A study of the valence photoelectron spectrum of uracil and mixed water-uracil clusters.

The valence ionization of uracil and mixed water-uracil clusters has been studied experimentally and by ab initio calculations. In both measurements, the spectrum onset shows a red shift with respect to the uracil molecule, with the mixed cluster characterized by peculiar features unexplained by the sum of independent contributions of the water or uracil aggregation. To interpret and assign all the contributions, we performed a series of multi-level calculations, starting from an exploration of several cluster structures using automated conformer-search algorithms based on a tight-binding approach. Ionization energies have been assessed on smaller clusters via a comparison between accurate wavefunction-based approaches and cost-effective DFT-based simulations, the latter of which were applied to clusters up to 12 uracil and 36 water molecules. The results confirm that (i) the bottom-up approach based on a multilevel method [Mattioli et al. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 23, 1859 (2021)] to the structure of neutral clusters of unknown experimental composition converges to precise structure-property relationships and (ii) the coexistence of pure and mixed clusters in the water-uracil samples. A natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis performed on a subset of clusters highlighted the special role of H-bonds in the formation of the aggregates. The NBO analysis yields second-order perturbative energy between the H-bond donor and acceptor orbitals correlated with the calculated ionization energies. This sheds light on the role of the oxygen lone-pairs of the uracil CO group in the formation of strong H-bonds, with a stronger directionality in mixed clusters, giving a quantitative explanation for the formation of core-shell structures.

Intrinsic electrical properties of cable bacteria reveal an Arrhenius temperature dependence.

Filamentous cable bacteria exhibit long-range electron transport over centimetre-scale distances, which takes place in a parallel fibre structure with high electrical conductivity. Still, the underlying electron transport mechanism remains undisclosed. Here we determine the intrinsic electrical properties of the conductive fibres in cable bacteria from a material science perspective. Impedance spectroscopy provides an equivalent electrical circuit model, which demonstrates that dry cable bacteria filaments function as resistive biological wires. Temperature-dependent electrical characterization reveals that the conductivity can be described with an Arrhenius-type relation over a broad temperature range (- 195 °C to + 50 °C), demonstrating that charge transport is thermally activated with a low activation energy of 40-50 meV. Furthermore, when cable bacterium filaments are utilized as the channel in a field-effect transistor, they show n-type transport suggesting that electrons are the charge carriers. Electron mobility values are ~ 0.1 cm2/Vs at room temperature and display a similar Arrhenius temperature dependence as conductivity. Overall, our results demonstrate that the intrinsic electrical properties of the conductive fibres in cable bacteria are comparable to synthetic organic semiconductor materials, and so they offer promising perspectives for both fundamental studies of biological electron transport as well as applications in microbial electrochemical technologies and bioelectronics.

Electron momentum spectroscopy of dimethyl ether taking account of nuclear dynamics in the electronic ground state.

The influence of nuclear dynamics in the electronic ground state on the (e,2e) momentum profiles of dimethyl ether has been analyzed using the harmonic analytical quantum mechanical and Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics approaches. In spite of fundamental methodological differences, results obtained with both approaches consistently demonstrate that molecular vibrations in the electronic ground state have a most appreciable influence on the momentum profiles associated to the 2b1, 6a1, 4b2, and 1a2 orbitals. Taking this influence into account considerably improves the agreement between theoretical and newly obtained experimental momentum profiles, with improved statistical accuracy. Both approaches point out in particular the most appreciable role which is played by a few specific molecular vibrations of A1, B1, and B2 symmetries, which correspond to C-H stretching and H-C-H bending modes. In line with the Herzberg-Teller principle, the influence of these molecular vibrations on the computed momentum profiles can be unraveled from considerations on the symmetry characteristics of orbitals and their energy spacing.

Theoretical study of molecular vibrations in electron momentum spectroscopy experiments on furan: an analytical versus a molecular dynamical approach.

The influence of thermally induced nuclear dynamics (molecular vibrations) in the initial electronic ground state on the valence orbital momentum profiles of furan has been theoretically investigated using two different approaches. The first of these approaches employs the principles of Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics, whereas the so-called harmonic analytical quantum mechanical approach resorts to an analytical decomposition of contributions arising from quantized harmonic vibrational eigenstates. In spite of their intrinsic differences, the two approaches enable consistent insights into the electron momentum distributions inferred from new measurements employing electron momentum spectroscopy and an electron impact energy of 1.2 keV. Both approaches point out in particular an appreciable influence of a few specific molecular vibrations of A1 symmetry on the 9a1 momentum profile, which can be unravelled from considerations on the symmetry characteristics of orbitals and their energy spacing.

Photoelectron and electron momentum spectroscopy of tetrahydrofuran from a molecular dynamical perspective.

The results of experimental studies of the valence electronic structure of tetrahydrofuran employing He I photoelectron spectroscopy as well as Electron Momentum Spectroscopy (EMS) have been reinterpreted on the basis of Molecular Dynamical simulations employing the classical MM3 force field and large-scale quantum mechanical simulations employing Born-Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics in conjunction with the dispersion corrected ωB97XD exchange-correlation functional. Analysis of the produced atomic trajectories demonstrates the importance of thermal deviations from the lowest energy path for pseudorotation, in the form of considerable variations of the ring-puckering amplitude. These deviations are found to have a significant influence on several outer-valence electron momentum distributions, as well as on the He I photoelectron spectrum.

Electron momentum spectroscopy of norbornadiene at the benchmark ADC(3) level.

An extensive study, throughout the valence region, of the electronic structure, ionization spectrum, and electron momentum distributions of norbornadiene is presented, on the ground of accurate calculations of valence one-electron and shake-up ionization energies and of the related Dyson orbitals, using one-particle Green's function (1p-GF) theory in conjunction with the so-called third-order algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme [ADC(3)]. Comparison is made with results obtained from standard (B3LYP) Kohn-Sham orbitals and measurements employing electron momentum spectroscopy, taking into account the contamination of inner- and outer-valence spectral bands by numerous shake-up states. Four relatively intense shake-up lines at 12.1, 16.4, 17.6, and 17.8 eV are found to yield recognizable spectral fingerprints in the EMS experiments. Valence bands at electron binding energies larger than 20 eV are subject to a complete breakdown of the orbital picture of ionization.

Probing nuclear dynamics in momentum space: a new interpretation of (e, 2e) electron impact ionization experiments on ethanol.

Calculations of electron momentum distributions for equilibrium geometries, employing advanced Dyson orbital theories and statistical thermodynamics beyond the RRHO approximation, fail to quantitatively reproduce the outermost momentum distribution profile inferred from (e, 2e) electron impact ionization experiments on ethanol employing high-resolution electron momentum spectroscopy. A very detailed study of the influence on this momentum distribution of nuclear dynamics in the initial ground state and in the final ionized state is presented according to a thermal averaging over exceedingly large sets of model structures as well as Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamical simulations on the potential energy surface of the radical cation. Our results give very convincing albeit qualitative indications that the strong turn-up of the (e, 2e) ionization intensities characterizing the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of ethanol at low electron momenta is the combined result of (1) the extraordinarily flat nature of the conformational energy map of ethanol, which enables significant departures from energy minima in the ground electronic state, (2) strong anomeric interactions between an oxygen lone pair and the central C-C bond for the minor but significant fraction of conformers exhibiting a hydroxyl torsion angle (alpha) at around 90 degrees, and, last but not least, (3) the possibility to observe with this minor conformer fraction ultrafast and highly significant extensions of the central C-C bond, resulting, in turn, in an enhanced delocalization of the HOMO from the oxygen lone pair region onto the methyl group, immediately after the sudden removal of an electron. This charge transfer appears to occur at the very first stages, that is, within an effective time scale on the order of approximately 10 fs, of an ultrafast dissociation of the ethanol radical cation into a methyl radical and a protonated form of formaldehyde.

Benchmark Dyson orbital study of the ionization spectrum and electron momentum distributions of ethanol in conformational equilibrium.

An extensive study, throughout the valence region, of the electronic structure, ionization spectrum, and electron momentum distributions of ethanol is presented, on the ground of a model that focuses on a mixture of the gauche and anti conformers in their energy minimum form, using weight coefficients obtained from thermostatistical calculations that account for the influence of hindered rotations. The analysis is based on accurate calculations of valence one-electron and shakeup ionization energies and of the related Dyson orbitals, using one-particle Green's Function (1p-GF) theory in conjunction with the so-called third-order Algebraic Diagrammatic Construction scheme [ADC(3)]. The confrontation against available UPS (HeI) measurements indicates the presence in the spectral bands of significant conformational fingerprints at outer-valence ionization energies ranging from approximately 14 to approximately 18 eV. The shakeup onset is located at approximately 24 eV, and a shoulder at approximately 14.5 eV in the He I spectrum can be specifically ascribed to the minor anti (C(s)) conformer fraction. Thermally and spherically averaged Dyson orbital momentum distributions are computed for seven resolvable bands in model (e, 2e) ionization spectra at an electron impact energy of 1.2 keV. A comparison is made with results obtained from standard (B3LYP) Kohn-Sham orbitals and EMS measurements employing a high-resolution spectrometer of the third generation. The analysis is qualitatively in line with experiment and reveals a tremendously strong influence of the molecular conformation on the outermost electron momentum distributions. Quantitatively significant discrepancies with experiment can nonetheless be tentatively ascribed to strong dynamical disorder in the gas phase molecular structure.