SOLVENT-MEDIATED ELECTRON LEAPFROGGING: CHARGE TRANSFER IN IBr$^-$(CO$_2$) PHOTODISSOCIATION

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In this work, we investigate the time-resolved photoelectron spectra of IBr(CO2).}, {\bf{2010}}, {\it{in press}}.} In the photodetachment studies performed by Lineberger and co-workers,a IBr(CO2) is prepared in its electronic ground state (2Σ1/2+) whereupon it is excited to its {\it{~{A}}} (2Π3/2) excited state, before electron photodetachment/photoionization and dissociation on the {\it{~{C}}} (1Π1) excited state of IBr. Previous experimental work showed that dissociation of bare IBr yields only I + Br products.}, {\bf{2005}}, {\it{122}}, 174305.} However in IBr(CO2), a small fraction ( 3%) of the dissociating molecules undergo an electron transfer from I to Br at 350 fs after the initial excitation. Thus a single solvent molecule can initiate a non-adiabatic transition from the {\it{~{A}}} state to either the lower {\it{~{A}}} or {\it{~{X}}} state, thereby producing I + Br (+ CO2) prior to photoionization. To study the dynamics, we perform high level {\it{ab initio}} calculations (MR-SO-CISD/aug-cc-pVTZ(-PP)) as well as classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The MD simulations capture much of the dynamics of the photodissociation but underestimate the charge-transfer channel. Results of the {\it{ab initio}} calculations show how CO2 bend vibrational excitation could increase the percentage of non-adiabatic transitions and how the CO2 modifies the charge distribution of IBr to make the charge transfer accessible. The proposed mechanism and timescales are consistent with the observed Br products.

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Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210; JILA, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309

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