Andras Bodi

Imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy with velocity focusing electron optics

An imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence spectrometer at the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) beamline of the Swiss Light Source is presented and a few initial measurements are reported. Monochromatic synchrotron VUV radiation ionizes the cooled or thermal gas-phase sample. Photoelectrons are velocity focused, with better than 1 meV resolution for threshold electrons, and also act as start signal for the ion time-of-flight analysis. The ions are accelerated in a relatively low, 40-80 V cm(-1) field, which enables the direct measurement of rate constants in the 10(3)-10(7) s(-1) range. All electron and ion events are recorded in a triggerless multiple-start/multiple-stop setup, which makes it possible to carry out coincidence experiments at >100 kHz event frequencies. As examples, the threshold photoelectron spectrum of the argon dimer and the breakdown diagrams for hydrogen atom loss in room temperature methane and the chlorine atom loss in cold chlorobenzene are shown and discussed.

Modeling unimolecular reactions in photoelectron photoion coincidence experiments.

A computer program has been developed to model and analyze the data from photoelectron photoion coincidence (PEPICO) spectroscopy experiments. This code has been used during the past 12 years to extract thermochemical and kinetics information for almost a hundred systems, and the results have been published in over forty papers. It models the dissociative photoionization process in the threshold PEPICO experiment by calculating the thermal energy distribution of the neutral molecule, the energy distribution of the molecular ion as a function of the photon energy, and the resolution of the experiment. Parallel or consecutive dissociation paths of the molecular ion and also of the resulting fragment ions are modeled to reproduce the experimental breakdown curves and time-of-flight distributions. The latter are used to extract the experimental dissociation rates. For slow dissociations, either the quasi-exponential fragment peak shapes or, when the mass resolution is insufficient to model the peak shapes explicitly, the center of mass of the peaks can be used to obtain the rate constants. The internal energy distribution of the fragment ions is calculated from the densities of states using the microcanonical formalism to describe consecutive dissociations. Dissociation rates can be calculated by the RRKM, SSACM or VTST rate theories, and can include tunneling effects, as well. Isomerization of the dissociating ions can also be considered using analytical formulae for the dissociation rates either from the original or the isomer ions. The program can optimize the various input parameters to find a good fit to the experimental data, using the downhill simplex algorithm.

Data acquisition schemes for continuous two-particle time-of-flight coincidence experiments

Three data acquisition schemes for two-particle coincidence experiments with a continuous source are discussed. The single-start/single-stop technique, implemented with a time-to-pulse-height converter, results in a complicated spectrum and breaks down severely at high count rates. The single-start/multiple-stop setup, based on a time-to-digital converter and the first choice in todays similar coincidence experiments, performs significantly better at high count rates, but its performance is still hampered if the time-of-flight range is large, and the false coincidence background is variable if the event frequency and the collection efficiency of the starts are both high. A straightforward, multistart/multistop setup is proposed for coincidence experiments. By collecting all detector data, it ensures the highest signal-to-noise ratio, constant background, and fast data acquisition and can now be easily constructed with commercially available time-to-digital converters. Analytical and numerically evaluated formulas are derived to characterize the performance of each setup in a variety of environments. Computer simulated spectra are presented to illustrate the analytically predicted features of the various raw time-of-flight distributions obtained with each technique.

A new double imaging velocity focusing coincidence experiment: i2PEPICO

The vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) beamline of the Swiss Light Source has been upgraded after two years of operation. A new, turntable-type monochromator was constructed at the Paul Scherrer Institut, which allows for fast yaw-alignment as well as quick grating change and exchange. In addition to the original imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence endstation (iPEPICO), a second, complementary double imaging setup (i(2)PEPICO) has been built. Volatile samples can be introduced at room temperature or in a molecular beam, a pyrolysis source allows for radical production, and non-volatile solids can be evaporated in a heated cell. Monochromatic VUV radiation ionizes the sample and both photoelectrons and photoions are velocity map imaged onto two fast position sensitive detectors and detected in delayed coincidence. High intensity synchrotron radiation leads to ionization rates above 10(5) s(-1). New data acquisition and processing approaches are discussed for recording coincidence processes at high rates. The setup is capable of resolving pulsed molecular beam profiles and the synchrotron time structure temporally. The latter is shown by photoelectron autocorrelation, which displays both the 1.04 MHz ring clock frequency as well as resolving the micro-pulses with a separation of 2 ns. Kinetic energy release analysis on the dissociative photoionization of CF(4) indicates a dissociation mechanism change in the Franck-Condon allowed energy range of the first ion state.

In situ flame chemistry tracing by imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy

Adaptation of a low-pressure flat flame burner with a flame-sampling interface to the imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence spectrometer (iPEPICO) of the VUV beamline at the Swiss Light Source is presented. The combination of molecular-beam mass spectrometry and iPEPICO provides a new powerful analytical tool for the detailed investigation of reaction networks in flames. First results demonstrate the applicability of the new instrument to comprehensive flame diagnostics and the potentially high impact for reaction mechanism development for conventional and alternative fuels. Isomer specific identification of stable and radical flame species is demonstrated with unrivaled precision. Radical detection and identification is achieved for the initial H-abstraction products of fuel molecules as well as for the reaction controlling H, O, and OH radicals. Furthermore, quantitative evaluation of changing species concentrations during the combustion process and the applicability of respective results for kinetic model validation are demonstrated. Utilization of mass-selected threshold photoelectron spectra is shown to ensure precise signal assignment and highly reliable spatial profiles.

Conformational Properties of 1-Fluoro-1-silacyclohexane, C5H10SiHF: Gas Electron Diffraction, Low-Temperature NMR, Temperature-Dependent Raman Spectroscopy, and Quantum Chemical Calculations†

The molecular structures of axial and equatorial conformers of 1-fluorosilacyclohexane, C5H10SiHF, as well as the thermodynamic equilibrium between these species were investigated by means of gas electron diffraction (GED), dynamic nuclear magnetic resonance, temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy, and quantum chemical calculations (MP2, DFT, and composite methods). According to GED, the compound exists in the gas phase as a mixture of two conformers possessing the chair conformation of the six-membered ring and Cs symmetry and differing in the axial or equatorial position of the Si-F bond (axial ) 63(8) mol %/equatorial ) 37(8) mol %) at T ) 293 K, corresponding to an A value of –0.31(20) kcal mol. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were employed to obtain the minimal energy path of the conformational inversion. The MP2, G3B3, and CBS-QB3 methods were also employed to calculate the equilibrium geometries and energies of the local minima in the gas phase and in solution. The gas-phase results are in good agreement with the experiment, whereas a combined PCM/IPCM(B3LYP/6-311G(d)) approach overestimates the stabilization of the axial conformer by 0.3-0.4 kcal mol in solution at 112 K. Temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy in the temperature ranges of 210–300 K (neat liquid), 120–300 K (pentane solution), and 200–293 K (dichloromethane solution) also indicates that the axial conformer is favored over the equatorial one by 0.25(5), 0.22(5), and 0.28(5) kcal mol (∆H values), respectively.

Photoionization of three isomers of the C9H7 radical.

Three resonance-stabilized radicals, 1-indenyl (Ind), 1-phenylpropargyl (1PPR), and 3-phenylpropargyl (3PPR), all isomers of the composition C(9)H(7), were generated by jet flash pyrolysis. Their photoionization was examined by VUV synchrotron radiation. The mass spectra show a clean and efficient radical generation when the pyrolysis is turned on. To study the photoionization, photoion yield measurements and threshold photoionization spectroscopy techniques were applied. We determined adiabatic ionization energies (IE(ad)) of 7.53 eV for Ind, 7.20 eV for 3PPR, and 7.4 eV for 1PPR. Ab initio calculations show no major change in geometry upon ionization, in agreement with ionization from a nonbonding molecular orbital. The IEs were also computed and are in agreement with the measured ones. The difference in the IE might allow a distinction of the three isomers in flames. In the indenyl spectrum, an excited a(+) (3)B(2) state of the cation was identified at 8.10 eV, which shows a low-energy vibrational progression of 61 meV. Furthermore, we have examined the dissociative photoionization of the precursors. The indenyl precursor, 1-indenyl bromide, undergoes dissociative photoionization to Ind(+). An appearance energy (AE(0K)) of 10.2 eV was obtained from fitting the experimental breakdown diagram. A binding energy of 1.8 eV can thus be determined for the C-Br bond in 1-indenyl bromide. The phenylpropargyl precursors 1PPBr (1-phenylpropargyl bromide/3-phenyl-3-bromopropyne) and 3PPBr (3-phenylpropargyl bromide/1-phenyl-3-bromopropyne) also lose a bromine atom upon dissociative photoionization. Approximate appearance energies of 9.8 eV for 3PPBr and 9.3 eV for 1PPBr have been determined.

Elucidating the Thermal Decomposition of Dimethyl Methylphosphonate by Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV) Photoionization: Pathways to the PO Radical, a Key Species in Flame‐Retardant Mechanisms

The production of phosphoryl species (PO, PO2, HOPO) is believed to be of great importance for efficient flame-retardant action in the gas phase. We present a detailed investigation of the thermal decomposition of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) probed by vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) synchrotron radiation and imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence (iPEPICO) spectroscopy. This technique provides a snapshot of the thermolysis process and direct evidence of how the reactive phosphoryl species are generated during heat exposure. One of the key findings of this work is that only PO is formed in high concentration upon DMMP decomposition, whereas PO2 is absent. It can be concluded that the formation of PO2 needs an oxidative environment, which is typically the case in a real flame. Based on the identification of products such as methanol, formaldehyde, and PO, as well as the intermediates O=P-CH3, H2C=P-OH, and H2C=P(=O)H, supported by quantum chemical calculations, we were able to describe the predominant pathways that lead to active phosphoryl species during the thermal decomposition of DMMP.

On the dissociation of the naphthalene radical cation: new iPEPICO and tandem mass spectrometry results.

The dissociation of the naphthalene radical cation has been reinvestigated here by a combination of tandem mass spectrometry and imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy (iPEPICO). Six reactions were explored: (R1) C(10)H(8)(•+) → C(10)H(7)(+) + H (m/z = 127); (R2) C(10)H(8)(•+) → C(8)H(6)(•+) + C(2)H(2) (m/z = 102); (R3) C(10)H(8)(•+) → C(6)H(6)(•+) + C(4)H(2) (m/z = 78); (R4) C(10)H(8)(•+) → C(10)H(6)(•+) + H(2) (m/z = 126); (R5) C(10)H(7)(+) → C(6)H(5)(+) + C(4)H(2) (m/z = 77); (R6) C(10)H(7)(+) → C(10)H(6)(•+) + H (m/z = 126). The E(0) activation energies for the reactions deduced from the present measurements are (in eV) 4.20 ± 0.04 (R1), 4.12 ± 0.05 (R2), 4.27 ± 0.07 (R3), 4.72 ± 0.06 (R4), 3.69 ± 0.26 (R5), and 3.20 ± 0.13 (R6). The corresponding entropies of activation, ΔS(‡)(1000K), derived in the present study are (in J K(-1) mol(-1)) 2 ± 2 (R1), 0 ± 2 (R2), 4 ± 4 (R3), 11 ± 4 (R4), 5 ± 15 (R5), and -19 ± 11 (R6). The derived E(0) value, combined with the previously reported IE of naphthalene (8.1442 eV) results in an enthalpy of formation for the naphthyl cation, Δ(f)H°(0K) = 1148 ± 14 kJ mol(-1)/Δ(f)H°(298K) = 1123 ± 14 kJ mol(-1) (site of dehydrogenation unspecified), slightly lower than the previous estimate by Gotkis and co-workers. The derived E(0) for the second H-loss leads to a Δ(f)H° for ion 7, the cycloprop[a]indene radical cation, of Δ(f)H°(0K) =1457 ± 27 kJ mol(-1)/Δ(f)H°(298K)(C(10)H(6)(+)) = 1432 ± 27 kJ mol(-1). Detailed comparisons are provided with values (experimental and theoretical) available in the literature.

Unimolecular Reaction Mechanism of an Imidazolin‐2‐ylidene: An iPEPICO Study on the Complex Dissociation of an Arduengo‐Type Carbene

The photoionization and dissociative photoionization of Im(iPr)2, 1,3-diisopropylimidazolin-2-ylidene, was investigated by imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence (iPEPICO) with vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) synchrotron radiation. A lone-pair electron of the carbene carbon atom is removed upon ionization and the molecular geometry changes significantly. Only 0.5 eV above the adiabatic ionization energy, IEad =7.52±0.1 eV, the carbene cation fragments, yielding propene or a methyl radical in parallel dissociation reactions with appearance energies of 8.22 and 8.17 eV, respectively. Both reaction channels appear at almost the same photon energy, suggesting a shared transition state. This is confirmed by calculations, which reveal the rate-determining step as hydrogen-atom migration from the isopropyl group to the carbene carbon center forming a resonance-stabilized imidazolium ion. Above 10.5 eV, analogous sequential dissociation channels open up. The first propene-loss fragment ion dissociates further and another methyl or propene is abstracted. Again, a resonance-stabilized imidazolium ion acts as intermediate. The aromaticity of the system is enhanced even in vertical ionization. Indeed, the coincidence technique confirms that a real imidazolium ion is produced by hydrogen transfer over a small barrier. The simple analysis of the breakdown diagram yields all the clues to disentangle the complex dissociative photoionization mechanism of this intermediate-sized molecule. Photoelectron photoion coincidence is a promising tool to unveil the fragmentation mechanism of larger molecules in mass spectrometry.