Infrared predissociation spectroscopy of M+ (C6H6)(1-4)(H2O)(1-2)Ar(0-1) cluster ions, M = Li, Na

Infrared predissociation (IRPD) spectra of Li(+)(C(6)H(6))(1-4)(H(2)O)(1-2)Ar(0-1) and Na(+)(C(6)H(6))(2-4)(H(2)O)(1-2)Ar(1) are presented along with ab initio calculations. The results indicate that the global minimum energy structure for Li(+)(C(6)H(6))(2)(H(2)O)(2) has each water forming a π-hydrogen bond with the same benzene molecule. This bonding motif is preserved in Li(+)(C(6)H(6))(3-4)(H(2)O)(2)Ar(0-1) with the additional benzene ligands binding to the available free OH groups. Argon tagging allows high-energy Li(+)(C(6)H(6))(2-4)(H(2)O)(2)Ar isomers containing water-water hydrogen bonds to be trapped and detected. The monohydrated, Li(+) containing clusters contain benzene-water interactions with varying strength as indicated by shifts in OH stretching frequencies. The IRPD spectra of M(+)(C(6)H(6))(1-4)(H(2)O)(1-2)Ar are very different for lithium-bearing versus sodium-bearing cluster ions emphasizing the important role of ion size in determining the most favorable balance of competing noncovalent interactions.     

Hydrated alkali-metal cations: infrared spectroscopy and ab initio calculations of M+(H2O)(x=2-5)Ar cluster ions for M = Li, Na, K, and Cs

A delicate balance between competing and cooperating noncovalent interactions determines the three-dimensional structure of hydrated alkali-metal ion clusters. With a single water molecule hydrating an ion, the electrostatic ion...water interaction dominates. With more than one water molecule, however, water...water hydrogen-bonding interactions compete with the ion...water interactions to influence the three-dimensional structure. Infrared photodissociation spectra of M(+)(H2O)(x=2-5)Ar (with effective temperatures of approximately 50-150 K, depending on size and composition) are reported for M = Li, Na, K, and Cs, and dependencies on ion size and hydration number are explored.     

Supersonically cooled hydronium ions in a slit-jet discharge: high-resolution infrared spectroscopy and tunneling dynamics of HD2O+

Jet-cooled high-resolution infrared spectra of partially deuterated hydronium ion (HD2O+) in the O-H stretch region (nu3 band) are obtained for the first time, exploiting the high ion densities, long absorption path lengths, and concentration modulation capabilities of the slit-jet discharge spectrometer. Least-squares analysis with a Watson asymmetric top Hamiltonian yields rovibrational constants and provides high level tests of ab initio molecular structure predictions. Transitions out of both the lower (nu3(+)<--0(+)) and the upper (nu3(-)<--0(-)) tunneling levels, as well as transitions across the tunneling gap (nu3(-)<--0(+)) are observed. The nu3(-)<--0(+) transitions in HD2O+ acquire oscillator strength by loss of D(3h) symmetry, and permit both ground-state-[27.0318(72) cm(-1)] and excited-state-[17.7612(54) cm(-1)]-tunneling splittings to be determined to spectroscopic precision from a single rovibrational band. The splittings and band origins calculated with recent high level ab initio six-dimensional potential surface predictions for H3O+ and isotopomers [X. C. Huang, S. Carter, and J. M. Bowman, J. Chem. Phys. 118, 5431 (2003); T. Rajamaki, A. Miani, and L. Halonen, J. Chem. Phys. 118, 10929 (2003)] are in very good agreement with the current experimental results.     

Solvation dynamics in Ni+ (H2O)n clusters probed with infrared spectroscopy

Infrared photodissociation spectroscopy is reported for mass-selected Ni+ (H2O)n complexes in the O-H stretching region up to cluster sizes of n = 25. These clusters fragment by the loss of one or more intact water molecules, and their excitation spectra show distinct bands in the region of the symmetric and asymmetric stretches of water. The first evidence for hydrogen bonding, indicated by a broad band strongly red-shifted from the free OH region, appears at the cluster size of n = 4. At larger cluster sizes, additional red-shifted structure evolves over a broader wavelength range in the hydrogen-bonding region. In the free OH region, the symmetric stretch gradually diminishes in intensity, while the asymmetric stretch develops into a closely spaced doublet near 3700 cm(-1). The data indicate that essentially all of the water molecules are in a hydrogen-bonded network by the size of n = 10. However, there is no evidence for the formation of clathrate structures seen recently via IR spectroscopy of protonated water clusters.     

Infrared spectroscopy of the Li+(H2O)Ar complex: the role of internal energy and its dependence on ion preparation

The internal energy or effective temperature of cluster ions has become an important issue in characterizing the structures observed in these species. This report considers the role played by the method of ion preparation (laser vaporization-supersonic expansion versus ion impact-evaporative cooling) in governing the internal energy of a specific species, Li(+)(H(2)O)Ar. Vibrational predissociation spectroscopy of the O-H stretch modes revealed rotational features, which were used to characterize the structure and effective rotational temperature of the cluster ion. In addition, the impact of the lithium ion on the H(2)O molecule was analyzed in terms of the vibrational frequency shifts, relative IR intensities, and H(2)O geometry.     

Jet cooled spectroscopy of H2DO+: Barrier heights and isotope-dependent tunneling dynamics from H3O+ to D3O+

The first high resolution spectroscopic data for jet cooled H2DO+ are reported, specifically via infrared laser direct absorption in the OH stretching region with a slit supersonic jet discharge source. Transitions sampling upper (0-) and lower (0+) tunneling states for both symmetric (nu1+ <-- 0+, nu1- <-- 0-, and nu1- <-- 0+) and antisymmetric (nu3+ <-- 0+ and nu3- <-- 0-) OH stretching bands are observed, where +/- refers to wave function reflection symmetry with respect to the planar umbrella mode transition state. The spectra can be well fitted to a Watson asymmetric top Hamiltonian, revealing band origins and rotational constants for benchmark comparison with high-level ab initio theory. Of particular importance are detection and assignment of the relatively weak band (nu1- <-- 0+) that crosses the inversion tunneling gap, which is optically forbidden in H3O+ or D3O+, but weakly allowed in H2DO+ by lowering of the tunneling transition state symmetry from D(3h) to C(2v). In conjunction with other H2DO+ bands, this permits determination of the tunneling splittings to within spectroscopic precision for each of the ground [40.518(10) cm(-1)], nu1 = 1 [32.666(6) cm(-1)], and nu3 = 1 [25.399(11) cm(-1)] states. A one-dimensional zero-point energy corrected potential along the tunneling coordinate is constructed from high-level ab initio CCSD(T) calculations (AVnZ, n = 3,4,5) and extrapolated to the complete basis set limit to extract tunneling splittings via a vibrationally adiabatic treatment. Perturbative scaling of the potential to match splittings for all four isotopomers permits an experimental estimate of DeltaV0 = 652.9(6) cm(-1) for the tunneling barrier, in good agreement with full six-dimensional ab initio results of Rajamaki, Miani, and Halonen (RMH) [J. Chem. Phys. 118, 10929 (2003)]. (DeltaV0 (RMH) = 650 cm(-1)). The 30%-50% decrease in tunneling splitting observed upon nu1 and nu3 vibrational excitations arises from an increase in OH stretch frequencies at the planar transition state, highlighting the transition between sp2 and sp3 hybridizations of the OHD bonds as a function of inversion bending angle.     

Infrared spectroscopy of Mn+ (H2O) and Mn2+ (H2O) via argon complex predissociation

Singly and doubly charged manganese-water cations, and their mixed complexes with attached argon atoms, are produced by laser vaporization in a pulsed nozzle source. Complexes of the form Mn(+)(H(2)O)Ar(n) (n = 1-4) and Mn(2+)(H(2)O)Ar(4) are studied via mass-selected infrared photodissociation spectroscopy, detected in the mass channels corresponding to the elimination of argon. Sharp resonances are detected for all complexes in the region of the symmetric and asymmetric stretch vibrations of water. With the guidance of density functional theory computations, specific vibrational band resonances are assigned to complexes having different argon attachment configurations. In the small singly charged complexes, argon adds first to the metal ion site and later in larger clusters to the hydrogens of water. The doubly charged complex has argon only on the metal ion. Vibrations in all of these complexes are shifted to lower frequencies than those of the free water molecule. These shifts are greater when argon is attached to hydrogen and also greater for the dication compared to the singly charged species. Cation binding also causes the IR intensities for water vibrations to be much greater than those of the free water molecule, and the relative intensities are greater for the symmetric stretch than the asymmetric stretch. This latter effect is also enhanced for the dication complex.     

Translational energy spectroscopy of NO+ ions formed by charge transfer from Ar+

Translational energy spectroscopy (TES) of NO⁺ ions formed by Ar⁺ charge exchange has been studied. The two features observed in the spectrum are assigned to transitions from the υ″ = 0 and possibly υ″ = 1 and 2 levels of the a³Σ⁺ state to the low vibrational levels of the w³Δ and b′³Σ⁻ states. Comparison with previous TES spectra of NO⁺ formed by electron impact is reported and demonstrates the high selectivity of the charge transfer reaction in populating the first excited state of NO⁺.     

Measurements and simulations of high energy O(3P) + Ar(1S) angular scattering: single and multi-collision regimes

We present differential angular cross sections for O(3P) + Ar(1S) scattering at collision energies near 90 kcal mol(-1) (approximately 8 km s(-1) relative velocity) from molecular beam measurements and high-level theoretical calculations. Beams of hyperthermal O(3P) are now being used to investigate novel gas-phase and gas-surface chemistries, and the comparison of theory and measurements on this simple system will be a stringent test of the experimental methodology. Potential energy curves were generated for O(3P) + Ar(1S) using a large cc-pVQZ basis within a valence multi-configuration plus perturbation theory treatment. These curves were then used in quantum scattering calculations to generate differential cross sections. Agreement between experiment and theory is excellent. In addition to these comparisons, the cross sections were used in direct simulation Monte Carlo calculations to investigate effects of increasing the Ar flux above the "single-collision" regime. As the Ar flux increases, the observed differential angular cross sections change in two ways. In addition to the main "single-scatter" peak along the incident O-atom beam direction, a secondary O-atom peak appears in the direction of the incident Ar beam, and the multiple-scattered O-atom translational energy starts to reflect the energy of the relatively slow moving Ar beam.     

Entropic effects on hydrated alkali-metal cations: infrared spectroscopy and ab initio calculations of M+(H2O)(x=2-5) cluster ions for M = Li, Na, K, and Cs

A delicate balance between competing and cooperating noncovalent interactions determines the three-dimensional structure of hydrated alkali-metal ion clusters. A critical factor influencing the balance reached is the internal energy content (or effective temperature) of the ion cluster. Cold cluster ions (approximately 50-150 K) have little internal energy, and enthalpic contributions have a greater influence on the relative population of low-lying minima. In clusters whose internal energy distributions correspond to temperatures approximately 250-500 K, entropic effects are expected to influence which structural isomers are present, favoring those where free energy has been minimized. Infrared photodissociation spectra of M(+)(H2O)(x=2-5) (approximately 250-500 K) are reported for M = Li, Na, K, and Cs to explore ion dependencies and entropic effects on the observed three-dimensional structure.     

Photofragmentation of cluster ions: the visible photoabsorption spectrum of Ar2N 2 +

The absolute cross section for photodissociation of Ar₂N ₂ ⁺ was measured as a function of wavelength in the 470–550 nm range. A structureless broad band was observed; the cross section has a maximum of ～ 210 × 10^?18 cm² at ～ 500 nm. The measurement of the photofragment time-of-flight spectrum shows that(1) N ₂ ⁺ , Ar⁺ and Ar ₂ ⁺ are produced in the photodissociation of Ar₂N ₂ ⁺ in the wavelength range studied, and that(2) the observed visible absorption band is ascribable to a parallel-type transition of Ar₂N ₂ ⁺ , which possibly retains a linear geometry.     

Vibrational relaxation of molecular ions at low temperatures: O2(-) (v=1) + Ar

The vibrational relaxation of oxygen molecular ions trapped in an argon cage in the temperature range 10-85 K has been studied using semiclassical procedures. The collision model is based on the trapped molecule undergoing the restricted motions (local translation and hindered rotation) in a cage formed by its 12 nearest argon neighbors in a face-centered cubic arrangement. At 85 K in the liquid argon temperature range, the relaxation rate constant of O2(-) (v=1) is 1130 s(-1). The rate constant decreases to 270 s(-1) at 50 K and to 3.90 s(-1) at 10 K in the solid argon temperature range. In the range 10-85 K, the rate constant closely follows the temperature dependence k proportional to T2.7. Energy transfer pathways for the trapped molecular ion are vibration to local translation, argon phonon modes, and rotation (both hindered and free).     

Gas-phase H/D exchange reactions of polyamine complexes: (M + H)+, (M + alkali metal+), and (M + 2H)2+

Gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium exchange reactions between noncovalent polyamine complexes and D2O, CH3OD, or ND3 are undertaken in a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. Structural features of the protonated polyamines can be differentiated by the rates and overall extent of exchange, specifically the presence of propylene units and/or a cyclic structure noticeably decreases exchange compared to the exchange observed for acyclic polyamines with only ethylene bridges between amino groups. Significant differences are observed for singly protonated vs. doubly protonated complexes, where the doubly protonated complexes undergo more efficient exchange at a higher rate than the analogous singly protonated complexes. Molecular modeling calculations suggest that more diffuse conformations may exist for the higher charge states, thus facilitating H/D exchange. In addition, H/D exchange reactions between the alkali metal cationized complexes and ND3 are nearly quenched, compared to the significant exchange seen for singly protonated complexes. A conformational change or the loss of a low energy reaction pathway may explain the limited exchange reactions seen when a bulky cation replaces a proton in the complex.     

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) of H2O,H2S,H2Se and H2Te

Electronic excitation in H₂O, H₂S, H₂Se and H₂Te molecules has been studied by the EELS technique. Spectra of H₂S and H₂Se are remarkably similar with the 1b₁-nd transition most intense. The intensity of the first transition 1b₁-nsa₁ decreases through H₂O to H₂Se and this transition is absent in H₂Te. Transitions observed by EELS have been compared with optical absorption studies. A correlation diagram of the occupied and the excited states has been provided for these four molecules by making use of UVPES and EELS.     

Infrared photodissociation spectroscopy of Mg(+)(H2O)Ar(n) complexes: isomers in progressive microsolvation

Ion-molecule complexes of the form Mg(H2O)Ar(n)+ (n = 1-8) are produced by laser vaporization in a pulsed-nozzle cluster source. These complexes are mass-selected and studied with infrared photodissociation spectroscopy in the O-H stretch region. The spectra are interpreted with the aid of ab initio calculations on the n = 1-5 complexes, including examination of various isomeric structures. The combined spectroscopic and theoretical studies reveal the presence of multiple isomeric structures at each cluster size, as the argon atoms assemble around the Mg(+)(H2O) unit. Distinct infrared resonances are measured for argon-on-metal, argon-on-OH and argon-on-two-OH isomers.     

Experimental and modeling study of the ion-molecule association reaction H3O+ + H2O (+M) --> H5O2(+) (+M)

Experimental results for the rate of the association reaction H3O+ + H2O (+M) --> H5O2(+) (+M) obtained with the Cinetique de Reactions en Ecoulement Supersonique Uniforme flow technique are reported. The reaction was studied in the bath gases M=He and N2, over the temperature range of 23-170 K, and at pressures between 0.16 and 3.1 mbar. At the highest temperatures, the reaction was found to be close to the limiting low-pressure termolecular range, whereas the limiting high-pressure bimolecular range was approached at the lowest temperatures. Whereas the low-pressure rate coefficients can satisfactorily be reproduced by standard unimolecular rate theory, the derived high-pressure rate coefficients in the bath gas He at the lowest temperatures are found to be markedly smaller than given by simple ion-dipole capture theory. This result differs from previous observations on the related reaction NH4(+) + NH3 (+M) --> N2H7(+) (+M). This observation is tentatively attributed to more pronounced contributions of the valence part of the potential-energy surface to the reaction in H5O2(+) than in N2H7(+). Falloff curves of the reaction H3O+ + H2O (+M) --> H5O2(+) (+M) are constructed over wide ranges of conditions and represented in compact analytical form.     

SCF MO LCGO studies on the hydration of ions: The systems H+H2O,Li+H2O,and Na+H2O

The energy surfaces of the systems LiOH ₂ ⁺ and NaOH ₂ ⁺ are studied for a number of different geometries within the SCF MO LCAO framework, using a gaussian basis set to approximate the wavefunction. In the minimum energy geometry of both systems the positive ion is bound to the oxygen atom of the water molecule. The computed binding energies and bond distances are: B ^SCF(LiOH ₂ ⁺ ) = 36.0 kcal/mole, d(LiO) = 3.57 a.u., and B ^SCF(NaOH ₂ ⁺ ) = 25.2 kcal/mole, d(NaO) = 4.23 a.u., resp. The results are compared with those of H₃O⁺ and discussed in view of ion-solvent interaction in aquous solutions.It is a pleasure to thank our technical staff for the careful preparation of the input for the programs and for its enthusiastic and skilful assistance in running the computer.     

Infrared spectra of H(2)16O, H(2)18O and D(2)O in the liquid phase by single-pass attenuated total internal reflection spectroscopy

Mid-infrared attenuated total internal reflection (ATR) spectra of H(2)16O, H(2)18O and D(2)16O in the liquid state were obtained and normal coordinate analysis was performed based on the potential energy surface obtained from density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Fits of the spectra to multiple Gaussians showed a consistent fit of three bands for the bending region and five bands for the stretching region for three isotopomers, H(2)16O, H(2)18O and D(2)16O. The results are consistent with previous work and build on earlier studies by the inclusion of three isotopomers and mixtures using the advantage of single-pass ATR to obtain high quality spectra of the water stretching bands. DFT calculation of the vibrational spectrum of liquid water was conducted on seven model systems, two systems with periodic boundary conditions (PBC) consisting of four and nine H(2)16O molecules, and five water clusters consisting of 4, 9, 19, 27 and 32 H(2)16O molecules. The PBC and cluster models were used to obtain a representation of bulk water for comparison with experiment. The nine-water PBC model was found to give a good fit to the experimental line shapes. A difference is observed in the broadening of the water bending and stretching vibrations indicative of a difference in the rate of pure dephasing. The nine-water PBC calculation was also used to calculate the wavenumber shifts observed in the water isotopomers.