Pressure tuning of the Fermi resonance in liquid methanol: Implications for the analysis of high-pressure vibrational spectroscopy experiments

Investigating local field tuning Fermi resonance of CS2 by Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations

In the spectroscopic study of polyatomic molecules, Fermi resonance (FR) is a vibrational coupling and energy transfer phenomenon that widely exists intra- and intermolecular. In particular, the FR coupling between the fundamental mode ν1 and the doubling mode 2ν2 of the CS2 molecule has attracted extensive research. In this work, we investigate the effect of local field on tuning the FR of CS2. By analyzing the Raman spectra of CS2 mixed with methanol and ethanol with different mole fractions, the results indicated that weak HBs interactions in binary solutions can be reflected by the linear frequency shift of the C-H bond vibrations (in methanol and ethanol) with different molar concentrations. Furthermore, the geometrical structure was optimized using DFT simulation, and the vibration analysis and interaction energy were carried out. The simulated Raman spectra are in good agreement with the experiments. In addition, high-pressure Raman spectra of CS2 were obtained by diamond anvil cell technique (up to 9.19 GPa) and a pressure-induced phase transition was observed at 1.71 GPa. The results demonstrated that the pressure-induced polymerization phase transition of CS2 molecules causes the close packing and more orderly arrangement of molecules, resulting in the enhancement of FR coupling. HB and high pressure tune the FR of the CS2 molecule differently.

Tuning the Fermi resonance of pyridine using ethanol molecules

The Fermi resonance (FR) phenomenon is prevalent in infrared and Raman spectroscopy, and it can be observed in a variety of molecules. In particular, pyridine is a compound that has two Fermi doublets: ν₁ ∼ ν₁₂ and ν₁ + ν₆ ∼ ν₈. To analyze the effect of environmental changes on the FR, this study first investigated the Raman spectra of pyridine mixed with ethanol at different concentrations. Results indicated that the FR parameters exhibited a nonlinear dependence on the pyridine concentration fractions, and changing the concentration fraction of pyridine led to different hydrogen bond strengths. Second, the interaction mechanism of pyridine-ethanol binary solutions was analyzed by two-dimensional correlation Raman spectroscopy (2DCRS). In addition, high-pressure Raman spectra of a 50% pyridine-ethanol binary solution were measured up to a pressure of 19.65 GPa by a diamond anvil cell technique, and the phase transition of the binary solution occurred at 6.35 GPa. Finally, the impact of ethanol on the FR of pyridine was determined by deducing the FR parameters at different pressures. The turning point at 6.35 GPa was consistent with the Raman frequency-pressure relationships. The results demonstrated that changes in the intensity of ν₁ did not affect the FR of ν₁ + ν₆ ∼ ν₈, whereas the undisturbed frequency ν₁ still played a role in the FR. When the pressure was compressed to 13.36 GPa, the disappearance of the Raman peaks (ν₁ and ν₁') was attributed to the tuning of the molecular symmetry by pressure during the phase transition.

Pressure-induced Fermi resonance between fundamental modes in phthalic anhydride

In situhigh-pressure Raman spectra of phthalic anhydride (PA) have been measured up to 16 GPa through diamond anvil cell technique. The results show that all the Raman bands are blue-shifted with the increase of pressure, accompanied by appearance of some new bands. A Fermi resonance phenomenon of the two Raman fundamental modes of PA at 773 cm^-1and 801 cm^-1is proposed at pressures above 6.6 GPa, where a possible first-order phase transition occurs. The pressure-induced changes of Fermi resonance parameters, e.g., intensity ratio, coupling coefficient and frequency gap of unperturbed transition, are discussed.

Femtosecond photodecarbonylation of photo-ODIBO studied by stimulated Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory

Photo-oxa-dibenzocyclooctyne (Photo-ODIBO) undergoes photodecarbonylation under UV excitation to its bright S₂ state, forming a highly reactive cyclooctyne, ODIBO. Following 321 nm excitation with sub-50 fs actinic pulses, the excited state evolution and cyclopropenone bond cleavage with CO release were characterized using femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy and time-dependent density functional theory Raman calculations. Analysis of the photo-ODIBO S₂ CO Raman band revealed multi-exponential intensity, peak splitting and frequency-shift dynamics. This suggests a stepwise cleavage of the two C-C bonds in the cyclopropenone structure that is completed within <300 fs after excitation. Evidence of intramolecular vibrational relaxation on the S₂ state, concurrent with photodecarbonylation, with dynamics matching previous electronic transient absorption spectroscopy, was also observed. This confirms an excited state, as opposed to ground state, photodecarbonylation mechanism resulting in a vibronically excited photoproduct, ODIBO.

Probe of Alcohol Structures in the Gas and Liquid States Using C⁻H Stretching Raman Spectroscopy

Vibrational spectroscopy is a powerful tool for probing molecular structures and dynamics since it offers a unique fingerprint that allows molecular identification. One of important aspects of applying vibrational spectroscopy is to develop the probes that can characterize the related properties of molecules such as the conformation and intermolecular interaction. Many examples of vibrational probes have appeared in the literature, including the azide group (⁻N₃), amide group (⁻CONH₂), nitrile groups (⁻CN), hydroxyl group (⁻OH), ⁻CH group and so on. Among these probes, the ⁻CH group is an excellent one since it is ubiquitous in organic and biological molecules and the C⁻H stretching vibrational spectrum is extraordinarily sensitive to the local molecular environment. However, one challenge encountered in the application of C⁻H probes arises from the difficulty in the accurate assignment due to spectral congestion in the C⁻H stretching region. In this paper, recent advances in the complete assignment of C⁻H stretching spectra of aliphatic alcohols and the utility of C⁻H vibration as a probe of the conformation and weak intermolecular interaction are outlined. These results fully demonstrated the potential of the ⁻CH chemical group as a molecular probe.

High pressure Raman spectroscopy of H2O-CH3OH mixtures

Complex intra-molecular interactions and the hydrogen-bonding network in H2O-volatile mixtures play critical roles in many dynamics processes in physical chemistry, biology, and Earth and planetary sciences. We used high pressure Raman spectroscopy to study the pressure evolution of vibrational frequencies and bonding behavior in H2O-CH3OH mixtures. We found that the presence of low CH3OH content in H2O increases the transition pressure where water crystallizes to ice VI, but does not significantly change the pressure where ice VI transforms to ice VII. Furthermore, the stiffening rates of C-H stretching frequencies dω/dP in CH3OH significantly decrease upon the crystallization of water, and the softening rates of the O-H stretching frequencies of ice VII are suppressed over a narrow pressure range, after which the frequencies of these modes shift with pressure in ways similar to pure CH3OH and ice VII, respectively. Such complex pressure evolution of Raman frequencies along with pronounced variations in Raman intensities of CH3OH within the sample, and the hysteresis of the water-ice VI phase transition suggest pressure-induced segregation of low content CH3OH from ice VII. These findings indicate the significant influence of volatiles on the crystallization of sub-surface ocean and thermal evolution within large icy planets and satellites.

Local hydration pressures in methanol aqueous solution: a Raman spectroscopy analysis

Raman spectra of methanol-water mixtures were measured over the whole composition range at room conditions. The spectra are used to quantify the strength of intermolecular interactions in terms of local internal pressures. The conclusions derived from the spectroscopic analysis are discussed within the framework of the solvation pressure model using values of the cohesion energy density expected in the mixture. This work demonstrates that an appropriate analysis of Raman spectroscopy experiments can be used to quantify the local internal pressures due to intermolecular interactions in liquid mixtures, provided that high pressure results of the pure liquids are available.

Anharmonic coupling between fundamental modes in tetramethylurea

In situ high pressure Raman spectra of tetramethylurea have been measured up to 25 GPa, liquid-solid and solid-solid phase transitions were detected at 0.2 GPa and 7.4 GPa, respectively. An unprecedented spectral phenomenon is the observation of a Fermi resonance between the fundamental modes. An exponential relationship between the intensity and the frequency difference was concluded. Pressure provides us a new way to study the correlation between Fermi resonance parameters.