Stability and Dissociation Dynamics of the Low-Lying Excited States of Ozone

Photoelectron-Photofragment Coincidence Spectroscopy With Ions Prepared in a Cryogenic Octopole Accumulation Trap: Collisional Excitation and Buffer Gas Cooling

A cryogenic octopole accumulation trap (COAT) has been coupled to a photoelectron-photofragment coincidence (PPC) spectrometer allowing for improved control over anion vibrational excitation. The anions are heated and cooled via collisions with buffer gas <17 K. Shorter trapping times (500 μs) prevent thermalization and result in anions with high internal excitation while longer trapping times (80 ms) at cryogenic temperatures thermalize the ions to the temperature of the buffer gas. The capabilities of the COAT are demonstrated using PPC spectroscopy ofO 3 - at 388 nm (Ehν = 3.20 eV). Cooling the precursor anions with COAT resulted in the elimination of the autodetachment of vibrationally excitedO 2 - produced by the photodissociationO 3 - + hν → O +O 2 - (v ≥ 4). Under heating conditions, a lower limit temperature for the anions was determined to be 1,500 K through Franck-Condon simulations of the photodetachment spectrum ofO 3 - , considering a significant fraction of the ions undergo photodissociation in competition with photodetachment. The ability to cool or heat ions by varying ion injection and trapping duration in COAT provides a new flexibility for studying the spectroscopy of cold ions as well as thermally activated processes.

Photoelectron imaging and photodissociation of ozonide in O3(-)⋅(O2)n (n = 1-4) clusters

The photoelectron images of O3 (-) and O3 (-) ⋅ (O2)n (n = 1-4) have been measured using 3.49 eV photon energy. The spectra exhibit several processes, including direct photodetachment and photodissociation with photodetachment of O(-) photofragments. Several spectra also exhibit autodetachment of vibrationally excited O2 (-) photofragments. Comparison of the bare O3 (-) photoelectron spectra to that of the complexes shows that the O3 (-) core is preserved upon clustering with several O2 molecules, though subtle changes in the Franck-Condon profile of the ground state photodetachment transition suggest some charge transfer from O3 (-) to the O2 molecules. The electron affinities of the complexes increase by less than 0.1 eV with each additional O2 molecule, which is comparable to the corresponding binding energy [K. Hiraoka, Chem. Phys. 125, 439-444 (1988)]. The relative intensity of the photofragment O(-) detachment signal to the O3 (-) ⋅ (O2)n direct detachment signal increases with cluster size. O2 (-) autodetachment signal is only observed in the O3 (-), O3 (-) ⋅ (O2)3, and O3 (-) ⋅ (O2)4 spectra, suggesting that the energy of the dissociative state also varies with the number of O2 molecules present in the cluster.

Especially significant new component of N2O quantum yield in the UV photolysis of O3 in air

This paper presents an alternate three-component model for the density ([M]) and temperature (T) dependence of the N2O quantum yields (phi(N2O), in the UV photolysis of O3 in air, from Estupiñán et al.'s (ENLCW's) high-quality experiments that were a breakthrough in the pressure and T coverage. The three components consist of a new [M]-independent component, the ENLCW-discovered [M]1 component, and the [M]2-dependent component found by Kajimoto and Cvetanovic. The [M]1 component is T independent. The weak T dependence of ENLCW's phi(N2O) results from the T dependence of the other two components. The agreement of the three-component model with the observed phi(N2O) is much better than that of ENLCW's one-component (T-dependent linear-in-[M]) model. For example, the percentage residual for a significant two-thirds of all data is better than +/-8% in the three-component model compared to only one-third for the ENLCW model. The improvements due to the three-component model are real in the sense that they are obvious despite the experimental error bars in that pressure-temperature domain where the reality is expected to reveal itself in the ENLCW experiment. Also, the new [M]-independent component is nonzero positive at a very high confidence level of 97.5%, sharply contrasting with the current perception. The [M]-independent component is especially significant despite being small compared to the dominant [M]1 component. It implies N2O formation from excited O3, tentatively O3(3B1), immune from ENLCW and Prasad controversy over the origin of the [M]1 component. In the suggested interpretation, the [M]0 component varies linearly with [O3] in the photolyzed O3/air mixture. Further experiments with [O3] fixed at various amounts, while the air density and temperature are varied, could check the interpretation. Further computational-chemistry studies to better characterize the low-lying triplet states of O3 would also help.

Resonance spectrum and dissociation dynamics of ozone in the 3B2 electronically excited state: Experiment and theory

The rovibrational spectrum assigned to the low-lying (3)B(2) electronic state of ozone is measured with intracavity laser absorption spectroscopy. The experimental results are interpreted by means of quantum dynamical calculations on a global ab initio potential energy surface. The observed spectrum is shown to originate from the vibrational ground state in the local minimum of the (3)B(2) potential. The spectrum of short-lived resonance states in this local minimum is analyzed. Additionally, the global minimum of the surface is shown to lie in the dissociation channel in the van der Waals region. This region supports a short sequence of weakly bound vibrational states.

Femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy of polyatomic molecules

Femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy is emerging as a useful technique for investigating excited state dynamics in isolated polyatomic molecules. The sensitivity of photoelectron spectroscopy to both electronic configurations and vibrational dynamics makes it well suited to the study of ultrafast nonadiabatic processes. We review the conceptual interpretation of wavepacket dynamics experiments, emphasizing the role of the final state. We discuss the advantages of the molecular ionization continuum as the final state in polyatomic wavepacket experiments and show how the electronic structure of the continuum can be used to disentangle electronic from vibrational dynamics. We illustrate these methods with examples from diatomic wavepacket dynamics, internal conversion in polyenes and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, excited state intramolecular proton transfer, and azobenzene photoiosomerization dynamics.

Coincidence spectroscopy

The application of coincidence techniques to the study of the reaction dynamics of isolated molecules is reviewed. Coincidence spectroscopy is a powerful approach for carrying out a number of measurements. At its most basic level, coincidence techniques can identify the source of a specific signal, as in the well-known photoelectron-photoion coincidence approach used for several years. By carrying out coincidence experiments in an increasingly differential manner, correlated energy and angular distributions of reaction products may be recorded. Completely energy- and angle-resolved measurements of photoelectrons and ionic or neutral products can reveal molecular-frame photoelectron and photofragment angular distributions and aid in the characterization of dissociative states of molecules and ions. Recent work in this area is reviewed, including examples from studies of dissociative photodetachment, dissociative photoionization, time-resolved studies of dissociative photoionization, and three-body dissociation processes.