Fedor Y. Naumkin

Binding in the Ar–I2(X1Σ Complex: A Challenge for Theory and Experiment

New high-level ab initio calculations for ArI and ArI(2) are reported and compared with experimental data. For the directly calculated potential energy surface (PES), the bond dissociation energies D(0) values for both linear (L) and T-shaped (T) conformers of Ar-I(2) are found to be significantly larger (D(0)(L)≈197 and D0 (T)≈181 cm(-1) ) than deduced from recent experimental data. A further DIM-based correction is successfully tested for Ar-Cl(2) (the PES of which is shown in the picture) and predicts intervals D(0)(L)≈250±8 and D(0)(T)≈242±11 cm(-1) for Ar-I(2), which matches earlier experimental results.

Surface aligned photochemistry: Photodissociation of Cl2 and Cl2⋯Cl adsorbed on LiF(001)

Photodissociation of chlorine adsorbed on a LiF(001) surface at 25–70 K has been investigated by means of angularly resolved resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization spectroscopy (REMPI). The translational-energy distributions and angular distributions for forming Cl(g) photofragments were determined. Photolysis was performed employing 351 nm radiation, with laser pulse energies of 0.3–1.2 mJ/cm2. A peak in the translational energy of Cl(g) at about 0.4 eV was identified as being due to the direct photodissociation of the Cl2(ad) molecule by 3.5 eV photons. Particular interest attached to the observation of a further channel (termed “A”) for photodissociation leading to Cl(g) with translational energy peaking at ∼1 eV and extending to 1.5 eV. The available photon energy renders it highly unlikely that this “high-energy” Cl(g) originates in Cl2(ad). Channel A had the same linear dependence of Cl-atom flux on laser pulse-energy as did the lower energy (0.4 eV) channel, termed “B,” but differed from it in ...

Dynamics of harpooning studied by transition state spectroscopy. Part III. Li...FCH3.

The Van der Waals complex Li...FCH3 has been formed in a crossed molecular beam apparatus. The transition state (TS) for the reaction Li*(2p 2P) + FCH3-->LiF + CH3 was accessed at various configurations by laser-excitation of the Li...FCH3 complex by tunable visible radiation, lambda 1. Photoinduced depletion of the complex by excitation to this TS was found to occur across a broad range of lambda 1 from 570 to 850 nm. This action spectrum consisted of two broad regions located to either side of the atomic transition line of Li (2p 2P<--2s 2S). The first region, between 700 and 850 nm, was dominated by sharp maxima in the depletion intensity. A broad peak with weakly-resolved structure characterized the second region, between 570 and 680 nm. These findings were interpreted by means of high-level ab initio calculations of the potential-energy surfaces in the TS region. The peaks in the photodepletion spectrum were assigned to specific electronic transitions, their shapes and intensities being explained in terms of calculated transition-dipole moments and rovibrational wavefunctions.

Photoinduced charge-transfer reaction at surfaces. Part I. (HCl)m··Nan/LiF(001)+hν (640 nm)→(HCl)m−1Cl−Nan+/LiF(001)+H(g)

A sub-monolayer of atomic sodium, Nan, was deposited on LiF(001) at 50 K and characterized by temperature-programmed desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and titration with HCl. The Nan was dosed with HCl to form (HCl)m..Nan/LiF(001), which was then irradiated by 640 nm laser-radiation to induce a charge-transfer (CT) reaction. Reaction-product atomic H(g) was observed leaving the surface, by two-color Rydberg-atom time-of-flight (TOF) spectroscopy. These H-atoms gave evidence of arising from the photoinduced harpooning reaction between the sodium clusters, Nan, on the substrate, and (HCl)m adsorbed on the Nan. The translational energy distribution, its vibrational structure, and the angular distribution of H(g) gave information regarding the harpooning event. Translationally and vibrationally excited HCl(g) was shown, by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI), to be formed as an alternate product; by way of (HCl)m..Nan/LiF(001) + 602 nm-->(HCl)m - 1 Nan/LiF(001) + HCl(g)(v > or = 0).