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Belsa B, Amini K, Liu X, Sanchez A, Steinle T, Steinmetzer J, Le AT, Moshammer R, Pfeifer T, Ullrich J, Moszynski R, Lin CD, Gräfe S, Biegert J. Laser-induced electron diffraction of the ultrafast umbrella motion in ammonia. STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS (MELVILLE, N.Y.) 2021; 8:014301. [PMID: 34026922 PMCID: PMC8121549 DOI: 10.1063/4.0000046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Visualizing molecular transformations in real-time requires a structural retrieval method with Ångström spatial and femtosecond temporal atomic resolution. Imaging of hydrogen-containing molecules additionally requires an imaging method sensitive to the atomic positions of hydrogen nuclei, with most methods possessing relatively low sensitivity to hydrogen scattering. Laser-induced electron diffraction (LIED) is a table-top technique that can image ultrafast structural changes of gas-phase polyatomic molecules with sub-Ångström and femtosecond spatiotemporal resolution together with relatively high sensitivity to hydrogen scattering. Here, we image the umbrella motion of an isolated ammonia molecule (NH3) following its strong-field ionization. Upon ionization of a neutral ammonia molecule, the ammonia cation (NH3 +) undergoes an ultrafast geometrical transformation from a pyramidal ( Φ HNH = 107 ° ) to planar ( Φ HNH = 120 ° ) structure in approximately 8 femtoseconds. Using LIED, we retrieve a near-planar ( Φ HNH = 117 ± 5 ° ) field-dressed NH3 + molecular structure 7.8 - 9.8 femtoseconds after ionization. Our measured field-dressed NH3 + structure is in excellent agreement with our calculated equilibrium field-dressed structure using quantum chemical ab initio calculations.
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Affiliation(s)
- B. Belsa
- ICFO—Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - X. Liu
- ICFO—Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A. Sanchez
- ICFO—Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - T. Steinle
- ICFO—Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - J. Steinmetzer
- Institute of Physical Chemistry and Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Helmholtzweg 4, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - A. T. Le
- Department of Physics, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri 65409, USA
| | - R. Moshammer
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - T. Pfeifer
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - R. Moszynski
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - C. D. Lin
- Department of Physics, J. R. Macdonald Laboratory, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-2604, USA
| | - S. Gräfe
- Institute of Physical Chemistry and Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Helmholtzweg 4, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - J. Biegert
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
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Abstract
Solvated electrons were first discovered in solutions of metals in liquid ammonia. The physical and chemical properties of these species have been studied extensively for many decades using an arsenal of electrochemical, spectroscopic, and theoretical techniques. Yet, in contrast to their hydrated counterpart, the ultrafast dynamics of ammoniated electrons remained completely unexplored until quite recently. Femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy on metal-ammonia solutions and femtosecond multiphoton ionization spectroscopy on the neat ammonia solvent have provided new insights into the optical properties and the reactivities of this fascinating species. This article reviews the nature of the optical transition, which gives the metal-ammonia solutions their characteristic blue appearance, in terms of ultrafast relaxation processes involving bound and continuum excited states. The recombination processes following the injection of an electron via photoionization of the solvent are discussed in the context of the electronic structure of the liquid and the anionic defect associated with the solvated electron.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Vöhringer
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, 53115 Bonn, Germany;
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Kumagai Y, Odagiri T, Nakano M, Tanabe T, Suzuki IH, Hosaka K, Kitajima M, Kouchi N. Cross sections for the formation of H( n = 2) atom via superexcited states in photoexcitation of methane and ammonia. J Chem Phys 2013; 139:164307. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4826460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Zhu JS, Miao YR, Deng JK, Ning CG. The Jahn-Teller effect in the electron momentum spectroscopy of ammonia. J Chem Phys 2012; 137:174305. [PMID: 23145729 DOI: 10.1063/1.4766202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The 1e and 3a(1) bands of the ammonia molecule have been studied using the high-resolution electron momentum spectroscopy at impact energies of 1200 and 600 eV. Several slices of 1e and 3a(1) bands in the different binding energy ranges were selected, and their electron-momentum distributions were carefully compared. The discernable difference among the distributions of the selected slices of the 1e band shows that the Jahn-Teller effect indeed influences the electron momentum distribution of the 1e orbital of ammonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- J S Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics, Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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Photoionization-induced dynamics of the ammonia cation studied by wave packet calculations using curvilinear coordinates. Chem Phys 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2007.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Viel A, Eisfeld W, Neumann S, Domcke W, Manthe U. Photoionization-induced dynamics of ammonia: ab initio potential energy surfaces and time-dependent wave packet calculations for the ammonia cation. J Chem Phys 2007; 124:214306. [PMID: 16774406 DOI: 10.1063/1.2202316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
An analytical anharmonic six-dimensional three-sheeted potential energy surface for the ground and first excited states of the ammonia cation has been developed which is tailored to model the ultrafast photoinduced dynamics. Selected ab initio cuts, obtained by multireference configuration interaction calculations, have been used to determine the parameters of a diabatic representation for this Jahn-Teller and pseudo-Jahn-Teller system. The model includes higher-order coupling terms both for the Jahn-Teller and for the pseudo-Jahn-Teller matrix elements. The relaxation to the ground state is possible via dynamical pseudo-Jahn-Teller couplings involving the asymmetric bending and stretching coordinates. The photoelectron spectrum of NH3 and the internal conversion dynamics of NH3+ have been determined by wave packet propagation calculations employing the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree method. Three different time scales are found in the dynamics calculations for the second absorption band. The ultrafast Jahn-Teller dynamics of the two excited states occurs on a 5 fs time scale. The major part of the internal conversion to the ground state takes place within a short time scale of 20 fs. This fast internal conversion is, however, incomplete and the remaining excited state population does not decay completely even within 100 fs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Viel
- Laboratoire de Physique des Atomes, Lasers, Molécules et Surfaces (PALMS), CNRS UMR 6627, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, F-35042 Rennes, France.
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Woywod C, Scharfe S, Krawczyk R, Domcke W, Köppel H. Theoretical investigation of Jahn–Teller and pseudo-Jahn–Teller interactions in the ammonia cation. J Chem Phys 2003. [DOI: 10.1063/1.1557191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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A comparative study of the satellite structures in the photoelectron spectra of the Ne, Ar and Kr isoelectronic hydrides. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1992. [DOI: 10.1016/0166-1280(92)85111-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Lisini A, Brosolo M, Decleva P, Fronzoni G. Many-body effects in the valence photoelectron spectra of the third row hydrides: a configuration interaction approach. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1992. [DOI: 10.1016/0166-1280(92)87118-j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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10
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Lisini A, Decleva P, Fronzoni G. Theoretical study of the satellite structure in the valence photoelectron spectra of the second and third row hydrides. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1991. [DOI: 10.1016/0166-1280(91)90048-o] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Holland D, Macdonald M, Hayes M. A photoelectron study of the inner valence molecular orbitals of N2O. Chem Phys 1990. [DOI: 10.1016/0301-0104(90)89089-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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12
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Wasada H, Hirao K. Computational studies of satellite peaks of the inner-valence ionization of C2H4, C2H2 and H2S using the SAC CI method. Chem Phys 1989. [DOI: 10.1016/0301-0104(89)87135-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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