Spectroscopic and structural analysis of Ca substituted La orthoferrite

Samples of orthoferrites La_1−xCa_xFeO₃ (0.15≤x≤0.45) were synthesized by double sintering ceramic technique. X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy experiments were carried out and discussed for the investigated samples. The data showed the formation of single-phase orthorhombic structure of space group Pbnm. The FTIR spectra were performed in the region (1200–200 cm⁻¹). Four main absorption bands were present with some side bands and shoulders in the range (1200–400 cm⁻¹). Another four bands were appeared in the range (400–200 cm⁻¹). The positions, intensities and values of the absorptions bands vary depending on the Ca content in the samples. The first absorption band appeared at about 920 cm⁻¹ was assigned to the La–O stretching vibration.     

Raman scattering study of highly fluorinated graphite

Raman spectra of highly fluorinated C_xF samples (1<x<2) prepared at room temperature and 515°C were measured. C_xF samples prepared at room temperature exhibited two Raman bands at 1593–1583 and 1555–1542 cm⁻¹. Graphite samples fluorinated at 515°C for 1 and 2 min also gave similar bands at 1581–1580 and 1550–1538 cm⁻¹. However, graphite samples fluorinated from 15 min to 10 h at 515°C no longer showed such spectra. The Raman peaks shifted to lower frequencies with increasing fluorine concentration in C_xF. This trend is due to the weakening of the C---C bonds of the graphene layers. Observation of both kinds of Raman bands suggests the coexistence of two highly fluorinated phases, C₂F and C₁F, in the samples. The process of formation of graphite fluoride is discussed on the basis of the Raman spectra of C_xF samples obtained at 515°C.     

The ν(OH/OD) band shape of strong hydrogen bonded dimers of phosphinic acids. Phenomenology and formation models

The infrared spectra of phosphinic acid R₂POOH dimers (R=CH₃, CH₂Cl, C₆H₅) have been studied in CCl₄ and CH₂Cl₂ solutions (T=300 K). The infrared spectra of deuterated R₂POOD dimers (R=CH₃, CH₂Cl) were also studied in the gas phase (T=400–550 K) and solid state (T=100–300 K). They are compared with previously studied spectra of the light (non-deuterated) dimers in the gas phase, in the solid state and in low-temperature argon matrices (T=12–30 K) in the 4000–400 cm⁻¹ spectral region. It is found that the strong and broad ν(OH) dimer bands have similar shapes, nearly equal values of bandwidth and low-frequency shift, and possess the Hadzi ABC structure irrespective of the type of acid, significant differences of dimerization enthalpies, influence of solvent, the type of H-bonded complexes (cyclic dimers in the gas phase, in solutions, and in inert matrices, and infinite chains in the solid state), and temperature in the range 12–600 K. Isotopic ratio of the first moments of light and deuterated acid bands has been measured. Analysis of the ν(OH/OD) band of hydrogen bonded dimers of phosphinic acids shows that the interaction between the two intermolecular bonds O–HOP in a cyclic complex plays virtually no role in the mechanism of the ν(OH/OD) band formation; the shape of ν(OH/OD) band is controlled mainly by the POOH(D)O fragment; and the band shape of strong hydrogen bonded complexes is formed by a number of vibrational transitions from the ground state to different combination levels in the region 3500–1500 cm⁻¹.     

Time-resolved infrared spectroscopy of the lowest triplet state of thymine and thymidine

Vibrational spectra of the lowest energy triplet states of thymine and its 2′-deoxyribonucleoside, thymidine, are reported for the first time. Time-resolved infrared (TRIR) difference spectra were recorded over seven decades of time from 300 fs to 3 μs using femtosecond and nanosecond pump-probe techniques. The carbonyl stretch bands in the triplet state are seen at 1603 and 1700 cm⁻¹ in room-temperature acetonitrile-d₃ solution. These bands and additional ones observed between 1300 and 1450 cm⁻¹ are quenched by dissolved oxygen on a nanosecond time scale. Density-functional calculations accurately predict the difference spectrum between triplet and singlet IR absorption cross sections, confirming the peak assignments and elucidating the nature of the vibrational modes. In the triplet state, the C4O carbonyl exhibits substantial single-bond character, explaining the large (70 cm⁻¹) red shift in this vibration, relative to the singlet ground state. Femtosecond TRIR measurements unambiguously demonstrate that the triplet state is fully formed within the first 10 ps after excitation, ruling out a relaxed ¹nπ^* state as the triplet precursor.     

Thermal dehydration in lithium croconate dihydrate (Li2C5O5·2H2O) studied by vibrational and thermoanalytical techniques

This work reports the thermal dehydration of the oxocarbonic salt Li₂C₅O₅·2H₂O studied by IR and Raman spectroscopy, by ex situ and in situ techniques. The loss of the crystallization water is not only reflected by the disappearing of the pertinent bands, but also by the change in the crystalline phase, as evidenced by the alteration in the splitting pattern of the oxocarbon modes and by differential scanning calorimetry. In the anhydrous salt spectra, a great number of overtones and combination bands appear in the 2000–4000 cm⁻¹ region, indicating an increased anharmonicity. The enhanced splitting suggests that the anhydrous phase belongs to a less symmetric unit cell. The tetrahedral environment around the lithium ion is preserved, as suggested by the shifts of some modes in the 300–600 cm⁻¹ region on isotopic substitution from ⁷Li to ⁶Li. Raman and thermoanalytical data seem to indicate that the crystallization water is released in a single-step process.     

A study of the Raman spectra of alkanes in the Fermi-resonance region

The experimental and theoretically predicted Raman spectra for the first few alkanes in the homologous series: methane, ethane, propane and butane are presented for the region 2700–3100 cm⁻¹. The structure of the spectra is rather complex. Analysis of the results obtained shows that Fermi resonance occurs between the CH stretching vibrations in the 3000 cm⁻¹ region and the 2ν overtones of deformation vibrations in the low frequency (1450–1500 cm⁻¹) region.     

Infrared study of chlorophenols and products of their photodegradation

The presents study of the 3-chlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol, pentachlorophenol and products of their photodegradation using FT-IR spectroscopy and GC/MS. Spectra of pure chlorophenols with the spectra of their solutions after photodegradation were compared. FT-IR spectra of pure chlorophenols investigated in the region of 3700–3000 cm⁻¹ show that in particular cases the position and shape of bands corresponding to stretching vibration of hydroxyl groups are different. In all cases, the differences between spectra of pure chlorophenols and irradiated solutions were observed. It was confirmed that different distribution of types of hydrogen bonds appearing in particular chlorophenols has strong influence on the process of irradiation reaction and final products.     

Studies on adducts of rhodium(II) tetraacetate and rhodium(II) tetratrifluoroacetate with some amines in CDCl3 solution using H, C and N NMR

¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy has been applied for investigation of amine adducts with rhodium(II) tetraacetate dimer and rhodium(II) tetratrifluoroacetate dimer in CDCl₃ solution. Subsequent formation of two adducts, 1:1 and 2:1, was proved by NMR and VIS titration experiments, and by NMR measurements at reduced temperatures, from 233 to 273 K. The adduct formation shift, defined as Δδ=δ_adduct−δ_ligand and characterizing complexation reaction, varies from ca. 0 to +1.6 ppm for ¹H, from ca. −10 to +6 ppm for ¹³C and from −4.4 to −39 ppm for ¹⁵N NMR. Formation of N–Rh bond slows the inversiof on the nitrogen atom and generates, in the case of N-methyl-(1-phenylethyl)-amine, a nitrogenous chiral center in the molecule. VIS spectra of amine-dirhodium salt mixture contain two bands in the 532–597 nm spectral range, assigned to 1:1- and 2:1-adducts.     

Low frequency vibrational spectra of some amino acids

Far-IR absorption and reflection spectra, as well as laser Mandelshtam–Brillouin and Raman scattering spectra of -glycine, β-alanine, -histidine, -tryptophane single crystals in the 0.2–400 cm⁻¹ range were investigated. It was revealed that the far-IR and Raman spectra of the amino acids under study contain more bands than predicted by factor-group analysis, thus indicating a possible contribution of low-energy intramolecular vibrations and overtones, as well as an emergence of forbidden vibrations. Some of the low-frequency bands have never, to our knowledge, been detected previously.     

Temperature dependence of adlayers on Pt(1 1 1) and Au(1 1 1) in a sulfuric acid solution studied by in situ IRAS

Temperature dependence studies of adsorption of sulfuric acid species on Pt(1 1 1) and Au(1 1 1) electrodes were carried out using in situ infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy. A temperature-dependent shift of the interconversion potential between HSO₄⁻/H₃O⁺ and H₂SO₄ on a Pt(111) electrode was observed. A temperature-dependent frequency shift of the absorption bands of HSO₄⁻ was also observed on both Pt(1 1 1) and Au(1 1 1) electrodes in the potential region where a √3×√7 structure evolved. Modelling experiments in ultrahigh vacuum revealed that ordering of the overlayer water molecules played an important role in the frequency of the absorption bands of HSO₄⁻.     

Absorption and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) studies of 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxy diimides in terms of CASSCF method and FC theory

The electronic and geometrical structures of the low-energy states of 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride parent diimide (1) are studied in terms of the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) method employed at different level with respect to the size and the quality of the active space. In the framework of the vibronic model based on the Franck–Condon (FC) effect the absorption and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectra are studied in the excitation region corresponding to two low-energy 1¹A_g → 1¹B_2u and 1¹A_g → 1¹B_3u electronic transitions in diimides. In that (visible) excitation region the CASSCF computations with the 5π[4n]5π active space (i.e., the naphthalene-like π orbitals enriched by the four lone pair orbitals of the oxygen atoms) were found to reproduce very well the empirical absorption and the MCD spectra measured for the dicyclohexyl-N,N^′-substituted diimide (2). At the same CASSCF/5π[4n]5π level, the electronic absorption of diimides in the near UV excitation region were attributed to the 1¹A_g → 2¹B_1u, 1¹A_g → 2¹B_3u and 1¹A_g → 2¹B_2u electronic transitions; the latter two are mostly localized on the “diimide chromophore”. For these transitions the calculated magneto-optical characteristics, such as sign pattern and intensity distribution in the MCD spectrum, were found to be consistent with that experimentally observed for the diimide 2 compound.     

Vibrational spectra, conformations, ab initio calculations and vibrational assignments of 3-pentyn-2-ol

The infrared spectra of 3-pentyn-2-ol, CH₃CCCH(OH)CH₃, have been recorded as a vapour and liquid at ambient temperature, as a solid at 78 K in the 4000–50 cm⁻¹ range and isolated in an argon matrix at ca. 5 K. Infrared spectra of the solid phase at 78 K were obtained before and after annealing to temperatures of 120 and 130 K. The IR spectra of the solid were quite similar to that of the liquid.

Raman spectra of the liquid were recorded at room temperature and at various temperatures between 295 and 153 K. Spectra of an amorphous and annealed solid were recorded at 78 K. In the variable temperature Raman spectra, some bands changed in relative intensity and were interpreted in terms of conformational equilibria between the three possible conformers. Complete assignments were made for all the bands of the most stable conformer in which OH is oriented anti to C₁(a_Me). From various bands assigned to a second conformer in which OH is oriented anti to H_gem(a_H), the conformational enthalpy differences was found to be between 0.4 and 0.8 kJ mol⁻¹. The highest energy conformer with OH anti to C₃(a_C) was not detected.

Quantum-chemical calculations have been carried out at the MP2 and B3LYP levels with a variety of basis sets. Except for small basis set calculations for which the a_H conformer had slightly lower energy, all the calculations revealed that a_Me was the low energy conformer. The B3LYP/cc-pVTZ calculations suggested the a_Me conformer as more stable by 0.8 and 8.3 kJ mol⁻¹ relative to a_H an a_C, respectively. Vibrational wavenumbers and infrared and Raman band intensities for two of the three conformers are reported from B3LYP/cc-pVTZ calculations.     

Syntheses, crystal structures and electronic properties of a series of copper(II) complexes with 3,5-halogen-substituted Schiff base ligands and their solutions

We have systematically investigated the structural features, electronic properties, thermally-induced structural phase transitions and absorption spectra depending on the solvent for ten Cu(II) complexes with 3,5-halogen-substituted Schiff base ligands. Structural characterization of two new complexes, bis(N-R-1-phenylethyl- and N-R,S-2-butyl-5-bromosalicydenaminato-κ²N,O)copper(II), reveals that they afford a compressed tetrahedral trans-[CuN₂O₂] coordination geometry with trans-N–Cu–N = 159.4(2)° and trans-O–Cu–O = 151.7(3)° for the 1-phenylethyl complex and trans-N–Cu–N = 157.9(3)° and trans-O–Cu–O = 151.0(3)° for the 2-butyl one. All the complexes exhibit a structural phase transition by heating in the solid state regardless of their structures at room temperature. The absorption spectra of a series of ten complexes exhibit a slight shift of the d–d band at 16 000–20 000 cm⁻¹ and remarkable shift of the π–π* band at 24 000–28 000 cm⁻¹, which suggests that the dipole moment of the solvents presumably affects the conformation of the π-conjugated moieties of the ligands rather than the coordination environment. We have also attempted ‘photochromic solute-induced solvatochromism’ by a system of bis(N-R-1-phenylethyl-3,5-dichlorosalicydenaminato-κ²N,O)copper(II) and photochromic 4-hydroxyazobenzene in chloroform solution. We successfully observed a change of the d–d and π–π* bands of the complex in the absorption spectra caused by cis–trans photoisomerization of 4-hydroxyazobenzene.     

Temperature study of Raman, FT-IR and photoluminescence spectra of ZnPc thin layers on Si substrate

The temperature study of zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) thin layers deposited on (0 0 1) Si substrate using Raman, FT-IR absorption and photoluminescence (PL) methods are reported. The Raman scattering spectra of ZnPc layers were investigated in the spectral range 1250–1650 cm⁻¹ and in the temperature range 100–500 K. The changes of spectral parameters such as the band position, integrated intensity and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of selected Raman modes while heating and cooling processes have been determined. The fast decrease of the frequency and the intensity of these modes observed with the increase of the temperature above 420 K, can be probably caused by the change of crystalline form of ZnPc thin layer. The FT-IR measurements have been performed in the temperature range 98–523 K. Our study allowed us to estimate the orientation of the molecular plane similar to these of CuPc thin films deposited on Si substrate. The Raman spectra have been compared with FT-IR spectra of ZnPc molecules in KBr pellets and thin layers of ZnPc on (0 0 1) Si substrate. The PL spectra of ZnPc layers were measured in the spectral range 350–1200 nm and in the temperature range 13–320 K. With increasing temperature from 13 to 175 K we observed the increase of PL bands at 1.76 and 1.85 eV which disappear reaching temperature above 200 K.     

Resonance Raman study of the solvation of p-nitroaniline in supercritical water

Resonance Raman spectra of p-nitroaniline (pNA) have been measured in various states of water. The relative intensities of two bands assigned to the NO₂ stretching mode show a large temperature dependence along the 30.4 MPa isobar between ambient temperature and 669 K. Along the supercritical isotherm at 668.5 K, the higher frequency band shifts by 8 cm⁻¹ over the accessible density range (0.3–1.7ρ_c). We also performed density-functional calculations of the Raman spectra of water clusters of pNA. The calculated changes in electronic structure and Raman spectra with cluster size are used to rationalize these experimental observations.     

High resolution electronic spectroscopy of p-vinylphenol in the gas phase

A recent controversy regarding the proper assignment of two closely spaced bands in the S₁ ← S₀ electronic transition of trans-p-coumaric acid (pCA) has been addressed by recording their spectra at full rotational resolution. The results show unambiguously that the carrier of these two bands is p-vinylphenol (pVP), a thermal decomposition product of pCA. The two bands belong to two conformers of pVP; trans-pVP at 33,207.3 cm⁻¹ and cis-pVP at 33,211.8 cm⁻¹.     

Spectral intensity analysis of the S-POCl3-ZrCl4 system

The solution absorption spectra of the Sm³⁺-POCl₃-ZrCl₄ system were recorded within the 40,000-4000 cm⁻¹ range. A number of absorption bands in solution in the near-IR region were considered taking advantage of the optical transparency of the solvent. It was proved that only in this case the Judd-Ofelt parameters ωλ are physically significant and can be determined with relatively good accuracy.     

FTIR investigation of the conformational properties of the cyanide bound human hemoglobin

Infrared spectra at 4 cm⁻¹ resolution of the cyanide ligated human methemoglobin (Hb-CN) were examined in the C---N stretching region. The FTIR spectra of hemoglobin ligated with the various isotopomeric forms of the cyanide ion support the existence of three conformational states for Hb-CN. In potassium phosphate buffer at pH of 7.5, the three bands were observed at 2116, 2122 and 2127 cm⁻¹ for natural abundance Hb-CN. These bands shift to 2086, 2091 and 2095 cm⁻¹ for Hb-¹²C¹⁵N and 2073, 2077 and 2081 cm⁻¹ for Hb-¹³C¹⁴N. Two extra bands have been identified in the IR spectra of solid Hb-CN in KBr pellets. The peaks persist in the pH range between 3.5 and 10.5 with small changes in frequency and intensity. The appearance of several C---N stretching bands is consistent with C---N vibrators residing in different environment and support the hypothesis that Hb-CN assumes multiple conformers under the conditions studied.     

Optical spectra of Yb and Yb–Nd interaction in Cs2NaNd0,4Yb0,6Cl6

Interaction between octahedrally coordinated Nd³⁺ and Yd³⁺ in Cs₂NaNd_0,4Yb_0,6Cl₆ reduces the Nd³⁺ luminescence lifetime by roughly two orders of magnitude with respect to that found in Cs₂NaNdCl_{6– · –} Analysis of low temperature absorption and emission spectra reveals that the nonradiative Nd³⁺–Yb³⁺ energy transfer has to be assisted by lattice phonon emission, nevertheless the rate of the transfer is high in the 4–300 K temperature region and attains 5.8×10⁵s^-1 at room temperature. A phase transition of Cs₂NaNd_0,4Yb_0,6Cl₆ between 12 and 13 K is evidenced by abrupt change of both the spectra and lifetimes of Yb³⁺. Reduction of Yb³⁺ lifetime from 5.3 ms to 150 μs is at the transition from low symmetry phase to high symmetry phase is supposed to be associated with a three ion interaction which occurs in ordered lattice and disappears in low temperature disordered structure.     

Raman spectroscopy of the acetates of sodium, potassium and magnesium at liquid nitrogen temperature

A comprehensive Raman spectroscopic study of the acetates of potassium, sodium and magnesium in the solid state have been made at both 298 and 77 K. Band separation of the C=O stretching region was not achieved in the 298 K spectra but was in the 77 K spectra. The CO stretching vibration is observed as a single band in both the 298 and 77 K spectra and its frequency is cation dependent. Single C–C stretching bands are observed for the acetates in the 77 K spectra. The OCO deformation vibrations were also cation dependent. Low frequency vibrations of magnesium acetate are observed at 338, 253 and 268 cm⁻¹ and are assigned to the MgO stretching vibration of the magnesium bisacetato complex. Low frequency bands were also observed for sodium acetate at 219, 277 and 288 cm⁻¹.