Jörg Lindner

Ultrafast Raman-induced Kerr-effect of water: Single molecule versus collective motions

The ultrafast optical Kerr-response of water and heavy water has been measured at 1 bar in the temperature range between 273 and 373 K. The nuclear Kerr response of the liquid exhibits a pronounced double exponential decay on longer time scales after dephasing of impulsively perturbed acoustic modes is completed. The time constant, τ2, characterizing the slowly decaying exponential component of the Kerr-response function is in quantitative agreement with rotational diffusion time constants of the water molecules obtained form nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin-lattice relaxation rates. A detailed comparison with THz time domain spectroscopy demonstrates that the reorientational dynamics responsible for the long time tail of the Kerr response are due to single molecule as opposed to collective effects. Furthermore, a good agreement between the single molecule rotational diffusion and the Stokes–Einstein–Debye equation is found in the temperature range of thermodynamic stability of the liquid. The time c...

OD stretch vibrational relaxation of HOD in liquid to supercritical H2O

The population relaxation of the OD stretching vibration of HOD diluted in H(2)O is studied by time-resolved infrared pump-probe spectroscopy for temperatures between 278 and 663 K in the density range 0.28<or=rho<or=1.01 g/cm(3). Transient spectra recorded after exciting the v=0-->1 OD stretching transition at low temperatures show a delay between excited state decay and formation of the thermalized spectrum pointing to an intermediately populated state. Above 400 K, the rates of excited state decay and ground state recovery become equivalent and the intermediate state is not detectable anymore. Over the entire thermodynamic range, the derived OD stretch relaxation rate constant k(r) depends linearly on the static dielectric constant epsilon of water, indicating a correlation of k(r) with the average hydrogen bond connectivity of HOD within the H(2)O network. However, in contrast to the OH stretch relaxation rate constant of the complementary system of HOD in D(2)O, the low density data of k(r)(epsilon) extrapolate to a nonzero intercept for epsilon-->1. Our analysis suggests that at ambient conditions the OD excited state is mainly depopulated by a direct v=1-->0 transition, avoiding the excited v=1 HOD bending state. Therefore, at room temperature the detected intermediate is assigned to a nonthermalized state with respect to nuclear degrees of freedom of the solvent molecules, and subsequent formation of the final product spectrum is related to a rearrangement of the hydrogen bond network. Passing over to the gas phase the excited OD stretch state shifts into close resonance with the HOD bend overtone, thereby opening up an additional relaxation channel.

Low-frequency depolarized Raman-spectral density of liquid water from femtosecond optical Kerr-effect measurements: Lineshape analysis of restricted translational modes

A high-quality depolarized Raman-spectrum is obtained in the frequency range 0 ⩽ ω ⩽ 600 cm−1 by Fourier-transformation of time-resolved dual-color heterodyne-detected optical Kerr-effect data of liquid water at 0 °C. The time-resolution was sufficient to fully capture the restricted translational and part of the hindered rotational region of the Raman spectrum. This low-temperature spectrum is used to test the applicability of stochastic line broadening theories. A conventional Kubo line shape analysis indicates that restricted translational modes involving hydrogen-bond bending and stretching motions are predominantly in the slow modulation limit at temperatures close to the melting point. However, a pronounced residual fine structure exists which cannot be fully accounted for by the theory in its standard form. Instead, we propose to apply a modified Kubo model based on truncating its continued-fraction representation at a finite order N including a convolution with a quasi-static structural inhomogeneity in the liquid. In particular, a quantitative agreement of our experimental data with such an inhomogeneous N-state random-jump model is interpreted with a discrete size distribution of aggregates which can interconvert on a time scale of about 500 fs by breaking and making of hydrogen bonds.

A laser photolysis/time-resolved Fourier transform infrared emission study of OH(X 2Π,v) produced in the reaction of alkyl radicals with O(3P)

The emission spectra of vibrationally excited hydroxyl radical products formed in the reactions of alkyl radicals with O(3P) atoms are detected using a laser photolysis/time-resolved Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique. For the reaction between oxygen atoms and ethyl, the radicals are produced simultaneously by the 193 nm photolysis of the precursors SO2 and diethyl ketone, respectively. The observed initial OH(v) product vibrational state distribution for the C2H5+O(3P) reaction is 0.18±0.03, 0.23±0.04, 0.29±0.05, 0.23±0.07, and 0.07±0.04 for v=1 to 5, respectively. The population inversion is best explained by a direct abstraction mechanism for this radical–radical reaction. Vibrationally excited hydroxyl radicals are also observed in the O+ethyl, O+n-propyl, and O+i-propyl reactions when using alkyl iodides as precursors of the alkyl radicals, although quantitative detail is not obtained due to competing reaction processes.

On the nature of OH-stretching vibrations in hydrogen-bonded chains : Pump frequency dependent vibrational lifetime

Two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy was carried out on stereoselectively synthesized polyalcohols. Depending upon the stereochemical orientation of their hydroxyl groups, the polyols can either feature linear chains of hydrogen bonds that are stable for extended periods of time or they can display ultrafast dynamics of hydrogen-bond breakage and formation. In the former case, the OH-stretching vibrations and their transition dipoles are substantially coupled, hence prior to vibrational relaxation, the initial OH-stretching excitation is rapidly redistributed among the set of hydroxyl-groups constituting the hydrogen-bonded chain. This redistribution is responsible for an ultrafast loss of memory regarding the frequency of initial excitation and as a result, a pump-frequency independent vibrational lifetime is observed. In contrast, in the latter case, the coupling of the OH-groups and their transition dipoles is much weaker. Therefore, the OH-stretching excitation remains localized on the initially excited oscillator for the time scale of vibrational energy relaxation. As a result inhomogeneous relaxation dynamics with a pump-frequency-dependent lifetime are observed.

Energy relaxation versus spectral diffusion of the OH-stretching vibration of HOD in liquid-to-supercritical deuterated water

The dynamics of vibrational energy relaxation (VER) of the OH-stretching vibration of HOD in liquid-to-supercritical heavy water is studied as a function of temperature and solvent density by femtosecond mid-infrared spectroscopy. Using the dielectric constant of the fluid both, the OH-stretching absorption frequency and the VER rate, can be correlated phenomenologically with the average hydrogen-bond connectivity within the random D2O network. This correlation enables the identification of thermodynamic conditions under which spectral diffusion due to hydrogen-bond breakage/formation is much faster than VER.

Observation of the ν1 OH(OD) stretch of HOI and DOI by Fourier transform infrared emission spectroscopy

The spectra of vibrationally hot HOI formed in the reaction of alkyl iodides with oxygen atoms are observed by Fourier transform infrared emission spectroscopy. The v=1–3 levels of the OH stretch are observed via the Δv=−1 and Δv=−2 sequence bands. The spectrum of DOI is observed by using 2,2,2‐d3‐iodoethane as the precursor in the oxygen atom reaction. The v=1–4 levels of the OD stretch are observed in the Δv=−1 sequence band, and the v=1–5 levels of the OD stretch are observed in Δv=−2. Medium resolution spectra (0.031 cm−1 apodized) are recorded and rotationally analyzed for the ν1 fundamental and 2ν1−ν1 hot band of HOI. An estimate of the HOI ground state structure is made by constraining the OH bond length to its value for HOCl and HOBr and calculating the HOI bond angle and the OI bond length by least squares fit to the ground state rotational constants.

Fourier transform infrared emission study of the mechanism and dynamics of HOI formed in the reaction of alkyl iodides with O(3P)

Vibrationally excited hypoiodous acid (HOI) is observed as a product in the reaction of alkyl iodides with O(3P). Fourier transform infrared emission techniques are used to detect the excited ν1, OH, stretch of the HOI product, to determine the mechanism of HOI production, and to measure the vibrational product state distributions. The HOI product is formed by O atom reaction with two-carbon and larger straight or branched chain alkyl iodides and cyclic alkyl iodides, e.g., C2H5I, n-C3H7I, i-C3H7I, (CH3)3CI, n-C6H13I, and c-C6H11I, but not with CH3I. Experiments with selectively deuterated ethyl iodides provide direct evidence that HOI is formed in a beta-elimination mechanism involving a five-membered ring transition state. The O atom attacks the iodine and then abstracts a hydrogen from the beta carbon during the lifetime of the complex. Time-resolved experiments allow the extraction of nascent vibrational state distributions for the ν1 stretch of HOI (v=1:v=2:v=3) using different alkyl iodides and assu...

From Single Hydrogen Bonds to Extended Hydrogen‐Bond Wires: Low‐Dimensional Model Systems for Vibrational Spectroscopy of Associated Liquids

It is fair to say that if we ever wish to understand the anomalous properties of water, we need to study hydrogen bonds. Such a statement is based on statistical mechanics, which tells us how to calculate the structure and the thermodynamic properties of fluids and dense liquids from the forces between the particles. However, in the case of complex associated liquids, such calculations present a formidable--if not even insurmountable--challenge, which largely reflects our still-limited understanding of the hydrogen-bonding phenomenon itself. More experimental research on hydrogen-bonded systems is required to develop a comprehensive, satisfactory theory for associated liquids. This Review gives an introduction to the latest experimental technique currently being used to study the ultrafast structural dynamics of hydrogen bonds, namely two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy, and its applications to hydrogen-bonded systems of systematically increasing complexity, starting from the single hydrogen bond of a diol to low-dimensional extended networks of stereoselectively synthesized polyalcohols.

Pulse-to-pulse normalization of time-resolved Fourier transform emission experiments in the near infrared

The signal‐to‐noise ratio in a time‐resolved Fourier transform (FT) infrared emission experiment is improved by pulse‐to‐pulse normalization. The signal from the FT spectrometer is normalized by the total infrared fluorescence produced on each laser pulse. A factor of 20 enhancement in signal‐to‐noise ratio is demonstrated with normalization when the fluctuation of the laser pulse energy is the dominant noise source. Applications are discussed pertaining to cases where other noise sources such as detector and amplifier noise cannot be neglected and when information from the time evolution of the spectrum is required.