Doppler-free laser polarization and optical–optical double resonance polarization labeling spectroscopies of a large molecule: Naphthalene

Polarization-dependent intensity ratios in double resonance spectroscopy

Double Resonance is a powerful spectroscopic method that unambiguously assigns the rigorous quantum numbers of one state of a transition. However, there is often ambiguity as to the branch (ΔJ) of that transition. Spectroscopists have resolved this ambiguity by using the dependence of the double resonance intensity on the relative polarization directions of pump and probe radiation. However, published theoretical predictions for this ratio are based upon a weak (i.e., non-saturating) field approximation. This paper presents theoretical predictions for these intensity ratios for cases where the pump field is strongly saturating in the two limits of transitions dominated by homogeneous or of inhomogeneous broadening. Saturation reduces but does not eliminate the magnitude of the polarization effect (driving the intensity ratio closer to unity) even with strong pump saturation. For the case of an inhomogeneously broadened line, such as when Doppler broadened linewidth dominates over the power-broadened homogeneous line width, a large fraction of the low pump power polarization anisotropy remains. This paper reports predicted polarization ratios for both linear and circular pump and probe field polarizations. The present predictions are compared with experimental measurements on CH4 ground state → ν3 → 3ν3 transitions recently reported by de Oliveira et al.63 and these are in better agreement than with the weak field predictions.

Heat of adsorption of naphthalene on Pt(111) measured by adsorption calorimetry

The heat of adsorption of naphthalene on Pt(111) at 300 K was measured with single-crystal adsorption calorimetry. The heat of adsorption on the ideal, defect-free surface is estimated to be (300 - 34 - 199(2)) kJ/mol. From this, a C-Pt bond energy for aromatic hydrocarbons on Pt(111) of approximately 30 kJ/mol is estimated, consistent with earlier results for benzene on Pt(111). There is higher heat of adsorption at very low coverage, attributed to step sites where the adsorption heat is >/=330 kJ/mol. Saturation coverage, = 1 ML, corresponds to 1.55 x 10(14) molecules/cm(2). Sticking probability measurements of naphthalene on Pt(111) give a high initial value of 1.0 and a Kisliuk-type coverage dependence that implies precursor-mediated sticking. The ratio of the hopping rate to the desorption rate of this precursor is approximately 51. Naphthalene adsorbs transiently on top of chemisorbed naphthalene molecules with a heat of adsorption of 83-87 kJ/mol.

Far-infrared spectroscopy of small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Both experimental and theoretical spectroscopic studies on small gas phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the far-infrared spectral region are reported. The experimental set-up based on thermal emission and Fourier transform far infrared analysis led to the detection of relatively broad vibrational bands, unresolved in rotation, representative of each molecule. Detailed theoretical investigations were performed, including both ab initio calculations and spectral simulations. For the majority of the samples, this study provides the first detection of the vibrational modes associated with the skeleton motions.

Orientation and alignment moments in two-color polarization spectroscopy

A theoretical analysis of two-color polarization spectroscopy (TCPS) is presented as an extension of a previous analysis of one-color PS. Three commonly used schemes in which pump and probe transitions share a common level are considered. Diagrammatic techniques are used to isolate the photon interaction sequences that can contribute to the signal. A perturbation-theory analysis expressing the signal in terms of spherical tensor moments is applied. The analysis emphasises the significance of orientation and alignment tensor moments of rotational angular momentum and their collisional evolution. The assumed context is transitions between single rotational states of gas-phase molecules that subsequently suffer discrete collisions. The time scale of the measurements is assumed to be long relative to the periods of molecular motion, as would typically be the case for signals excited by nanosecond-pulsed lasers from samples at moderate pressures. The Doppler motion of the probed species is included, as is an analytical solution to the integration over the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution of velocities. The effects of nuclear hyperfine depolarization and velocity-changing collisions are discussed. It is shown that when pump- and probe-laser pulses are separated in time, TCPS creates and probes either orientation or alignment of rotational angular momentum in the common level shared by pump and probe transitions. Example simulations of one- and two-color polarization spectroscopies are included to demonstrate the resulting simplification of the measured signal using TCPS. TCPS is therefore a viable spectroscopic technique for the determination of rotational angular momentum orientation and alignment relaxation rates in molecular gases, of interest because they are sensitive probes of inelastic collisions.