Photodissociation dynamics of acetoxime in gas phase

The dynamics of photodissociation of acetoxime at 193 nm, leading to the formation of (CH3)2C=N and OH fragments, has been investigated. The nascent OH radicals, which are both rotationally and vibrationally excited, were probed by laser photolysis-laser induced fluorescence technique. OH fragments in both v" = 1 and v" = 0 vibrational states were detected with a ratio of population in the higher to lower level of 0.07+/-0.01. The rotational temperatures of v" = 0 and 1 levels of OH radicals are 2650+/-150 K and 1290+/-20 K, respectively. More than 30% of the available energy, i.e., 115+/-21 kJ mol(-1) is partitioned into the relative translational energy of the fragments. The results of excited electronic state and transition state calculations at the configuration interaction with single electronic excitation level suggest that the dissociation takes place with an exit barrier of approximately 126 kJ mol(-1) at the triplet state (T2) potential energy surface, formed by internal conversions/intersystem crossing from the initially populated S2 state. Using the calculated transition state geometry and its energy, the observed energy distribution pattern can be reproduced by the hybrid model within experimental uncertainties. The presence of an exit barrier is further supported by the observation of N-OH dissociation upon 248 nm excitation, where the relative translational energy of the fragments is found to be approximately 96 kJ mol(-1). The photodissociation dynamics of acetoxime is compared with C-OH dissociation in enols and carboxylic acid and N-OH dissociation in nitrous acid. The observed emission (lambda(max)=430 nm) and the N-OH dissociation dynamics indicate crossing of the initially populated state to an emissive state of acetoxime, which is different from the dissociative state.     

Photodissociation dynamics of ethyltoluene and p-fluoroethylbenzene at 193 and 248 nm

Photodissociation of jet-cooled o-, m-, and p-ethyltoluene and p-fluoroethylbenzene at both 193 and 248 nm was studied separately using vacuum ultraviolet photoionization/multimass ion imaging techniques. Dissociation occurs exclusively through alkyl chain C-C bond cleavage. The measured photofragment translational energy distributions at 193 nm decrease monotonically with increasing translational energy. The distributions indicate that dissociation occurs from the ground electronic state after internal conversion. However, the photofragment translational energy distributions from o-, m-, and p-ethyltoluene obtained at 248 nm contain a slow and a fast component; the ratios between these components are 1:4, 1:1.3, and 1:6, respectively. On the other hand, only the slow component was observed from p-fluoroethylbenzene at 248 nm. The fast components are attributed to the dissociation from the triplet state after intersystem crossing, and the slow components result from the dissociation in the ground electronic state. Comparison with the photodissociation of benzene and toluene and ab initio calculation has been made.     

Unimolecular photochemistry of n-alkenes studied by photodissociation-photoionization mass spectrometry

The 193-nm unimolecular photochemistry of n-alkenes from C₅ to C₁₄ is studied by photodissociation-photoionization mass spectrometry (PDPI/MS). In PDPI/MS, a UV laser induces neutral unimolecular photodissociation. The resulting neutral fragments and any remaining parent molecules are then softly ionized with coherent vacuum UV radiation and mass analyzed. Photodissociation of n-alkenes is dominated by cleavage of the β C?C bond. Products of α- and γ-cleavage are typically less than 20% as abundant as the β-cleavage fragments. Secondary fragmentation of the primary products occurs both by neutral fragmentation during photodissociation and by ionic fragmentation during photoionization. The energetics of the neutral secondary reactions indicate that between 400 and 500 kJ/mol is consumed during photodissociation. The abundances of many secondary fragmentation products decrease with increasing molecular size. Because neutral fragmentation occurs without significant isomerization, PDPI/MS provides structural information that is not available from ionic fragmentation in conventional mass spectrometric experiments.     

Probing mechanistic photochemistry of glyoxal in the gas phase by ab initio calculations of potential-energy surfaces and adiabatic and nonadiabatic rates

In the present work, the wavelength-dependent mechanistic photochemistry of glyoxal in the gas phase has been explored by ab initio calculations of potential-energy surfaces, surface crossing points, and adiabatic and nonadiabatic rates. The CHOCHO molecules in S1 by photoexcitation at 393-440 nm mainly decay to the ground state via internal conversion, which is followed by molecular eliminations to form CO, H2CO,H2, and HCOH. Upon photodissociation of CHOCHO at 350-390 nm, intersystem crossing to T1 followed by the C-C bond cleavage is the dominant process in this wavelength range, which is responsible for the formation of the CHO radicals. The C-C and C-H bond cleavages along the S1 pathway are energetically accessible upon photodissociation of CHOCHO at 290-310 nm, which can compete with the S1-->T1 intersystem crossing process. The present study predicts that the C-H bond cleavage on the S1 surface is probably a new photolysis pathway at high excitation energy, which has not been observed experimentally. In addition, the trans-cis isomerization is predicted to occur more easily in the ground state than in the excited states.     

二甲基二硫醚在248 nm的激光光解

Callear和Dickson曾研究过CH_3SSCH_3在195nm的闪光光解,指出S—S键和C—S键同时断裂,并认为光子的过剩能量在光解碎片中是按统计模型分配的。由于CH_3SSCH_3光解在光化学和环境化学中的重要性,S—S键在生物化学中也有重要的地位,我们用分子束激光裂解碎片的平动能谱仪,研究了CH_3SSCH_3在248nm的光裂解,得到光解碎片的平动能分布。结果表明,S—S键的断裂不符合统计模型。实验装置如前所进。CH_3SSCH_3(Merck Co.)蒸气(～30Torr)在室温下由空气载带,经喷嘴直径0.5mm的脉冲阀,以频率80Hz喷入源室。形成的超声分子束准直后的全     

Photodissociation dynamics of phenol

The photodissociation of phenol at 193 and 248 nm was studied using multimass ion-imaging techniques and step-scan time-resolved Fourier-transform spectroscopy. The major dissociation channels at 193 nm include cleavage of the OH bond, elimination of CO, and elimination of H(2)O. Only the former two channels are observed at 248 nm. The translational energy distribution shows that H-atom elimination occurs in both the electronically excited and ground states, but elimination of CO or H(2)O occurs in the electronic ground state. Rotationally resolved emission spectra of CO (1 相似文献   

Photodissociation dynamics of ClN3 at 193 nm

Photofragment translational spectroscopy was used to identify the primary and secondary reaction pathways in 193 nm photodissociation of chlorine azide (ClN(3)) under collision-free conditions. Both the molecular elimination (NCl+N(2)) and the radical bond rupture channel (Cl+N(3)) were investigated and compared with earlier results at 248 nm. The radical channel strongly dominates, just as at 248 nm. At 193 nm, the ClN(3) (C (1)A(")) state is excited, rather than the B (1)A(') state that is accessed at 248 nm, resulting in different photofragment angular distributions. The chlorine translational energy distribution probing the dynamics of the radical bond rupture channel shows three distinct peaks, with the two fastest peaks occurring at the same translational energies as the two peaks seen at 248 nm that were previously assigned to linear and "high energy" N(3). Hence, nearly all the additional photon energy relative to 248 nm appears as N(3) internal excitation rather than as translational energy, resulting in considerably more spontaneous dissociation of N(3) to N(2)+N.     

Photodissociation of uracil

We investigate the photochemistry and photodissociation dynamics of uracil by two-colour photofragment Doppler spectroscopy and by two-colour slice imaging at excitation wavelengths between 268 and 235 nm. We observe the loss of a hydrogen atom upon excitation into the pipi* state. The angular distribution indicates a statistical process, while the translational energy distribution agrees with a dissociation that takes place on the electronic ground state. The pipi* state most likely deactivates via the lower-lying npi* state. In addition there is evidence for a second pathway: direct decay of the pipi* state to the electronic ground state with subsequent dissociation. Experiments on uracil-1,3-D(2) show that there is no site selectivity in the dissociation process. No evidence was found for the direct dissociation via a pisigma* excited state that seems to be relevant in the photochemistry of adenine and many other heterocyclic molecules. Overall, the photochemistry of uracil is similar to that of thymine.     

Photodissociation dynamics of formyl fluoride (HFCO) at 193 nm: branching ratios and distributions of kinetic energy

Following photodissociation of formyl fluoride (HFCO) at 193 nm, we detected products with fragmentation translational spectroscopy utilizing a tunable vacuum ultraviolet beam from a synchrotron for ionization. Among three primary dissociation channels observed in this work, the F-elimination channel HFCO-->HCO+F dominates, with a branching ratio approximately 0.66 and an average release of kinetic energy approximately 55 kJ mol(-1); about 17% of HCO further decomposes to H+CO. The H-elimination channel HFCO-->FCO+H has a branching ratio approximately 0.28 and an average release of kinetic energy approximately 99 kJ mol(-1); about 21% of FCO further decomposes to F+CO. The F-elimination channel likely proceeds via the S1 surface whereas the H-elimination channel proceeds via the T1 surface; both channels exhibit moderate barriers for dissociation. The molecular HF-elimination channel HFCO-->HF+CO, correlating with the ground electronic surface, has a branching ratio of only approximately 0.06; the average translational release of 93 kJ mol(-1), approximately 15% of available energy, implies that the fragments are highly internally excited. Detailed mechanisms of photodissociation are discussed.     

Insights into photodissociation dynamics of propionyl chloride from ab initio calculations and molecular dynamics simulations

The potential energy surfaces of isomerization, dissociation, and elimination reactions for CH3CH2COCl in the S0 and S1 states have been mapped with the different ab initio calculations. Mechanistic photodissociation of CH3CH2COCl at 266 nm has been characterized through the computed potential energy surfaces, the optimized surface crossing structure, intrinsic reaction coordinate, and ab initio molecular dynamics calculations. Photoexcitation at 266 nm leads to the CH3CH2COCl molecules in the S1 state. From this state, the C-Cl bond cleavage proceeds in a time scale of picosecond in the gas phase. The barrier to the C-Cl bond cleavage on the S1 surface is significantly increased by effects of the matrix and the internal conversion to the ground state prevails in the condensed phase. The HCl eliminations as a result of internal conversion to the ground state become the dominant channel upon photodissociation of CH3CH2COCl in the argon matrix at 10 K.     

A CASSCF/MR-CI study toward the understanding of wavelength-dependent and geometrically memorized photodissociation of formic acid

The S(0), T(1), and S(1) potential energy surfaces for the HCOOH dissociation and isomerization processes have been mapped with different ab initio methods. The wavelength-dependent mechanism for the HCOOH dissociation was elucidated through the computed potential energy surfaces and the surface crossing points. The HCOOH molecules in S(1) by excitation at 248 nm mainly decay to the ground state via the S(0) and S(1) vibronic interaction, followed by molecular eliminations in the ground state. The S(1) direct dissociation to HCO((2)A') + OH((2)Pi) is the dominant pathway upon photoexcitation at 240-210 nm. Meanwhile, there is a slight probability that the system relaxes to the ground state via the S(0) and S(1) vibronic interaction at these wavelengths. After irradiation of HCOOH at 193 nm, the S(1) direct dissociation into HCO((2)A') + OH((2)Pi) is energetically the most favorable pathway. In view of high IC efficiency at the S(0)/S(1) conical crossing, the S(1) --> S(0) internal conversion via the S(0)/S(1) point can occur with considerable efficiency. In addition, the S(1) isomerization probably plays a dominant role in the partially conformational memory of the HCOOH photodissociation, which has been discussed in detail.     

Photodissociation of azulene at 193 nm: ab initio and RRKM study

The ab initio/Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) approach has been applied to investigate the photodissociation mechanism of azulene at 6.4 eV (the laser wavelength of 193 nm) upon absorption of one UV photon followed by internal conversion into the ground electronic state. Reaction pathways leading to various decomposition products have been mapped out at the G3(MP2,CC)//B3LYP level and then the RRKM and microcanonical variational transition state theories have been applied to compute rate constants for individual reaction steps. Relative product yields (branching ratios) for the dissociation products have been calculated using the steady-state approach. The results show that photoexcited azulene can readily isomerize to naphthalene and the major dissociation channel is elimination of an H-atom from naphthalene. The branching ratio of this channel decreases with an increase of the photon energy. Acetylene elimination is the second probable reaction channel and its branching ratio rises as the photon energy increases. The main C8H6 fragments at 193 nm are phenylacetylene and pentalene and the yield of the latter grows fast with the increasing excitation energy.     

Photodissociation dynamics of vinyl fluoride (CH2CHF) at 157 and 193 nm: Distributions of kinetic energy and branching ratios

Using photofragment translational spectroscopy and tunable vacuum-ultraviolet ionization, we measured the time-of-flight spectra of fragments upon photodissociation of vinyl fluoride (CH2CHF) at 157 and 193 nm. Four primary dissociation pathways--elimination of atomic F, atomic H, molecular HF, and molecular H2--are identified at 157 nm. Dissociation to C2H3 + F is first observed in the present work. Decomposition of internally hot C2H3 and C2H2F occurs spontaneously. The barrier heights of CH2CH --> CHCH + H and cis-CHCHF --> CHCH + F are evaluated to be 40+/-2 and 44+/-2 kcal mol(-1), respectively. The photoionization yield spectra indicate that the C2H3 and C2H2F radicals have ionization energies of 8.4+/-0.1 and 8.8+/-0.1 eV, respectively. Universal detection of photoproducts allowed us to determine the total branching ratios, distributions of kinetic energy, average kinetic energies, and fractions of translational energy release for all dissociation pathways of vinyl fluoride. In contrast, on optical excitation at 193 nm the C2H2 + HF channel dominates whereas the C2H3 + F channel is inactive. This reaction C2H3F --> C2H2 + HF occurs on the ground surface of potential energy after excitation at both wavelengths of 193 and 157 nm, indicating that internal conversion from the photoexcited state to the electronic ground state of vinyl fluoride is efficient. We computed the electronic energies of products and the ionization energies of fluorovinyl radicals.     

Photodissociation dynamics of the chromophores of the amino acid tyrosine: p-methylphenol, p-ethylphenol, and p-(2-aminoethyl)phenol

The photodissociation of p-methylphenol, p-ethylphenol, and p-(2-aminoethyl)phenol, chromophores of the amino acid tyrosine, was studied separately for each compound in a molecular beam at 248 nm using multimass ion imaging techniques. They show interesting side-chain size-dependent dissociation properties. Only one dissociation channel, that is, H atom elimination, was observed for both p-methylphenol and p-ethylphenol. The photofragment translational energy distributions and potential energy surfaces from ab initio calculation suggest that H atom elimination occurs from a repulsive excited state. On the other hand, the H atom elimination channel is quenched completely by internal conversion and/or intersystem crossing in p-(2-aminoethyl)phenol. Only C-C bond cleavage was observed from p-(2-aminoethyl)phenol. The photofragment translational energy distribution shows a slow component and a fast component. The fast component results from dissociation on an electronic excited state, but the slow component occurs only after the internal conversion to the ground electronic state. Comparison with the photodissociation of phenol and ethylbenzene is made.     

Ultraviolet photodissociation dynamics of the phenyl radical

Ultraviolet (UV) photodissociation dynamics of jet-cooled phenyl radicals (C(6)H(5) and C(6)D(5)) are studied in the photolysis wavelength region of 215-268 nm using high-n Rydberg atom time-of-flight and resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization techniques. The phenyl radicals are produced from 193-nm photolysis of chlorobenzene and bromobenzene precursors. The H-atom photofragment yield spectra have a broad peak centered around 235 nm and are in good agreement with the UV absorption spectra of phenyl. The H + C(6)H(4) product translational energy distributions, P(E(T))'s, peak near ~7 kcal/mol, and the fraction of average translational energy in the total excess energy, , is in the range of 0.20-0.35 from 215 to 268 nm. The H-atom product angular distribution is isotropic. The dissociation rates are in the range of 10(7)-10(8) s(-1) with internal energy from 30 to 46 kcal/mol above the threshold of the lowest energy channel H + o-C(6)H(4) (ortho-benzyne), comparable with the rates from the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus theory. The results from the fully deuterated phenyl radical are identical. The dissociation mechanism is consistent with production of H + o-C(6)H(4), as the main channel from unimolecular decomposition of the ground electronic state phenyl radical following internal conversion of the electronically excited state.     

Coupled-cluster study of the electronic structure and energetics of tetrasulfur, S4

Ab initio electronic structure calculations are reported for S4. Geometric and energetic parameters are calculated using the singles and doubles coupled-cluster method, including a perturbutional correction for connected triple excitation, CCSD(T), together with systematic sequences of correlation consistent basis sets extrapolated to the complete basis set limit. The geometry for the ground state singlet C2v structure of S4 is in good agreement with the microwave structure determined for S4. There is a low-lying D2h transition state at 1.6 kcal/mol which interchanges the long S-S bond. S4 has a low-lying triplet state (3B 1u) in D2h symmetry which is 10.8 kcal/mol above the C2v singlet ground state. The S-S bond dissociation energy for S4 into two S2(3Sigma*g) molecules is predicted to be 22.8 kcal mol(-1). The S-S bond energy to form S3+S(3P) is predicted to be 64 kcal/mol.     

Photodissociation of formyl fluoride in rare gas matrixes

Photodissociation of formyl fluoride (HCOF) is studied in Ar, Kr, and Xe matrixes at 248 and 193 nm excitation by following spectral changes in the infrared absorption spectra. In all matrixes, the main photodissociation products are CO/HF species, including CO-HF and OC-HF complexes and thermally unstable CO/HF species (a distorted CO/HF complex or a reaction intermediate), which indicate negligible cage exit of atoms produced via the C-F and C-H bond cleavage channels. However, the observation of traces of H, F, CO, CO(2), F(2)CO, FCO, and HRg(2)(+) (Rg = Kr or Xe) in Kr and Xe matrixes would imply some importance of other reaction channels too. The analysis of the decay curves of the precursor shows that dissociation efficiency of HCOF increases as Ar < Kr < Xe, the difference being the factor of 10 between Ar and Xe. Moreover, HCOF dissociates 20-50 times faster at 193 nm compared to 248 nm. Interestingly, whereas the CO/HF species are stable with respect to photolysis in Ar, they photobleach in Kr and Xe matrixes at 248 and 193 nm, even though the first excited states of CO and HF are not energetically accessible with 193 and 248 nm photons. In krypton matrix, the photodissociation of CO/HF species at 248 nm is observed to be a single photon process. Quantum chemical calculations of electronic excitation energies of CO-HF and OC-HF complexes show that the electronic states of HF and CO mostly retain their diatomic nature in the pair. This clearly demonstrates that photodissociation of CO/HF complexes is promoted by the surrounding rare gas lattice.     

Laser-induced UV photodissociation of 2-bromo-2-nitropropane: dynamics of OH and Br formation

Photoexcitation of 2-bromo-2-nitropropane (BNP) at 248 and 193 nm generates OH, Br, and NO(2) among other products. The OH fragment is detected by laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, and its translational and internal state distributions (vibration, rotation, spin-orbit, and Λ-doubling components) are probed. At both 248 and 193 nm, the OH fragment is produced translationally hot with the energy of 10.8 and 17.2 kcal∕mol, respectively. It is produced vibrationally cold (v" = 0) at 248 nm, and excited (v" = 1) at 193 nm with a vibrational temperature of 1870 ± 150 K. It is also generated with rotational excitation, rotational populations of OH(v" = 0) being characterized by a temperature of 550 ± 50 and 925 ± 100 K at 248 and 193 nm excitation of BNP, respectively. The spin-orbit components of OH(X(2)Π) are not in equilibrium on excitation at 193 nm, but the Λ-doublets are almost in equilibrium, implying no preference for its π lobe with respect to the plane of rotation. The NO(2) product is produced electronically excited, as detected by measuring UV-visible fluorescence, at 193 nm and mostly in the ground electronic state at 248 nm. The Br product is detected employing resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization with time-of-flight mass spectrometer for better understanding of the dynamics of dissociation. The forward convolution analysis of the experimental data has provided translational energy distributions and anisotropy parameters for both Br((2)P(3∕2)) and Br?((2)P(1∕2)). The average translational energies for the Br and Br? channels are 5.0 ± 1.0 and 6.0 ± 1.5 kcal∕mol. No recoil anisotropies were observed for these products. Most plausible mechanisms of OH and Br formation are discussed based on both the experimental and the theoretical results. Results suggest that the electronically excited BNP molecules at 248 and 234 nm relax to the ground state, and subsequently dissociate to produce OH and Br through different channels. The mechanism of OH formation from BNP on excitation at 193 nm is also discussed.     

Ultrafast formation of the benzoic acid triplet upon ultraviolet photolysis and its sequential photodissociation in solution

Time-resolved infrared (TR-IR) absorption spectroscopy in both the femtosecond and nanosecond time domain has been applied to examine the photolysis of benzoic acid in acetonitrile solution following either 267 nm or 193 nm excitation. By combining the ultrafast and nanosecond TR-IR measurements, both the excited states and the photofragments have been detected and key mechanistic insights were obtained. We show that the solvent interaction modifies the excited state relaxation pathways and thus the population dynamics, leading to different photolysis behavior in solution from that observed in the gas phase. Vibrational energy transfer to solvents dissipates excitation energy efficiently, suppressing the photodissociation and depopulating the excited S(2) or S(3) state molecules to the lowest T(1) state with a rate of ～2.5 ps after a delayed onset of ～3.7 ps. Photolysis of benzoic acid using 267 nm excitation is dominated by the formation of the T(1) excited state and no photofragments could be detected. The results from TR-IR experiments using higher energy of 193 nm indicate that photodissociation proceeds more rapidly than the vibrational energy transfer to solvents and C-C bond fission becomes the dominant relaxation pathway in these experiments as featured by the prominent observation of the COOH photofragments and negligible yield of the T(1) excited state. The measured ultrafast formation of T(1) excited state supports the existence of the surface intersections of S(2)/S(1), S(2)/T(2), and S(1)/T(1)/T(2), and the large T(1) quantum yield of ～0.65 indicates the importance of the excited state depopulation to triplet manifold as the key factor affecting the photophysical and photochemical behavior of the monomeric benzoic acid.     

Imaging the photodissociation of CH3SH in the first and second absorption bands: the CH3(X2A1)+SH(X2Pi) channel

The CH3(X2A1)+SH(X2Pi) channel of the photodissociation of CH3SH has been investigated at several wavelengths in the first 1 1A"<--X 1A' and second 2 1A"<--X1A' absorption bands by means of velocity map imaging of the CH3 fragment. A fast highly anisotropic (beta=-1+/-0.1) CH3(X2A1) signal has been observed in the images at all the photolysis wavelengths studied, which is consistent with a direct dissociation process from an electronically excited state by cleavage of the C-S bond in the parent molecule. From the analysis of the CH3 images, vibrational populations of the SH(X2Pi) counterfragment have been extracted. In the second absorption band, the SH fragment is formed with an inverted vibrational distribution as a consequence of the forces acting in the crossing from the bound 2 1A" second excited state to the unbound 1 1A" first excited state. The internal energy of the SH radical increases as the photolysis wavelength decreases. In the case of photodissociation via the first excited state, the direct production of CH3 leaves the SH counterfragment with little internal excitation. Moreover, at the longer photolysis wavelengths corresponding to excitation to the 1 1A" state, a slower anisotropic CH3 channel has been observed (beta=-0.8+/-0.1) consistent with a two step photodissociation process, where the first step corresponds to the production of CH3S(X2E) radicals via cleavage of the S-H bond in CH3SH, followed by photodissociation of the nascent CH3S radicals yielding CH3(X2A1)+S(X3P0,1,2).