Understanding molecular dynamics quantum-state by quantum-state

It is now possible to resolve completely the initial and final quantum states in chemical processes. Spectra of reactive intermediates, of highly vibrationally excited molecules, and even of molecules in the process of falling apart have been recorded. This information has led to greater understanding of the molecular structure and dynamics of small gas-phase molecules. Many of the concepts and spectroscopic techniques that have been developed will be valuable throughout chemistry.     

Radiative-capture studies of the giant dipole resonance. Gamma-ray yields from capture of protons and alpha-particles give finer details than studies of gamma-ray absorption

The data on radiative capture through the giant resonance have led to a model in which the capture is pictured as proceeding through a single broad (and therefore short-lived) state that can be called the giant-resonance state. This state is the one formed directly upon capture of a proton, and hence most of the capture radiation is emitted quickly in the direct-interaction mode. Some of the energy that is contained in the giant-resonance state is shared with the more-complicated states of the compound nucleus (that is, with states having many excited nucleons). This sharing, in turn, gives rise to the fine structure that is observed within the giant-resonance envelope. The constant angular distributions that are observed throughout the giant-resonance region support the single-state picture of the giant resonance.     

Interception of excited vibrational quantum states by O2 in atmospheric association reactions

Bimolecular reactions in Earth's atmosphere are generally assumed to proceed between reactants whose internal quantum states are fully thermally relaxed. Here, we highlight a dramatic role for vibrationally excited bimolecular reactants in the oxidation of acetylene. The reaction proceeds by preliminary adduct formation between the alkyne and OH radical, with subsequent O(2) addition. Using a detailed theoretical model, we show that the product-branching ratio is determined by the excited vibrational quantum-state distribution of the adduct at the moment it reacts with O(2). Experimentally, we found that under the simulated atmospheric conditions O(2) intercepts ~25% of the excited adducts before their vibrational quantum states have fully relaxed. Analogous interception of excited-state radicals by O(2) is likely common to a range of atmospheric reactions that proceed through peroxy complexes.     

Coherence dynamics in photosynthesis: protein protection of excitonic coherence

The role of quantum coherence in promoting the efficiency of the initial stages of photosynthesis is an open and intriguing question. We performed a two-color photon echo experiment on a bacterial reaction center that enabled direct visualization of the coherence dynamics in the reaction center. The data revealed long-lasting coherence between two electronic states that are formed by mixing of the bacteriopheophytin and accessory bacteriochlorophyll excited states. This coherence can only be explained by strong correlation between the protein-induced fluctuations in the transition energy of neighboring chromophores. Our results suggest that correlated protein environments preserve electronic coherence in photosynthetic complexes and allow the excitation to move coherently in space, enabling highly efficient energy harvesting and trapping in photosynthesis.     

Chemistry of excited electronic States

Atomic and molecular orbitals are among the tools used by chemists to view the world. The validity of this view for reaction systems can be experimentally probed by examination of the chemistry of electronically excited states and, in particular, by comparison of the reactivities of states having different orbital occupations (electron configurations). Reactivity changes associated with electron configuration are instructive with regard to chemists' views of molecular orbital interactions, but electronic excitation can also influence the course of a chemical reaction by increasing the energy content of the system or by affecting access to different potential energy surfaces by changing spin, orbital symmetry, or spin-orbit level. These various effects are illustrated by studies of gasphase transition metal-mediated H-H and C-H bond-activation processes.     

Exciplexes and electron transfer reactions

Electronically excited molecules, being better electron donors and acceptors than their ground states, form charge-transfer complexes (exciplexes) which can lead to radical ions. Exciplex emission is widely used to probe polymers and organized media such as membranes and micelles. Exciplexes are also intermediates in photoreactions that lead to unique products. Photochemical electron-transfer processes, which are the basis of silver halide photography and electrophotography, are involved in many reactions of wide scope. Recent studies have led to the discovery of several electron-transfer photooxygenations with a diversity that will probably rival that of singlet oxygen. Both exciplex emission and photochemical electron transfer play important roles in organic photochemistry.     

Direct spectroscopic detection of a zwitterionic excited state

Two electrons in two weakly coupled orbitals give rise to two states (diradical) with electrons residing in separate orbitals and two states (zwitterionic) with both electrons paired in one orbital or the other. This two-electron, two-orbital state manifold has eluded experimental confirmation because the zwitterionic states have been difficult to locate. Two-photon excitation of fluorescence from Mo(2)CI(4)(PMe(3))(4) (D2d) has been measured with linearly and circularly polarized light. From the polarization ratio and the energy of the observed transition, the 2(1)A(1) (delta*delta*) excited state has been located and characterized. In conjunction with the one-photon allowed (1)B(2) (deltadelta*) excited state, the zwitterionic state manifold for the quadruply bonded metal-metal class of compounds is thus established.     

Optical spectroscopy of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes of defined chiral structure

We simultaneously determined the physical structure and optical transition energies of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes by combining electron diffraction with Rayleigh scattering spectroscopy. These results test fundamental features of the excited electronic states of carbon nanotubes. We directly verified the systematic changes in transition energies of semiconducting nanotubes as a function of their chirality and observed predicted energy splittings of optical transitions in metallic nanotubes.     

Solar chemistry of metal complexes

Electronic excited states of certain transition metal complexes undergo oxidation-reduction reactions that store chemical energy. Such reactions have been extensively explored for mononuclear complexes. Two classes of polynuclear species exhibit similar properties, and these complexes are now being studied as possible homogeneous sensitizer-catalysts for hydrogen production from aqueous solutions.     

旋轨耦合作用下BH分子激发态的特性研究

采用旋轨耦合作用下多组态准简并微扰理论(SO-MCQDPT)研究了BH分子的基态X1+和第一激发态3的性质,得到了第一激发态3的分裂电子态30、31和32的势能曲线;采用Murrell-Sorbie函数和最小法二乘法拟合得到了这3个分裂电子态的解析势能函数,并在此基础上推导出了基态X1+和分裂电子态30、31和32的光谱常数,而且得到了分裂态的垂直跃迁能ν[31(ν=0)→30(ν=0)]=2531.116 cm-1和ν[32(ν=0)→31(ν=0)]=0.005 cm-1,这些分裂电子态的解析势能函数和光谱数据均为首次给出。     

类锂Zn^27＋离子的能量和量子数亏损

用全实加关联（FCPC）方法计算了类锂Zn^27＋离子1s^2np态的非相对论能量和波函数.给出了类锂Zn^27＋离子1s^2np组态（n≤9）的电离势、激发能和跃迁能.依据单通道量子亏损理论,确定了1s^2np Rydberg系列的量子数亏损.用这些作为能量的缓变函数的量子亏损,可以实现对任意高激发态（n≥10）的能量的可靠预言.     

Correlations between ground and excited state spectra of a quantum Dot

The ground and excited state spectra of a semiconductor quantum dot with successive electron occupancy were studied with linear and nonlinear magnetoconductance measurements. A direct correlation was observed between the mth excited state of the N-electron system and the ground state of the (N + m)-electron system for m up to 4. The results are consistent with a single-particle picture in which a fixed spectrum of energy levels is successively filled, except for a notable absence of spin degeneracy. Further departures from the single-particle picture due to electron-electron interaction were also observed. Magnetoconductance fluctuations of ground states show anticrossings where wave function characteristics are exchanged between adjacent levels.     

Spark discharge: application multielement spectrochemical analysis

Spark discharge is shown to be a cyclic process of energy dissipation, with one spark in a time-connected train influenced by its relation to predecessor sparks. Spectroscopic instruments having temporal, spatial, and spectral resolution indicate that the light emission is highly ordered with cylindrical symmetry about the current-conducting spark channel. The favored spatial coincidence is between the channel and the most highly ionized and most excited species sampled from the cathode, with less ionized and less excited species emitting farther outward. Light absorption occurs to such an extent that there are full line reversals in excited states of magnesium ions, distant from the channel. Schlieren data indicate a toroidal structure in the postdischarge environment. Charge transfer, Penning ionization, and sensitized fluorescence are thought to be the chemical mechanisms responsible for the spectroscopic topography. Experiments in spectrochemical analysis based on the topography and designed for increased sensitivity, reduced matrix effects, and simpler spectra are discussed.     

The role of driving energy and delocalized States for charge separation in organic semiconductors

The electron-hole pair created via photon absorption in organic photoconversion systems must overcome the Coulomb attraction to achieve long-range charge separation. We show that this process is facilitated through the formation of excited, delocalized band states. In our experiments on organic photovoltaic cells, these states were accessed for a short time (<1 picosecond) via infrared (IR) optical excitation of electron-hole pairs bound at the heterojunction. Atomistic modeling showed that the IR photons promote bound charge pairs to delocalized band states, similar to those formed just after singlet exciton dissociation, which indicates that such states act as the gateway for charge separation. Our results suggest that charge separation in efficient organic photoconversion systems occurs through hot-state charge delocalization rather than energy-gradient-driven intermolecular hopping.     

Watching vibrational energy transfer in liquids with atomic spatial resolution

Ultrafast spectroscopy was used to study vibrational energy transfer between vibrational reporter groups on different parts of a molecule in a liquid. When OH stretching vibrations of different alcohols were excited by mid-infrared laser pulses, vibrational energy was observed to move through intervening CH2 or CH groups, taking steps up and down in energy, ending up at terminal CH3 groups. For each additional CH2 group in the path between OH and CH3, the time for vibrational energy transfer increased by about 0.4 picosecond.     

Excitation spectra of circular, few-electron quantum dots

Studies of the ground and excited states in semiconductor quantum dots containing 1 to 12 electrons showed that the quantum numbers of the states in the excitation spectra can be identified and compared with exact calculations. A magnetic field induces transitions between the ground and excited states. These transitions were analyzed in terms of crossings between single-particle states, singlet-triplet transitions, spin polarization, and Hund's rule. These impurity-free quantum dots allow "atomic physics" experiments to be performed in magnetic field regimes not accessible for atoms.     

Dynamics-driven reaction pathway in an intramolecular rearrangement

A critical role is traditionally assigned to transition states (TSs) and minimum energy pathways, or intrinsic reaction coordinates (IRCs), in interpreting organic reactivity. Such an interpretation, however, ignores vibrational and kinetic energy effects of finite temperature. Recently it has been shown that reactions do not necessarily follow the intermediates along the IRC. We report here molecular dynamics (MD) simulations that show that dynamics effects may alter chemical reactions even more. In the heterolysis rearrangement of protonated pinacolyl alcohol Me3C-CHMe-OH2+ (Me, methyl), the MD pathway involves a stepwise route with C-O bond cleavage followed by methyl group migration, whereas the IRC pathway suggests a concerted mechanism. Dynamics effects may lead to new interpretations of organic reactivity.     

Frontiers in surface scattering simulations

Theorists have recently made substantial progress in simulating reactive molecule-metal surface scattering but still face major challenges. The grand challenge is to develop an approach that enables accurate predictive calculations of reactions involving electronically excited states with potential curve crossings. This challenge is all the more daunting because collisions involving molecules heavier than H2 may be accompanied by substantial energy exchange with the surface vibrations (phonons), and because an electronic structure approach that allows molecule-surface interaction energies to be computed with chemical accuracy (1 kilocalorie per mole) is not yet available even for the electronic ground state of molecule-metal surface systems.     

Ultrafast bond softening in bismuth: mapping a solid's interatomic potential with X-rays

Intense femtosecond laser excitation can produce transient states of matter that would otherwise be inaccessible to laboratory investigation. At high excitation densities, the interatomic forces that bind solids and determine many of their properties can be substantially altered. Here, we present the detailed mapping of the carrier density-dependent interatomic potential of bismuth approaching a solid-solid phase transition. Our experiments combine stroboscopic techniques that use a high-brightness linear electron accelerator-based x-ray source with pulse-by-pulse timing reconstruction for femtosecond resolution, allowing quantitative characterization of the interatomic potential energy surface of the highly excited solid.     

Stellar and 0ther high-temperature molecules

Optical spectroscopy of stellar molecules trapped at 4 degrees K is particularly valuable when the data can be used to complement the corresponding gas data. The ground state is then directly established by measurement of the absorption spectrum at the low temperature, since all transitions beginning from excited states are eliminated. Isotopic substitution establishes the (0,0) bands of transitions to excited electronic states, and when these data are combined with infrared and fluorescence measurements at 4 degrees K, most of the vibrational properties of the ground and excited states can be obtained. Of the many examples cited and discussed here, C(3) is perhaps the most outstanding. Because the various molecules trapped in matrices are usually identified through prior mass spectrometric work, the optical observations often lead to the discovery of band systems of molecules whose spectra have not previously been observed-for example, those of Si(2)C(3), TaO(2), and WO(2). In these cases the location of the spectral regions in which molecular transitions appear may also serve to encourage the gas spectroscopist to further exploration with high-dispersion spectrographs. I share Ramsay's view (4, p. 204) that further investigation of f-number determinations from matrix spectra should be encouraged, particularly because of the lack of such data for molecules in stars. The principal source of error probably lies in the estimation of the number of molecules per square centimeter in the matrix, but no real test of this has been made. The only existing f values from matrix spectra are those for the C(3) (43, 44) and C(2) (51) molecules, and these are not ideal for test purposes. Because of the anomalous nature of the matrix results discussed above, the rather good agreement between f values for the solid and gas phases of C(2) (51) cannot be considered as support for the matrix determinations. What is needed is a matrix determination of several f(v'v") values (that is, determinations for specific bands) for molecules such as CN and NO or, preferably, for a gas vaporized at high temperature, for which these f values are relatively well established in the gas phase. In this connection the possibility of determining other molecular properties in matrices comes to mind. However, it has been clearly shown that the shape of the potential energy function in the electronic states of molecules can be affected when molecules are trapped in matrices. Brewer, Brabson, and Meyer, in work on S(2) (55), and Schnepp and Dressler, in work on O(2) (56), have examined the anharmonicity in matrices over many vibrational levels. Distortion of the gas potential energy curves occurs in the heavier matrices and sometimes at high vibrational levels in the light ones. Recently work has been begun on comparing the Franck-Condon factors connecting the ground state and two excited states of ScF trapped in a neon matrix (57) with factors calculated from the gas-spectrum data of R. F. Barrow et al. (58) (Deltar(e), the change in interatomic distance upon excitation, has a relatively large value of ~ 0.1 A in these systems). As is well known, such factors are particularly sensitive to the value of Deltar(e), but differences in anharmonicity do not, however, have as significant an effect upon the Franck-Condon factors. Hence a comparison of the matrix and gas factors will lead to further information about matrix effects and will indicate whether Franck-Condon factors can be obtained from matrix spectra. One of the important problems in the study of stellar molecules is the determination of the low-lying electronically excited states, similar to the (1)Delta <--> X(3)Delta difference (~ 580 cm(-1)) in TiO measured by Phillips. Most of the transition-metal oxides have such low-lying levels, and they must be taken into consideration in any calculation of thermodynamic effects at high temperature. It appears that the study of emission spectra in the infrared at 4 degrees K may be one approach to this problem, and an attempt is now being made to confirm the TiO value in order to test the method. Perhaps the greatest advantage of matrix-isolation is the fact that it allows study of these molecules-or of any molecules difficult to produce in a microwave cavity-by electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectroscopy. Study of molecules by this means can provide information about ground state wave functions that is not obtainable by optical spectroscopy, as illustrated by the investigation of ScO, YO, and LaO. Also, it seems likely that the preferential orientation of molecules in matrices, which is probably achievable in most cases, will be a valuable asset in the study of the magnetic properties of molecules by electron-paramagneticresonance spectroscopy, regardless of whether the molecules are "hot" or "cold" (60).