Infrared absorptions of the H2O⋯H2 complex trapped in solid neon

Near-Threshold and Resonance Effects in Rotationally Inelastic Scattering of D2O with Normal-H2

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study on the rotationally inelastic scattering of heavy water, D2O, with normal-H2. Crossed-molecular beam measurements are performed in the collision energy range between 10 and 100 cm-1, corresponding to the near-threshold regime in which scattering resonances are most pronounced. State-to-state excitation cross-sections are obtained by probing three low-lying rotational levels of D2O using the REMPI technique. These measurements are complemented by quantum close-coupling scattering calculations based on a high-accuracy D2O-H2 interaction potential. The agreement between experiment and theory is within the experimental error bars at 95% confidence intervals, leading to a relative difference of less than 7%: the near-threshold rise and the overall shape of the cross-sections, including small undulations due to resonances, are nicely reproduced by the calculations. Isotopic effects (D2O versus H2O) are also discussed by comparing the shape and magnitude of the respective cross-sections.

Matrix-isolation studies of noncovalent interactions: more sophisticated approaches

Noncovalent interactions are crucial for many physical, chemical, and biological phenomena. Matrix isolation is a powerful method to study noncovalent interactions, including hydrogen-bonded species, and it has been extensively used in this field. However, there are difficult situations, such as in the case of species that are impossible to prepare in the gas phase. In this article, we describe some advanced approaches allowing studies of complexes that are problematic for the traditional methods. Photolysis of a suitable precursor in a matrix can lead to a large concentration of 1:1 complexes, which are otherwise very difficult to prepare (e.g., the H2O···O complex). Photolysis of species combined with annealing can lead to complexes of molecules with mobile atoms (e.g., the same H2O···O complex). Simultaneous photolysis of two species combined with annealing can produce complexes of radicals via reactions of the photogenerated complexes with mobile atoms (e.g., the H2O···HCO complex). Interaction of noble-gas (Ng) hydrides with other species is another topic (e.g., the N2···HArF complex) and very large blue shifts of the H-Ng stretching modes are normally observed for these systems. Complexes and dimers of the higher-energy conformer of formic acid have been prepared by using selective vibrational excitation of the ground-state conformer. The higher-energy conformer of formic acid can be efficiently stabilized in the complexes with strong hydrogen bonding. We also consider some problematic cases when the changes in the vibrational frequencies of the 1:1 complexes are very small (e.g., the phenol···Xe complex) and when the complex formation is prevented by strong solvation in the matrix (e.g., species in solid xenon).

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.

Infrared spectra of NH2NO, NH2NO+, and NNOH+ and of the N2⋯H2O complex trapped in solid neon

When a Ne:H2:N2O mixture is co-deposited at 4.3 K with a beam of neon atoms that have been excited in a microwave discharge, NH2NO+ is stabilized in sufficient concentration for detection of five of its vibrational fundamentals. Their assignments are supported by isotopic substitution studies and by the results of unrestricted B3LYP/cc-pVTZ calculations. Electron recombination results in the stabilization of NH2NO, for which the previously reported argon-matrix assignments are confirmed and extended. The OH-stretching fundamental of NNOH+ also is present in the spectrum of the initial sample deposit, but because of proton sharing with the neon matrix is shifted 43.3 cm(-1) from the gas-phase band center. The OD-stretching fundamental of NNOD+ is identified for the first time in the present study. An absorption at 2311.1 cm(-1) is contributed by the NN-stretching vibration of a complex of N2, probably with an ionic species. On prolonged visible and near-ultraviolet irradiation of the deposit, absorptions of the binary N2...H2O complex become increasingly prominent.