Femtosecond Photoelectron Spectroscopy: a New Tool for the Study of Anion Dynamics

Femtosecond Photoelectron Spectroscopy: a New Tool for the Study of Anion Dynamics
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2003
Genre:
ISBN:

A new experimental technique for the time-resolved study of anion reactions is presented. Using femtosecond laser pulses, which provide extremely fast ([approx] 100 fs) time resolution, in conjunction with photoelectron spectroscopy, which reveals differences between anion and neutral potential energy surfaces, a complex anion reaction can be followed from its inception through the formation of asymptotic products. Experimental data can be modeled quantitatively using established theoretical approaches, allowing for the refinement of potential energy surfaces as well as dynamical models. After a brief overview, a detailed account of the construction of the experimental apparatus is presented. Documentation of the data acquisition program is contained in the Appendix. The first experimental demonstration of the technique is then presented for I[sub 2][sup -] photodissociation, modeled using a simulation program which is also detailed in the Appendix. The investigation of I[sub 2][sup -] photodissociation in several size-selected I[sub 2][sup -](Ar)[sub n] (n= 6-20) and I[sub 2][sup -](CO[sub 2])[sub n] (n= 4-16) clusters forms the heart of the dissertation. In a series of chapters, the numerous effects of solvation on this fundamental bond-breaking reaction are explored, the most notable of which is the recombination of I[sub 2][sup -] on the ground[tilde X]([sup 2][Sigma][sub u][sup+]) state in sufficiently large clusters. Recombination and trapping of I[sub 2][sup -] on the excited[tilde A]([sup 2][Pi][sub 3/2,g]) state is also observed in both types of clusters. The studies have revealed electronic state transitions, the first step in recombination, on a[approx]500 fs to[approx]10 ps timescale. Accompanying the changes in electronic state is solvent reorganization, which occurs on a similar timescale. Over longer periods ([approx]1 ps to & gt;200 ps), energy is transferred from vibrationally excite d I[sub 2][sup -] to modes of the solvent, which in turn leads to solvent evaporation. These effects become more important as cluster size increases. In addition, differences in timescale and mechanism are observed between clusters of Ar, which binds to I[sup -] and I[sub 2][sup -] rather weakly, and CO[sub 2], whose large quadruple moment allows substantially stronger binding to these anions.

Femtosecond Photoelectron Imaging of Anions

Femtosecond Photoelectron Imaging of Anions
Author: Daniel Alfred Horke
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN:

Several recent results of a time-resolved photoelectron imaging experiment are presented. Following a broad introduction into the area of femtochemistry and time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, a detailed description of the spec- trometer is given. This utilises an electrospray ionisation source, coupled to an electrostatic ion trap. Ions are mass selected using time-of-flight methods and investigated using photoelectron imaging in a velocity-mapping geometry. Ultrafast dynamics are investigated by pump-probe spectroscopy with femtosec- ond laser pulses. Recent results are separated into three distinct projects: (i) The investigation of electron acceptor radical anions based on the quinone backbone. These commonly exhibit electron transfer rates exceeding those pre- dicted by Marcus theory by orders of magnitude. We show that an alternative pathway to electron transfer could involve the participation of electronic excited states, as these couple strongly to the anion ground state. Specifically, for p- Benzoquinone we show that electronic resonances located in the detachment continuum primarily undergo internal conversion via a number of conical inter- sections. (ii) Several polyanions have been investigated in the gas-phase. These systems exhibit unusual electronic properties, due to the presence of multiple excess charges, leading to the formation of a repulsive Coulomb barrier to photode- tachment. We investigate the effect of excess internal energy on this barrier and how it affects outgoing photoelectrons. We show that the trajectories of electrons are strongly influenced by this potential and demonstrate its use as a probe for large amplitude structural dynamics in polyanions. (iii) The isolated chromophore of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) has been studied, and the vertical and adiabatic detachment energies determined for the first time. Using time-resolved spectroscopy the excited state dynamics are in- vestigated. We show that the first singlet excited state of the anion primarily decays through internal conversion, explaining the absence of fluorescence in the gas-phase. Using high level quantum chemistry calculations we show the specific motion involved and hence confirm the function of the protein back- bone in GFP. This thesis is concluded with a few suggested experimental improvements and ideas for future studies of anions using the presented spectrometer.

Femtosecond Time-resolved Spectroscopy of Gas-phase Anions

Femtosecond Time-resolved Spectroscopy of Gas-phase Anions
Author: I-Ren Lee
Publisher:
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2011
Genre: Femtochemistry
ISBN:

This thesis presents the studies of ultrafast dynamics of negatively charged molecules and clusters in the gas phase using femtosecond photoelectron spectroscopy. The core motifs of two distinct complex systems - solvated electrons and protein chromophores - were studied in the gas phase. For the solvated electron systems - hydrated electrons and ammoniated electrons - were studied in finite-sized clusters in the gas phase. Interestingly, the results show a significant difference. In the hydrated electron, ground-state vibrational cooling is evident by the transient photoelectron spectra, while, in the ammoniated electron, a coherent motion with a 500-fs relaxation is observed. The difference is attributed to the cage rigidity, which results in different solvent motions for the electron's interaction with water (libration) or ammonia (phonon-like). The photocycle of the photoactive yellow protein (PYP) has been studied extensively, but the dynamics of the isolated chromophore responsible for the transduction of phototacticity is less known. The anionic chromophore model molecule was investigated in the gas phase using femtosecond photoelectron spectroscopy and the results indicate that the protein function is in directing efficient conversion to the cis-structure and in impeding radical formation within the protein. Finally, a classic system of conformational twisting, stilbene, was studied in its anionic radical state. Ultrafast conversions from both trans- and cis- isomers are accompanied with coherent oscillation, in contrast to observations in the solution phase, and this suggests that a major solvent retardation take place. Dynamic studies of the photochemistry of gas-phase anions are very scarce due to the experimental difficulties. However, our results successfully resolve the photophysics and photochemistry of the isolated species and, thereby, elucidate the effect of solution.

Development and Construction of a New Photoelectron Imaging Spectrometer for Studying the Spectroscopy and Ultrafast Dynamics of Molecular Anions

Development and Construction of a New Photoelectron Imaging Spectrometer for Studying the Spectroscopy and Ultrafast Dynamics of Molecular Anions
Author: Gareth Michael Roberts
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2010
Genre: Anions
ISBN:

We present a detailed account of the development, construction, and commissioning of a new experiment for studying the spectroscopy and ultrafast dynamics of molecular anions in the gas phase. The new instrument incorporates: an electrospray ionisation source, which is capable of generating a vast class of molecular anions; a Wiley-McLaren time-of-flight mass spectrometer; and a compact photoelectron imaging arrangement for anions, which negates the use of pulsed high voltages. We use this instrument in conjunction with a femtosecond laser system to perform the first ultrafast time-resolved photoelectron imaging experiments on molecular anions generated through electrospray ionisation. A method for reconstructing three dimensional charged particle distributions from their associated two dimensional projections on an imaging detector plane is described. This new method utilises: (1) onion-peeling in polar co-ordinates (POP) to perform the reconstruction; and (2) basis set concepts to significantly enhance the algorithms computational speed. We compare this new POP algorithm with other reconstruction algorithms, which shows that the method is as good as the benchmark pBASEX method in terms of accuracy. Importantly, we show that it is also computationally fast, allowing images to be reconstructed as they are acquired in a typical imaging experiment. Original work is presented which investigates the spectroscopy and ultrafast excited dynamics of the 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) radical anion. The photoelectron spectrum of TCNQ? is measured at 3.1 eV, which is used to gain insight into the electronic structure and geometries of both the anion and neutral states. Time-resolved photoelectron imaging experiments explore the relaxation dynamics of its first excited 1 2B3u state, which we show undergoes internal conversion back to the 2B2g ground state on a timescale of 650 fs. Results also provide evidence of a wave packet motion on the excited state, which exhibits a characteristic frequency of 30 cm?1. Finally, we describe, for the first time, a formulism which allows ultrafast relaxation timescales to be extracted from the photoelectron angular distributions of isoenergetic photoelectron features. As an example, we use the time-resolved photoelectron angular distributions of a nearly isoenergetic feature in the photoelectron images of TCNQ?. From this model we extract a relaxation time for the 1 2B3u state, which quantitatively agrees with those extracted from fits to the features in the photoelectron spectra derived from the images.

Directory of Graduate Research

Directory of Graduate Research
Author: American Chemical Society. Committee on Professional Training
Publisher:
Total Pages: 1932
Release: 2005
Genre: Biochemistry
ISBN:

Faculties, publications and doctoral theses in departments or divisions of chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry and pharmaceutical and/or medicinal chemistry at universities in the United States and Canada.

Proceedings of the 17th Annual International Symposium on High Performance Computing Systems and Applications and the OSCAR Symposium

Proceedings of the 17th Annual International Symposium on High Performance Computing Systems and Applications and the OSCAR Symposium
Author: National Research Council Canada
Publisher: NRC Research Press
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2003
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 9780660190280

The 17th annual International Symposium on High Performance Systems and Applications (HPCS 2003) and the first OSCAR Symposium were held in Sherbrooke, Quebec Canada, May 11-14, 2003. The proceedings cover various areas of High Performance Computing, from specific scientific applications to computer architecture. OSCAR is an Open Source clustering software suite for building, maintaining, and using high performance clusters.

Ion-electron Coincidence Studies of Femtosecond Dynamics Triggered by Extreme Ultraviolet Photoionization of Atoms and Molecules

Ion-electron Coincidence Studies of Femtosecond Dynamics Triggered by Extreme Ultraviolet Photoionization of Atoms and Molecules
Author: Seyyed Javad Robatjazi
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2021
Genre:
ISBN:

Photoelectron spectroscopy employing X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation is one of the most important experimental methods to study the electronic structure of atoms, molecules, and solids. Recent developments of XUV and X-ray sources with ultrashort pulse durations, like free-electron lasers (FELs) and high-order harmonics of infrared lasers, enabled combining this approach with a concept of a time-resolved measurement, where a pair of synchronized short light pulses is used to initiate and observe a physical or chemical process of interest. Among other advances, such combination turned out to be particularly useful for atomic physics and gas-phase femtochemistry, where femtosecond or even sub-femtosecond short-wavelength radiation can be used to trigger the dynamics in high-lying states previously inaccessible for time-resolved measurements and offers a variety of novel schemes to probe light-induced electronic and nuclear motion. One of the key challenges for time-domain studies employing short-pulsed radiation sources is that they are necessarily broadband and, thus, typically populate a broad range of atomic of molecular states. The main goal of this thesis is to develop an experimental approach that enables state-selective analysis of the dynamics induced by such broadband femtosecond pulses in the XUV domain, and to apply it to study several exemplary reactions in photoionized molecules. Since reducing the bandwidth of the XUV pulse would ultimately limit the achievable temporal resolution, in this work the challenge of state selectivity is addressed by employing photoelectron-photoion and photoion-photoion coincident measurements. In the experimental apparatus developed as a part of this thesis, a double-sided velocity map imaging (VMI) spectrometer for coincident detection of electrons and ions is combined with a femtosecond pump-probe setup that includes a near-infrared (NIR) laser and a fiber-based XUV source based on high-order harmonics generation. This instrument has been commissioned, characterized, and applied to several time-resolved experiments on atomic and molecular targets. More specifically, this thesis describes three different sets of experiments. First, a brief overview of several XUV-NIR pump-probe measurements addressing two-color single, double or triple ionization of atoms is presented. Here, the main focus is set on capturing generic characteristic features of the corresponding two-color signals, and on revealing physical mechanisms determining their "transient" or "steady" behavior with respect to the time delay between the XUV and NIR pulses. The second series of experiments focuses on exploring coupled electronic and nuclear dynamics in XUV-ionized CO2 molecule probed by the synchronized NIR pulse. This study, which constitutes the central part of the thesis, relies on the detection of the photoelectron that reveals which electronic state is initially populated, in coincidence with ionic fragments, which provide information on the specific dissociation channel of the molecular ion after the interaction with both pulses. Here, we observe signatures of an electron-hole wave packet motion near a conical intersection of two low-lying cationic states, trace rotational dynamics determined by the dependence of the state-specific XUV photoionization cross section on molecular orientation, and disentangle the contributions of individual states to different dissociation pathways. The third series of experiments aims at studying nuclear dynamics in XUV-ionized alcohol molecules, focusing on the channels involving ultrafast hydrogen motion. Here, ion mass spectrometry measurements on methanol and its deuterated isotopologue CH3OH and CD3OH show that, depending on a specific XUV wavelength, the formation of molecular hydrogen or trihydrogen cations can be either dominated by the channels combining the hydrogen from the oxygen site with one or two hydrogens from the methyl carbon, or by the ejections of all hydrogen atoms from the methyl group. Coincident electron spectra for specific ionic fragments enable linking these channels to the calculated dissociation pathways leading to H2+ or H3+ formation. Finally, we present the results of XUV-NIR pump-probe experiments on ethanol, where a transient enhancement of particular dissociation channels has been observed. The experimental methodology presented in this work can be readily extended to a broad range of molecular systems, including both, molecular ions and high-lying excited states of the neutral molecules. At the same time, highly-differential data on small polyatomic molecules like CO2, methanol, and ethanol presented here, can be used to benchmark theoretical models for XUV ionization of these prototypical systems, improving our general understanding of light-induced molecular dynamics.