Microsolvation in superfluid helium droplets studied by the electronic spectra of six porphyrin derivatives and one chlorine compound

Formation of heterogeneous clusters in superfluid helium nanodroplets: phthalocyanine and water

Clusters consisting of a single phthalocyanine molecule and a single water molecule are investigated by means of electronic spectroscopy in superfluid helium droplets. A recent spectroscopic study of those clusters [J. Fischer, F. Schlaghaufer, E.-M. Lottner, A. Slenczka, L. Christiansen, H. Stapelfeldt, M. Karra, B. Friedrich, T. Mullan, M. Schütz and D. Usvyat, J. Phys. Chem. A, 2019, 123, 10057-10064] which all exhibit a water induced electronic shift to the red is now complemented by the corresponding clusters exhibiting a water induced shift to the blue. These clusters will be analyzed by means of fluorescence excitation spectra, dispersed emission spectra, and additional experimental observations made feasible by helium droplets as cryogenic reactor. Together with the blue shifted clusters a total number of at least 6 isomeric variants could be identified in helium droplets. This contrasts to a number of only three isomeric variants obtained from quantum chemical calculations [J. Fischer, F. Schlaghaufer, E.-M. Lottner, A. Slenczka, L. Christiansen, H. Stapelfeldt, M. Karra, B. Friedrich, T. Mullan, M. Schütz and D. Usvyat, J. Phys. Chem. A, 2019, 123, 10057-10064] disregarding the helium environment and to a single isomer identified in a molecular beam experiment [J. Menapace and E. Bernstein, J. Chem. Phys., 1987, 87, 6877-6889]. The discrepancy in the number of isomers provides evidence of a profound involvement of helium in clustering. Moreover, the discrepancies between the gas phase experiment and quantum chemical calculations similarly reveal the influence of the dynamics of cluster formation on the population of global and local minima that are accessible as isomeric variants.

Anthracene-Argon Clusters Generated in Superfluid Helium Nanodroplets: New Aspects on Cluster Formation and Microsolvation

About two decades after extensive studies on anthracene-Ar_n clusters in the gas phase, we report corresponding studies in superfluid helium droplets. With AN as a small fluorophore and spectroscopic data from the gas phase and helium droplets, both the formation of clusters and the microsolvation in superfluid helium droplets can be studied. As expected for helium droplets, a significantly higher number of isomeric variants of the respective cluster sizes are obtained, because metastable variants are stabilized by the low temperature and the surrounding helium. Moreover, spectroscopic data recorded in helium droplets reveal cluster configurations with Ar atoms shielded by a helium solvation layer. Surprisingly, AN-Ar_n clusters with more than four Ar atoms do not appear to form rigid configurations. The helium droplet data in combination with the gas phase spectra may serve as a suitable reference for further theoretical investigations on solvation and cluster formation in superfluid helium droplets.

Heterogeneous Clusters of Phthalocyanine and Water Prepared and Probed in Superfluid Helium Nanodroplets

Superfluid helium nanodroplets comprised of thousands to millions of helium atoms can serve as a reactor for the synthesis of heterogeneous molecular clusters at cryogenic conditions. The cluster synthesis occurs via consecutive pick-up of the cluster building blocks by the helium droplet and their subsequent coalescence within the droplet. The effective collision cross section of the building blocks is determined by the helium droplet size and thus exceeds by orders of magnitude that of a reactive collision in the gas phase. Moreover, the cryogenic helium environment (at 0.38 K) as a host promotes the formation of metastable cluster configurations. The question arises as to the extent of the actual involvement of the helium environment in the cluster formation. The present study deals with clusters of single phthalocyanine (Pc) molecules with single water molecules. A large fluorophore such as Pc offers several sites where the water molecule can attach. The resulting isomeric variants of the Pc-H₂O complex can be selectively identified by electronic spectroscopy. We compare the experimental electronic spectra of the Pc-H₂O complex generated in superfluid helium nanodroplets with the results of quantum-chemical calculations on the same cluster but under gas-phase conditions. The number of isomeric variants observed in the helium droplet experiment comes out the same as that obtained from our gas-phase calculations.

Microsolvation of porphine molecules in superfluid helium nanodroplets as revealed by optical line shape at the electronic origin

We investigate the line shape at the electronic origin of single porphine molecules doped into superfluid helium droplets as a function of the droplet size. Helium droplets comprised of less than 10⁵ atoms are generated from an expansion of gaseous helium, while droplets with more than 10⁵ atoms originate from liquid helium. In contrast to our recent study on phthalocyanine, porphine is found to exhibit a solvent shift to the blue with respect to the gas-phase resonance frequency as well as a multiplet splitting. A comparison of the helium-induced features of phthalocyanine and porphine with those obtained in similar studies on tetracene and pentacene reveals that these occur chiefly as two kinds of excitations distinguished by their linewidths and their dependence on the droplet size. Moreover, at quasi-bulk conditions achieved with droplets in excess of 10⁶ helium atoms, none of these four dopant species yields an optical spectrum that can be assigned to a plausible rotational band structure.

Microsolvation of phthalocyanine molecules in superfluid helium nanodroplets as revealed by the optical line shape at electronic origin

We investigate the solvent shift of phthalocyanine (Pc) doped into superfluid helium droplets and probed by optical spectroscopy at the electronic origin. Our present work complements extant studies and provides results that in part contradict previous conclusions. In particular, the solvent shift does not increase monotonously with droplet radius all the way up to the bulk limit, but exhibits just the reverse dependence instead. Moreover, a substructure is resolved, whose characteristics depend on the droplet size. This behavior can hardly be reconciled with that of a freely rotating Pc-helium complex.

Electronic Spectroscopy of Phthalocyanine and Porphyrin Derivatives in Superfluid Helium Nanodroplets

Phthalocyanine and porphyrin were among the first organic compounds investigated by means of electronic spectroscopy in superfluid helium nanodroplets. Superfluid helium nanodroplets serve as a very gentle host system for preparing cold and isolated molecules. The uniqueness of helium nanodroplets is with respect to the superfluid phase which warrants the vanishing viscosity and, thus, minimal perturbation of the dopant species at a temperature as low as 0.37 K. These are ideal conditions for the study of molecular spectra in order to analyze structures as well as dynamic processes. Besides the investigation of the dopant species itself, molecular spectroscopy in helium droplets provides information on the helium droplet and in particular on microsolvation. This article, as part of a special issue on phthalocyanines and porphyrins, reviews electronic spectroscopy of phthalocyanine and porphyrin compounds in superfluid helium nanodroplets. In addition to the wide variety of medical as well as technical and synthetical aspects, this article discusses electronic spectroscopy of phthalocyanines and porphyrins in helium droplets in order to learn about both the dopant and the helium environment.

Formation of Au and tetrapyridyl porphyrin complexes in superfluid helium

Binary clusters containing a large organic molecule and metal atoms have been formed by the co-addition of 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrin (H2TPyP) molecules and gold atoms to superfluid helium nanodroplets, and the resulting complexes were then investigated by electron impact mass spectrometry. In addition to the parent ion H2TPyP yields fragments mainly from pyrrole, pyridine and methylpyridine ions because of the stability of their ring structures. When Au is co-added to the droplets the mass spectra are dominated by H2TPyP fragment ions with one or more Au atoms attached. We also show that by switching the order in which Au and H2TPyP are added to the helium droplets, different types of H2TPyP-Au complexes are clearly evident from the mass spectra. This study suggests a new route for the control over the growth of metal-organic compounds inside superfluid helium nanodroplets.

van der Waals-Induced Chromatic Shifts in Hydrogen-Bonded Two-Dimensional Porphyrin Arrays on Boron Nitride

The fluorescence of a two-dimensional supramolecular network of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxylphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP) adsorbed on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is red-shifted due to, primarily, adsorbate-substrate van der Waals interactions. TCPP is deposited from solution on hBN and forms faceted islands with typical dimensions of 100 nm and either square or hexagonal symmetry. The molecular arrangement is stabilized by in-plane hydrogen bonding as determined by a combination of molecular-resolution atomic force microscopy performed under ambient conditions and density functional theory; a similar structure is observed on MoS2 and graphite. The fluorescence spectra of submonolayers of TCPP on hBN are red-shifted by ∼30 nm due to the distortion of the molecule arising from van der Waals interactions, in agreement with time-dependent density functional theory calculations. Fluorescence intensity variations are observed due to coherent partial reflections at the hBN interface, implying that such hybrid structures have potential in photonic applications.

Helium induced fine structure in the electronic spectra of anthracene derivatives doped into superfluid helium nanodroplets

Electronic spectra of organic molecules doped into superfluid helium nanodroplets show characteristic features induced by the helium environment. Besides a solvent induced shift of the electronic transition frequency, in many cases, a spectral fine structure can be resolved for electronic and vibronic transitions which goes beyond the expected feature of a zero phonon line accompanied by a phonon wing as known from matrix isolation spectroscopy. The spectral shape of the zero phonon line and the helium induced phonon wing depends strongly on the dopant species. Phonon wings, for example, are reported ranging from single or multiple sharp transitions to broad (Δν > 100 cm(-1)) diffuse signals. Despite the large number of example spectra in the literature, a quantitative understanding of the helium induced fine structure of the zero phonon line and the phonon wing is missing. Our approach is a systematic investigation of related molecular compounds, which may help to shed light on this key feature of microsolvation in superfluid helium droplets. This paper is part of a comparative study of the helium induced fine structure observed in electronic spectra of anthracene derivatives with particular emphasis on a spectrally sharp multiplet splitting at the electronic origin. In addition to previously discussed species, 9-cyanoanthracene and 9-chloroanthracene will be presented in this study for the first time.

Elementary Excitations of Superfluid Helium Droplets Probed by Ion Spectroscopy

Electronic spectra of molecules in helium droplets reveal spectral features that are related to the elementary excitations of the superfluid helium environment. In order to determine to what extent the interaction strength of the molecule with the helium affects these excitations, the spectrum corresponding to the B̃(2)A″ ← X̃ (2)A″ transition of 2,5-difluorophenol cations in helium droplets has been recorded. The vibronic resonances reveal a sharp zero-phonon line whose width is largely determined by the rotational band contour, followed by a broad structureless phonon wing at higher frequencies. The splitting between the zero-phonon line and phonon wing is approximately half of that found for neutral 2,5-difluorophenol. This difference is attributed to the increased helium density around the ion due to its strong interaction with the helium.

Microsolvation of molecules in superfluid helium nanodroplets revealed by means of electronic spectroscopy

The empirical model explaining microsolvation of molecules in superfluid helium droplets proposes a non-superfluid helium solvation layer enclosing the dopant molecule. This model warrants an empirical explanation of any helium induced substructure resolved for electronic transitions of molecules in helium droplets. Despite a wealth of such experimental data, quantitative modeling of spectra is still in its infancy. The theoretical treatment of such many-particle systems dissolved into a quantum fluid is a challenge. Moreover, the success of theoretical activities relies also on the accuracy and self-critical communication of experimental data. This will be elucidated by a critical resume of our own experimental work done within the last ten years. We come to the conclusion that spectroscopic data and among others in particular the spectral resolution depend strongly on experimental conditions. Moreover, despite the fact that none of the helium induced fine structure speaks against the empirical model for solvation in helium droplets, in many cases an unequivocal assignment of the spectroscopic details is not possible. This ambiguity needs to be considered and a careful and critical communication of experimental results is essential in order to promote success in quantitatively understanding microsolvation in superfluid helium nanodroplets.