Ultrafast dynamics of fluorene initiated by highly intense laser fields.

We present an investigation of the ultrafast dynamics of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon fluorene initiated by an intense femtosecond near-infrared laser pulse (810 nm) and probed by a weak visible pulse (405 nm). Using a multichannel detection scheme (mass spectra, electron and ion velocity-map imaging), we provide a full disentanglement of the complex dynamics of the vibronically excited parent molecule, its excited ionic states, and fragments. We observed various channels resulting from the strong-field ionization regime. In particular, we observed the formation of the unstable tetracation of fluorene, above-threshold ionization features in the photoelectron spectra, and evidence of ubiquitous secondary fragmentation. We produced a global fit of all observed time-dependent photoelectron and photoion channels. This global fit includes four parent ions extracted from the mass spectra, 15 kinetic-energy-resolved ionic fragments extracted from ion velocity map imaging, and five photoelectron channels obtained from electron velocity map imaging. The fit allowed for the extraction of 60 lifetimes of various metastable photoinduced intermediates.

Evolution of the ionisation energy with the stepwise growth of chiral clusters of [4]helicene.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely established as ubiquitous in the interstellar medium (ISM), but considering their prevalence in harsh vacuum environments, the role of ionisation in the formation of PAH clusters is poorly understood, particularly if a chirality-dependent aggregation route is considered. Here we report on photoelectron spectroscopy experiments on [4]helicene clusters performed with a vacuum ultraviolet synchrotron beamline. Aggregates (up to the heptamer) of [4]helicene, the smallest PAH with helical chirality, were produced and investigated with a combined experimental and theoretical approach using several state-of-the-art quantum-chemical methodologies. The ionisation onsets are extracted for each cluster size from the mass-selected photoelectron spectra and compared with calculations of vertical ionisation energies. We explore the complex aggregation topologies emerging from the multitude of isomers formed through clustering of P and M, the two enantiomers of [4]helicene. The very satisfactory benchmarking between experimental ionisation onsets vs. predicted ionisation energies allows the identification of theoretically predicted potential aggregation motifs and corresponding energetic ordering of chiral clusters. Our structural models suggest that a homochiral aggregation route is energetically favoured over heterochiral arrangements with increasing cluster size, hinting at potential symmetry breaking in PAH cluster formation at the scale of small grains.

How does the composition of a PAH influence its microsolvation? A rotational spectroscopy study of the phenanthrene-water and phenanthridine-water clusters.

We report on the noncovalent intermolecular interactions established between the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons phenanthrene and phenanthridine with water. Such noncovalent interactions involving extended aromatic systems and water molecules are ubiquitous in a variety of chemical and biological systems. Our study provides spectroscopic results on simple model systems to understand the impact that an extended aromatic surface and the presence of a heteroatom have on the nature of the noncovalent interactions established with the solvent. Microhydrated phenanthrene and phenanthridine clusters with up to three water molecules have been observed and unambiguously characterised by means of broadband rotational spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. The presence of a nitrogen atom in the backbone of phenanthridine remarkably affects the geometries of the water clusters and the interaction networks at play, with O-HN and C-HO interactions becoming preferred in the phenanthridine-water clusters over the O-Hπ interactions seen in the phenanthrene-water clusters. The presence of this heteroatom induces nuclear quadrupole coupling, which was used to understand the cooperativity effects found with increasing cluster size. Our results provide important insight to draw a more complete picture of the noncovalent interactions involving solvent molecules and aromatic systems larger than benzene, and they can be significant to enhance our understanding of the aromatic-polar interactions at play in a myriad of chemical and biological contexts.

Far-IR Absorption of Neutral Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): Light on the Mechanism of IR-UV Ion Dip Spectroscopy.

Gas-phase IR-UV double-resonance laser spectroscopy is an IR absorption technique that bridges the gap between experimental IR spectroscopy and theory. The IR experiments are used to directly evaluate predicted frequencies and potential energy surfaces as well as to probe the structure of isolated molecules. However, a detailed understanding of the underlying mechanisms is, especially in the far-IR regime, still far from complete, even though this is crucial for properly interpreting the recorded IR absorption spectra. Here, events occurring upon excitation to vibrational levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by far-IR radiation from the FELIX free electron laser are followed using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization spectroscopy. These studies provide detailed insight into how ladder climbing and anharmonicity influence IR-UV spectroscopy and therefore the resulting IR signatures in the far-IR region. Moreover, the potential energy surfaces of these low-frequency delocalized modes are investigated and shown to have a strong harmonic character.

The structural determination and skeletal ring modes of tetrahydropyran.

A high-resolution molecular spectroscopy study was carried out on the cyclic ether tetrahydropyran (THP), one of the smallest molecules composed of a pyranose ring. As this ring structure is closely related to carbohydrates, THP can offer relevant insight into structural variations of this unit. Thus, an extensive probe of THP using three broadband instruments ranging from the microwave to the far-infrared (2-8 GHz, 75-110 GHz and 100-650 cm-1 frequency ranges) was performed to accrue both accurate sets of rotational constants and structural information. This array of experimental setups provided an accurate set of data to improve the description of the ground state of THP and revise the principal parameters of its backbone structure. The structural information was deduced from the assignment of the 13C and 18O isotopologues present in natural abundance. In addition, the complementary dataset obtained from these experiments led to a better characterization of the vibrational motions involving the skeletal ring of the molecule. In particular, the vibrational frequencies of four of these modes (ν23 (∼250 cm-1), ν22 (∼403 cm-1), ν21 (∼430 cm-1), and ν20 (∼562 cm-1)) have been determined from the analysis of the first rotationally resolved vibrational spectrum reported for THP. Quantum-chemical calculations aided in the analysis of the experimental results.

Far-IR and UV spectral signatures of controlled complexation and microhydration of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon acenaphthene.

In this work we report on the experimental and theoretical investigations of the progressional complexation of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) acenaphthene with itself and with water. In the interstellar medium, PAH complexes are an important link between molecular gas and solid state configurations of carbon, and in the form of grains they are postulated to serve as chemical catalysts. However, no direct detection of PAHs or their (microhydrated) complexes in interstellar space has been achieved as of yet. Therefore, we provide UV and far-infrared ion dip spectra of homogeneous PAH multimers and their hydrated clusters. The far-IR region of the IR spectrum is especially interesting since it contains the most spectral features that arise due to complexation or microhydration. We present microhydrated PAH complexes up to the third order, where we show that the water clusters are locked with little perturbation on the different PAH platforms. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations involving hydrogen bond interactions still seem challenging for predicting the far-IR frequency range, although applying anharmonic corrections leads to slight improvements.

Where's water? The many binding sites of hydantoin.

Prebiotic hydantoin and its complexes with one and two water molecules are investigated using high-resolution broadband rotational spectroscopy in the 2-8 GHz frequency range. The hyperfine structure due to the nuclear quadrupole coupling of the two 14N atoms is analysed for the monomer and the complexes. This characteristic hyperfine structure will support a definitive assignment from low frequency radioastronomy data. Experiments with H218O provide accurate experimental information on the preferred binding sites of water, which are compared with quantum-chemically calculated coordinates. In the 2-water complexes, the water molecules bind to hydantoin as a dimer instead of individually, indicating the strong water-water interactions. This information provides first insight on how hydantoin interacts with water on the molecular level.

Chirped-pulse Fourier transform millimeter-wave spectroscopy of ten vibrationally excited states of i-propyl cyanide: exploring the far-infrared region.

We report here further spectroscopic investigation of the astrochemically relevant molecule i-propyl cyanide. We observed and analysed the rotational spectra of the ground state of the molecule and ten vibrationally excited states with energies between 180-500 cm-1. For this, we used a segmented W-band spectrometer (75-110 GHz) and performed the experiments under room temperature conditions. This approach thus provides access to high-resolution, pure rotational data of vibrational modes that occur in the far-infrared fingerprint region, and that can be difficult to access with other techniques. The obtained, extensive data set will support further astronomical searches and identifications, such as in warmer regions of the interstellar space where contributions from vibrationally excited states become increasingly relevant.

Standard free energy of the equilibrium between the trans-monomer and the cyclic-dimer of acetic acid in the gas phase from infrared spectroscopy.

Survey jet-cooled spectra of acetic acid have been recorded in the infrared region (200-4000 cm(-1)) over a wide range of expansion conditions. From the variations of the relative intensities of the signals, vibrational transitions have been assigned unambiguously to the trans-monomer and cyclic-dimer. The IR-active fundamental frequencies have been determined at the instrumental accuracy of 0.5 cm(-1). This analysis of the jet-cooled spectra supported by electronic structure calculations permitted us to characterize the trans-monomer/cyclic-dimer equilibrium. From static cell spectra at 298 K, variations of the molar fractions ratio as a function of the total pressure were used to estimate the equilibrium constant and the Gibbs free energy of dimerization at 298 K. The very good agreement with the literature data shows that the present method is able to produce, from a single study, a free energy value as reliable as the one obtained from a large collection of data. In addition, the semi-empirical free energy value was used to estimate the accuracy of electronic structure calculations and in turn the accuracy of the derived useful information such as the dissociation energy of the complex (i.e. the strength of the hydrogen bonds) or the relative energies within the conformational landscape.

Synchrotron FT-FIR spectroscopy of nitro-derivatives vapors: new spectroscopic signatures of explosive taggants and degradation products.

We report on the first successful rovibrational study of gas phase mononitrotoluene and dinitrotoluene in the TeraHertz/Far-Infrared (THz/FIR) spectral domain. Using the AILES beamline of the synchrotron SOLEIL and a Fourier Transform spectrometer connected to multipass cells, the low-energy vibrational cross-sections of the different isomers of mononitrotoluene have been measured and compared to calculated spectra with the density functional theory including the anharmonic contribution. The active FIR modes of 2,4 and 2,6 dinitrotoluene have been assigned to the vibrational bands measured by Fourier Transform FIR spectroscopy of the gas-phase molecular cloud produced in an evaporating/recondensating system. This study highlights the selectivity of gas phase THz/FIR spectroscopy allowing an unambiguous recognition and discrimination of nitro-aromatic compounds used as explosive taggants.