skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


  • NSF Public Access
  • Search Results
  • Ultrafast 2DIR comparison of rotational energy transfer, isolated binary collision breakdown, and near critical fluctuations in Xe and SF 6 solutions
Title: Ultrafast 2DIR comparison of rotational energy transfer, isolated binary collision breakdown, and near critical fluctuations in Xe and SF 6 solutions
The density dependence of rotational and vibrational energy relaxation (RER and VER) of the N 2 O ν 3 asymmetric stretch in dense gas and supercritical Xe and SF 6 solutions for near critical isotherms is measured by ultrafast 2DIR and infrared pump–probe spectroscopy. 2DIR analysis provides precise measurements of RER at all gas and supercritical solvent densities. An isolated binary collision (IBC) model is sufficient to describe RER for solvent densities ≤ ∼4M where rotational equilibrium is re-established in ∼1.5–2.5 collisions. N 2 O RER is ∼30% more efficient in SF 6 than in Xe due to additional relaxation pathways in SF 6 and electronic factor differences. 2DIR analysis revealed that N 2 O RER exhibits a critical slowing effect in SF 6 at near critical density ( ρ* ∼ 0.8) where the IBC model breaks down. This is attributable to the coupling of critical long-range density fluctuations to the local N 2 O free rotor environment. No such RER critical slowing is observed in Xe because IBC break down occurs much further from the Xe critical point. Many body interactions effectively shield N 2 O from these near critical Xe density fluctuations. The N 2 O ν 3 VER density dependence in SF 6 is different than that seen for RER, indicating a different coupling to the near critical environment than RER. N 2 O ν 3 VER is only about ∼7 times slower than RER in SF 6 . In contrast, almost no VER decay is observed in Xe over 200 ps. This VER solvent difference is due to a vibrationally resonant energy transfer pathway in SF 6 that is not possible for Xe.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2102427
PAR ID:
10418353
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
The Journal of Chemical Physics
Volume:
157
Issue:
17
ISSN:
0021-9606
Page Range / eLocation ID:
174305
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; (, The Journal of Chemical Physics)
    Rotational and vibrational energy relaxation (RER and VER) of N2O embedded in xenon and SF6 environments ranging from the gas phase to the liquid, including the supercritical regime, is studied at a molecular level. Calibrated intermolecular interactions from high-level electronic structure calculations, validated against experiments for the pure solvents, were used to carry out classical molecular dynamics simulations corresponding to experimental state points for near-critical isotherms. The computed RER rates in low-density solvents of krotXe=(3.67±0.25)×1010 s−1 M−1 and krotSF6=(1.25±0.12)×1011 s−1 M−1 compare well with the rates determined by the analysis of two-dimensional infrared experiments. Simulations find that an isolated binary collision description is successful up to solvent concentrations of ∼4 M. For higher densities, including the supercritical regime, the simulations do not correctly describe RER, probably due to the neglect of solvent–solute coupling in the analysis of the rotational motion. For VER, the near-quantitative agreement between simulations and pump–probe experiments captures the solvent density-dependent trends. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; (, The Journal of Chemical Physics)
    The transition between the gas-, supercritical-, and liquid-phase behavior is a fascinating topic, which still lacks molecular-level understanding. Recent ultrafast two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy experiments suggested that the vibrational spectroscopy of N2O embedded in xenon and SF6 as solvents provides an avenue to characterize the transitions between different phases as the concentration (or density) of the solvent increases. The present work demonstrates that classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations together with accurate interaction potentials allows us to (semi-)quantitatively describe the transition in rotational vibrational infrared spectra from the P-/R-branch line shape for the stretch vibrations of N2O at low solvent densities to the Q-branch-like line shapes at high densities. The results are interpreted within the classical theory of rigid-body rotation in more/less constraining environments at high/low solvent densities or based on phenomenological models for the orientational relaxation of rotational motion. It is concluded that classical MD simulations provide a powerful approach to characterize and interpret the ultrafast motion of solutes in low to high density solvents at a molecular level. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; (, Inorganics)
    Information resulting from a comprehensive investigation into the intrinsic strengths of hydrated divalent magnesium clusters is useful for elucidating the role of aqueous solvents on the Mg2+ ion, which can be related to those in bulk aqueous solution. However, the intrinsic Mg–O and intermolecular hydrogen bond interactions of hydrated magnesium ion clusters have yet to be quantitatively measured. In this work, we investigated a set of 17 hydrated divalent magnesium clusters by means of local vibrational mode force constants calculated at the ωB97X-D/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory, where the nature of the ion–solvent and solvent–solvent interactions were interpreted from topological electron density analysis and natural population analysis. We found the intrinsic strength of inner shell Mg–O interactions for [Mg(H2O)n]2+ (n = 1–6) clusters to relate to the electron density at the bond critical point in Mg–O bonds. From the application of a secondary hydration shell to [Mg(H2O)n]2+ (n = 5–6) clusters, stronger Mg–O interactions were observed to correspond to larger instances of charge transfer between the lp(O) orbitals of the inner hydration shell and the unfilled valence shell of Mg. As the charge transfer between water molecules of the first and second solvent shell increased, so did the strength of their intermolecular hydrogen bonds (HBs). Cumulative local vibrational mode force constants of explicitly solvated Mg2+, having an outer hydration shell, reveal a CN of 5, rather than a CN of 6, to yield slightly more stable configurations in some instances. However, the cumulative local mode stretching force constants of implicitly solvated Mg2+ show the six-coordinated cluster to be the most stable. These results show that such intrinsic bond strength measures for Mg–O and HBs offer an effective way for determining the coordination number of hydrated magnesium ion clusters. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; (, Europhysics Letters)
    Abstract We experimentally demonstrate critical collective behavior in a system of active colloidal particles (APs), achieved through variations of their mutual interactions using feedback control. At the transition between a swarm and a swirl we observe an explicit bifurcation dynamics of the rotational order parameter and a critical slowing down, i.e. , a growth of the relaxation time by almost one order of magnitude. Additional signatures of critical dynamics, including hysteresis in presence of symmetry-breaking particle interactions, and a maximum of the susceptibility, are measured and characterized in terms of a theoretical model which is based purely on the time-reversal symmetry of the order parameter. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; (, Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry)
    Supercritical fluids are typically electrosprayed using an organic solvent makeup flow to facilitate continuous electrical connection and enhancement of electrospray stability. This results in sample dilution, loss in sensitivity, and potential phase separation. Premixing the supercritical fluid with organic solvent has shown substantial benefits to electrospray efficiency and increased analyte charge state. Presented here is a nanospray mass spectrometry system for supercritical fluids (nSF-MS). This split flow system used small i.d. capillaries, heated interface, inline frit, and submicron emitter tips to electrospray quaternary alkyl amines solvated in supercritical CO2 with a 10% methanol modifier. Analyte signal response was evaluated as a function of total system flow rate (0.5–1.5 mL/min) that is split to nanospray a supercritical fluid with linear flow rates between 0.07 and 0.42 cm/sec and pressure ranges (15–25 MPa). The nSF system showed mass-sensitive detection based on increased signal intensity for increasing capillary i.d. and analyte injection volume. These effects indicate efficient solvent evaporation for the analysis of quaternary amines. Carrier additives generally decreased signal intensity. Comparison of the nSF-MS system to the conventional SF makeup flow ESI showed 10-fold signal intensity enhancement across all the capillary i.d.s. The nSF-MS system likely achieves rapid solvent evaporation of the SF at the emitter point. The developed system combined the benefits of the nanoemitters, sCO2, and the low modifier percentage which gave rise to enhancement in MS detection sensitivity. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email