The frequency-dependent depolarization ratio of the low-frequency Raman scattering of two inorganic systems in their glassy, supercooled, and molten states

Vibrational Spectroscopy of Ionic Liquids

Vibrational spectroscopy has continued use as a powerful tool to characterize ionic liquids since the literature on room temperature molten salts experienced the rapid increase in number of publications in the 1990's. In the past years, infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopies have provided insights on ionic interactions and the resulting liquid structure in ionic liquids. A large body of information is now available concerning vibrational spectra of ionic liquids made of many different combinations of anions and cations, but reviews on this literature are scarce. This review is an attempt at filling this gap. Some basic care needed while recording IR or Raman spectra of ionic liquids is explained. We have reviewed the conceptual basis of theoretical frameworks which have been used to interpret vibrational spectra of ionic liquids, helping the reader to distinguish the scope of application of different methods of calculation. Vibrational frequencies observed in IR and Raman spectra of ionic liquids based on different anions and cations are discussed and eventual disagreements between different sources are critically reviewed. The aim is that the reader can use this information while assigning vibrational spectra of an ionic liquid containing another particular combination of anions and cations. Different applications of IR and Raman spectroscopies are given for both pure ionic liquids and solutions. Further issues addressed in this review are the intermolecular vibrations that are more directly probed by the low-frequency range of IR and Raman spectra and the applications of vibrational spectroscopy in studying phase transitions of ionic liquids.

Local environment and dynamics of PO4 tetrahedra in Na–Al–PO3 glasses and melts

Glasses and melts in the system (NaPO3)(1-x)(Al(PO3)3)x were studied with the aim of obtaining information about the structure on the next larger scale beyond the PO4 group. Magic angle spinning NMR was applied to the pure NaPO3 glass and Raman scattering to systems with x = 0.00, 0.03, 0.06, 0.15, and 0.60 in the temperature range T = 300-1100 K. Comparison of the 31P chemical shift between glass and crystalline forms revealed that polymerization of the metaphosphate into tricyclophosphatelike (PO3)3(3-) rings is the dominant structure, ca. 80%, formed by the twofold vertex-joined PO4 groups in the glass. In the Raman study we focused on the prominent polarized band at ca. 1170 cm(-1) which is due to the symmetric breathing mode of the tetrahedral PO4 group. This band was decomposed into a few Gaussian lines. These component lines could be identified using the NMR results: two narrow components are due to PO4 groups in the tricyclophosphatelike rings, which have either a Na or an Al counterion and a third broad component is due to chain-polymerized (PO3(-))n. The variations of the component lines (peak positions, widths, and intensities) with respect to x and T are presented. We derive the shifts of the symmetric breathing mode frequency which are caused by Na or Al counterions, by ring closure, by x > 0, etc. The relative intensities of the narrow and broad components in the 1170-cm(-1) band of the Raman spectra are discussed. The amount of ring-to-chain transformation on addition of Al3+, and as functions of T and x, is derived. Indications for ordering on a next larger scale, derivable from Raman, NMR, and thermodynamics, are compared.

Raman scattering study on structural and dynamical features of noncrystalline selenium

We report on a detailed, temperature-dependent, off-resonant Raman scattering study of glassy and supercooled selenium. Raman spectra in the frequency regime of the first-order scattering (5-450 cm(-1)) have been recorded over a wide temperature range, i.e., 143-353 K. To facilitate the analysis, the spectra have intuitively been divided in three spectral regions. The analysis of the high frequency region (bond-stretching vibrational modes) yielded information on the rings-chains equilibrium. In particular, the polymer content was found to amount to more than 85% around the glass transition temperature, exhibiting a weak temperature dependence, which extrapolates nicely to the high-temperature dissolution data. The intermediate frequency range (representative of the medium-range structural order) was treated together with the low frequency regime (where low-energy excitations, i.e., the quasielastic line and the Boson peak are the dominant contributions) owing to their strong overlap. The study of the bond-bending regime revealed information which made it possible to clarify the role of ringlike and chainlike fragments incorporated in polymeric molecules. The temperature evolution of the Boson peak and the frequency dependence of the Raman coupling coefficient Comega were also determined. An attempt to decompose the partial contribution of the pure Boson peak to Comega revealed valuable information concerning the limiting (omega-->0) behavior of the coupling coefficient.

Spectral features of the quasielastic line in amorphous solids and supercooled liquids: a detailed low-frequency Raman scattering study

The spectral features of the quasielastic light scattering in amorphous solids and supercooled liquids are investigated through a combined Stokes and antiStokes low-frequency Raman scattering study. Emphasis is given on the specific spectral details of the quasielastic line rather than on elucidating its microscopic origin. Our approach is quite general since it includes glass formers with a strong, an intermediate, and a fragile dynamic character. The results suggest that the quasielastic contribution is a symmetric spectral feature around the laser line. This finding makes possible the separation of the quasielastic line and the Boson peak. It further raises certain skepticism concerning reduction schemes followed up in the literature for the analysis of low-frequency Raman data and for models that combine these two contributions. The limiting (omega-->0) behavior of the product of the vibrational density of states and the Raman coupling coefficient has also been extracted. The validity of some phenomenological approaches is also discussed in light of the experimental facts presented in this paper and some suggestions are being advanced.