Musahid Ahmed

Selective detection of Isomers with Photoionization mass spectrometry for studies of hydrocarbon flame chemistry

We report the first use of synchrotron radiation, continuously tunable from 8 to 15 eV, for flame-sampling photoionization mass spectrometry (PIMS). Synchrotron radiation offers important advantages over the use of pulsed vacuum ultraviolet lasers for PIMS; these include superior signal-to-noise, soft ionization, and access to photon energies outside the limited tuning ranges of current VUV laser sources. Near-threshold photoionization efficiency measurements were used to determine the absolute concentrations of the allene and propyne isomers of C3H4 in low-pressure laminar ethylene–oxygen and benzene–oxygen flames. Similar measurements of the isomeric composition of C2H4O species in a fuel-rich ethylene–oxygen flame revealed the presence of substantial concentrations of ethenol (vinyl alcohol) and acetaldehyde. Ethenol has not been previously detected in hydrocarbon flames. Absolute photoionization cross sections were measured for ethylene, allene, propyne, and acetaldehyde, using propene as a calibration standard. PIE curves are presented for several additional reaction intermediates prominent in hydrocarbon flames.

Photoionization mass spectrometer for studies of flame chemistry with a synchrotron light source

A flame-sampling molecular-beam photoionization mass spectrometer, recently designed and constructed for use with a synchrotron-radiation light source, provides significant improvements over previous molecular-beam mass spectrometers that have employed either electron-impact ionization or vacuum ultraviolet laser photoionization. These include superior signal-to-noise ratio, soft ionization, and photon energies easily and precisely tunable [E∕ΔE(FWHM)≈250–400] over the 7.8–17-eV range required for quantitative measurements of the concentrations and isomeric compositions of flame species. Mass resolution of the time-of-flight mass spectrometer is m∕Δm=400 and sensitivity reaches ppm levels. The design of the instrument and its advantages for studies of flame chemistry are discussed.

The Multiplexed Chemical Kinetic Photoionization Mass Spectrometer: A New Approach To Isomer-resolved Chemical Kinetics

We have developed a multiplexed time- and photon-energy-resolved photoionization mass spectrometer for the study of the kinetics and isomeric product branching of gas phase, neutral chemical reactions. The instrument utilizes a side-sampled flow tube reactor, continuously tunable synchrotron radiation for photoionization, a multimass double-focusing mass spectrometer with 100% duty cycle, and a time- and position-sensitive detector for single ion counting. This approach enables multiplexed, universal detection of molecules with high sensitivity and selectivity. In addition to measurement of rate coefficients as a function of temperature and pressure, different structural isomers can be distinguished based on their photoionization efficiency curves, providing a more detailed probe of reaction mechanisms. The multiplexed three-dimensional data structure (intensity as a function of molecular mass, reaction time, and photoionization energy) provides insights that might not be available in serial acquisition, as well as additional constraints on data interpretation.

Electronic Structure and Spectroscopy of Nucleic Acid Bases: Ionization Energies, Ionization-Induced Structural Changes, and Photoelectron Spectra

We report high-level ab initio calculations and single-photon ionization mass spectrometry study of ionization of adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). For thymine and adenine, only the lowest-energy tautomers were considered, whereas for cytosine and guanine we characterized the five lowest-energy tautomeric forms. The first adiabatic and several vertical ionization energies were computed using the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method for ionization potentials with single and double substitutions. Equilibrium structures of the cationic ground states were characterized by DFT with the ωB97X-D functional. The ionization-induced geometry changes of the bases are consistent with the shapes of the corresponding molecular orbitals. For the lowest-energy tautomers, the magnitude of the structural relaxation decreases in the following series, G > C > A > T, the respective relaxation energies being 0.41, 0.32, 0.25, and 0.20 eV. The computed adiabatic ionization energies (8.13, 8.89, 8.51-8.67, and 7.75-7.87 eV for A, T, C, and G, respectively) agree well with the onsets of the photoionization efficiency (PIE) curves (8.20 ± 0.05, 8.95 ± 0.05, 8.60 ± 0.05, and 7.75 ± 0.05 eV). Vibrational progressions for the S(0)-D(0) vibronic bands computed within double-harmonic approximation with Duschinsky rotations are compared with previously reported experimental photoelectron spectra and differentiated PIE curves.

UV photodissociation of oxalyl chloride yields four fragments from one photon absorption

The photodissociation of oxalyl chloride, (ClCO)2, has been studied near 235 nm using the photofragment imaging technique. Observed products include both ground state Cl (2P3/2) and spin-orbit excited Cl*(2P1/2) chlorine atoms and ground electronic state CO molecules. The rotational distribution obtained for the CO v=0 product is peaked at about J=30 and extends beyond J=50. Photofragment images were recorded for both chlorine atom fine structure components as well as many rotational levels of the CO v=0, yielding state-resolved angular and translational energy distributions. The recoil speed distribution for the Cl* exhibits a dominant fast component, with a translational energy distribution peaking at about 48 kJ/mol. The ground state chlorine atom showed two components in its speed distribution, with the slow component dominant. The corresponding translational energy distribution peaked at 10 kJ/mol but extended to 80 kJ/mol. The total average translational energy release into the Cl product is 34 kJ/m...

Crossed-beam reaction of O(1D)+D2→OD+D by velocity map imaging

Abstract The technique of velocity map imaging [Eppink and Parker, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 68 (1997) 3477] has been applied to the reaction O(1D)+D2→OD+D under single-collision conditions in crossed molecular beams at a collision energy (Ecoll) of 2.4 kcal/mol. Images of the reactively scattered D-atom product were recorded, yielding the full double differential cross-sections (energy and angle) for the reaction. The translational energy and angular distributions are observed to be strongly coupled, with the forward-scattered products showing the largest translational energy release and the sideways-scattered products the lowest translational energy release.

Coherence in polyatomic photodissociation: Aligned O(3P) from photodissociation of NO2 at 212.8 nm

Strong orbital alignment is observed in the ground-state oxygen atom following photodissociation of NO2 at 212.8 nm using ion imaging. The imaging method allows for investigation of the angular distribution of this alignment, providing insight into the dynamics in the frame of the molecule. The results are analyzed using a rigorous quantum mechanical theory yielding alignment parameters having direct physical significance. This alignment is dominated by a strong incoherent parallel contribution. In addition, the results reveal direct evidence of coherence between parallel and perpendicular contributions to the excitation of a polyatomic molecule, showing that the electron cloud in the recoiling atom “remembers” the original molecular plane.

Untangling the chemical evolution of Titan's atmosphere and surface–from homogeneous to heterogeneous chemistry

In this article, we first explored the chemical dynamics of simple diatomic radicals (dicarbon, methylidyne) utilizing the crossed molecular beams method. This versatile experimental technique can be applied to study reactions relevant to the atmospheres of planets and their moons as long as intense and stable supersonic beam sources of the reactant species exist. By focusing on reactions of dicarbon with hydrogen cyanide, we untangled the contribution of dicarbon in its singlet ground and first excited triplet states. These results were applied to understand and re-analyze the data of crossed beam reactions of the isoelectronic dicarbon plus acetylene reaction. Further, we investigated the interaction of ionizing radiation in form of energetic electrons with organic molecules ethane and propane sequestered on Titans surface. These experiments presented compelling evidence that even at irradiation exposures equivalent to about 44 years on Titans surface, aliphatic like organic residues can be produced on Titans surface with thicknesses up to 1.5 m. Finally, we investigated how Titans nascent chemical inventory can be altered by an external influx of matter as supplied by (micro)meteorites and possibly comets. For this, we simulated the ablation process in Titans atmosphere, which can lead to ground and electronically excited atoms of, for instance, the principal constituents of silicates like iron, silicon, and magnesium, in laboratory experiments. By ablating silicon species and seeding the ablated species in acetylene carrier gas, which also acts as a reactant, we produced organo silicon species, which were then photoionized utilizing tunable VUV radiation from the Advanced Light Source. In combination with electronic structure calculations, the structures and ionization energies of distinct organo-silicon species were elucidated.

Chemical Dynamics, Molecular Energetics, and Kinetics at the Synchrotron

Scientists at the Chemical Dynamics Beamline of the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley are continuously reinventing synchrotron investigations of physical chemistry and chemical physics with vacuum ultraviolet light. One of the unique aspects of a synchrotron for chemical physics research is the widely tunable vacuum ultraviolet light that permits threshold ionization of large molecules with minimal fragmentation. This provides novel opportunities to assess molecular energetics and reaction mechanisms, even beyond simple gas phase molecules. In this perspective, significant new directions utilizing the capabilities at the Chemical Dynamics Beamline are presented, along with an outlook for future synchrotron and free electron laser science in chemical dynamics. Among the established and emerging fields of investigations are cluster and biological molecule spectroscopy and structure, combustion flame chemistry mechanisms, radical kinetics and product isomer dynamics, aerosol heterogeneous chemistry, planetary and interstellar chemistry, and secondary neutral ion-beam desorption imaging of biological matter and materials chemistry.

Spectroscopic signatures of proton transfer dynamics in the water dimer cation.

Using full-dimensional EOM-IP-CCSD/aug-cc-pVTZ potential energy surfaces, the photoelectron spectrum, vibrational structure, and ionization dynamics of the water dimer radical cation, (H(2)O)(2) (+), were computed. We also report an experimental photoelectron spectrum which is derived from photoionization efficiency measurements and compares favorably with the theoretical spectrum. The vibrational structure is also compared to the recent experimental work of Gardenier et al. [J. Phys. Chem. A 113, 4772 (2009)] and the recent theoretical calculations by Cheng et al. [J. Phys. Chem. A 113, 13779 (2009)]. A reduced-dimensionality nuclear Hamiltonian was used to compute the ionization dynamics for both the ground state and first excited state of the cation. The dynamics show markedly different behavior and spectroscopic signatures depending on which state of the cation is accessed by the ionization. Ionization to the ground state cation surface induces a hydrogen transfer which is complete within 50 fs, whereas ionization to the first excited state results in a much slower process.