Does Lyapunov relaxation yield the same time scale as intramolecular energy exchange?

We report a study of dynamical intramolecular energy transfer in a realistic polyatomic molecular model system of cyclobutanone (C₄H₆O). It appears that for this two-degrees-of-freedom model system, Lyapunov relaxation does yield the same time scale as intramolecular energy exchange.     

HCl-H2O和DCl-H2O二聚体的分子内和分子间振转态的全维和完全耦合量子计算

本文报道了氯化氢-水二聚体的两种同位素,HCl-H₂O和DCl-H₂O(DH)的J=1分子内和分子间振转态的全维和完全耦合量子束缚态计算. 本研究补充了我们最近对于这两类体系J=0九维(9D)振动水平结构的理论研究,并采用相同的精确9D置换不变多项式-神经网络势能面. 该计算得到了所有这些分子间和分子内低能的振转态的基本量,将结果与相同二聚体的9D J=0计算的结果进行了比较. K=1和K=0本征态之间的能量差异表现出与分子间振转态的明显变化,为此本文提供了定性的解释.     

Carbon nanotube synthesis on catalytic metal alloys in methane/air counterflow diffusion flames

Various morphologies of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are grown catalytically on metal-alloy probes in counterflow diffusion flames using methane as fuel. Carbon nanotube (CNT) properties and morphologies are investigated as functions of local gas-phase temperatures, C-related species concentrations (e.g. C₂H₂, CO), sampling positions, C₂H₂ adding to the fuel, and metal-alloy compositions (i.e., Fe, Fe/Cr, Ni/Cu, Ni/Ti, Ni/Cr, Ni/Cr/Fe). MWNTs grow optimally in non-sooty regions of the flames. C₂H₂ addition is found to promote direct synthesis of vertically well-aligned MWNTs with uniform diameters from Ni/Cr/Fe and Ni/Ti alloys.     

Rovibrational constants for the ground state and ν8 = 1 state of ethylene-d3 (C2HD3) by high-resolution FTIR spectroscopy

The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum of the ν₈ fundamental band of ethylene-d₃ (C₂HD₃) was recorded with a unapodized resolution of 0.0063 cm⁻¹ in the wavenumber region of 840–980 cm⁻¹. By assigning and fitting a total of 738 infrared transitions using a Watson’s A-reduced Hamiltonian in the I^r representation, rovibrational constants for the upper state (ν₈ = 1) up to all five quartic centrifugal distortion terms were derived for the first time. The root-mean-square (rms) deviation of the fit was 0.00076 cm⁻¹. The ground state rovibrational constants of C₂HD₃ were also determined for the first time by a fit of 450 combination-differences from the present infrared measurements, with rms deviation of 0.00075 cm⁻¹. Local frequency perturbations were not detected in the C-type ν₈ band of C₂HD₃ which is centred at 918.73199 ± 0.00007 cm⁻¹.     

On the reactivity of naphthalene and biphenyl dianions: tying up loose ends concerning an SN2‐ET dichotomy in alkylation reactions

Naphthalene and biphenyl dianions are interesting compounds that can be obtained by double reduction of the corresponding arenes in solution with certain alkali metals. These dianions are highly reactive and rather elusive species with very high laying and highly delocalized electrons. They share many aspects of the reactivity of the alkali metal they originated from and consequently behave primarily as strong electron transfer (ET) reagents. We report here kinetic evidence for a different type of reactivity in their alkylation reactions with alkyl fluorides. By using cyclopropylmethyl fluoride (c‐C₃H₅CH₂F) as a very fast radical probe, we were able to settle that this alkylation does not involve the classical electron transfer reaction followed by radical coupling between diffusing radicals, but supports the alternative S_N2 concerted mechanism, discerning thus this mechanistic S_N2‐ET dichotomy. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Steric effects on the mechanism of reaction of nucleophilic substitution of β‐substituted alkoxyvinyl trifluoromethyl ketones with four secondary amines

The kinetics of the reaction of β‐substituted β‐alkoxyvinyl trifluoromethyl ketones R¹O‐CR²?CH‐COCF₃ ( 1a – e ) [( 1a ), R¹?C₂H₅, R²?H; ( 1b ), R¹?R²?CH₃; ( 1c ), R¹?C₂H₅, R²?C₆H₅; ( 1d ), R¹?C₂H₅, R²?V^?pNO₂C₆H₄; ( 1e ), R¹?C₂H₅, R²?C(CH₃)₃] with four aliphatic amines ( 2a – d ) [( 2a ), (C₂H₅)₂NH; ( 2b ), (i‐C₃H₇)₂NH; ( 2c ), (CH₂)₅NH; ( 2d ), O(CH₂CH₂)₂NH] was studied in two aprotic solvents, hexane and acetonitrile. The least reactive stereoisomeric form of ( 1a – d ) was the most populated ( E‐s‐Z‐o‐Z ) form, whereas in ( 1e ), the more reactive form ( Z‐s‐Z‐o‐Z ) dominated. The reactions studied proceeded via common transition state formation whose decomposition occurred by ‘uncatalyzed’ and/or ‘catalyzed’ route. Shielding of the reaction centre by bulky β‐substituents lowered abruptly both k′ (‘uncatalyzed’ rate constant) and k″ (‘catalyzed’ rate constant) of this reaction. Bulky amines reduced k″ to a greater extent than k′ as a result of an additional steric retardation to the approach of the bulky amine to its ammonium ion in the transition state. An increase in the electron‐withdrawing ability of the β‐substituent increased ‘uncatalyzed’ k′ due to the acceleration of the initial nucleophile attack (k₁) and ‘uncatalyzed’ decomposition of transition state (k₂) via promoting electrophilic assistance (through transition state 8 ). The amine basicity determined the route of the reaction: the higher amine basicity, the higher k₃/k₂ ratio (a measure of the ‘catalyzed’ route contribution as compared to the ‘uncatalyzed’ process) was. ‘Uncatalyzed’ route predominated for all reactions; however in polar acetonitrile the contribution of the ‘catalyzed’ route was significant for amines with high pK_a and small bulk. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New spectroscopic results on acetylene dimers and trimers

Spectra of acetylene dimers and trimers containing one or more C₂D₂ monomer are studied in the ν₃ fundamental band region of C₂D₂ (≈2440?cm^?1) using a tuneable infrared diode laser to probe a pulsed supersonic slit jet expansion. Four new subbands are observed in the perpendicular band of (C₂D₂)₂, and this enables the first direct determination of the A rotational constant for an acetylene dimer. The value found for A is significantly larger than the previous indirect value based on microwave spectra. The dimer parallel band is observed and found to be highly perturbed, and observations are extended for the mixed dimer C₂D₂ – C₂H₂. The trimers (C₂D₂)₃, (C₂D₂)₂ – C₂H₂, and C₂D₂ – (C₂H₂)₂ are observed spectroscopically for the first time. Establishment of a precise band origin is difficult for (C₂D₂)₃ because of the inherent nature of the spectrum, but this is possible for two out of three of the bands of the mixed trimers.     

Equilibrium composition and the effective adiabatic exponent of a clustering carbon plasma

The equilibrium composition and the effective adiabatic exponent of a low-temperature carbon plasma containing eight components (C, C₂, C₃, C₄, C₅, C⁺, C₂⁺, and e) are calculated. The temperature and pressure ranges are found in which polyatomic clusters form in a gas flow. It is shown that the effective adiabatic exponent of the carbon plasma is a nonmonotonic function of temperature. In the parameter range where the plasma consists largely of polyatomic clusters, the adiabatic exponent is close to unity. It is noted that anomalously low values of the effective adiabatic exponent indicate a considerable concentration of polyatomic molecules in the plasma jet. Such values can be observed in experiments with a low-temperature carbon plasma flowing about bodies.     

Deep levels in low‐energy electron‐irradiated 4H‐SiC

Deep levels introduced by low‐energy (200 keV) electron irradiation in n‐type 4H‐SiC epitaxial layers grown by chemical vapour deposition were studied by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and photoexcitation electron paramagnetic resonance (photo‐EPR). After irradiation, several DLTS levels, EH1, EH3, Z_1/2, EH5 and EH6/7, often reported in irradiated 4H‐SiC, were observed. In irradiated freestanding films from the same wafer, the EPR signals of the carbon vacancy in the positive and negative charge states, V_C⁺ and V_C^‐, respectively, can be observed simultaneously under illumination with light of certain photon energies. Comparing the ionization energies obtained from DLTS and photo‐EPR, we suggest that the EH6/7 (at ～E_C – 1.6 eV) and EH5 (at ～E_C – 1.0 eV) electron traps may be related to the single donor (+ | 0) and the double acceptor (1– | 2–) level of V_C, respectively. Judging from the relative intensity of the DLTS signals, the EH6/7 level may also be contributed to by other unidentified defects. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Semiclassical theory of vibrational,rotational and translational energy exchange in collisions of polyatomic molecules

We derive a theory of inter- and intramolecular transfer of vibrational, rotational and translational energy in collisions of polyatomic molecules, in the case that only short range forces are important. Normal mode vibrations of molecules are treated quantum mechanically whereas translations and rotations are assumed to be classical degrees of freedom. We are able to show that, in case of short range forces, the energy exchange in binary collisions is essentially governed by an effective mass which is given by an algebraic function of the usual reduced mass and moments of inertia and depends also on the relative orientation of the two molecules. As an application of the theory, we calculated the probabilities for collision-induced 1 →0 transitions of the v ₃ mode in pure CH₃I, CH₃Br and CH₃Cl gases. The calculated values are close to the experimental vibrational deactivation probabilities.     

Recovery of the metallic state and quantum oscillations in a dielectric salt of the (ET)8[Hg4X12(C6H5Y)2] family at X = Y = Br under compression

The quasi-two-dimensional organic conductor (ET)₈[Hg₄Br₁₂(C₆H₅Br)₂] (ET is bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene) undergoes a metal-insulator phase transition at T ∼ 170 K. It has been shown that a pressure of 8 kbar suppresses this transition and holds a metallic state to liquid-helium temperatures. Shubnikov—de Haas quantum oscillations with the single frequency F = 215 T have been observed in a magnetic field up to 15 T. The properties of this salt are compared to the properties of the (ET)₈[Hg₄Cl₁₂(C₆H₅Cl)₂] salt of the same family. Time annealing provides an important effect on the conducting properties of the salt under investigation. Original Russian Text ? R.B. Lyubovskii, S.I. Pesotskii, R.N. Lyubovskaya, E.I. Zhilyaeva, O.A. Bogdanova, 2009, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2009, Vol. 89, No. 11, pp. 685–687.     

High-sensitivity CRDS absorption spectroscopy of acetylene between 5851 and 6341 cm−1

The absorption spectrum of acetylene has been recorded at room temperature (297 K) using high-sensitivity cavity ring-down spectroscopy (α_min ～ 5×10^?11 cm^?1) in the 5851 and 6341 cm^?1 interval corresponding to a region of very weak absorption. A list of about 10,700 absorption features with estimated absolute line intensities was constructed. The smallest intensities are of the order of 5×10^?29 cm molecule^?1. The line list includes about 2500 absorption lines of ethylene present at the ppm level in the acetylene sample and identified on the basis of a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrum specifically recorded. A total of more than 2700 lines of ¹²C₂H₂ were rovibrationally assigned in comparison with accurate predictions provided by a global effective operator model. Overall, the present effort adds about 2260 new assignments to the set of about 500 assigned transitions available in the literature. The new assignments correspond to 45 new bands and 17 already-known bands, for which additional J lines were assigned. Spectroscopic parameters were derived for the upper vibrational levels from a band by band fit of the line positions (typical root mean square deviation values are of the order of 0.001 cm^?1). A few of the analysed bands were found to be affected by rovibrational perturbations, which are discussed. The new data will be valuable to refine the parameters of the global effective Hamiltonian and dipole moments of ¹²C₂H₂.     

A Short Proof of Stability of Topological Order under Local Perturbations

Recently, the stability of certain topological phases of matter under weak perturbations was proven. Here, we present a short, alternate proof of the same result. We consider models of topological quantum order for which the unperturbed Hamiltonian H ₀ can be written as a sum of local pairwise commuting projectors on a D-dimensional lattice. We consider a perturbed Hamiltonian H = H ₀ + V involving a generic perturbation V that can be written as a sum of short-range bounded-norm interactions. We prove that if the strength of V is below a constant threshold value then H has well-defined spectral bands originating from the low-lying eigenvalues of H ₀. These bands are separated from the rest of the spectrum and from each other by a constant gap. The width of the band originating from the smallest eigenvalue of H ₀ decays faster than any power of the lattice size.     

High-resolution FTIR measurement and analysis of the ν3 band of C2H3D

The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum of the ν₃ band of C₂H₃D was measured at an unapodized resolution of 0.0063 cm⁻¹ in the 1240-1340 cm⁻¹ region. Rovibrational constants for the upper state (ν₃ = 1) up to five quartic and two sextic centrifugal distortion terms had been obtained by assigning and fitting a total of 1037 infrared transitions using a Watson’s A-reduced Hamiltonian in the I^r representation. The root-mean-square deviation of the fit was 0.00051 cm⁻¹. The ground state rovibrational constants were also determined by a fit of 674 combination differences together with 21 microwave frequencies from the present infrared measurements with a root-mean-square deviation of 0.00040 cm⁻¹. The upper state (ν₃ = 1) and ground state rovibrational constants of C₂H₃D represent the most accurate values obtained so far. The A-type ν₃ band, centred at 1288.788826 ± 0.000044 cm⁻¹ was found to be relatively free from local frequency perturbations. From the ν₃ = 1 rovibrational constants obtained, the inertial defect Δ₃ was 0.1619724 ± 0.0000001 μŲ.     

High-level theoretical spectroscopic parameters for three ions of astrochemical interest

The equilibrium geometry and rovibrational spectroscopic parameters of the three astrochemical ions l-C₃H⁺, l-SiC₂H⁺, and C₃N^? and some of their isotopologues are obtained from high-level quantum chemical calculations. A composite approach based on the explicitly correlated coupled-cluster method CCSD(T)-F12b, that further includes core correlation, scalar-relativistic effects and most importantly higher order correlation beyond CCSD(T) is used to set-up the near-equilibrium potential energy surface (PES). The spectroscopic parameters of these linear tetra-atomic ions are then extracted from these PESs by vibrational perturbation theory of second order (VPT2). Calculation of absolute intensities is also carried out for the stretching frequencies of the cations in order to identify the bands that are most likely to be detected. The importance of the accurate calculation of the rotational constants B₀ and D₀ for astrochemistry is discussed as well as the limits of VPT2 in this context and reasons for these limitations.     

Hyperfine coupling constants of muonium-substituted cyclohexadienyl radicals in the gas phase: C6H6Mu, C6D6Mu, C6F6Mu

Muon spin rotation (μSR) and avoided level crossing resonance (ALCR) have been used to determine the hyperfine coupling constants (hfcs) of the muonium-substituted cyclohexadienyl radicals C₆H₆Mu, C₆D₆Mu and C₆F₆Mu in the gas phase, at pressures ～1 and 15 atm and temperatures in the range 40–80°C. Equivalent studies of polyatomic free radicals in gases, by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, are generally not possible in this pressure range. The present gas phase results support the findings of earlier studies of cyclohexadienyl radicals in the condensed phase, by both μSR and ESR. Minor but not insignificant (～1%) effects on the hfcs are observed, which can be qualitatively understood for such nonpolar media in terms of their differing polarizabilities. This is the first time that comparisons of this nature have been possible between different phases at the same temperatures. These μSR/ALCR gas-phase results provide a valuable benchmark for computational studies on radicals, free from possible effects of solvent or matrix environments.     

Structural conformations and electronic interactions of the natural product,oroxylin: a vibrational spectroscopic study

The oroxylin, 5,7‐dihydroxy 6‐methoxy flavone is a potent natural product extracted from ‘Vitex peduncularis’. Density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/6‐311G(d,p) level has been used to compute energies of different conformers of oroxylin to find out their stability, the optimized geometry of the most stable conformer and its vibrational spectrum. The conformer ORLN‐1 with torsion angles 0, 180, 180 and 0 degrees, respectively, for H₁₃ O₁₂ C₆ C₅, H₁₄ O₁₀ C₄ C₅, H₁₃ O₁₂ C₆ C₅ and H₁₄ O₁₀ C₄ C₅ is found to be most stable. The optimized geometry reveals that the dihedral angle φ between phenyl ring B and the chrome part of the molecule in − 19.21° is due to the repulsive force due to steric interaction between the ortho‐hydrogen atom H₂₉ of the B ring and H₁₈ of the ring C (H₂₉·H₁₈ = 2.198 Å). A vibrational analysis based on the near‐infrared Fourier transform(NIR‐FT) Raman, Fourier transform‐infrared (FT‐IR) and the computed spectrum reveals that the methoxy group is influenced by the oxygen lone pair‐aryl p_z orbital by back donation. Hence the stretching and bending vibrational modes of the methoxy group possess the lowest wavenumber from the normal values of methyl group. The carbonyl stretching vibrations have been lowered due to conjugation and hydrogen bonding in the molecules. The intramolecular H‐bonding and nonbonded intramolecular interactions shift the band position of O₁₀ H₁₄ and O₁₂ H₁₃ stretching modes, which is justified by DFT results. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterisation of geometric isomers of europium chlorides with 2,2′-bipyridine based on X-ray diffraction,luminescence and quantum chemical data

A low-temperature high-resolution luminescence study of the EuCl₃bpy₂(H₂O) _n isomers has been carried out. The Eu³⁺ luminescence spectra of all geometric isomers were recorded over the spectral range which includes transitions from the ⁵D₀ excited state to the ⁷F_0–4 ground state manifolds and from the ⁵D₁ excited state to the ⁷F_0–2 ground state manifolds. Analysis of the Eu³⁺ transitions observed in the luminescence spectra shows that the Eu³⁺ ion occupies a spectroscopic site symmetry that approaches a C_{2 v} symmetry with distortion towards C₂ or lower symmetry. The structural features and distortions of the Eu³⁺ coordination polyhedron in these geometric isomers were described based on the X-ray crystallographic data as well. The splitting patterns and energies found of the ⁷F_0–4 manifolds have been used to calculate the crystal field parameters (CFPs) of the Eu³⁺ ions in these geometric isomers. In addition the mutual influence of the ligands as well as the relative stability of geometric isomers of the [EuCl₃bpy₂(H₂O)₂]⁺ cation in the gas phase was analyzed within DFT calculations.     

Evaluation of jet-cooled laser spectroscopy for simplifying infrared spectra

The effect of jet cooling on the vibration-rotation spectra of several polyatomic molecules has been investigated using diode-laser absorption spectroscopy. Vibration-rotation spectra in jet expansions is considered in terms of several factors including rotational and vibrational distributions, line strengths and the rotational structure of individual bands. The diode-laser spectra of PF₃, CF₃Cl, C₃H₆, C₂H₃F, and CH₃CCH recorded in a molecular beam are examined with the above criteria.     

Double resonance and collision-induced transitions in the radiofrequency spectra of H2CO and HDCO observed inside the cavity of a CO2 laser

Many radiofrequency resonances corresponding to transitions between the two components of a K-type doublet in H₂CO and HDCO have been observed using infrared-radiofrequency double resonance inside a CO₂ laser cavity. For strong resonances, additional transitions induced by collisions have also been observed and these provide information on collisional processes. The collision-induced transitions also provide a method for assigning the K doublet frequencies in the ground and v₄ = 1 states of H₂CO, and in the ground, v₅ = 1, and v₆ = 1 states of HDCO; the rovibrational transitions pumped by the CO₂ laser can therefore be determined. The upper state rotational transitions and the infrared frequencies for the transitions in exact coincidence with the CO₂ laser lines provide accurate additional data in the analysis of the conventional infrared spectrum of the ν₅ and ν₆ bands of HDCO. In addition, the 195-μm far-infrared laser line in HDCO, observed by Dangoisse et al. [J. Quantum Electron. QE-13, 730–731 (1977)] has been assigned as the 24_6,19→23_6,18 transition in the v₆ = 1 state.