Ultrafast Imaging of the Jahn-Teller Topography in Carbon Tetrachloride

We report the direct time-domain observation of ultrafast dynamics driven by the Jahn-Teller effect. Using time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy with a vacuum-ultraviolet femtosecond source to prepare high-lying Rydberg states of carbon tetrachloride, our measurements reveal the local topography of a Jahn-Teller conical intersection. The pump pulse prepares a configurationally mixed superposition of the degenerate ¹T₂ 4p-Rydberg states, which then distorts through spontaneous symmetry breaking that we identify to follow the t₂ bending motion. Photoionization of these states to three cationic states ²T₁, ²T₂, and ²E reveals a shift in the center-of-mass of the photoelectron peaks associated with the ²T_n states which reveals the local topography of the Jahn-Teller conical intersection region prepared by the pump pulse. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations confirm that the dominant nuclear motion observed in the spectrum is the CCl₄ t₂ bending mode. The large density of states in the VUV spectral region at 9.33 eV of carbon tetrachloride and strong vibronic coupling result in ultrafast decay of the excited-state signal with a time constant of 75(4) fs.

Photochemical carbon-sulfur bond cleavage in thioethers mediated via excited state Rydberg-to-valence evolution

Time-resolved photoelectron imaging and supporting ab initio quantum chemistry calculations were used to investigate non-adiabatic excess energy redistribution dynamics operating in the saturated thioethers diethylsulfide, tetrahydrothiophene and thietane. In all cases, 200 nm excitation leads to molecular fragmentation on an ultrafast (<100 fs) timescale, driven by the evolution of Rydberg-to-valence orbital character along the S-C stretching coordinate. The C-S-C bending angle was also found to be a key coordinate driving initial internal conversion through the excited state Rydberg manifold, although only small angular displacements away from the ground state equilibrium geometry are required. Conformational constraints imposed by the cyclic ring structures of tetrahydrothiophene and thietane do not therefore influence dynamical timescales to any significant extent. Through use of a high-intensity 267 nm probe, we were also able to detect the presence of some transient (bi)radical species. These are extremely short lived, but they appear to confirm the presence of two competing excited state fragmentation channels - one proceeding directly from the initially prepared 4p manifold, and one involving non-adiabatic population of the 4s state. This is in addition to a decay pathway leading back to the S₀ electronic ground state, which shows an enhanced propensity in the 5-membered ring system tetrahydrothiophene over the other two species investigated.

The ultrafast vibronic dynamics of ammonia's D̃ state

Using vacuum-ultraviolet time-resolved velocity map imaging of photoelectrons, we study ultrafast coupled electronic and nuclear dynamics in low-lying Rydberg states of ammonia. Vibrationally-resolved internal vibrational relaxation (IVR) is observed in a progression of the e' bending modes. This vibrational progression is only observed in the D̃ state, and is lost upon ultrafast internal conversion to the C̃ and B̃ electronic states. Due to the ultrashort time scale of the internal conversion (ca. 64 fs), and the vibronic resolution, the non-adiabatic coupling vectors are identified and verified with ab initio calculations. The time-scale of this IVR process is highly surprising and significant because IVR is usually treated as an incoherent process that proceeds statistically, according to a "Fermi's Golden Rule"-like model, where the process scales with the available degrees of freedom. Here, we show that it can be highly non-statistical, restricted to only a very small subset of vibrational motions.

Spectroscopic application of few-femtosecond deep-ultraviolet laser pulses from resonant dispersive wave emission in a hollow capillary fibre

We exploit the phenomenon of resonant dispersive wave (RDW) emission in gas-filled hollow capillary fibres (HCFs) to realize time-resolved photoelectron imaging (TRPEI) measurements with an extremely short temporal resolution. By integrating the output end of an HCF directly into a vacuum chamber assembly we demonstrate two-colour deep ultraviolet (DUV)-infrared instrument response functions of just 10 and 11 fs at central pump wavelengths of 250 and 280 nm, respectively. This result represents an advance in the current state of the art for ultrafast photoelectron spectroscopy. We also present an initial TRPEI measurement investigating the excited-state photochemical dynamics operating in the N-methylpyrrolidine molecule. Given the substantial interest in generating extremely short and highly tuneable DUV pulses for many advanced spectroscopic applications, we anticipate our first demonstration will stimulate wider uptake of the novel RDW-based approach for studying ultrafast photochemistry – particularly given the relatively compact and straightforward nature of the HCF setup.

We exploit the phenomenon of resonant dispersive wave emission in gas-filled hollow capillary fibres to realize time-resolved photoelectron imaging measurements with an extremely short temporal resolution.

Nonstatistical Photoinduced Processes in Gaseous Organic Molecules

Processes that proceed in femtoseconds are usually referred to as being ultrafast, and they are investigated in experiments that involve laser pulses with femtosecond duration in so-called pump probe schemes, where a light pulse triggers a molecular process and a second light pulse interrogates the temporal evolution of the molecular population. The focus of this review is on the reactivity patterns that arise when energy is not equally distributed on all the available degrees of freedom as a consequence of the very short time scale in play and on how the localization of internal energy in a specific mode can be thought of as directing a process toward (or away from) a certain outcome. The nonstatistical aspects are illustrated with examples from photophysics and photochemistry for a range of organic molecules. The processes are initiated by a variety of nuclear motions that are all governed by the energy gradients in the Franck-Condon region. Essentially, the molecules will start to adapt to the new electronic environment on the excited state to eventually reach the equilibrium structure. It is this structural change that is enabling an ultrafast electronic transition in cases where the nuclear motion leads to a transition point with significant coupling between to electronic states and to ultrafast reaction if there is a coupling to a reactive mode at the transition point between the involved states. With the knowledge of the relation between electronic excitation and equilibrium structure, it is possible to predict how the nuclei move after excitation and often whether an ultrafast (and inherently nonstatistical) electronic transition or even a bond breakage will take place. In addition to the understanding of how nonstatistical photoinduced processes proceed from a given excited state, it has been found that randomization of the energy does not even always take place when the molecule takes part in processes that are normally considered statistical, such as for example nonradiative transitions between excited states. This means that energy can be localized in a specific degree of freedom on a state other than the one that is initially prepared. This is a finding that could kickoff the ultimate dream in applied photochemistry; namely light excitation that leads to the rupture of a specific bond.

Transient Symmetry Controls Photo Dynamics near Conical Intersections

Excited-state chemistry lacks generalized symmetry rules. With many femtochemistry studies focused on individual cases, it is hard to build up the same level of chemical intuition for excited states as that for ground states. Here, we unravel the degrees of freedom involved in ultrafast internal conversion (IC) by mapping the vibrational coherence of the initial wavepacket and the dependence on molecular symmetry in various cyclic tertiary amines. Molecular symmetry plays an important role in the preservation of vibrational coherence in the transit from one electronic state to another. We show here that it is sufficient for the molecule to simply have the possibility of a more symmetric structure to achieve the preservation of vibrational coherence. It can be transient and still lead to preservation. This finding provides an additional angle on how symmetry influences electronic transitions and an additional piece to the puzzle of establishing symmetry-based selection rules for excited-state processes.

Trajectory surface-hopping photoinduced dynamics from Rydberg states of trimethylamine

We present a computational study on nonadiabatic excited-state dynamics initiated from the 3p Rydberg states of trimethylamine (TMA). We utilise a methodology based on full-dimensional (39 D) trajectory surface-hopping (TSH) simulations, in which propagation is carried out on on-the-fly density functional theory (DFT)/time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) potentials. Both our electronic structure benchmarks to high-level ab initio methods (EOM-CCSD, CASPT2) and TSH simulations demonstrate high-accuracy of the applied CAM-B3LYP functional for the description of Rydberg excited states. Based on our excited-state simulations, we construct the following mechanistic picture: when pumped resonantly to the 3p Rydberg manifold, TMA coherently vibrates along the planarisation mode with a period of 104 fs and an exponential coherence decay time constant of 240 fs. Nonadiabatic dynamics occur on a faster (∼1 ps) and a slower (∼3 ps) timescale, along the N-C stretching mode by mixing with a dissociative σN-C* state. As a minor relaxation channel, 3p → 3s internal conversion occurs via branching at the σN-C*/3s intersection. We find that photodissociaton is hardly observable within 3 ps (1%), which is a failure of the range-separated hybrid CAM-B3LYP functional, as a consequence of its static electron correlation deficiency at long range. In contrast, pure DFT (GGA-BLYP) provides an accurate long-range description (19% dissociation yield), also supported by comparison to recent ultrafast experiments, even if the Rydberg state energies are significantly underestimated (>1 eV). Finally, we reveal the crucial role of vibrational coherence and energy transfer from the planarisation mode for N-C bond activation and resulting nonadiabatic dynamics. The present work illustrates the importance of nuclear-electronic coupling for excited-state dynamics and branching at conical intersections.

Ultrafast X-ray scattering reveals vibrational coherence following Rydberg excitation

The coherence and dephasing of vibrational motions of molecules constitute an integral part of chemical dynamics, influence material properties and underpin schemes to control chemical reactions. Considerable progress has been made in understanding vibrational coherence through spectroscopic measurements, but precise, direct measurement of the structure of a vibrating excited-state polyatomic organic molecule has remained unworkable. Here, we measure the time-evolving molecular structure of optically excited N-methylmorpholine through scattering with ultrashort X-ray pulses. The scattering signals are corrected for the differences in electron density in the excited electronic state of the molecule in comparison to the ground state. The experiment maps the evolution of the molecular geometry with femtosecond resolution, showing coherent motion that survives electronic relaxation and seems to persist for longer than previously seen using other methods.