and hydroxide eventually heated the alkali metal drop such that it became glowing red, and part of the metal evaporated. As a result of the reaction, a perfectly transparent drop consisting of molten hydroxide was temporarily stabilized on water through the Leidenfrost effect, bursting spectacularly after it had cooled sufficiently.

Critical Radius of Supercooled Water Droplets: On the Transition toward Dendritic Freezing.

The freezing of freely suspended supercooled water droplets with a diameter of bigger than a few micrometers splits into two rather different freezing stages. Within the first very fast dendritic freezing stage a spongy network ice with an ice portion of less than one-third forms and more than two-thirds of liquid water remain. In the present work the distribution of the ice portion in the droplet directly after the dendritic freezing phase as well as the evolution of the ice and temperature distribution has been investigated in dependence of the most relevant parameters as droplet diameter, dendritic freezing velocity (which correlates with the supercooling) and heat transfer coefficient to the surroundings (which correlates with the relative droplet velocity compared to the ambient air and with the droplet size). For this purpose on the experimental side acoustically levitated droplets in climate chambers have been investigated in combination with high-speed cameras. The obtained results have been used for finite element method (FEM) simulations of the dendritic freezing phase under consideration of the beginning second, much slower heat-transfer dominated freezing phase. A theoretical model covering 30 layers and 5 shells of the droplet has been developed which allows one to describe the evolution of both freezing phases at the same time. The simulated results are in good agreement with experimental as well as with calculated results exploiting the heat balance equation. The most striking result of this work is the critical radius of the droplet which describes the transition of one-stage freezing of the supercooled water droplet toward the thermodynamically forced dendritical two-stage freezing in which the droplet cannot sufficiently get rid of the formation heat anymore. Depending on the parameters named above this critical radius was found to be in the range of 0.1 to 1 µm by FEM simulation.

Coulomb explosion during the early stages of the reaction of alkali metals with water.

Alkali metals can react explosively with water and it is textbook knowledge that this vigorous behaviour results from heat release, steam formation and ignition of the hydrogen gas that is produced. Here we suggest that the initial process enabling the alkali metal explosion in water is, however, of a completely different nature. High-speed camera imaging of liquid drops of a sodium/potassium alloy in water reveals submillisecond formation of metal spikes that protrude from the surface of the drop. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that on immersion in water there is an almost immediate release of electrons from the metal surface. The system thus quickly reaches the Rayleigh instability limit, which leads to a 'coulomb explosion' of the alkali metal drop. Consequently, a new metal surface in contact with water is formed, which explains why the reaction does not become self-quenched by its products, but can rather lead to explosive behaviour.

Electric effect during the fast dendritic freezing of supercooled water droplets.

An electrical phenomenon consisting of two alternating voltage peaks of up to 6 V amplitude was observed during the rapid dendritic freezing phase of supercooled water droplets in the millimeter size range with supercoolings ΔT in the range of 5 to 20 K. For correlation of the dendritic freezing front with the electric potential, a fast recording oscilloscope was combined with a high-speed camera operating at up to 5000 frames per second. The strength of the effect is roughly proportional to the supercooling and dendritic freezing speed. Furthermore, during the subsequent second freezing phase, which is much slower than the dendritic, a qualitatively different electric potential evolution of similar magnitude has been found which resembles the well-investigated Workman-Reynolds freezing potential (WRFP). The experiments show clear evidence that the first rapid dendritic freezing stage significantly influences direction and amount of the electric potential during the second slow freezing stage. Compared to the WRFP, which takes place for much smaller supercoolings of ΔT ≪ 5 K, the evolution of the presented dendritic freezing potential occurs about 10(4) times faster, is about 10 times smaller in view of the maximum voltage, and shows similar break off concentrations but remarkably does not vanish at low foreign ion concentrations. This phenomenon has direct relevance to atmospheric freezing processes of the Earth, other planets, and satellites.

Water ice nanoparticles: size and temperature effects on the mid-infrared spectrum.

Mid-infrared spectra have been measured for cubic ice (I(c)) nanoparticles (3-150 nm diameter) formed by rapid collisional cooling over a wide range of temperatures (5-209 K). Spectral diagnostics, such as the ratio of surface related dangling OH to interior H-bonded OH stretch bands, reveal the manner in which particle size depends on bath gas temperature and density, and on water molecule concentration. For particles smaller than 5 nm strained intermolecular bonds on the surface and subsurface cause the predominant OH stretch peak position to be dramatically blue shifted by up to 40 cm(-1). In the size regime of 8-200 nm the position of the OH stretch absorption band maximum is relatively unaffected by particle size and it is possible to measure the temperature dependence of the peak location without influences from the surface or scattering. The band maximum shifts in a linear fashion from 3218 cm(-1) at 30 K to 3253 cm(-1) at 209 K, which may assist with temperature profiling of ice particles in atmospheric clouds and extraterrestrial systems. Over the same temperature range the librational mode band shifts very little, from 870 to 860 cm(-1). In the water stretching and bending regions discrete spectral features associated with the surface or sub-surface layers have been detected in particles as large as 80 nm.

Effect of nitrogen adsorption on the mid-infrared spectrum of water clusters.

Experimental Fourier-transform infrared spectra and DFT calculated infrared spectra are compared to investigate the effect of adsorbed nitrogen on the OH-stretch band complex of water clusters. Using a collisional cooling experiment, pure as well as partially and completely N(2)-covered water clusters consisting of 20-200 water molecules have been generated in thermal equilibrium in the aerosol phase within the temperature range of 5-80 K. Computational IR-spectra simulations have been performed for discrete pure and N(2)-covered water clusters including 10, 15, 20, and 30 water molecules. The adsorbed N(2) molecules especially affect the three-coordinated water molecules at the cluster surface which could be observed as a blue shift of the companion O-H band at 2900 cm(-1) and a red shift of the dangling O-H band at 3700 cm(-1) by about 20 cm(-1) in both cases. The most striking effect of the N(2) adsorbate is an intensity increase of the dangling O-H band by a factor of 3-5. Furthermore, the onset temperature of nitrogen adsorption at the water cluster surface was experimentally found to be roughly 30 K for cluster sizes of about 100 water molecules. Experimental and computational results are in good agreement. The presented results are based on and support the work of V. Buch, J. P. Devlin, and co-workers (e.g., J. Phys. Chem. B, 1997; J. Phys. Chem. A, 2003; Int. Rev. Phys. Chem., 2004).

Infrared spectroscopy of ozone and hydrogen chloride aerosols.

Aerosols of ozone have been generated in a collisional cooling cell and observed over a small temperature range via FTIR spectroscopy, with the phase transition from the vapour taking place in the range 80-84 K. The condensed phase bands at 1038 cm(-1) (nu3) and 2105 cm(-1) (nu1+nu3) were assigned to the liquid phase. Aerosols were also generated from mixtures of ozone and HCl. In the presence of liquid ozone aerosols, evidence of solvated HCl was observed via a broad IR band 2795 cm(-1). Notably, production of a metastable, amorphous solid phase of HCl (exhibiting a narrow band at 2780 cm(-1)) was favoured to the extent that it could be generated in large excess over the crystalline orthorhombic form that usually dominates at 80 K.

IR spectroscopy of physical and chemical transformations in cold hydrogen chloride and ammonia aerosols.

Aerosol particles of hydrogen chloride corresponding to three distinct solid phases have been generated in a collisional cooling cell and observed via FTIR spectroscopy. The cubic phase of HCl was observed with cell temperatures of 90-100 K, while the highly ordered orthorhombic phase predominated below this temperature. The previously reported metastable phase was also observed under some conditions. Density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level were performed on HCl clusters with a planar, zig-zag arrangement. Computed IR spectra for chain lengths up to 15 converge to show a band shape that is characteristic of the orthorhombic HCl phase. Injection of water along with HCl was found to have little influence on the formation of HCl particles. The reaction between HCl and NH3 to produce NH4Cl particles was also examined and found to occur over a wide range of temperatures (80-300 K). The formation of homogenous particles of HCl and NH3 competed with this chemical reaction as the cell temperature was lowered and when higher pressures of N2 buffer gas were used.

Infrared analysis of CO ice particles in the aerosol phase.

Fourier transform infrared extinction spectra of a variety of CO ice aerosols, generated at low temperatures in a liquid helium cooled collisional-cooling cell, have been analyzed. Different operation modes of the cooling system were used for the generation of spherical and nonspherical CO nanoparticles at temperatures between 5 and 35 K and with diameters between 10 and 1000 nm. In contrast to the predominantly amorphous CO films described in the literature the presented CO particles are (poly)crystalline. A Mie inversion iterative scheme is presented and used to infer the optical constants of CO ice for the cases compact particles have been produced. The spectra of nonspherical CO aerosol particles are interpreted by modeling the extinction using the discrete dipole approximation procedure combined with the retrieved optical constants. A global positive matrix factorization scheme allows us to infer the dominant shapes in the observed particle distribution and can be used as a guide for further experiments. Near 25 K a pronounced shape evolution of smaller particles from spherical toward longish structures was observed at low buffer-gas pressure over 400 s.

Generation and characterization of surface layers on acoustically levitated drops.

Surface layers of natural and technical amphiphiles, e.g., octadecanol, stearic acid and related compounds as well as perfluorinated fatty alcohols (PFA), have been investigated on the surface of acoustically levitated drops. In contrast to Langmuir troughs, traditionally used in the research of surface layers at the air-water interface, acoustic levitation offers the advantages of a minimized and contact-less technique. Although the film pressure cannot be directly adjusted on acoustically levitated drops, it runs through a wide pressure range due to the shrinking surface of an evaporating drop. During this process, different states of the generated surface layer have been identified, in particular the phase transition from the gaseous or liquid-expanded to the liquid-condensed state of surface layers of octadecanol and other related amphiphiles. Characteristic parameters, such as the relative permeation resistance and the area per molecule in a condensed surface layer, have been quantified and were found comparable to results obtained from surface layers generated on Langmuir troughs.

Self-diffusion in core-shell composite 12CO2/13CO2 nanoparticles.

A new technique for the generation of multilayered molecular nanoparticles is presented. Core-shell composite nanoparticles of CO(2) with varied composition have been investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy over 600 s at 78 K. The isotopically different zones of the particles turned out to have completely different spectra in the nu(3) region: a tub structure (mantle) and a head-and-shoulders structure (core). From the aggregation behavior of both components the particle formation time was found to be 0.1 s. Low-temperature self-diffusion of airborne molecular nanoparticles has been monitored for the first time. The self-diffusion coefficient for (12)CO(2)/(13)CO2 nanocomposites at 78 K was determined from the time evolution of the nu(1) + nu(3) combination band to about 7 x 10(-20) m(2)/s. The work represents a major advance toward nanoengineering of molecular nanoparticles at low temperatures.

Evaporation rates of alkanes and alkanols from acoustically levitated drops.

Evaporation constants of acoustically levitated drops from the homologue series of n-alkanes and 1-alkanols in ambient air have been evaluated by size and temperature measurements. The size of the pure liquid drops, within a diameter range of 0.1 to 2.5 mm, was monitored using a CCD camera, while temperature measurements were carried out by IR thermography. During drop evaporation, water from a humid environment with a relative humidity between 5 and 80% was condensed on the drop surface and in the case of n-pentane, the condensed water froze as a result of the evaporative cooling.