Ultraviolet photochemistry of 2-bromothiophene explored using universal ionization detection and multi-mass velocity-map imaging with a PImMS2 sensor

Characterizing the multi-dimensional reaction dynamics of dihalomethanes using XUV-induced Coulomb explosion imaging

Site-selective probing of iodine 4d orbitals at 13.1 nm was used to characterize the photolysis of CH2I2 and CH2BrI initiated at 202.5 nm. Time-dependent fragment ion momenta were recorded using Coulomb explosion imaging mass spectrometry and used to determine the structural dynamics of the dissociating molecules. Correlations between these fragment momenta, as well as the onset times of electron transfer reactions between them, indicate that each molecule can undergo neutral three-body photolysis. For CH2I2, the structural evolution of the neutral molecule was simultaneously characterized along the C-I and I-C-I coordinates, demonstrating the sensitivity of these measurements to nuclear motion along multiple degrees of freedom.

Photodissociation dynamics of CF3CHO: C-C bond cleavage

The photodissociation dynamics of jet-cooled trifluoroacetaldehyde (CF₃CHO) into radical products, CF₃ + HCO, was explored using velocity mapped ion imaging over the wavelength range 297.5 nm ≤λ≤ 342.8 nm (33 613-29 172 cm^-1) covering the entire section of the absorption spectrum accessible with solar actinic wavelengths at the ground level. After initial excitation to the first excited singlet state, S₁, the radical dissociation proceeds largely via the first excited triplet state, T₁, at excitation energies above the T₁ barrier. By combining velocity-mapped ion imaging with high-level theory, we place this barrier at 368.3 ± 2.4 kJ mol^-1 (30 780 ± 200 cm^-1). After exciting to S₁ at energies below this barrier, the dissociation proceeds exclusively via the ground electronic state, S₀. The dissociation threshold is determined to be 335.7 ± 1.8 kJ mol^-1 (28 060 ± 150 cm^-1). Using laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, the origin of the S₁ ← S₀ transition is assigned at 28 903 cm^-1. The S₀ dissociation channel is active at the S₁ origin, but the yield significantly increases above 29 100 cm^-1 due to enhanced intersystem crossing or internal conversion.

A new imaging-based method for alignment of multiple laser beams

A new method for multiple laser beams alignment, useful in a wide range of spectroscopies, is proposed and demonstrated. The method, based on the coupling of spatial map imaging (SMI) with velocity map imaging (VMI), aided beams visualization, through interrogation of the ionization signal of different species in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. This approach is very effective for alignment and for evaluating the spatial overlap of laser beams with a molecular beam. This was demonstrated by monitoring the resonant two-photon ionization spectrum of 2-phenylethylamine (PEA) monomer and its hydrated (PEA-H₂O) cluster and the ionization-loss stimulated Raman spectrum of the cluster, via VMIs accumulation, as a function of the exciting laser wavelength. The former permitted immediate classification of the features in the spectrum, corresponding to the molecular ion or the cluster. The proposed methodology will be useful in other challenging multiple laser beam experiments for spectroscopic studies and is expected to improve extensively their outcome.

Ultraviolet photochemistry of ethane: implications for the atmospheric chemistry of the gas giants

Chemical processing in the stratospheres of the gas giants is driven by incident vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light. Ethane is an important constituent in the atmospheres of the gas giants in our solar system. The present work describes translational spectroscopy studies of the VUV photochemistry of ethane using tuneable radiation in the wavelength range 112 ≤ λ ≤ 126 nm from a free electron laser and event-triggered, fast-framing, multi-mass imaging detection methods. Contributions from at least five primary photofragmentation pathways yielding CH2, CH3 and/or H atom products are demonstrated and interpreted in terms of unimolecular decay following rapid non-adiabatic coupling to the ground state potential energy surface. These data serve to highlight parallels with methane photochemistry and limitations in contemporary models of the photoinduced stratospheric chemistry of the gas giants. The work identifies additional photochemical reactions that require incorporation into next generation extraterrestrial atmospheric chemistry models which should help rationalise hitherto unexplained aspects of the atmospheric ethane/acetylene ratios revealed by the Cassini-Huygens fly-by of Jupiter.

Quantifying rival bond fission probabilities following photoexcitation: C-S bond fission in t-butylmethylsulfide

We illustrate a new, collision-free experimental strategy that allows determination of the absolute probabilities of rival bond fission processes in a photoexcited molecule - here t-butylmethylsulfide (BSM). The method combines single photon ('universal') ionization laser probe methods, simultaneous imaging of all probed fragments (multi-mass ion imaging) and the use of an appropriate internal calibrant (here dimethylsulfide). Image analysis allows quantification of the dynamics of the rival B-SM and BS-M bond fission processes following ultraviolet (UV) excitation of BSM and shows the former to be twice as probable, despite the only modest (∼2%) differences in the respective ground state equilibrium C-S bond lengths or bond strengths. Rationalising this finding should provide a stringent test of the two close-lying, coupled excited states of ¹A'' symmetry accessed by UV excitation in BSM and related thioethers, of the respective transition dipole moment surfaces, and of the geometry dependent non-adiabatic couplings that enable the rival C-S bond fissions.

Multi-mass velocity-map imaging studies of photoinduced and electron-induced chemistry

Multi-mass velocity-map imaging (VMI) is becoming established as a promising method for probing the dynamics of a variety of gas-phase chemical processes. We provide an overview of velocity-map imaging and multi-mass velocity-map imaging techniques, highlighting examples in which these approaches have been used to provide mechanistic insights into a range of photoinduced and electron-induced chemical processes. Multi-mass detection capabilities have also led to the development of two new tools for the chemical dynamics toolbox, in the form of Coulomb-explosion imaging and covariance-map imaging. These allow details of molecular structure to be followed in real time over the course of a chemical reaction, offering the tantalising prospect of recording real-time 'molecular movies' of chemical dynamics. As these new methods become established within the reaction dynamics community, they promise new mechanistic insights into chemistry relevant to fields ranging from atmospheric chemistry and astrochemistry through to synthetic organic photochemistry and biology.

Exploring the Dynamics of the Photoinduced Ring-Opening of Heterocyclic Molecules

Excited states formed by electron promotion to an antibonding σ* orbital are now recognized as key to understanding the photofragmentation dynamics of a broad range of heteroatom containing small molecules: alcohols, thiols, amines, and many of their aromatic analogues. Such excited states may be populated by direct photoexcitation, or indirectly by nonadiabatic transfer of population from some other optically excited state (e.g., a ππ* state). This Perspective explores the extent to which the fast-growing literature pertaining to such (n/π)σ*-state mediated bond fissions can inform and enhance our mechanistic understanding of photoinduced ring-opening in heterocyclic molecules.