Spectroscopy of small molecules and clusters

The 3s, 3d and 4s Rydberg states of nitric oxide (NO), bound to a rare gas (Rg) atom in a van der Waals complex (NO-Rg), are probed using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionisation, in order to investigate the effect of electronic excitation on these complexes. The spectroscopy is interpreted in term...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ayles, Victoria Louise
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/10591/
_version_ 1848791101086892032
author Ayles, Victoria Louise
author_facet Ayles, Victoria Louise
author_sort Ayles, Victoria Louise
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description The 3s, 3d and 4s Rydberg states of nitric oxide (NO), bound to a rare gas (Rg) atom in a van der Waals complex (NO-Rg), are probed using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionisation, in order to investigate the effect of electronic excitation on these complexes. The spectroscopy is interpreted in terms of interactions between the Rydberg electron, the nitric oxide (NO+) core and the Rg atoms. Larger NO-Rgx clusters are investigated offering the prospect of bridging the spectroscopic gap between van der Waals dimers and the bulk. The spectroscopy is determined by an NO+-Rg2 moiety and formation of the Rydberg state provokes a dynamic response from the Rgx cluster, similar to that observed in matrix studies. High-resolution zero electron kinetic energy spectroscopy is employed to derive vibrational frequencies of the para-fluorotoluene cation and assignments for previously unidentified (or in some cases, erroneously assigned) features have been presented. The first electronically-excited state of para-fluorotoluene (pFT), where a pFT chromophore is bound to several pFT molecules in a van der Waals cluster, has been studied. The effects of laser power and the internal temperature of the clusters on the fragmentation are considered. A model potential analysis is carried out to determine whether binding in metal cation/rare gas (M+-Rg) complexes is physical (due to electrostatic, dispersion and induction interactions), or whether a chemical component (classical covalent interactions) must be considered. For alkali metal (Alk+)/Rg complexes, the model potential successfully describes the binding (the interaction is purely physical). For Au+-Rg, the model potential analysis reveals the emergence of a chemical component to the interaction, which becomes more significant as Rg gets larger.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T18:23:09Z
format Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
id nottingham-10591
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T18:23:09Z
publishDate 2008
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-105912025-02-28T11:08:52Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/10591/ Spectroscopy of small molecules and clusters Ayles, Victoria Louise The 3s, 3d and 4s Rydberg states of nitric oxide (NO), bound to a rare gas (Rg) atom in a van der Waals complex (NO-Rg), are probed using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionisation, in order to investigate the effect of electronic excitation on these complexes. The spectroscopy is interpreted in terms of interactions between the Rydberg electron, the nitric oxide (NO+) core and the Rg atoms. Larger NO-Rgx clusters are investigated offering the prospect of bridging the spectroscopic gap between van der Waals dimers and the bulk. The spectroscopy is determined by an NO+-Rg2 moiety and formation of the Rydberg state provokes a dynamic response from the Rgx cluster, similar to that observed in matrix studies. High-resolution zero electron kinetic energy spectroscopy is employed to derive vibrational frequencies of the para-fluorotoluene cation and assignments for previously unidentified (or in some cases, erroneously assigned) features have been presented. The first electronically-excited state of para-fluorotoluene (pFT), where a pFT chromophore is bound to several pFT molecules in a van der Waals cluster, has been studied. The effects of laser power and the internal temperature of the clusters on the fragmentation are considered. A model potential analysis is carried out to determine whether binding in metal cation/rare gas (M+-Rg) complexes is physical (due to electrostatic, dispersion and induction interactions), or whether a chemical component (classical covalent interactions) must be considered. For alkali metal (Alk+)/Rg complexes, the model potential successfully describes the binding (the interaction is purely physical). For Au+-Rg, the model potential analysis reveals the emergence of a chemical component to the interaction, which becomes more significant as Rg gets larger. 2008 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/10591/1/Final_thesis.pdf Ayles, Victoria Louise (2008) Spectroscopy of small molecules and clusters. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. van der Waals forces van der Waals interactions resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization REMPI zero electron kinetic energy spectroscopy ZEKE nitric oxide para-fluorotoluene supersonic expansion molecular beam.
spellingShingle van der Waals forces
van der Waals interactions
resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization
REMPI
zero electron kinetic energy spectroscopy
ZEKE
nitric oxide
para-fluorotoluene
supersonic expansion
molecular beam.
Ayles, Victoria Louise
Spectroscopy of small molecules and clusters
title Spectroscopy of small molecules and clusters
title_full Spectroscopy of small molecules and clusters
title_fullStr Spectroscopy of small molecules and clusters
title_full_unstemmed Spectroscopy of small molecules and clusters
title_short Spectroscopy of small molecules and clusters
title_sort spectroscopy of small molecules and clusters
topic van der Waals forces
van der Waals interactions
resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization
REMPI
zero electron kinetic energy spectroscopy
ZEKE
nitric oxide
para-fluorotoluene
supersonic expansion
molecular beam.
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/10591/