Photoionisation of the tropyl radical.

We present a study on the photoionisation of the cycloheptatrienyl (tropyl) radical, C7H7, using tunable vacuum ultraviolet synchrotron radiation. Tropyl is generated by flash pyrolysis from bitropyl. Ions and electrons are detected in coincidence, permitting us to record mass-selected photoelectron spectra. The threshold photoelectron spectrum of tropyl, corresponding to the X (+ 1)A1' ← X (2)E2" transition, reveals an ionisation energy of 6.23 ± 0.02 eV, in good agreement with Rydberg extrapolations, but slightly lower than the value derived from earlier photoelectron spectra. Several vibrations can be resolved and are reassigned to the C-C stretch mode ν16 (+) and to a combination of ν16 (+) with the ring breathing mode ν2 (+). Above 10.55 eV dissociative photoionisation of tropyl is observed, leading to the formation of C5H5 (+) and C2H2.

A pass too far: dissociation of internal energy selected paracyclophane cations, theory and experiment.

The vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization and dissociative photoionization of three hydroxy-substituted [2.2]paracyclophane derivatives were studied yielding adiabatic ionization energies and dissociative photoionization energies (appearance energies). The simplest dissociation pathway is the breaking of both CH(2)-CH(2) bridge units and fragmenting the molecular ion in half to yield xylylene neutral and cationic fragments. The experimental data show that this process is outcompeted by a faster, higher energy channel, possibly yielding cyclooctatetraene derivatives. The role of the reaction coordinate, the effect of large amplitude motions on the density of states function at low and high energies and the temperature dependent 'population gap' in the internal energy distribution in large molecules are discussed in the context of applying statistical models to the dissociation. Computational approaches to the binding energy of paracyclophanes are marred with pitfalls. Noncovalent interactions play a major role in keeping paracyclophanes bound by some 200 kJ mol(-1) with respect to the two xylylene motifs, and the covalent CH(2)-CH(2) bonds are mostly counteracted by the geometric strain. The stabilizing effects are twofold: first, paracyclophanes are aromatic compounds, whereas xylylenes are not. Thus, the aromaticity of the molecule is induced by dimerization. Second, dispersive π-π interactions also stabilize the molecule. We evaluated 23 different computational chemistry approaches, and found that very few of the favorably scaling ones give an adequate description of this system. Among the DFT functionals tested, only PBE-D3 and perhaps M06-2X yielded consistently accurate results, comparable with MP3 and CCSD, or the G4 and CBS-QB3 composite methods. MP2 results in general suffer from significant overbonding.

Phenylpropargyl radicals and their dimerization products: an IR/UV double resonance study.

Two C(9)H(7) isomers, 1-phenylpropargyl and 3-phenylpropargyl, have been studied by IR/UV double resonance spectroscopy in a free jet. The species are possible intermediates in the formation of soot and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The radicals are generated by flash pyrolysis from the corresponding bromides and ionized at 255-297 nm in a one-color, two-photon process. Mid-infrared radiation between 500 and 1800 cm(-1) is provided by a free electron laser (FEL). It is shown that the two radicals can be distinguished by their infrared spectra. In addition, we studied the dimerization products originating from the phenylpropargyl self-reaction. We utilize the fact that the pyrolysis tube can be considered to be a flow reactor permitting us to investigate the chemistry in such a thermal reactor. Dimerization of phenylpropargyl produces predominately species with m/z = 228 and 230. A surprisingly high selectivity has been found: The species with m/z = 230 is identified to be para-terphenyl, whereas m/z = 228 can be assigned to 1-phenylethynyl-naphthalene. The results allow to derive a mechanism for the dimerization of phenylpropargyl and suggest hitherto unexplored pathways to the formation of soot and PAH.

The photodissociation dynamics of the ethyl radical, C2H5, investigated by velocity map imaging.

The photodissociation dynamics of the ethyl radical C(2)H(5) has been investigated by velocity map imaging. Ethyl was produced by flash pyrolysis from n-propyl nitrite and excited to the à (2)A(') (3s) Rydberg state around 250 nm. The energetically most favorable reaction channel in this wavelength region is dissociation to C(2)H(4) (ethene) + H. The H-atom dissociation products were ionized in a [1+1(')] process via the 1s-2p transition. The observed translational energy distribution is bimodal: A contribution of slow H-atoms with an isotropic angular distribution peaks at low translational energies. An expectation value for the fraction of excess energy released into translation of = 0.19 is derived from the data, typical for statistical dissociation reactions. In addition, a fast H-atom channel is observed, peaking around 1.8 eV. The latter shows an anisotropic distribution with ß = 0.45. It originates from a direct dissociation process within less than a rotational period. Time-delay scans with varying extraction voltages indicate the presence of two rates for the formation of H-atoms. One rate with a sub-nanosecond time constant is associated with H-atoms with large translational energy; a second one with a time constant on the order of 100 ns is associated with H-atoms formed with low translational energy. The data confirm and extend those from previous experiments and remove some inconsistencies. Possible mechanisms for the dissociation are discussed in light of the new results as well as previous ones.

Bonding in a borylene complex investigated by photoionization and dissociative photoionization.

The borylene complex [(OC)(5)Cr=B=N(SiMe(3))(2)] has been investigated by using threshold photoelectron-photoion coincidence spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation. The ionization energy of the parent complex and the 0 K appearance energies of the sequential CO loss channels have been determined. The derived bond-dissociation energies are used to discuss bonding and energetics in this compound.

Colourimetric carboxylate anion sensors derived from viologen-based receptors.

A series of tri- and tetrapodal viologen-based anion receptors showing a colourimetric response to carboxylates, such as acetate, have been synthesised. Alteration of the anion binding sites allows for binding site competition within a receptor. This results in a delayed colourimetric response for urea derivatives compared with pyridinium systems because the anions are initially bound to the periphery of the receptor, away from the viologen unit. DFT calculations and experimental measurements allow the colour change to be assigned to an anion-receptor charge-transfer process, facilitated by the exceptionally low reduction potential of the cationic host compounds. Evidence for electron transfer to give the viologen radical cation is also seen in some cases.