Rotational dynamics of solvated carbon dioxide studied by infrared, Raman, and time-resolved infrared spectroscopies and a molecular dynamics simulation

Rotational dynamics of solvated carbon dioxide (CO(2)) has been studied. The infrared absorption band of the antisymmetric stretch mode in acetonitrile is found to show a non-Lorentzian band shape, suggesting a non-exponential decay of the vibrational and/or rotational correlation functions. A combined method of a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and a quantum chemical calculation well reproduces the observed band shape. The analysis suggests that the band broadening is almost purely rotational, while the contribution from the vibrational dephasing is negligibly small. The non-exponential rotational correlation decay can be explained by a simple rotor model simulation, which can treat large angle rotations of a relatively small molecule. A polarized Raman study of the symmetric stretch mode in acetonitrile gives a rotational bandwidth consistent with that obtained from the infrared analysis. A sub-picosecond time-resolved infrared absorption anisotropy measurement of the antisymmetric stretch mode in ethanol also gives a decay rate that is consistent with the observed rotational bandwidths.