Photodissociation spectroscopy and dynamics of the methylthio radical (CH3S)

Identification and Photochemistry of the Mercaptomethyl Radical

The mercaptomethyl radical (·CH2SH) is a higher-energy isomer of the methylthio radical (CH3S·) that has been proposed as an important intermediate in atmospheric and interstellar sulfur chemistry. Herein, we report the spectroscopic identification of ·CH2SH during the UV (365 nm) photolysis of CH3S· in a solid Ar-matrix at 10 K. Upon subsequent irradiation at 266 nm, the dehydrogenation of ·CH2SH to yield CS via the intermediacy of the elusive thioformyl radical (HCS·) has also been observed. The characterization of ·CH2SH and HCS· with matrix-isolation IR and UV-vis spectroscopy is supported by 13C-isotope labeling and quantum chemical calculations at the CCSD(T)-F12a/cc-pVTZ-F12 level using configuration-selective vibrational configuration interaction theory (VCI). The disclosed photochemistry of ·CH2SH provides new insight into understanding the chemical evolution of organosulfur molecules in the interstellar medium (ISM).

Correcting the Experimental Enthalpies of Formation of Some Members of the Biologically Significant Sulfenic Acids Family

Sulfenic acids are important intermediates in the oxidation of cysteine thiol groups in proteins by reactive oxygen species. The mechanism is influenced heavily by the presence of polar groups, other thiol groups, and solvent, all of which determines the need to compute precisely the energies involved in the process. Surprisingly, very scarce experimental information exists about a very basic property of sulfenic acids, the enthalpies of formation. In this Article, we use high level quantum chemical methods to derive the enthalpy of formation at 298.15 K of methane-, ethene-, ethyne-, and benzenesulfenic acids, the only ones for which some experimental information exists. The methods employed were tested against well-known experimental data of related species and extensive CCSD(T) calculations. Our best results consistently point out to a much lower enthalpy of formation of methanesulfenic acid, CH₃SOH (Δ_fH⁰(298.15K) = -35.1 ± 0.4 kcal mol^-1), than the one reported in the NIST thermochemical data tables. The enthalpies of formation derived for ethynesulfenic acid, HC≡CSOH, +32.9 ± 1.0 kcal/mol, and benzenesulfenic acid, C₆H₅SOH, -2.6 ± 0.6 kcal mol^-1, also differ markedly from the experimental values, while the enthalpy of formation of ethenesulfenic acid CH₂CHSOH, not available experimentally, was calculated as -11.2 ± 0.7 kcal mol^-1.

Spectroscopic characterization of two peroxyl radicals during the O2-oxidation of the methylthio radical

The atmospheric oxidation of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) yields sulfuric acid and methane sulfonic acid (MSA), which are key precursors to new particles formed via homogeneous nucleation and further cluster growth in air masses. Comprehensive experimental and theoretical studies have suggested that the oxidation of DMS involves the formation of the methylthio radical (CH₃S•), followed by its O₂-oxidation reaction via the intermediacy of free radicals CH₃SO_x• (x = 1-4). Therefore, capturing these transient radicals and disclosing their reactivity are of vital importance in understanding the complex mechanism. Here, we report an optimized method for efficient gas-phase generation of CH₃S• through flash pyrolysis of S-nitrosothiol CH₃SNO, enabling us to study the O₂-oxidation of CH₃S• by combining matrix-isolation spectroscopy (IR and UV-vis) with quantum chemical computations at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pV(X + d)Z (X = D and T) level of theory. As the key intermediate for the initial oxidation of CH₃S•, the peroxyl radical CH₃SOO• forms by reacting with O₂. Upon irradiation at 830 nm, CH₃SOO• undergoes isomerization to the sulfonyl radical CH₃SO₂• in cryogenic matrixes (Ar, Ne, and N₂), and the latter can further combine with O₂ to yield another peroxyl radical CH₃S(O)₂OO• upon further irradiation at 440 nm. Subsequent UV-light irradiation (266 nm) causes dissociation of CH₃S(O)₂OO• to CH₃SO₂•, CH₂O, SO₂, and SO₃. The IR spectroscopic identification of the two peroxyl radicals CH₃SOO• and CH₃S(O)₂OO• is also supported by ¹⁸O- and ¹³C-isotope labeling experiments.

Matrix-isolated trifluoromethylthiyl radical: sulfur atom transfer, isomerization and oxidation reactions

By high-vacuum flash pyrolysis of bis(trifluoromethyl)disulfane oxide (CF₃S(O)SCF₃) at 400 °C, the elusive trifluoromethylthiyl radical (CF₃S˙) has been efficiently generated in the gas phase. Subsequent isolation of CF₃S˙ in cryogenic matrixes (Ne, Ar, and N₂) allows a first time characterization with IR and UV-vis spectroscopy by combining with computations at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pV(T + d)Z level. In addition to the photo-induced sulfur atom transfer (SAT) from CF₃S˙ to N₂ and CO and the isomerization to ˙CF₂SF, the O₂-oxidation via the intermediacy of the novel thiylperoxy radical CF₃SOO˙ has been observed.

Quantifying rival bond fission probabilities following photoexcitation: C-S bond fission in t-butylmethylsulfide

We illustrate a new, collision-free experimental strategy that allows determination of the absolute probabilities of rival bond fission processes in a photoexcited molecule - here t-butylmethylsulfide (BSM). The method combines single photon ('universal') ionization laser probe methods, simultaneous imaging of all probed fragments (multi-mass ion imaging) and the use of an appropriate internal calibrant (here dimethylsulfide). Image analysis allows quantification of the dynamics of the rival B-SM and BS-M bond fission processes following ultraviolet (UV) excitation of BSM and shows the former to be twice as probable, despite the only modest (∼2%) differences in the respective ground state equilibrium C-S bond lengths or bond strengths. Rationalising this finding should provide a stringent test of the two close-lying, coupled excited states of 1A'' symmetry accessed by UV excitation in BSM and related thioethers, of the respective transition dipole moment surfaces, and of the geometry dependent non-adiabatic couplings that enable the rival C-S bond fissions.

Photoinduced C–H bond fission in prototypical organic molecules and radicals

We survey and assess current knowledge regarding the primary photochemistry of hydrocarbon molecules and radicals.

Invited Review Article: Photofragment imaging

Photodissociation studies in molecular beams that employ position-sensitive particle detection to map product recoil velocities emerged thirty years ago and continue to evolve with new laser and detector technologies. These powerful methods allow application of tunable laser detection of single product quantum states, simultaneous measurement of velocity and angular momentum polarization, measurement of joint product state distributions for the detected and undetected products, coincident detection of multiple product channels, and application to radicals and ions as well as closed-shell molecules. These studies have permitted deep investigation of photochemical dynamics for a broad range of systems, revealed new reaction mechanisms, and addressed problems of practical importance in atmospheric, combustion, and interstellar chemistry. This review presents an historical overview, a detailed technical account of the range of methods employed, and selected experimental highlights illustrating the capabilities of the method.

Atmospherically Relevant Radicals Derived from the Oxidation of Dimethyl Sulfide

The large number and amounts of volatile organosulfur compounds emitted to the atmosphere and the enormous variety of their reactions in various oxidation states make experimental measurements of even a small fraction of them a daunting task. Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is a product of biological processes involving marine phytoplankton, and it is estimated to account for approximately 60% of the total natural sulfur gases released to the atmosphere. Ocean-emitted DMS has been suggested to play a role in atmospheric aerosol formation and thereby cloud formation. The reaction of ·OH with DMS is known to proceed by two independent channels: abstraction and addition. The oxidation of DMS is believed to be initiated by the reaction with ·OH and NO₃· radicals, which eventually leads to the formation of sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) and methanesulfonic acid (CH₃SO₃H). The reaction of DMS with NO₃· appears to proceed exclusively by hydrogen abstraction. The oxidation of DMS consists of a complex sequence of reactions. Depending on the time of the day or altitude, it may take a variety of pathways. In general, however, the oxidation proceeds via chains of radical reactions. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) has been reported to be a major product of the addition channel. Dimethyl sulfone (DMSO₂), SO₂, CH₃SO₃H, and methanesulfinic acid (CH₃S(O)OH) have been observed as products of further oxidation of DMSO. Understanding the details of DMS oxidation requires in-depth knowledge of the elementary steps of this seemingly simple transformation, which in turn requires a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. The methylthiyl (CH₃S·), methylsulfinyl (CH₃SO·), methylsulfonyl (CH₃SO₂·), and methylsulfonyloxyl (CH₃SO₃·) radicals have been postulated as intermediates in the oxidation of DMS. Therefore, studying the chemistry of sulfur-containing free radicals in the laboratory also is the basis for understanding the mechanism of DMS oxidation in the atmosphere. The application of matrix-isolation techniques in combination with quantum-mechanical calculations on the generation and structural elucidation of CH₃SO_x (x = 0-3) radicals is reviewed in the present Account. Experimental matrix IR and UV/vis data for all known species of this substance class are summarized together with data obtained using other spectroscopic techniques, including time-resolved spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and others. We also discuss the reactivity and experimental characterization of these species to illustrate their practical relevance and highlight spectroscopic techniques available for the elucidation of their geometric and electronic structures. The present Account summarizes recent results regarding the preparation, characterization, and reactivity of various radical species with the formula CH₃SO_x (x = 0-3).

Photodissociation of the CH3O and CH3S radical molecules: an ab initio electronic structure study

The electronic states and the spin-orbit couplings between them involved in the photodissociation process of the radical molecules CH₃X, CH₃X → CH₃ + X (X = O, S), taking place after the Ã(²A₁) ← X[combining tilde](²E) transition, have been investigated using highly correlated ab initio techniques. A two-dimensional representation of both the potential-energy surfaces (PESs) and the couplings is generated. This description includes the C-X dissociative mode and the CH₃ umbrella mode. Spin-orbit effects are found to play a relevant role in the shape of the excited state potential-energy surfaces, particularly in the CH₃S case where the spin-orbit couplings are more than twice more intense than in CH₃O. The potential surfaces and couplings reported here for the present set of electronic states allow for the first complete description of the above photodissociation process. The different photodissociation mechanisms are analyzed and discussed in light of the results obtained.

Production and Photodissociation of the Methyl Perthiyl Radical

The photodissociation dynamics of the methyl perthiyl (CH3SS) radical are investigated via molecular beam photofragment translational spectroscopy, using "soft" electron ionization to detect the radicals and their photofragments. With this new capability, we have shown that CH3SS can be generated from flash pyrolysis of dimethyl trisulfide. Utilizing this source of radicals and the advantages afforded by soft electron ionization, we have reinvestigated the photodissociation dynamics of CH3SS at 248 nm, finding CH3S + S to be the dominant dissociation channel with CH3 + SS as a minor process. These results differ from previous work reported in our laboratory in which we found CH3 + SS and CH2S + SH as the main dissociation channels. The difference in results is discussed in light of our new capabilities for characterization of radical production.

Photodissociation dynamics of the methyl perthiyl radical at 248 and 193 nm using fast-beam photofragment translational spectroscopy

The photodissociation dynamics of the methyl perthiyl radical (CH3SS) have been investigated using fast-beam coincidence translational spectroscopy. Methyl perthiyl radicals were produced by photodetachment of the CH3SS(-) anion followed by photodissociation at 248 nm (5.0 eV) and 193 nm (6.4 eV). Photofragment mass distributions and translational energy distributions were measured at each dissociation wavelength. Experimental results show S atom loss as the dominant (96%) dissociation channel at 248 nm with a near parallel, anisotropic angular distribution and translational energy peaking near the maximal energy available to ground state CH3S and S fragments, indicating that the dissociation occurs along a repulsive excited state. At 193 nm, S atom loss remains the major fragmentation channel, although S2 loss becomes more competitive and constitutes 32% of the fragmentation. The translational energy distributions for both channels are very broad at this wavelength, suggesting the formation of the S2 and S atom products in several excited electronic states.

Tests of second-generation and third-generation density functionals for electron affinities of the alkylthio radicals

The molecular structures and electron affinities of the R – S / R – S -( R = CH 3, C 2 H 5, n- C 3 H 7, n- C 4 H 9, n- C 5 H 11, i- C 3 H 7, i- C 4 H 9, t- C 4 H 9) species have been studied using 17 pure and hybrid density functionals (five generalized gradient approximation (GGA) methods, six hybrid GGAs, one meta GGA method and five hybrid meta GGAs). The basis set used in this work is of double-ζ plus polarization quality with additional diffuse s- and p-type functions, denoted by DZP++. The geometries are fully optimized with each DFT method and discussed. Harmonic vibrational frequencies are found to be within 3.5% of available experimental values for most functionals. Three different types of the neutral-anion energy separations have been presented. The theoretical electron affinities of alkylthio radicals are in good agreement with the experiment data. The M06 method is very good for the adiabatic electron affinity calculations, and the average absolute error is 0.0439 eV. The HCTH method performs better for EA prediction. The M06-HF, mPWPW91, VSXC and B98 are also reasonable. The most reliable adiabatic electron affinities are predicted to be 1.864 eV ( CH 3 S ), 1.946 eV ( C 2 H 5 S ), 1.959 eV (n- C 3 H 7 S ), 1.970 eV (n- C 4 H 9 S ), 1.982 eV (n- C 5 H 11 S ), 2.053 eV (i- C 3 H 7 S ), 1.991 eV (i- C 4 H 9 S ) and 2.100 eV (t- C 4 H 9 S ) at the M06/DZP++ level of theory, respectively.

A Gaussian-3 theoretical study of the alkylthio radicals and their anions: structures, thermochemistry, and electron affinities

The optimized geometries, electron affinities, and dissociation energies of the alkylthio radicals have been determined with the higher level of the Gaussian-3(G3) theory. The geometries are fully optimized and discussed. The reliable adiabatic electron affinities with ZPVE correction have been predicted to be 1.860 eV for the methylthio radical, 1.960 eV for the ethylthio radical, 1.980 and 2.074 eV for the two isomers (n-C3H7S and i-C3H7S) of the propylthio radical, 1.991, 2.133 and 2.013 eV for the three isomers (n-C4H9S, t-C4H9S, and i-C4H9S) of the butylthio radical, and 1.999, 2.147, 2.164, and 2.059 eV for the four isomers (n-C5H11S, b-C5H11S, c-C5H11S, and d-C5H11S) of the pentylthio radical, respectively. These corrected EAad values for the alkylthio radicals are in good agreement with available experiments, and the average absolute error of the G3 method is 0.041 eV. The dissociation energies of S atom from neutral CnH2n+1S (n = 1-5) and S(-) from corresponding anions CnH2n+1S(-) species have also been estimated respectively to examine their relative stabilities.

Imaging CH3SH photodissociation at 204 nm: the SH + CH3 channel

The SH + CH(3) product channel for the photodissociation of CH(3)SH at 204 nm was investigated using the sliced velocity map ion imaging technique with the detection of CH(3) products using state selective (2+1) resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI). Images were measured for CH(3) formed in the ground and excited vibrational states (v(2) = 0, 1, and 2) of the umbrella mode from which the correlated SH vibrational state distributions were determined. The vibrational distribution of the SH fragment in the SH + CH(3) channel at 204 nm is clearly inverted and peaks at v = 1. The highly negative anisotropy parameter of the CH(3) (v(2) = 0, 1, and 2) products is indicative of a fast dissociation process for C-S bond cleavage. Two kinds of slower CH(3) products were also observed (one of which was partly vibrationally resolved) that are assigned to a two-step photodissociation processes, in which the first step is the production of the CH(3)S (X(2)E) radical via cleavage of the S-H bond in CH(3)SH, followed by probe laser photodissociation of nascent CH(3)S radicals yielding CH(3)(X(2)A(1), v(2) = 0-2) + S((3)P(j)/(1)D) products.

Imaging the photodissociation of CH3SH in the first and second absorption bands: The CH3(X̃A12)+SH(XΠ2) channel

The CH3(X2A1)+SH(X2Pi) channel of the photodissociation of CH3SH has been investigated at several wavelengths in the first 1 1A"<--X 1A' and second 2 1A"<--X1A' absorption bands by means of velocity map imaging of the CH3 fragment. A fast highly anisotropic (beta=-1+/-0.1) CH3(X2A1) signal has been observed in the images at all the photolysis wavelengths studied, which is consistent with a direct dissociation process from an electronically excited state by cleavage of the C-S bond in the parent molecule. From the analysis of the CH3 images, vibrational populations of the SH(X2Pi) counterfragment have been extracted. In the second absorption band, the SH fragment is formed with an inverted vibrational distribution as a consequence of the forces acting in the crossing from the bound 2 1A" second excited state to the unbound 1 1A" first excited state. The internal energy of the SH radical increases as the photolysis wavelength decreases. In the case of photodissociation via the first excited state, the direct production of CH3 leaves the SH counterfragment with little internal excitation. Moreover, at the longer photolysis wavelengths corresponding to excitation to the 1 1A" state, a slower anisotropic CH3 channel has been observed (beta=-0.8+/-0.1) consistent with a two step photodissociation process, where the first step corresponds to the production of CH3S(X2E) radicals via cleavage of the S-H bond in CH3SH, followed by photodissociation of the nascent CH3S radicals yielding CH3(X2A1)+S(X3P0,1,2).

Two-color resonant four-wave mixing spectroscopy of highly predissociated levels in the ÃA12 state of CH3S

We report results of two-color resonant four-wave mixing experiments on highly predissociated levels of the methylthio (or thiomethoxy) radical CH3S in its first excited electronic state A 2A1. Following photolysis of jet-cooled dimethyl disulfide at 248 nm, the spectra were measured with a hole-burning scheme in which the probe laser excited specific rotational transitions in band 3(3). The spectral simplification afforded by the two-color method allows accurate determination of line positions and homogeneous linewidths, which are reported for the C-S stretching states 3v(v=3-7) and combination states 1(1)3v(v=0-2), 2(1)3v(v=3-6), and 1(1)2(1)3v(v=0,1) involving the symmetric CH3 stretching (nu1) mode and the CH3 umbrella (nu2) mode. The spectra show pronounced mode specificity, as the homogeneous linewidth of levels with similar energies varies up to two orders of magnitude; nu3 is clearly a promoting mode for dissociation. Derived vibrational wave numbers omega1', omega2', and omega3' of the A state agree satisfactorily with ab initio predictions.

Photodissociation and multiphoton dissociative ionization processes in CH3S2CH3 at 193 nm studied using velocity-map imaging

Dissociation and ionization processes in dimethyl disulfide, CH(3)S(2)CH(3), induced by one- or two-photon absorption of 193 nm light, have been studied using velocity-map ion imaging. The analysis of the ion images of the CH(3)S(2) (+), CH(3)S(+), S(2) (+), and S(+) fragments has allowed the characterization of the scattering dynamics of some of the main photolysis and dissociative-ionization processes. In particular, the experiments corroborate the formation of electronically excited SCH(3)((2)A(1)) products in the 193 nm photodissociation of dimethyl disulfide seen in earlier studies, and show that laser ionization provides a very sensitive method for their detection. The data have also allowed determination of the recoil energy and angular distributions of the CH(3)S(2) (+) and CH(3)S(+) products of the two-photon dissociative-ionization of the CH(3)S(2)CH(3) molecule. The measured distributions for these products are consistent with the formation of a transient parent ion which dissociates after a substantial intramolecular rearrangement, possibly yielding the most stable isomeric forms of the fragments, namely CH(2)S(2)H(+) and CH(2)SH(+).