Rotational state selection of a CH3I+ ion beam using vacuum ultraviolet-mass-analyzed threshold ionization spectroscopy: characterization using photodissociation spectroscopy

The A(2)A(1)<--X(2)E(3/2) transition of CH(3)I(+) was investigated by photodissociation (PD) of the cation generated by one-photon mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI). Compared to the PD spectrum obtained by excitation of the cation in the main 0-0 band in the MATI spectrum, those obtained by excitation of the cations in the satellite structures showed substantially simplified rotational structures for nondegenerate vibronic bands. Spectral simplification occurred because each satellite consisted mostly of cations with one K quantum number. Spectroscopic constants in the ground vibronic state and in the 2(1)3(5), 2(1)3(8), 3(9), and 3(13) nondegenerate vibrational states in A(2)A(1) were determined via spectral fitting. Also, those in the 2(1)3(n)6(1) (n=1?) degenerate state, which had been reported previously, was improved. The K quantum number in each satellite determined by the present high resolution study was compatible with the prediction by the symmetry selection rule for photoionization. That is, the K quantum number of the ion core in high Rydberg states accessed by one-photon excitation was found to be conserved upon pulsed field ionization. This work demonstrates generation of mass-selected, vibronically selected, and K-selected ion beam by one-photon MATI.

K selection in one-photon mass-analyzed threshold ionization of CH3I and CD3I to the X2E3/2 state cations

One-photon mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectra for the X (2)E(3/2) states of CH(3)I(+) and CD(3)I(+) were measured using vacuum ultraviolet radiation generated by four-wave mixing in Kr. Spin-orbit density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ level and spin-orbit/Jahn-Teller calculations were made to aid vibrational assignment. Each vibrational band consisted of several peaks due to different DeltaK transitions, which could be assigned by using molecular parameters determined in the previous high resolution photodissociation spectroscopic study. Possibility of generating mass-selected, vibronically selected and K-selected ion beam with decent intensity by one-photon MATI was demonstrated. The ionization energies to the X (2)E(3/2) states of CH(3)I(+) and CD(3)I(+) corrected for the rotational contribution were 9.5386+/-0.0006 and 9.5415+/-0.0006 eV, respectively.

The World of Non-Covalent Interactions: 2006

The review focusses on the fundamental importance of non-covalent interactions in nature by illustrating specific examples from chemistry, physics and the biosciences. Laser spectroscopic methods and both ab initio and molecular modelling procedures used for the study of non-covalent interactions in molecular clusters are briefly outlined. The role of structure and geometry, stabilization energy, potential and free energy surfaces for molecular clusters is extensively discussed in the light of the most advanced ab initio computational results for the CCSD(T) method, extrapolated to the CBS limit. The most important types of non-covalent complexes are classified and several small and medium size non-covalent systems, including H-bonded and improper H-bonded complexes, nucleic acid base pairs, and peptides and proteins are discussed with some detail. Finally, we evaluate the interpretation of experimental results in comparison with state of the art theoretical models: this is illustrated for phenol...Ar, the benzene dimer and nucleic acid base pairs. A review with 270 references.

Photoelectron spectroscopy without photoelectrons: Twenty years of ZEKE spectroscopy

Zero Kinetic Energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy, originally developed as a high resolution form of photoelectron spectroscopy, promised a means to the unambiguous determination of ionic (ro)vibrational states. Since its original development, it has spawned numerous methodological offshoots and has become one of the default methods of choice for high resolution spectroscopy of the ion. This tutorial review describes the historical development of the method, provides some insight into how it works and assesses the impact of the technique by reviewing some of the highlights of the past 20 years as well as some of the more recent developments and applications.

Dispersion corrections to density functionals for water aromatic interactions

We investigate recently published methods for extending density functional theory to the description of long-range dispersive interactions. In all schemes an empirical correction consisting of a C6r(-6) term is introduced that is damped at short range. The coefficient C6 is calculated either from average molecular or atomic polarizabilities. We calculate geometry-dependent interaction energy profiles for the water benzene cluster and compare the results with second-order Møller-Plesset calculations. Our results indicate that the use of the B3LYP functional in combination with an appropriate mixing rule and damping function is recommended for the interaction of water with aromatics.