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1. Partial Photoionization Cross Sections of Chromium from the Ground and Excited States

   https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms8030051  

   Zatsarinny, Oleg ; Tayal, Swaraj ( September 2020 , Atoms)

   Partial and total photoionization cross sections of iron-peak elements are important for the determination of abundances in late-type stars and nebular objects. We have investigated photoionization of neutral chromium from the ground and excited states in the low energy region from the first ionization threshold at 6.77 eV to 30 eV. Accurate descriptions of the initial bound states of Cr I and the final residual Cr II ionic states have been obtained in the multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock method together with adjustable configuration expansions and term-dependent non-orthogonal orbitals. The B-spline R-matrix method has been used for the calculation of photoionization cross sections. The 194 LS final ionic states of Cr II 3d44s, 3d34s2, 3d5, 3d44p, and 3d34s4p principal configurations have been included in the close-coupling expansion. The inclusion of all terms of these configurations has significant impact on the near-threshold resonance structures as well as on the nonresonant background cross sections. Total photoionization cross sections from the ground 3d54sa7S and excited 3d54sa5S, 3d44s2a5D, 3d54pz5P, and 3d44s4py5P states of Cr I have been compared with other available R-matrix calculation to estimate the likely uncertainties in photoionization cross sections. We analyzed the partial photoionization cross sections for leaving the residual ion in various statesmore »to identify the important scattering channels, and noted that 3d electron ionization channel becomes dominant at higher energies.« less
2. ΔK =0 M1 Excitation Strength of the Well-Deformed Nucleus 164Dy from K Mixing

   T. Beck, V. Werner ( August 2020 , Physical review letters)

   The size of a ΔK ¼ 0 M1 excitation strength has been determined for the first time in a predominantly axially deformed even-even nucleus. It has been obtained from the observation of a rare K-mixing situation between two close-lying Jπ ¼ 1þ states of the nucleus 164Dy with components characterized by intrinsic projection quantum numbers K ¼ 0 and K ¼ 1. Nuclear resonance fluorescence induced by quasimonochromatic linearly polarized γ-ray beams provided evidence for K mixing of the 1þ states at 3159.1(3) and 3173.6(3) keV in excitation energy from their γ-decay branching ratios into the ground-state band. The ΔK ¼ 0 transition strength of BðM1; 0 þ 1 → 1 þ K¼0 Þ ¼ 0.008ð1Þμ2 N was inferred from a mixing analysis of their M1 transition rates into the ground-state band. It is in agreement with predictions from the quasiparticle phonon nuclear model. This determination represents first experimental information on the M1 excitation strength of a nuclear quantum state with a negative R-symmetry quantum number.
3. Quantum electronic control on chemical activation of methane by collision with spin–orbit state selected vanadium cation

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D0CP04333H  

   Ng, Cheuk-Yiu ; Xu, Yuntao ; Chang, Yih-Chung ; Wannenmacher, Anna ; Parziale, Matthew ; Armentrout, P. B. ( January 2021 , Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   By coupling a newly developed quantum-electronic-state-selected supersonically cooled vanadium cation (V + ) beam source with a double quadrupole-double octopole (DQDO) ion–molecule reaction apparatus, we have investigated detailed absolute integral cross sections ( σ 's) for the reactions, V + [a 5 D J ( J = 0, 2), a 5 F J ( J = 1, 2), and a 3 F J ( J = 2, 3)] + CH 4 , covering the center-of-mass collision energy range of E cm = 0.1–10.0 eV. Three product channels, VH + + CH 3 , VCH 2 + + H 2 , and VCH 3 + + H, are unambiguously identified based on E cm -threshold measurements. No J -dependences for the σ curves ( σ versus E cm plots) of individual electronic states are discernible, which may indicate that the spin–orbit coupling is weak and has little effect on chemical reactivity. For all three product channels, the maximum σ values for the triplet a 3 F J state [ σ (a 3 F J )] are found to be more than ten times larger than those for the quintet σ (a 5 D J ) and σ (a 5 F Jmore ») states, showing that a reaction mechanism favoring the conservation of total electron spin. Without performing a detailed theoretical study, we have tentatively interpreted that a weak quintet-to-triplet spin crossing is operative for the activation reaction. The σ (a 5 D 0 , a 5 F 1 , and a 3 F 2) measurements for the VH + , VCH 2 + , and VCH 3 + product ion channels along with accounting of the kinetic energy distribution due to the thermal broadening effect for CH 4 have allowed the determination of the 0 K bond dissociation energies: D 0 (V + –H) = 2.02 (0.05) eV, D 0 (V + –CH 2 ) = 3.40 (0.07) eV, and D 0 (V + –CH 3 ) = 2.07 (0.09) eV. Detailed branching ratios of product ion channels for the titled reaction have also been reported. Excellent simulations of the σ curves obtained previously for V + generated by surface ionization at 1800–2200 K can be achieved by the linear combination of the σ (a 5 D J , a 5 F J , and a 3 F J ) curves weighted by the corresponding Boltzmann populations of the electronic states. In addition to serving as a strong validation of the thermal equilibrium assumption for the populations of the V + electronic states in the hot filament ionization source, the agreement between these results also confirmed that the V + (a 5 D J , a 5 F J , and a 3 F J ) states prepared in this experiment are in single spin–orbit states with 100% purity.« less
4. Experimental study of the proton-transfer reaction C + H ₂ ⁺ → CH ⁺ + H and its isotopic variant (D ₂ ⁺ )

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D0CP04810K  

   Hillenbrand, Pierre-Michel ; Bowen, Kyle P. ; Dayou, Fabrice ; Miller, Kenneth A. ; de Ruette, Nathalie ; Urbain, Xavier ; Savin, Daniel W. ( December 2020 , Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics)

   We report absolute integral cross section (ICS) measurements using a dual-source merged-fast-beams apparatus to study the titular reactions over the relative translational energy range of E r ∼ 0.01–10 eV. We used photodetachment of C − to produce a pure beam of atomic C in the ground electronic 3 P term, with statistically populated fine-structure levels. The H 2 + and D 2 + were formed in an electron impact ionization source, with well known vibrational and rotational distributions. The experimental work is complemented by a theoretical study of the CH 2 + electronic system in the reactant and product channels, which helps to clarify the possible reaction mechanisms underlying the ICS measurements. Our measurements provide evidence that the reactions are barrierless and exoergic. They also indicate the apparent absence of an intermolecular isotope effect, to within the total experimental uncertainties. Capture models, taking into account either the charge-induced dipole interaction potential or the combined charge-quadrupole and charge-induced dipole interaction potentials, produce reaction cross sections that lie a factor of ∼4 above the experimental results. Based on our theoretical study, we hypothesize that the reaction is most likely to proceed adiabatically through the 1 4 A′ and 1 4 A′′more »states of CH 2 + via the reaction C( 3 P) + H 2 + ( 2 Σ+g) → CH + ( 3 Π) + H( 2 S). We also hypothesize that at low collision energies only H 2 + ( v ≤ 2) and D 2 + ( v ≤ 3) contribute to the titular reactions, due to the onset of dissociative charge transfer for higher vibrational v levels. Incorporating these assumptions into the capture models brings them into better agreement with the experimental results. Still, for energies ≲0.1 eV where capture models are most relevant, the modified charge-induced dipole model yields reaction cross sections with an incorrect energy dependence and lying ∼10% below the experimental results. The capture cross section obtained from the combined charge-quadrupole and charge-induced dipole model better matches the measured energy dependence but lies ∼30–50% above the experimental results. These findings provide important guidance for future quasiclassical trajectory and quantum mechanical treatments of this reaction.« less
5. Insights into the charge-transfer character of electronic transitions in ^R Cp ₂ Ti(C ₂ Fc) ₂ complexes using solvatochromism, resonance Raman spectroscopy, and TDDFT

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d0dt04282j  

   Carlton, Elizabeth S. ; Sutton, Joshua J. ; Gale, Ariel G. ; Shields, George C. ; Gordon, Keith C. ; Wagenknecht, Paul S. ( February 2021 , Dalton Transactions)

   A series of complexes with low-energy Fe II to Ti IV metal-to-metal charge-transfer (MMCT) transitions, Cp 2 Ti(C 2 Fc) 2 , Cp* 2 Ti(C 2 Fc) 2 , and MeOOC Cp 2 Ti(C 2 Fc) 2 , was investigated using solvatochromism and resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS) augmented with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations in order to interrogate the nature of the CT transitions. Computational models were benchmarked against the experimental UV-Vis spectra and B3LYP/6-31G(d) was found to most faithfully represent the spectra. The energy of the MMCT transition was measured in 15 different solvents and a multivariate fit to the Catalán solvent parameters – solvent polarizability (SP), solvent dipolarity (SdP), solvent basicity (SB), and solvent acidity (SA) – was performed. The effect of SP indicates a greater degree of electron delocalization in the excited state (ES) than the ground state (GS). The small negative solvatochromism with respect to SdP indicates a smaller dipole moment in the ES than the GS. The effect of SB is consistent with charge-transfer to Ti. Upon excitation into the MMCT absorption band, the RRS data show enhancement of the alkyne stretching modes and of the out-of-plane bending modes of the cyclopentadienyl ring connectedmore »to Fe and the alkyne bridge. This is consistent with changes in the oxidation states of Ti and Fe, respectively. The higher-energy transitions (350–450 nm) show enhancement of vibrational modes consistent with ethnylcyclopentadienyl to Ti ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT). The RRS data is consistent with the TDDFT predicted character of these transitions. TDDFT suggests that the lowest-energy transition in Cp 2 Ti(C 2 Fc) 2 CuI, where CuI is coordinated between the alkynes, retains its Fe II to Ti IV MMCT character, in agreement with the RRS data, but that the lowest-energy transitions have significant CuI to Ti character. For Cp 2 Ti(C 2 Fc) 2 CuI, excitation into the low-energy MMCT absorption band results in selective enhancement of the symmetric alkynyl stretching mode.« less