Matrix isolation spectroscopy of H2O, D2O, and HDO in solid parahydrogen

Nuclear spin conversion of methane in solid parahydrogen

The nuclear spin conversion of CH(4) and CD(4) isolated in solid parahydrogen was investigated by high resolution Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. From the analysis of the temporal changes of rovibrational absorption spectra, the nuclear spin conversion rates associated with the rotational relaxation from the J=1 state to the J=0 state for both species were determined at temperatures between 1 and 6 K. The conversion rate of CD(4) was found to be 2-100 times faster than that of CH(4) in this temperature range. The faster conversion in CD(4) is attributed to the quadrupole interaction of D atoms in CD(4), while the conversion in CH(4) takes place mainly through the nuclear spin-nuclear spin interaction. The conversion rates depend on crystal temperature strongly above 3.5 K for CH(4) and above 2 K for CD(4), while the rates were almost constant below these temperatures. The temperature dependence indicates that the one-phonon process is dominant at low temperatures, while two-phonon processes become important at higher temperatures as a cause of the nuclear spin conversion.

Multidimensional infrared spectroscopy of water. II. Hydrogen bond switching dynamics

We use multidimensional infrared spectroscopy of the OH stretch of HOD in D2O to measure the interconversion of different hydrogen bonding environments. The OH stretching frequency distinguishes hydrogen bonded (HB) and non-hydrogen-bonded (NHB) configurations by their absorption on the low (red) and high (blue) sides of the line shape. Measured asymmetries in the two dimensional infrared OH line shapes are manifestations of the fundamentally different spectral relaxations of HB and NHB. HB oscillators exhibit coherent oscillations within the hydrogen-bonded free energy well before undergoing activated barrier crossing, resulting in the exchange of hydrogen bonded partners. Conversely, NHB oscillators rapidly return to HB frequencies within 150 fs. These results support a picture where NHB configurations are only visited transiently during large fluctuations about a hydrogen bond or during the switching of hydrogen bonding partners. The results are not consistent with the presence of entropically stabilized dangling hydrogen bonds or a conceptual picture of water as a mixture of environments with varying hydrogen bond strength separated by barriers >kT.

Infrared absorptions of NH3(H2) complexes trapped in solid neon

When a very small concentration of H2 is added to a Ne:NH3=800:1 sample and the resulting mixture is deposited at 4.3 K, a new absorption appears at 4151.1 cm(-1) which can be assigned to the H2 stretching fundamental of H2 (j=1) complexed with NH3. Other new absorptions which appear near the vibrational fundamentals of NH3 are assigned to the NH3 moiety in this complex and in the complex of NH3 with H2 (j=0). The results of experiments in which HD or D2 is added to the Ne:NH3 mixture support these assignments. Ab initio and density functional calculations predict the observed infrared activation of the H2-stretching vibration for a structure in which the axis of the H2 molecule is collinear with the threefold axis of the NH3. The dependence of the observed absorption patterns on the concentration of H2 in the sample indicates that complexes of NH3 with two or more H2 molecules also form readily.

A simple model for the water o-H2 complex

The infrared spectrum of the complex between o-H2 and H2O, D2O, or HDO, isolated in a matrix of solid p-H2, has been studied between 20 and 4500 cm(-1). In addition the infrared spectrum of the complex between p-D2 and H2O in solid o-D2 has been studied. The spectral shifts are interpreted as the result of the quadrupole-dipole interaction between hydrogen and water.

Vibrational Spectra and Structure of CH3Cl:H2O, CH3Cl:HDO, and CH3Cl:D2O Complexes. IR Matrix Isolation and ab initio Calculations

The infrared spectra of CH3Cl + H2O isolated in solid neon at low temperatures have been investigated. The CH3Cl + H2O system is remarkable because of its propensity to form CH3Cl:H2O and CH3Cl:(H2O)n (n > or = 2) complexes. We focus here on the CH3Cl:H2O species. Low concentration studies (0.01-0.5%) and subsequent annealing lead to formation of the 1:1 CH3Cl:H2O complex with O-H. . .Cl-C or O. . .H-C intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Vibrational modes of this complex have been detected. In addition, spectra of D2O + CH3Cl and HDO + CH3Cl have also been recorded. A detailed vibrational analysis of partially deuterated species shows that HDO is exclusively D bonded to CH3Cl. This is a consequence of the preference for HDO to form a deuterium bonding complex rather than a hydrogen bonding one.