High-resolution electron spin resonance spectroscopy of XeF* in solid argon. The hyperfine structure constants as a probe of relativistic effects in the chemical bonding properties of a heavy noble gas atom

Xenon fluoride radicals were generated by solid-state chemical reactions of mobile fluorine atoms with xenon atoms trapped in Ar matrix. Highly resolved electron spin resonance spectra of XeF* were obtained in the temperature range of 5-25 K and the anisotropic hyperfine parameters were determined for magnetic nuclei 19F, 129Xe, and 131Xe using naturally occurring and isotopically enriched xenon. Signs of parallel and perpendicular hyperfine components were established from analysis of temperature changes in the spectra and from numerical solutions of the spin Hamiltonian for two nonequivalent magnetic nuclei. Thus, the complete set of components of hyperfine- and g-factor tensors of XeF* were obtained: 19F (Aiso=435, Adip=1249 MHz) and 129Xe (Aiso=-1340, Adip=-485 MHz); g(parallel)=1.9822 and g(perpendicular)=2.0570. Comparison of the measured hyperfine parameters with those predicted by density-functional theory (DFT) calculations indicates, that relativistic DFT gives true electron spin distribution in the 2Sigma+ ground-state, whereas nonrelativistic theory underestimates dramatically the electron-nuclear contact Fermi interaction (Aiso) on the Xe atom. Analysis of the obtained magnetic-dipole interaction constants (Adip) shows that fluorine 2p and xenon 5p atomic orbitals make a major contribution to the spin density distribution in XeF*. Both relativistic and nonrelativistic calculations give close magnetic-dipole interaction constants, which are in agreement with the measured values. The other relativistic feature is considerable anisotropy of g-tensor, which results from spin-orbit interaction. The orbital contribution appears due to mixing of the ionic 2Pi states with the 2Sigma+ ground state, and the spin-orbit interaction plays a significant role in the chemical bonding of XeF*.     

Reactions of photogenerated fluorine atoms with dopant molecules in solid argon

The products of UV photolysis of ternary Ar?CH₄(CD₄)?F₂ mixtures (1:c:c ₀,c, c ₀=0.001–0.01) at 13–16 K were identified by ESR and FTIR spectroscopy. These products are^?CH₃ (^?CD₃) radicals of typesI andII and molecular CH₃F?HF complexes. The latter were characterized by the IR bands of the stretching C?F (1003 cm^?1) and H?F (3774 cm^?1) vibrations. The ESR spectra of radicalsI are asymmetric. The anisotropy of theg-factor (Δg～10^?3) of radicalI indicates that the structure of the radicals is nonplanar. The ESR spectrum of the typeII radical is identical to that of matrix-isolated^?CH₃ (^?CD₃) radicals with the planar structure (Δg<5·10^?5). Under the experimental conditions, the amount of complexes formed in the photolysis is equal to 0.022·c. When the photolysis is ceased, radicalI disappears after ≈10³ s and radicalII is stabilized. The limiting concentrations of the stabilized^?CH₃ and^?CD₃ radicals are equal to 2·10^?2·c and 2·10^?3·c, respectively. A mechanism of the formation of the products is suggested. It is based on the assumption that both matrix-isolated CH₄ and F₂ and their heterodimers CH₄?F₂ are present in the samples and it takes into account the long-range migration of translationally excited flourine atoms. The CH₃F?HF complexes and radicalsI are generated by the photolysis of the CH₄?F₂ heterodimers. The decay of radicalsI is caused by geminate recombination of proximate F...CH₃ pairs. RadicalsII are formed in the reaction of translationally excited fluorine atoms with isolated CH₄ (CD₄) molecules.     

Reaction of photogenerated fluorine atoms with dopant molecules in solid argon

The products of reactions of dopant CH₄ molecules with F atoms diffusing in solid argon at 20–30 K were identified by ESR and FTIR spectroscopy. The F atoms stabilized in the matrix were generated by UV photolysis of Ar?CH₄(CD₄)?F (1000∶1∶1) samples at 13 K. Subsequent heating above 20 K results in thawing off diffusion of the F atoms and formation of products of their reaction with CH₄: radical-molecular complexes^·CH₃?HF (^·CD₃?DF) and radicals^·CH₃ (^·CD₃). The ESR spectra of the radicala are similar to those observed for matrix-isolated^·CH₃. The^·CH₃?HF complexes are characterized by the IR band of HF stetching vibration at 3764 cm^?1. Two additional splittings on the H (a _H·=2 G) and F(a _F=16G) nuclei of the HF molecule appeal in the ESR spectrum of the complex. The latter splitting is retained in the^·CD₃?DF complex, whereA _D· <0.3G The rate constant of the reaction CH₄+F→^·CH₃+HF is equal to ?10^?25 cm³s^?1 at 20 K. Its activation energy (1.7±0.2 kcal mol^?1) is ?0.5 kcal mol^?1 greater than that in the gas phase. The collinear C_3v-configuration of the^·CH₃?HF complex, which is similar to the configuration of the reagents in the transition state of the reaction considered, was established by the comparison of the exprrimental constants of hyperfine coupling with the results of the quantum-chemical calculation.     

Biopolymer composites based on modified lignin and nanocellulose

New composite lignocellulose materials were prepared using modified lignin and nanocellulose. The materials were studied by elemental and thermal gravimetric analysis, and their tensile tests were performed. The results obtained show that addition of nanocellulose to modified lignin makes possible its use as filler in paper production.     

Coherent control of the lattice dynamics of bismuth near the lindemann stability limit

The relative contributions of the anharmonicity of the lattice potential and the nonequilibrium concentration of charge carriers to the time dependence of the coherent A _1g phonon frequency in bismuth excited by high-energy ultrashort laser pulses are studied by the coherent control method. The contributions are separated by the pump-probe method in which excitation is performed by two pulses with a controlled time delay. It is shown that, depending on the relative delay between the pump pulses, both correlation and anticorrelation between the amplitude and the initial frequency of oscillations are observed while the chirp and the initial frequency of the coherent phonon are anticorrelated. In addition, it has been found that the contributions of the lattice and the electronic subsystem are always anticorrelated. Therefore, a certain phase can be assigned to an electronic excitation and it may be suggested that the time dependence of the phonon frequency is determined not only by instantaneous values of the lattice and electronic response but also by the phase relations between them.     

Tunneling dynamics and spatial correlations of long chain growth in solid-state photochlorination of ethylene at low temperatures

A novel method is described for preparing reactive mixed crystals by vapor deposition in argon and subsequent evaporation of the argon. The kinetics of photochlorination chain reactions of ethylene-chlorine mixtures prepared by this method have been studied by dynamic UV and IR spectroscopy. Activationless chain growth occurs with mean length 260±70 in the temperature range 17–45 K. Chain lengths greater than 100 are observed up to 60–70% conversion to products. Comparison of the experimental data with computer simulations shows that the tunneling reaction is due to formation of a close-packed reaction complex with high amplitude zero-point vibrations which lower the vibrationally adiabatic barrier to reaction. The commensurability of reactant and product crystal lattices results in linear propagation of long chains without accumulation of deformation strain. Spatial correlations caused by nonlinear propagation are considered.     

Controlling phonon squeezing and correlation via one- and two-phonon interference

When ultrafast laser pulse strikes the crystal with a van Hove singularity in the phonon density of states, it can create a pair of anti-correlated in wave-vector phonons. As a result, the atomic fluctuations in either position or momentum become squeezed in such a way that their size might fall below the vacuum level. The ultrafast pulses can also generate a biphonon state in which the constituent phonons are correlated and/or entangled. Here we show that via the interplay between one- and two-phonon interference the bound and squeezed two-phonon state in (110) oriented ZnTe single crystal can be manipulated.     

The electronic structure of 5-methylhexa-1,2,4-triene-1,3-diyl, the first representative of highly delocalized triplet ethynylvinylcarbenes, from ESR spectroscopy data and quantum chemical calculations

The ESR spectrum of the first representative of highly conjugated triplet ethynylvinylcarbenes, 5-methylhexa-1,2,4-triene-1,3-diyl (1), was recorded in solid argon matrix. The zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameters of carbene 1 (D = 0.5054±0.0006 cm^?1 and E = 0.0045±0.0002 cm^?1) determined from the experimental ESR spectrum are in between the corresponding parameters of ethynylcarbene C3H2 (2) and vinylcarbene C₃H₄ (3): D(3) < D(1) < D(2) and E(2) < E(1) < E(3). Quantum chemical calculations of the ZFS parameters of 1, 2, and 3 have been carried out for the first time using two DFT-based approaches, RODFT and UDFT. An analysis of the experimental and theoretical ZFS parameters shows that carbene 1 is characterized by a greater extent of delocalization of the spin density of unpaired electrons than carbenes 2 and 3. The characteristic structural fragments of carbene 1 possess the principal features of the electronic structure of both ethynylcarbene (2) and vinylcarbene (3), respectively. Magnetic spin-spin interactions are identical in carbenes 1 and 2. The dominant contribution to D in 1 and 2 results from the one-center spin-spin interactions on carbon atoms in the propynylidene group, which are subjected to strong spin polarization.     

Coherent crystallization of bismuth under strong excitation by ultrashort laser pulses

By means of coherent control, fully symmetric bismuth phonons A _1og are investigated at helium temperature depending on the degree of crystal excitation. It is shown that coherent phonons with large amplitude show phase rigidity that is absent at small amplitude. Such a change in the phase properties of crystal lattice excitations can be understood using the concept of a coherent crystal, the achievement of which results from condensation of phonon modes arising with increasing degree of excitation.     

Investigation of ultrafast processes in photoexcited bismuth by broadband probing in the wavelength range 0.4–0.9 μm

The decay of the photoexcited state of a bismuth single crystal is investigated in the wavelength range from 400 to 900 nm by means of femtosecond laser reflection spectroscopy. Oscillations produced by coherent fully symmetric A _1g phonons have been detected in the photoinduced response, along with a relaxation component. The dynamics of the electronic subsystem of the crystal is shown to be characterized by three values of the decay time: 1 ps, 7 ps, and ∼1 ns. The spectral dependence of the reflectivity oscillation amplitude has been measured; the possible cause of the shape of the derived curve is described.