Fractional Stark state selective electric field ionization of very high-n Rydberg states of molecules

Pulsed-ramped-field-ionisation zero-kinetic-energy photoelectron spectroscopy of the metastable rare-gas atoms Ar, Kr and Xe

The photoionisation of the metastable rare-gas atoms Rg = Ar, Kr and Xe is investigated at the Rg+ […](ns)2(np)5 2P3/2 ← Rg[…](ns)2(np)5((n + 1)s) 13P2 photoionisation threshold (n = 3, 4 and 5 for Ar, Kr and Xe) using the technique of pulsed-ramped-field-ionisation zero-kinetic-energy (PRFI-ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy. This technique, which monitors the field ionisation of high Rydberg states induced by a slowly growing electric-field ramp after a prepulse of opposite polarity, was recently introduced to record photoelectron spectra with high resolution and high sensitivity [Harper, Chen, Boyé-Péronne and Gans, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2022, 117, 9353]. A tunable UV laser system with a bandwidth of 30 MHz is used here to establish the factors determining the resolution and overall accuracy of this new method. In particular, the effects of stray electric fields, and of the magnitude of the prepulse and the field ramp on PRFI-ZEKE photoelectron spectra are studied by combining experiments with numerical simulations of the field-ionisation of high Rydberg states and of the electron flight times from the ionisation spot to the detector. A spectral resolution of 0.05 cm-1 is demonstrated in the photoelectron spectrum of metastable Ar.

Communication: The ionization spectroscopy of mixed carboxylic acid dimers

We report mass analyzed threshold ionization spectroscopy of supersonically cooled gas phase carboxylic complexes with 9-hydroxy-9-fluorenecarboxylic acid (9HFCA), an analog of glycolic acid. The vibrationally resolved cation spectrum for the 9HFCA complex with formic acid allows accurate determination of its ionization potential (IP), 64,374 ± 8 cm(-1). This is 545 cm(-1) smaller than the IP of 9HFCA monomer. The IPs of 9HFCA complexes with acetic acid and benzoic acid shift by -1133 cm(-1) and -1438 cm(-1), respectively. Density functional calculations confirm that Cs symmetry is maintained upon ionization of the 9HFCA monomer and its acid complexes, in contrast to the drastic geometric rearrangement attending ionization in complexes of 9-fluorene carboxylic acid. We suggest that the marginal geometry changes and small IP shifts are primarily due to the collective interactions among one intramolecular and two intermolecular hydrogen bonds in the dimer.

Torsional vibrational structure of the propene radical cation studied by high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy

The pulsed-field-ionization zero-kinetic-energy photoelectron spectra of the X̃(+2)A(")←X̃(1)A' transition of CH(3)CHCH(2) (propene), CD(3)CDCD(2), and several partially deuterated isotopomers have been recorded in the region of their adiabatic ionization thresholds and up to 2000 cm(-1) of internal energy of the cations. The vibrational structure has been assigned on the basis of the frequency shifts resulting from deuteration of selected sites of the propene molecule. Two highly anharmonic progressions have been identified and assigned to the two torsional modes of the propene cation, the methyl and methylene torsions. The positions of the torsional levels could be approximately reproduced using one-dimensional models, allowing a semi-quantitative description of the potential energy surface along each torsional coordinate. The observation of forbidden vibrational bands and the analysis of their partially resolved rotational contours reveal the importance of the vibronic coupling between the X̃(+2)A(") and the Ã(+2)A(') states mediated by the methylene (ν(20)) and methyl (ν(21)) torsional modes.

Pulsed-field-ionization zero-kinetic-energy photoelectron spectroscopy of metastable He2: Ionization potential and rovibrational structure of He2+

A supersonic beam of metastable He(*) atoms and He(2) (*) a (3)Sigma(u) (+) molecules has been generated using a pulsed discharge at the exit of a pulsed valve prior to the gas expansion into vacuum. Pulsed-field-ionization zero-kinetic-energy photoelectron spectra of the He(2) (+) X(+) (2)Sigma(u) (+) (v(+)=0-2)<--He(2) (*) a (3)Sigma(u) (+) (v(")=0-2) transitions and photoionization spectra of He(2) (*) in the vicinity of the lowest ionization thresholds have been recorded. The energy level structures of (4)He(2) (+) X(+) (2)Sigma(u) (+) (v(+)< or =2,N(+)< or =23) and (3)He(2) (+) X(+) (2)Sigma(u) (+) (v(+)=0,N(+)< or =11) have been determined, and an accurate set of molecular constants for all isotopomers of He(2) (+) has been derived in a global analysis of all spectroscopic data reported to date on the low vibrational levels of He(2) (+). The analysis of the photoionization spectrum by multichannel quantum defect theory has provided a set of parameters describing the threshold photoionization dynamics.

Observation of mass analyzed threshold ionization using synchrotron radiation on a new-style time of flight mass spectrometer

We have developed an efficient and applicable apparatus that combines mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) with continuous molecular-beam mass spectrometry using tunable vacuum ultraviolet synchrotron radiation at National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory. The new design, in which the spoiling field and the pulsed ionization field are perpendicular to each other, can obtain efficiently the ionic spectra of molecule. The MATI spectra of Ar and N(2) have been recorded in the energy region between 15.5 and 17.5 eV to illustrate the feasibility of this scheme. With its unique features, the important experiment considerations are potentially a powerful tool for study of information of ionization energies and ionic states of complex organic compounds.

Pulsed-field ionization spectroscopy of high Rydberg states (n=50–200) of bis(η6-benzene)chromium

The ionization behavior of the high Rydberg states of bis(eta(6)-benzene)chromium in the presence of ac and/or dc fields has been explored. The application of an ac scrambling field at the time of laser excitation lengthens the lifetime of the Rydberg state by almost two orders of magnitude. The lifetime enhancement by the scrambling field is much more effective for n<100 than it is for n>100 Rydberg states. The pulsed-field ionization of Rydberg states of n<100 shows the typical diabatic ionization behavior for low n. The two distinct ionization behaviors observed for the relatively low (n=50-100) and high (n=100-200) Rydberg states suggest that the former originate from the optically accessed nf Rydberg series, whereas the latter are due to np Rydberg series. Based on the understanding of the ionization behavior of bis(eta(6)-benzene)chromium, the accurate ionization potential is deduced to give IP=5.4665+/-0.0003 eV. Optimization of the various electric field conditions greatly enhances the spectral sensitivity of the mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy. The high-resolution MATI spectrum of the title molecule obtained here provides precise cationic vibrational frequencies for many skeletal and benzene ring modes. A number of vibrational modes are newly identified, and the ambiguity regarding to some mode assignments is now clearly resolved through the Frank-Condon analysis based on ab initio calculations.

Rovibrational photoionization dynamics of methyl and its isotopomers studied by high-resolution photoionization and photoelectron spectroscopy

High-resolution photoionization and pulsed-field-ionization zero-kinetic-energy photoelectron spectra of CH(3), CH(2)D, CHD(2), and CD(3) have been recorded in the vicinity of the first adiabatic ionization threshold following single-photon excitation from the ground neutral state using a narrow-bandwidth vacuum-ultraviolet laser. The radicals were produced from the precursor molecules methyl-bromide, methyl-iodide, dimethyl-thioether, acetone, and nitromethane by 193 nm excimer photolysis in a quartz capillary and were subsequently cooled to a rotational temperature T(rot) approximately equal to 30 K in a supersonic expansion. Nitromethane was identified as a particularly suitable photolytic precursor of methyl for studies by photoionization and threshold photoelectron spectroscopy. Thanks to the cold rotational temperature reached in the supersonic expansion, the rotational structure of the threshold ionization spectra could be resolved, and the photoionization dynamics investigated. Rydberg series converging on excited rotational levels of CH(3) (+) could be observed in the range of principal quantum number n=30-50, and both rotational autoionization and predissociation were identified as decay processes in the threshold region. The observed photoionization transitions can be understood in the realm of an orbital model for direct ionization but the intensity distributions can only be fully accounted for if the rotational channel interactions mediated by the quadrupole of the cation are considered. Improved values of the adiabatic ionization thresholds were derived for all isotopomers [CH(3): 79 356.2(15) cm(-1), CH(2)D: 79 338.8(15) cm(-1), CHD(2): 79 319.1(15) cm(-1), and CD(3): 79 296.4(15) cm(-1)].

The World of Non-Covalent Interactions: 2006

The review focusses on the fundamental importance of non-covalent interactions in nature by illustrating specific examples from chemistry, physics and the biosciences. Laser spectroscopic methods and both ab initio and molecular modelling procedures used for the study of non-covalent interactions in molecular clusters are briefly outlined. The role of structure and geometry, stabilization energy, potential and free energy surfaces for molecular clusters is extensively discussed in the light of the most advanced ab initio computational results for the CCSD(T) method, extrapolated to the CBS limit. The most important types of non-covalent complexes are classified and several small and medium size non-covalent systems, including H-bonded and improper H-bonded complexes, nucleic acid base pairs, and peptides and proteins are discussed with some detail. Finally, we evaluate the interpretation of experimental results in comparison with state of the art theoretical models: this is illustrated for phenol...Ar, the benzene dimer and nucleic acid base pairs. A review with 270 references.

Photoelectron spectroscopy without photoelectrons: Twenty years of ZEKE spectroscopy

Zero Kinetic Energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy, originally developed as a high resolution form of photoelectron spectroscopy, promised a means to the unambiguous determination of ionic (ro)vibrational states. Since its original development, it has spawned numerous methodological offshoots and has become one of the default methods of choice for high resolution spectroscopy of the ion. This tutorial review describes the historical development of the method, provides some insight into how it works and assesses the impact of the technique by reviewing some of the highlights of the past 20 years as well as some of the more recent developments and applications.

The Jahn–Teller effect in the lower electronic states of benzene cation. III. The ground-state vibrations of C6H6+ and C6D6+

New mass analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectra of the molecules C(6)H(6) (+) and C(6)D(6) (+) have been collected using tunable vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) single photon excitation from the neutral ground state and also using two-photon excitation through the 6(1) vibration of the (1)B(2u) S(1) state. Emphasis was placed on obtaining accurate relative intensities of the vibrational lines in order to use this information in the vibronic analysis. The MATI spectra collected from VUV (S(0) originating state), triplet (T(1)), and resonant two photon (S(1)) excitation schemes were compared with Jahn-Teller calculations employing the classical model of Longuet-Higgins and Moffitt to obtain the Jahn-Teller coupling parameters of 3 of the 4 linearly active modes (e(2g) modes 6-9 in Wilson's notation). Franck-Condon factors, including the effects of geometry changes, were calculated from the vibronic wave functions and used to identify the lines in the various spectra. It is found that most of the lines with substantial intensity can be understood using only the modes 1, 6, 8, and 9. Weaker peaks are due to various non-e(2g) modes, but these do not derive intensity through Jahn-Teller coupling. When the effects of geometry change were included, simulations of the spectra from the calculated vibrational energies and intensities were close to the experimental spectra. This verifies the applicability of the model to the understanding of the vibrational structure of this type of molecule, but some variations indicate directions for further improvement of the model.

Logic gates using high Rydberg states

Connected logic gates can be operated on the levels of one molecule by making use of the special properties of high Rydberg states. Explicit experimental results for the NO molecule are provided as an example. A number of other options, including that of several gates concatenated so as to operate as a full adder, are discussed. Specific properties of high Rydberg states that are used are: their autoionization is delayed so that they can be distinguished from direct multiphoton ionization, during their long life such states also can decay by energy transfer to the molecular core in a way that can be controlled by the judicious application of very weak external electrical fields, and the Rydberg states can be detected by the application of an ionizing electrical field. The combination of two (or three) color photons with and without external weak fields allows the construction of quite elaborate logic circuit diagrams and shows that taking advantage of the different intramolecular dynamics of levels that differ by their excitation enables the compounding of logic operations on one molecular frame.

MOLECULES IN HIGH RYDBERG STATES

The unusual properties of high molecular Rydberg states with principal quantum number n>>100 have enabled the development of new research tools for the study of molecules and ions in the gas phase. These tools range from spectroscopic techniques such as zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) photoelectron spectroscopy and mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy to techniques that are suited to the investigation of photodissociation processes, bimolecular reactions, and state-selected ion-molecule reactions. This review summarizes recent progress in the understanding of the properties of high molecular Rydberg states and gives an overview of recent chemical applications of these states.