Advances of sensitive techniques in laser spectroscopy

Different techniques are used for the sensitive detection of overtone transitions of small molecules, such as H₂S, C₂H₂, OCS, O₃ in the visible and near infrared region. The techniques include: phase-modulated or wavelength-modulation absorption spectroscopy with a widely tunable single mode diode laser, opto-acoustic spectroscopy in resonance cells with a color center laser or a Ti:Sapphire laser, and sub-Doppler opto-thermal spectroscopy in cold collimated molecular beams, using a low temperature bolometer as detector. The three techniques are compared with regard to sensitivity and spectral resolution. The mass selective sensitive detection of small metal clusters Li₃ and Na₃ and their high resolution sub-Doppler spectroscopy, using resonant two-photon ionization with cw lasers, is briefly discussed.     

Decongestion of methylene spectra in biological and non-biological systems using picosecond 2DIR spectroscopy measuring electron-vibration–vibration coupling

Methylene is found in the repeat units of many polymers including proteins. In some cases it appears to be a useful reporter of variation in local environment whilst in other contexts average behaviour seems to dominate. In this paper we apply a particular 2DIR technique to a range of systems containing methylene groups, showing that mode frequencies, linewidths and splittings can be easily extracted even when the infrared absorption bands are too congested to allow reliable analysis. 2DIR spectra of polyethylene and several liquid alkanes are compared and it is shown for the case of l-arginine that the methylene scissor modes are split and that this can be resolved by tracking the 2DIR spectrum as a function of time. Calculations from first principles reveal that for most of the methylene modes studied, electrical anharmonicity is the dominant contributor to the 2DIR cross-peak intensity, with the mechanical anharmonicity making only a small contribution.     

Study of the thermal decomposition of a sepiolite by mid- and near-infrared spectroscopies

Near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopies were used to characterize the hydroxyl groups present in a sepiolite and its calcination products at 250, 500 and 800 °C. Calcining the sepiolite at 250 °C was found to result in its dehydration through the loss of coordination water. Raising the calcination temperature to 500 °C caused the sepiolite structure to fold and hydroxyl groups in octahedral layers to be removed. Finally, calcination at 800 °C resulted in a phase change leading to enstatite, as confirmed by XRD spectroscopy.     

Terahertz Time‐Domain Spectroscopy of Gases,Liquids, and Solids

The techniques and methods employed in the spectroscopic characterization of gases, liquids, and solids in the terahertz frequency range are reviewed. Terahertz time‐domain spectroscopy is applied to address a broadband frequency range between 100 GHz and 5 THz with a sub‐10 GHz frequency resolution. The unique spectral absorption features measured can be efficiently used in material identification and sensing. Possibilities and limitations of fundamental and industrial applications are discussed.     

The Kinetic and Mechanistic Evaluation of NMR Spectra. New analytical methods (18)

In addition to the static parameters of the chemical shifts and coupling constants, which serve as a source of knowledge for molecular structure and stereochemistry, an NMR spectrum can frequently furnish dynamic quantities characterizing relaxation and exchange phenomena. The information about nuclear switching processes has proved to be particularly useful in practice for the detection of internal molecular motions and for the estimation or determination of the corresponding energy barriers. A plethora of studies of this nature has in the past been performed on simple proton spectra. Methodological developments of recent years have led to a significant reduction of the effort required for the quantitative dynamic evaluation of NMR spectra arising from complex spin systems or involving other nuclei. In many cases it has, moreover, become possible to extract detailed mechanistic information inaccessible by other means. The practical execution of such analyses will be explained and illustrated by a selected number of applications.     

Polarization Dependent Time-Resolved Infrared Spectroscopy and Its Applications

Polarization dependent time-resolved infrared (TRIR) spectroscopy has proven to be a useful technique to study the structural dynamics in a photochemical process. The angular information of transient species is obtainable in this measurement, which makes it a valuable technique for the investigation of electron distribution, molecular structure, and conformational dynamics. In this review, we briefly introduce the principles and applications of polarization dependent TRIR spectroscopy. We mainly focused on the following topics: (i) an overview of TRIR spectroscopy, (ii) principles of TRIR spectroscopy and its advantages compared to the other ultrafast techniques, (iii) examples that use polarization dependent TRIR spectroscopy to probe a variety of chemical and dynamical phenomena including protein conformational dynamics, excited state electron localization, and photoisomerization, (iv) the limitations and prospects of TRIR spectroscopy.     

光电流谱、光致发光光谱和紫外可见吸收光谱在纳米半导体光电器件研究中的联用

在纳米半导体中由于纳米效应(如量子尺寸效应),其电子结构与块体半导体有所不同。进一步地,当纳米半导体与基底和其他组分结合制成器件后,其性质又受到基底或其他组分的影响,这两点导致了基于纳米半导体的光电器件的性能以及相应表征方法也大不相同。将光电流谱、光致发光光谱和紫外可见吸收光谱三种技术有机地结合起来,可以更好地表征纳米半导体的电子性质和光电性能。本文根据纳米半导体材料与电极的电子性质特点及其测量,结合本课题组前期工作,举例介绍三种谱学方法相结合应用于探究光伏电池和电致发光器件的纳米半导体材料的性能,以及纳米半导体材料表面态的表征。     

Identification of Triplet States in Carotenoids by Intracavity Absorption Spectroscopy and Measurements of Delayed Fluorescence

Owing to the low quantum yield of phosphorescence , triplet states of carotenoids have been very difficult to identify. These states can be characterized by intracavity absorption spectroscopy, which allows the direct measurement of the spin-forbidden singlet–triplet transitions in low concentrated solutions, and by delayed fluorescence measurements.     

Isolation and Spectroscopic Characterization of New Endohedral Fullerenes in the Size Gap of C74 to C76

New alkaline earth metal endohedral fullerenes Sr@C₇₄, Sr@C₇₆‐I, II and Ca@C₇₄, prepared by means of the RF‐method, have been isolated using multistep HPLC. The purity was ascertained by anionic LDI TOF mass spectroscopy, considering the isotopic patterns of the compounds. The influence of the incorporated metal on the electronic structure has been studied by VIS‐NIR and Raman spectroscopy. Photoexcited triplet‐state EPR spectroscopy was used to investigate the structure of these otherwise EPR‐silent fullerenes. Displaying the frequency of the cage vs. encapsulated metal vibrational modes as a function of the square root of the reciprocal masses of the metals clearly separates the M³⁺@C_n^3— and the M²⁺@C_n^2— families. This seems to be a generally applicable tool for monitoring the metal to fullerene charge transfer.     

Routine FT-Raman spectroscopy with modified standard FT-IR instrument

A commercial FT-IR spectrometer (BRUKER IFS 66) was combined with a Raman module, having an NdYAG laser as source, a sample compartment, a filter for elimination of the exciting line from the spectrum and a detector. The interferometer and computer of the IFS 66 was used to record Raman spectra of small amounts of liquids and solids using a spherical sapphire sample cell.     

Synthesen und Reaktionen von Aluminiumalkoxid‐Verbindungen

Syntheses and Reactions of Aluminium Alkoxide Compounds Al(O^cHex)₃ ( 1 ) can be synthesized by the reaction of Al with cyclohexanol under evolving of H₂ in boiling xylene. [Li{Al(OCH₂Ph)₄}] ( 2 ) was obtained by treatment of PhCH₂OH with a 1 M solution of LiAlH₄ in THF. [{(THF)Li}₂{Al(O^tBu)₄}Cl] ( 3 ) is the result of the reaction of four equivalents of LiO^tBu on AlCl₃ in THF. 3 is the educt for the reactions with the Lewis‐acids InCl₃ and FeCl₃ in THF leading to the metalates [{(THF)₂Li}₂{Al(O^tBu)₄}] · [MCl₄] [M = In ( 4 ), Fe ( 5 )]. The attempt to react InCl₃ with four equivalents of LiO^tBu leads to only one isolated and characterized product, the complex [Li₄(O^tBu)₃(THF)₃Cl]₂ · THF ( 6 · THF), which can also be synthesized by the treatment of LiCl with three equivalents of LiO^tBu in THF. 1–6 · THF were characterized by NMR, IR and MS techniques as well as by X‐ray structure determinations. According to them, 1 , which is tetrameric in solution, is the first structurally characterized example of the proposed trimer form of aluminium alkoxides [ROAl{Al(OR)₄}₂] with a central trigonal bipyramidal coordinated Al atom. 2 forms a coordination polymer with a distorted tetrahedral coordination sphere of Li and Al, running along [100]. The trinuclear structure skeleton [{(THF)₂Li}₂{Al(O^tBu)₄}]⁺ is still present in the isotypical metalates 4 and 5 . The counter ions [MCl₄]^– possess nearly T_d symmetry. The remarkable structural motif of 6 · THF are two heterocubanes [Li₄(O^tBu)₃(THF)₃Cl] dimerized by Li–Cl bonds.     

Two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy. A new tool for interpreting infrared spectra

Two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy is used to study atactic polystyrene. 2D IR is a technique based on time-resolved detection of IR signals in response to an external perturbation, such as mechanical strain. Since different chemical functional groups respond to the applied perturbation at unique and often different rates, characteristic time-dependent variations of the IR-band intensities are observed. Correlation analysis of the dynamic variation of the IR signals yields a new spectrum defined by two independent wave numbers. Peaks located on a 2D IR spectral plane imply interactions and connectivities among chemical functional groups. By spreading convoluted IR bands over two dimensions, the spectral resolution is also greatly enhanced.     

Systematic control of nonlinear optical processes using optimally shaped femtosecond pulses.

This article reviews experimental efforts to control multiphoton transitions using shaped femtosecond laser pulses, and it lays out the systematic study being followed by us for elucidating the effect of phase on nonlinear optical laser-molecule interactions. Starting with a brief review of nonlinear optics and how nonlinear optical processes depend on the electric field inducing them, a number of conclusions can be drawn directly from analytical solutions of the equations. From a Taylor expansion of the phase in the frequency domain, we learn that nonlinear optical processes are affected only by the second- and higher-order terms. This simple result has significant implications on how pulse-shaping experiments are to be designed. If the phase is allowed to vary arbitrarily as a continuous function, then an infinite redundancy that arises from the addition of a linear phase function across the spectrum with arbitrary offset and slope could prevent us from carrying out a closed-loop optimization experiment. The early results illustrate how the outcome of a nonlinear optical transition depends on the cooperative action of all frequencies in the bandwidth of a laser pulse. Maximum constructive or destructive interference can be achieved by programming the phase using only two phase values, 0 and pi. This assertion has been confirmed experimentally, where binary phase shaping (BPS) was shown to outperform other alternative functions, sometimes by at least on order of magnitude, in controlling multiphoton processes. Here we discuss the solution of a number of nonlinear problems that range from narrowing the second harmonic spectrum of a laser pulse to optimizing the competition between two- and three-photon transitions. This Review explores some present and future applications of pulse shaping and coherent control.     

Study of the dynamics of surface molecules by time-resolved sum-frequency generation spectroscopy

Sum-frequency generation (SFG) is a nonlinear laser-spectroscopy technique suitable for analysis of adsorbed molecules. The sub-monolayer sensitivity of SFG spectroscopy enables vibrational spectra to be obtained with high specificity for a variety of molecules on a range of surfaces, including metals, oxides, and semiconductors. The use of ultra-short laser pulses on time-scales of picoseconds also makes time-resolved measurements possible; this can reveal ultrafast transient changes in molecular arrangements. This article reviews recent time-resolved SFG spectroscopy studies revealing site-hopping of adsorbed CO on metal surfaces and the dynamics of energy relaxation at water/metal interfaces. Time-resolved sum frequency generation spectroscopy at surfaces with non-resonant laser pulse irradiation     

Pulsed EPR Dipolar Spectroscopy under the Breakdown of the High-Field Approximation: The High-Spin Iron(III) Case

Pulsed EPR dipolar spectroscopy (PDS) offers several methods for measuring dipolar coupling and thus the distance between electron-spin centers. To date, PDS measurements to metal centers were limited to ions that adhere to the high-field approximation. Here, the PDS methodology is extended to cases where the high-field approximation breaks down on the example of the high-spin Fe³⁺/nitroxide spin-pair. First, the theory developed by Maryasov et al. (Appl. Magn. Reson. 2006 , 30, 683–702) was adapted to derive equations for the dipolar coupling constant, which revealed that the dipolar spectrum does not only depend on the length and orientation of the interspin distance vector with respect to the applied magnetic field but also on its orientation to the effective g-tensor of the Fe³⁺ ion. Then, it is shown on a model system and a heme protein that a PDS method called relaxation-induced dipolar modulation enhancement (RIDME) is well-suited to measuring such spectra and that the experimentally obtained dipolar spectra are in full agreement with the derived equations. Finally, a RIDME data analysis procedure was developed, which facilitates the determination of distance and angular distributions from the RIDME data. Thus, this study enables the application of PDS to for example, the highly relevant class of high-spin Fe³⁺ heme proteins.     

Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy of Methylcyanodiacetylene (CH3C5N)

A spectroscopic study combining IR absorption and Raman scattering is presented for methylcyanodiacetylene (CH₃C₅N). Gas‐phase, cryogenic matrix‐isolated, and pure solid‐phase substance was analyzed. Out of 16 normal vibrational modes, 14 were directly observed. The analysis of the spectra was assisted by quantum chemical calculations of vibrational frequencies, IR absorption intensities, and Raman scattering activities at density functional theory and ab initio levels. Previous assignments of gas‐phase IR absorption bands were revisited and extended.     

Mechanistic insights into stereoselective catalysis-the effects of counterions in a CuII-bissulfoximine-catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction

The initial steps of an enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction catalyzed by a CuII-bissulfoximine complex were followed by EXAFS (EXAFS=extended X-ray absorption fine structure), EPR (EPR=electron paramagnetic resonance) spectroscopy (CW-EPR, FID-detected EPR, pulse ENDOR, HYSCORE; CW=continuous wave; ENDOR=electron nuclear double resonance; HYSCORE=hyperfine sublevel correlation; FID=free induction decay), and UV-visible spectroscopy. The complexes formed between the parent CuX2 (X=Cl-, Br-, TfO-, SbF6-) salts, the chiral bissulfoximine ligand (S,S)-1, and N-(1-oxoprop-2-en-1-yl)oxazolidin-2-one (2) as the substrate in CH2Cl2 were investigated in frozen and fluid solution. In all cases, penta- or hexacoordinated CuII centers were established. The complexes with counterions indicating high stereoselectivity (TfO- and SbF6-) reveal one unique species in which substrate 2 binds to pseudoequatorial positions (via O atoms), shifting the counterions to axial locations. On the other hand, those lacking stereoselectivity (X=Cl- and Br-) form two species in which the parent halogen anions remain at equatorial positions preventing the formation of geometries compatible with those found for X=TfO- and SbF6-.