Femtosecond time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy of liquid using a hard X-ray free electron laser in a dual-beam dispersive detection method.

We present femtosecond time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy of aqueous solution using a hard x-ray free electron laser (SACLA) and a synchronized Ti:sapphire laser. The instrumental response time is 200 fs, and the repetition rate of measurement is 10 Hz. A cylindrical liquid beam 100 µm in diameter of aqueous ammonium iron(III) oxalate solution is photoexcited at 400 nm, and the transient X-ray absorption spectra are measured in the K-edge region of iron, 7.10 - 7.26 keV, using a dual X-ray beam dispersive detection method. Each of the dual beams has the pulse energy of 1.4 µJ, and pump-induced absorbance change on the order of 10(-3) is successfully detected. The photoexcited iron complex exhibits a red shifted iron K-edge with the appearance time constant of 260 fs. The X-ray absorption difference spectra, with and without the pump pulses, are independent of time delay after 1.5 ps up to 100 ps, indicating that the photoexcited species is long-lived.

Photoelectron spectroscopy of aqueous solutions: streaming potentials of NaX (X = Cl, Br, and I) solutions and electron binding energies of liquid water and X-.

The streaming potentials of liquid beams of aqueous NaCl, NaBr, and NaI solutions are measured using soft X-ray, He(I), and laser multiphoton ionization photoelectron spectroscopy. Gaseous molecules are ionized in the vicinity of liquid beams and the photoelectron energy shifts are measured as a function of the distance between the ionization point and the liquid beam. The streaming potentials change their polarity with concentration of electrolytes, from which the singular points of concentration eliminating the streaming potentials are determined. The streaming currents measured in air also vanish at these concentrations. The electron binding energies of liquid water and I(-), Br(-), and Cl(-) anions are revisited and determined more accurately than in previous studies.

Deuterium isotope effects in the polyatomic reaction of O(1D2)+CH4→OH+CH3.

The scattering distributions of state-selected CH3 products are measured for the O((1)D2) reaction with CH4 using a crossed molecular beam ion imaging method at collision energies of 0.9-6.8 kcal mol(-1). The results are compared with the reaction with CD4 to examine the isotope effects. The scattering distributions exhibit contributions from both the insertion and abstraction pathways, respectively, on the ground- and excited-state potential energy surfaces. Insertion is the main pathway, and it provides a strongly forward-enhanced angular distribution of methyl radicals. Abstraction is a minor pathway, causing backward scattering of methyl radicals with a discrete speed distribution. From the collision energy dependence of the abstraction/insertion ratio, the barrier height for the abstraction pathway is estimated to be 0.7 ± 0.3 and 0.8 ± 0.1 kcal mol(-1) for O((1)D2) with CH4 and CD4, respectively. The insertion pathway of the O((1)D2) reaction with CH4 has a narrower angular width in the forward scattering and a larger insertion/abstraction ratio than the reaction with CD4, which indicates that the insertion reaction with CH4 has a larger cross section and a shorter reaction time than the reaction with CD4. Additionally, while the insertion reaction with CD4 exhibits strong angular dependence of the CD3 speed distribution, CH3 exhibits considerably smaller dependence. The result suggests that, although intramolecular vibrational redistribution (IVR) within the lifetime of the methanol intermediate is restrictive in both isotopomers, relatively more extensive IVR occurs in CD3OD than CH3OH, presumably due to the higher vibrational state density.

Rovibrational state specific scattering distributions of the O((1)D) + CD(4)→ OD + CD3 (v1, v2, N) reaction.

The rovibrational state distributions and state-resolved scattering distributions of CD(3) radicals produced by the reaction O((1)D) + CD(4) were investigated by crossed molecular beam ion imaging. The rotational structure of the resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization spectrum of CD(3) in the ground vibrational state indicates that the low K rotational states of CD(3) radicals are preferentially populated. The state-resolved scattering distributions of CD(3) (v = 0) and those of the excited states of the out-of-plane bending (v(2)) mode exhibit a structureless forward-scattering component due to an insertion pathway and a structured backward-scattering component due to an abstraction path. The scattering distributions of CD(3) in the excited state of the C-D symmetric stretch (v(1)) do not exhibit the abstraction component. The scattering distribution of the abstraction component gradually extends in the forward direction with increasing intensity as the v(2) vibration becomes more strongly excited. This suggests that abstraction with a larger impact parameter results in stronger excitation of v(2).

High-resolution soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of liquid water.

High-resolution soft X-ray photoelectron spectra of liquid water (H(2)O and D(2)O) were measured using a liquid beam photoelectron spectrometer. The 1a(1) (O1s) band and the lowest valence 1b(1) band had single peaks, which is not consistent with the split 1b(1)→ 1a(1) of the X-ray emission band of liquid water if the splitting is assumed to originate from level shifts in two different hydrogen bonding structures. The second valence 3a(1) band of liquid water exhibited a flat top implying that two bands exist underneath a broad feature, which is similar to the case of the 3a(1) band of amorphous ice. The energy splitting between the two 3a(1) bands is estimated to be 1.38 eV (H(2)O) and 1.39 eV (D(2)O). Ab initio calculations suggest that the large splitting of the 3a(1) band is characteristic of water molecules that function as both proton donor and acceptor. The overall result is consistent with the conventional model of a tetrahedral hydrogen-bonding network in liquid water.

Photoelectron imaging spectroscopy of S1(1B2u π,π*) benzene via 6(1)1n (n = 0-3) levels.

We report resonance-enhanced two-photon ionization photo-electron spectroscopy of jet-cooled benzene via the 6(1)1(n) (n = 0-3) vibronic levels in S(1)((1)B(2u) π,π*) using a nanosecond UV laser and photoelectron imaging. The best energy resolution (ΔE/E) was 0.7%. The photoelectron spectrum from the S(1) 6(1)1(3) level (E(vib) = 3284 cm(-1)) in the channel three region exhibited a clear signature of intramolecular vibrational redistribution (IVR). The spectral features were consistent with picosecond zero kinetic energy photoelectron (ZEKE) spectra reported by Smith et al. [ J. Phys. Chem. 1995, 99, 1768]. The photoelectron angular anisotropy parameter ß(2) was found to be negative in ionization from the 6(1)1(n) (n = 0-3) levels with photoelectron kinetic energies up to 5000 cm(-1). No influence of a shape resonance was identified.

Design and characterization of a magnetic bottle electron spectrometer for time-resolved extreme UV and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy of liquid microjets.

We describe a magnetic bottle time-of-flight electron spectrometer designed for time-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of a liquid microjet using extreme UV and X-ray radiation. The spectrometer can be easily reconfigured depending on experimental requirements and the energy range of interest. To improve the energy resolution at high electron kinetic energy, a retarding potential can be applied either via a stack of electrodes or retarding mesh grids, and a flight-tube extension can be attached to increase the flight time. A gated electron detector was developed to reject intense parasitic signal from light scattered off the surface of the cylindrically shaped liquid microjet. This detector features a two-stage multiplication with a microchannel plate plus a fast-response scintillator followed by an image-intensified photon detector. The performance of the spectrometer was tested at SPring-8 and SACLA, and time-resolved photoelectron spectra were measured for an ultrafast charge transfer to solvent reaction in an aqueous NaI solution with a 200 nm UV pump pulses from a table-top ultrafast laser and the 5.5 keV hard X-ray probe pulses from SACLA.

Super-resolution photoelectron imaging with real-time subpixelation by field programmable gate array and its application to NO and benzene photoionization.

We have constructed a photoelectron imaging spectrometer with super-resolution image processing and have applied it to the photoionization of nitric oxide and benzene in molecular beams. A field programmable gate array is employed for real-time subpixel centroiding calculations on hardware, providing 64 megapixel resolution (8192 x 8192 pixels). We examined eight different centroiding algorithms based on the center-of-gravity (COG) and Gaussian fitting (Gauss) methods and have found that the two-dimensional COG (2D-COG) and weighted mean of Gaussian center (w-Gauss) methods have the best performance. The excellent performance of the instrument is demonstrated by visualizing a 25 mum diameter pore structure of an MCP, indicating a spatial resolution of 0.03%. The photoelectron image in one-color (1 + 1) resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization of nitric oxide using a nanosecond laser provided a photoelectron kinetic energy resolution of 0.2%. This resolution is currently restricted by charged-particle optics. The photoelectron energy and angular distributions in the one-color (1 + 1) resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization of benzene via 6(1) and 6(1)1(1) vibronic levels in the S(1) state are also presented. The results demonstrate that photoelectron angular anisotropy varies with the photoelectron kinetic energy and the vibronic state of the cation.

Laser induced amplified spontaneous emission from the B2Pi, L2Pi, and I2Sigma+ valence states of NO.

Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) from single rovibrational levels of valence (non-Rydberg) states of NO molecules has been investigated. The B2Pi (v=24 and 25), L2Pi (v=5 and 6), and I2Sigma+ (v=6) levels have been populated through laser optical-optical double resonance excitation via the Rydberg A2Sigma+ state. Term values for the 2Pi states have been determined with an accuracy of +/-0.03 cm(-1). Analyses of rotationally resolved dispersed ASE spectra in the near infrared region have shown that all the lower states belonged to the Rydberg states. The valence approximately Rydberg coupling in the upper manifolds has driven ASE systems from the valence to the Rydberg levels where they benefit from the strong intensities of inter-Rydberg transitions with Deltav=0. The experimentally predicted valence approximately Rydberg interactions have been compared with theoretical treatments.

Reaction mechanism duality in O(1D2)+CD4-->OD+CD3 identified from scattering distributions of rotationally state selected CD3.

The scattering distributions of rotationally state-selected CD3 products in the O(1D2) reaction with deuterated methane at a collision energy of 5.6 kcal/mol were investigated. Markedly different features were found between the forward and backward scatterings of rovibrationally unexcited CD3, which provides the experimental evidence of the dual reaction mechanisms, i.e., insertion and abstraction on the ground- and excited-state potential energy surfaces, respectively, in this benchmark system. The gradual emergence of forward-backward symmetry in the angular distributions of CD3 in higher rotational states suggests that osculating complexes create rotationally hotter CD3.

Decay dynamics of the long-range H1Sigmag+ state of D2 and H2: experiment and theory.

We present accurate experimental measurements of the lifetimes of rovibrational levels of the long-range H1Sigmag+ state for both D2 and H2, obtained directly from the observation of the time-dependent decay of the fluorescence from these excited levels. These results improve upon and extend those of Reinhold et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 112, 10754 (2000)]. Several decay pathways are open to these levels including fluorescence, predissociation, and autoionization. We present theoretical results for each of these processes, each calculated using the simplest but still appropriate level of theory. In particular, the theoretical calculations provide a quantitative explanation of the dramatic vibrational dependence of the observed lifetimes, the isotope dependence of the lifetimes for levels well localized within the H potential well and therefore not subject to significant tunneling, and an insight into the role of enhanced tunneling in autoionization. In these calculations each of the rovibrational levels of the H state is treated individually, without having to engage in a global coupled-state calculation.