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Chen Z, Li Z, Xie J, Zhang P, Tong T, Wang Y, Hu J, Wörner HJ, Tian SX. Direct Observation of Anionic Yields from the Liquid-Vapor Interface by Electron Irradiation. J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:5607-5611. [PMID: 38758196 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c00521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Dissociative electron attachment (DEA) is widely believed to play a high-profile role in ionizing radiation damages of bioorganic molecules, and its fundamentals are mainly learned from the gas-phase studies. However, the DEA process in aqueous solution is still in debate. Here we provide experimental evidence about the DEA processes of liquid methanol by using electron-impact-time-delayed mass spectrometry. In contrast to the gas- and solid-phase DEAs, methoxide ion CH3O- is the predominant product from the liquid interface. Furthermore, this anion can be produced with both the primary low-energy electrons and the inelastically scattered and secondary low-energy electrons. On the contrary, the primary low-energy electrons in the liquid bulk are more likely to be solvated, rather than directly participating in the DEA process. Our study provides new insights into radiation chemistry, particularly of bioorganic relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziwei Chen
- Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Ziyuan Li
- Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Jingchen Xie
- Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Pengju Zhang
- Laboratory for Physical Chemistry, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Tiantian Tong
- Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Yue Wang
- Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Jie Hu
- Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Hans Jakob Wörner
- Laboratory for Physical Chemistry, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Shan Xi Tian
- Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
- Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
- Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230088, China
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2
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Abstract
Reaction dynamics in the liquid-vapor interface is one of the crucial physical sciences but is still starving for in-depth exploration. It is challenging to selectively detect the interfacial species or the yields of chemical reaction therein, meanwhile shielding or reducing the interference from the vapor and liquid bulk. Mass spectrometry is a straightforward method but is also frustrated in such a selective detection. Using a liquid microjet in combination with a pulsed electron beam, a linear time-of-flight mass spectrometer, and a quadrupole mass filter, we recently innovated time-delayed mass spectrometry for investigations of the liquid-vapor interface. In this Account, we illustrate how this unique method succeeds in disentangling different sources, i.e., the vapor and liquid-vapor interface, of the ionic yields of the electron impacts with a liquid beam of alcohol in vacuum. These achievements are basically attributed to the application of an onion-peeling strategy in the ion detection. Concretely, the microsecond time scale of molecular volatilization can be resolved well by tuning the delay time between the nanosecond pulses of incident electron bunch and ion attractor. First, the specific orientation of the interfacial molecule, i.e., a well-known fact about the hydrophobic hydrocarbon groups pointing outside the liquid surface of alcohol, is validated again. More importantly, the dynamic features of time-delayed mass spectra, in particular, for the ionic yields from the liquid-vapor interface, are rationalized explicitly. Moreover, we demonstrate evidence of in situ molecular dimers in the liquid-vapor interface of 1-propanol. As the first example of electron-induced reaction in the liquid-vapor interface, dimethyl ether can be synthesized in the liquid methanol interface due to local interfacial acidification by high-energy electron impacts. On the contrary, the low energy electron can lead to local basicity through dissociative electron attachment (DEA). Besides the primary low-energy electrons, the low-energy secondary and inelastically scattered electrons in the higher-energy impacts of the primary electrons can also participate in the DEA process. In contrast to the gas- or solid-phase DEAs, that in the liquid-vapor interface shows distinct differences in both the types and efficiencies of anionic products. With these and efforts in the future, we develop a molecular-level understanding of how the chemical reactions happen in the liquid-vapor interface.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Shan Xi Tian
- Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Wangjiang West Road, Hefei230088, China
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3
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Li Z, Fu CF, Chen Z, Tong T, Hu J, Yang J, Tian SX. Electron-Induced Synthesis of Dimethyl Ether in the Liquid-Vapor Interface of Methanol. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:5220-5225. [PMID: 35670607 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c00787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Ether synthesis from alcohol is known to be acid-catalyzed. Such a process could happen in the acidified liquid of alcohol, but hitherto lacking the experimental evidence. Here we demonstrate that dimethyl ether is spontaneously synthesized in the liquid-vapor interface of pure methanol after ionizing radiation with electrons. Using time-delayed tandem mass spectrometry measurements in combination with theoretical calculations, we further confirm that the protonated dimethyl ether is produced from the ion-molecule reactions not only in the dense vapor above the interface but also within the molecular clusters of the acidic interface. Our finding provides a convincing piece of evidence about the liquid-vapor interfacial acidification by the electron-impact ionizing radiation, exhibiting a promising way to control the chemical reactions in the liquid surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyuan Li
- Department of Chemical Physics, Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry and Energy Catalysis of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Cen-Feng Fu
- Department of Chemical Physics, Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry and Energy Catalysis of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Ziwei Chen
- Department of Chemical Physics, Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry and Energy Catalysis of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Tiantian Tong
- Department of Chemical Physics, Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry and Energy Catalysis of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Jie Hu
- Department of Chemical Physics, Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry and Energy Catalysis of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Jinlong Yang
- Department of Chemical Physics, Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry and Energy Catalysis of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Shan Xi Tian
- Department of Chemical Physics, Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry and Energy Catalysis of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
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4
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Li Z, Chen Z, Hu J, Li H, Tian SX. A new experimental method for investigations on microstructure of liquid-vapor interface. CHINESE J CHEM PHYS 2021. [DOI: 10.1063/1674-0068/cjcp2101002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ziyuan Li
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Ziwei Chen
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Jie Hu
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Hao Li
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Shan Xi Tian
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
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Wu B, Wang XD, Gao XF, Li H, Tian SX. Dissociative electron attachment to carbon dioxide. CHINESE J CHEM PHYS 2020. [DOI: 10.1063/1674-0068/cjcp2008152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Wu
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Xu-dong Wang
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Xiao-fei Gao
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Hao Li
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Shan Xi Tian
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
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Chen Z, Fu CF, Li Z, Hu J, Li H, Yang J, Tian SX. Identifying the Molecular Orientation and Clusters in the Liquid-Vapor Interface of 1-Propanol by Time-Delayed Mass Spectrometry. J Phys Chem Lett 2020; 11:7510-7516. [PMID: 32813525 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c02097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Structural inhomogeneity of the liquid-vapor interface, such as the spatial orientation of molecular specific groups and the non-uniform distribution of hydrogen-bonded (HB) clusters, is crucial for understanding the physicochemical processes therein. Although the molecular orientation at the outermost layer was authenticated, to date, direct experimental evidence of the in situ existence of different-sized HB clusters, as a long-standing theoretical argument, is still lacking. Here we report time-delayed electron-impact tandem mass spectrometry, and its powerful ability to identify the local structures of the liquid-vapor interface of 1-propanol is demonstrated not only by mapping the molecular orientations both in the outermost layer and in the subsurface but also by validating the existence of the HB molecular dimers in the subsurface by detecting their protonated ions. We further distinguish two different sources of the protonated dimer: the gas-phase protonation of the neutral dimer that evaporates in advance and the time-lag evaporation of the protonated dimer produced in the subsurface. This methodology is a brand-new way to explore the microstructures and the electron-driven chemical reactions in different local regions of the liquid-vapor interface.
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Buttersack T, Mason PE, Jungwirth P, Schewe HC, Winter B, Seidel R, McMullen RS, Bradforth SE. Deeply cooled and temperature controlled microjets: Liquid ammonia solutions released into vacuum for analysis by photoelectron spectroscopy. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2020; 91:043101. [PMID: 32357686 DOI: 10.1063/1.5141359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
A versatile, temperature controlled apparatus is presented, which generates deeply cooled liquid microjets of condensed gases, expelling them via a small aperture into vacuum for use in photoelectron spectroscopy (PES). The functionality of the design is demonstrated by temperature- and concentration-dependent PES measurements of liquid ammonia and solutions of KI and NH4I in liquid ammonia. The experimental setup is not limited to the usage of liquid ammonia solutions solely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tillmann Buttersack
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Philip E Mason
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Jungwirth
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo nam. 2, 16610 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - H Christian Schewe
- Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Molekülphysik, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Bernd Winter
- Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Molekülphysik, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Robert Seidel
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Albert-Einstein-Straße 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany and Department of Chemistry, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Brook-Taylor-Straße 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ryan S McMullen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0482, USA
| | - Stephen E Bradforth
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0482, USA
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Sobyra TB, Pliszka H, Bertram TH, Nathanson GM. Production of Br2 from N2O5 and Br– in Salty and Surfactant-Coated Water Microjets. J Phys Chem A 2019; 123:8942-8953. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.9b04225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas B. Sobyra
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin−Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Helena Pliszka
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin−Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Timothy H. Bertram
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin−Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Gilbert M. Nathanson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin−Madison, 1101 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
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