The velocity and angular distributions of O (1)D photofragments arising from UV excitation of the CH2OO intermediate on the B (1)A' ← X (1)A' transition are characterized using velocity map ion imaging. The anisotropic angular distribution yields the orientation of the transition dipole moment, which reflects the π∗ ← π character of the electronic transition associated with the COO group. The total kinetic energy release distributions obtained at several photolysis wavelengths provide detail on the internal energy distribution of the formaldehyde cofragments and the dissociation energy of CH2OO X (1)A' to O (1)D + H2CO X (1)A1. A common termination of the total kinetic energy distributions, after accounting for the different excitation energies, gives an upper limit for the CH2OO X (1)A' dissociation energy of D0 ≤ 54 kcal mol(-1), which is compared with theoretical predictions including high level multi-reference ab initio calculations.

Electronic quenching of OH A (2)Σ(+) by Kr was investigated through experimental studies of the collision cross sections and the OH X (2)Π product state distribution. The quenching cross sections decrease with increasing rotational excitation in the excited OH A (2)Σ(+) electronic state. The OH X (2)Π products of quenching exhibit a significant degree of rotational excitation but minimal vibrational excitation. Complementary theoretical studies of the OH (A (2)Σ(+), X (2)Π) + Kr potential energy surfaces (PESs), nonadiabatic coupling, and quasiclassical trajectory calculations were carried out to elucidate the quenching dynamics. Accurate PESs for the two lowest diabatic states of A' symmetry were computed along with the angularly dependent coupling between them. Coupling in nearly linear HO-Kr configurations provides the mechanism for the observed electronic quenching. A deep attractive well on the OH A (2)Σ(+) + Kr PES facilitates access to this region of strong coupling. Surface-hopping quasiclassical trajectory calculations yielded quenching cross sections and a OH X (2)Π product rotational distribution in good accord with experimental observations.

We report joint experimental and theoretical studies of outcomes resulting from the nonreactive quenching of electronically excited OD A  (2)Σ(+) by H(2). The experiments utilize a pump-probe technique to detect the OD X  (2)Π product state distribution under single collision conditions. The OD X  (2)Π products are observed primarily in their lowest vibrational state (v(") = 0) with substantially less population in v(") = 1. The OD X  (2)Π products are generated with a high degree of rotational excitation, peaking at N(") = 21 with an average rotational energy of 4600 cm(-1), and a strong propensity for populating the Π(A(')) Λ-doublet component indicative of alignment of the half-filled pπ orbital in the plane of OD rotation. Branching fraction measurements show that the nonreactive channel accounts for less than 20% of quenching outcomes. Complementary classical trajectory calculations of the postquenching dynamics are initiated from representative points along seams of conical intersections between the ground and excited-state potentials of OD(A  (2)Σ(+),X  (2)Π) + H(2). Diabatic modeling of the initial momenta in the dynamical calculations captures the key experimental trends: OD X  (2)Π products released primarily in their ground vibrational state with extensive rotational excitation and a branching ratio that strongly favors reactive quenching. The OD A  (2)Σ(+) + H(2) results are also compared with previous studies on the quenching of OH A  (2)Σ(+) + H(2); the two experimental studies show remarkably similar rotational energy distributions for the OH and OD X  (2)Π radical products.

A novel pulsed anion source has been developed, using plasma entrainment into a supersonic expansion. A pulsed discharge source perpendicular to the main gas expansion greatly reduces unwanted "heating" of the main expansion, a major setback in many pulsed anion sources in use today. The design principles and construction information are described and several examples demonstrate the range of applicability of this anion source. Large OH(-)(Ar)n clusters can be generated, with over 40 Ar solvating OH(-). The solvation energy of OH(-)(Ar)n, where n = 1-3, 7, 12, and 18, is derived from photoelectron spectroscopy and shows that by n = 12-18, each Ar is bound by about 10 meV. In addition, cis- and trans- HOCO(-) are generated through rational anion synthesis (OH(-) + CO + M → HOCO(-) + M) and the photoelectron spectra compared with previous results. These results, along with several further proof-of-principle experiments on solvation and transient anion synthesis, demonstrate the ability of this source to efficiently produce cold anions. With modifications to two standard General Valve assemblies and very little maintenance, this anion source provides a versatile and straightforward addition to a wide array of experiments.

The H- and D-atom products from collisional quenching of OD A (2)Σ(+) by H(2) are characterized through Doppler spectroscopy using two-photon (2 (2)S ←← 1 (2)S) laser-induced fluorescence. Partial deuteration enables separation of the channel forming H + HOD products, which accounts for 75% of reactive quenching events, from the D + H(2)O product channel. The Doppler profiles, along with those reported previously for other isotopic variants, are transformed into product translational energy distributions using a robust fitting procedure based on discrete velocity basis functions. The product translational energy distribution for the H-atom channel is strongly peaked at low energy (below 0.5 eV) with a long tail extending to the energetic limit. By contrast, the D-atom channel exhibits a small peak at low translational energy with a distinctive secondary peak at higher translational energy (approximately 1.8 eV) before falling off to higher energy. In both cases, most of the available energy flows into internal excitation of the water products. Similar distributions are obtained upon reanalysis of D- and H-atom Doppler profiles, respectively, from reactive quenching of OH A (2)Σ(+) by D(2). The sum of the translational energy distributions for H- and D-atom channels is remarkably similar to that obtained for OH A (2)Σ(+) + H(2), where the two channels cannot be distinguished from one another. The product translational energy distributions from reactive quenching are compared with those obtained from a previous experiment performed at higher collision energy, quasiclassical trajectory calculations of the post-quenching dynamics, and a statistical model.

The anion photoelectron spectra of ortho-, meta-, and para-methylphenoxide, as well as methyl deprotonated meta-methylphenol, were measured. Using the Slow Electron Velocity Map Imaging (SEVI) technique, the Electron Affinities (EAs) of the o-, m-, and p-methylphenoxyl radicals were measured: 2.1991 ± 0.0014, 2.2177 ± 0.0014, and 2.1199 ± 0.0014 eV, respectively. The EA of mmethylenephenol was also obtained, 1.024 ± 0.008 eV. In all four cases, the dominant vibrational progressions observed are due to several ring distortion vibrational normal modes that were activated upon photodetachment, leading to vibrational progressions spaced by ~500 cm -1 . Using the

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We report the negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy of the hydroxymethoxide anion, H2C(OH)O−. The photoelectron spectra show that 3.49 eV photodetachment produces two distinct electronic states of the neutral hydroxymethoxy radical (H2C(OH)O⋅). The H2C(OH)O⋅ ground state (X̃ 2A) photoelectron spectrum exhibits a vibrational progression consisting primarily of the OCO symmetric and asymmetric stretches, the OCO bend, as well as combination bands involving these modes with other, lower frequency modes. A high-resolution photoelectron spectrum aids in the assignment of several vibrational frequencies of the neutral H2C(OH)O⋅ radical, including an experimental determination of the H2C(OH)O⋅ 2ν12 overtone of the H–OCO torsional vibration as 220(10) cm−1. The electron affinity of H2C(OH)O⋅ is determined to be 2.220(2) eV. The low-lying Ã 2A excited state is also observed, with a spectrum that peaks ∼0.8 eV above the X̃ 2A state origin. The Ã 2A state photoelectron spectrum is a broad, partially resolved band. Quantum chemical calculations and photoelectron simulations aid in the interpretation of the photoelectron spectra. In addition, the gas phase acidity of methanediol is calculated to be 366(2) kcal mol−1, which results in an OH bond dissociation energy, D0(H2C(OH)O–H), of 104(2) kcal mol−1, using the experimentally determined electron affinity of the hydroxymethoxy radical.