UV Photoinduced Dynamics of Conformer-Resolved Aromatic Peptides

International audienceA detailed understanding of radiative and nonradiative processes in peptides containing an aromatic chromophore requires the knowledge of the nature and energy level of low-lying excited states that could be coupled to the bright 1 * excited state. Isolated aromatic amino acids and short peptides provide benchmark cases to study, at the molecular level, the photoinduced processes that govern their excited state dynamics. Recent advances in gas phase laser spectroscopy of conformer-selected peptides have paved the way to a better, yet not fully complete, understanding of the influence of intramolecular interactions on the properties of aromatic chromophores. This review aims at providing an overview of the photophysics and photochemistry at play in neutral and charged aromatic chromophore containing peptides, with a particular emphasis on the charge (electron, proton) and energy transfer processes. A significant impact is exerted by the experimental progress in energy-and time-resolved spectroscopy of protonated species, which leads to a growing demand for theoretical supports to accurately describe their excited state properties

Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer in Protonated Amino Pyridine

International audienceThe excited state properties of protonated ortho (2-), meta (3-) and para (4-) aminopyridine molecules have been investigated through UV photo fragmentation spectroscopy and excited state couple cluster CC2 calculations. Cryogenic ion spectroscopy allows recording well-resolved vibronic spectroscopy that can be nicely reproduced through Franck Condon simulations of the pp* local minimum of the excited state potential energy surface. The excited state lifetimes have also been measured through a pump-probe excitation scheme and compared to the estimated radiative lifetimes. Although protonated aminopyridines are rather simple aromatic molecules, their deactivation mechanisms are indeed quite complex with unexpected results. In protonated 3-and 4-aminopyridine, the fragmentation yield is negligible around the band origin, which implies the absence of internal conversion to the ground state. Besides, a twisted intramolecular charge transfer reaction is evidenced in protonated 4-aminopyridine around the band origin, while excited state proton transfer from the pyridinic nitrogen to the adjacent carbon atom opens with roughly 500 cm-1 of excess energy

Excited State Dynamics of Protonated Phenylalanine and Tyrosine: Photo-Induced Reactions Following Electronic Excitation

Reprinted (adapted) with permission from Journal of Physical Chemistry A Copyright (2015) American Chemical SocietyInternational audienceThe electronic spectroscopy and the electronic excited state properties of cold protonated phenylalanine and protonated tyrosine have been revisited on a large spectral domain and interpreted by comparison with ab initio calculations. The protonated species are stored in a cryogenically cooled Paul trap, maintained at ~ 10K, and the parent and all the photo-fragment ions are mass-analyzed in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, which allows detecting the ionic species with an improved mass resolution compared to what is routinely achieved with a quadrupole mass spectrometer. These new results emphasize the competition around the band origin between two proton transfer reactions from the ammonium group toward either the aromatic chromophore or the carboxylic acid group. These reactions are initiated by the coupling of the locally excited ππ* state with higher charge transfer states, the positions and coupling of which depend on the conformation of the protonated molecules. Each of these reaction processes gives rise to specific fragmentation channels that supports the conformer selectivity observed in the photofragmentation spectra of protonated Tyrosine and Phenylalanine

Non-radiative processes in protonated diazines, pyrimidine bases and an aromatic azine

International audienceThe excited state lifetimes of DNA bases are often very short due to very efficient non-radiative processes assigned to the pp*–np* coupling. A set of protonated aromatic diazine molecules (pyridazine, pyrimidine and pyrazine C4H5N2+) and protonated pyrimidine DNA bases (cytosine, uracil and thymine), as well as the protonated pyridine (C5H6N+), have been investigated. For all these molecules except one tautomer of protonated uracil (enol–keto), electronic spectroscopy exhibits vibrational line broadening. Excited state geometry optimization at the CC2 level has been conducted to find out whether the excited state lifetimes measured from line broadening can be correlated to the calculated ordering of the pp* and np* states and the pp*–np* energy gap. The short lifetimes, observed when one nitrogen atom of the ring is not protonated, can be rationalized by relaxation of the pp* state to the np* state or directly to the electronic ground state through ring puckering

Photo-fragmentation spectroscopy of benzylium and 1-phenylethyl cations

The electronic spectra of cold benzylium (C6H5-CH2+) and 1-phenylethyl (C6H5-CH-CH3+)cations have been recorded via photofragment spectroscopy. Benzylium and 1-phenylethyl cations produced from electrosprayed benzylamine and phenylethylamine solutions, respectively, were stored in a cryogenically cooled quadrupole ion trap and photodissociated by an OPO laser, scanned in parts of the UV and visible regions (600-225 nm). The electronic states and active vibrational modes of the benzylium and 1-phenylethyl cations as well as those of their tropylium or methyl tropylium isomers have been calculated with ab initio methods for comparison with the spectra observed. Sharp vibrational progressions are observed in the visible region while the absorption features are much broader in the UV. The visible spectrum of the benzylium cation is similar to that obtained in an argon tagging experiment [V. Dryza, N. Chalyavi, J.A. Sanelli, and E.J. Bieske, J. Chem. Phys. 137, 204304 (2012)], with an additional splitting assigned to Fermi resonances. The visible spectrum of the 1-phenylethyl cation also shows vibrational progressions. For both cations, the second electronic transition is observed in the UV, around 33 000 cm-1 (4.1 eV), and shows a broadened vibrational progression. In both cases the S2 optimized geometry is non planar. The third electronic transition observed around 40 000 cm-1 (5.0 eV) is even broader with no apparent vibrational structures, which is indicative of either a fast non-radiative process or a very large change in geometry between the excited and the ground states. The oscillator strengths calculated for tropylium and methyl tropylium are weak. Therefore, these isomeric structures are most likely not responsible for these absorption features. Finally, the fragmentation pattern changes in the second and third electronic states: C2H2 loss becomes predominant at higher excitation energies, for both cations

Ion-Induced Dipole Interactions and Fragmentation Times : Cα\alpha -Cβ\beta Chromophore Bond Dissociation Channel

The fragmentation times corresponding to the loss of the chromophore (C$\alpha$-- C$\beta$ bond dissociation channel) after photoexcitation at 263 nm have been investigated for several small peptides containing tryptophan or tyrosine. For tryptophan-containing peptides, the aromatic chromophore is lost as an ionic fragment (m/z 130), and the fragmentation time increases with the mass of the neutral fragment. In contrast, for tyrosine-containing peptides the aromatic chromophore is always lost as a neutral fragment (mass = 107 amu) and the fragmentation time is found to be fast (\textless{}20 ns). These different behaviors are explained by the role of the postfragmentation interaction in the complex formed after the C$\alpha$--C$\beta$ bond cleavage

Spectroscopie et dynamique de réactions chimiques préparées dans des complexes de van der Waals

Transition metal elements have d valence electrons and are characterized by a great variety of electronic configurations responsible for their specific reactivity. The elements of the second row in particular have \emph{4d} and \emph{5s} atomic orbitals of similar size and energy which can be both involved in chemical processes. We have been interested in the reactivity of a transition metal element, zirconium, combined with a simple organic functionalized molecule in a van der Waals complex formed in a supersonic molecular beam in the model reaction \ce {Zr}~+~\ce {CH3F}.In this context, one of the chemicals reactions that we are interested in leads to the formation of \ce {ZrF}. The electronic spectroscopy of \ce {ZrF} in the spectral domain 400~-~470~nm is extremely rich and surprising for a diatomic molecule. With this study, we have been able to identify the ground state of \ce {ZrF} ($\rm X^2\Delta$) by simulating the observed rotational structures and obtain essential information on the electronic structure. These experimental results are in agreement with \emph{ab initio} calculations.The excited states of the complex \ce {Zr\bond{...}F\bond{-}CH3} have been studied with a depopulation method. The spectral domain 615~-~700~nm is particularly interesting because it reveals a group of diffuse bands red-shifted and broadened with respect to the transition $\rm z^3F$~$\leftarrow$~$\rm a^3F$ in the metal. This transition is forbidden from the ground state $\rm a^3F_2$ of zirconium but allowed from the $\rm a^3F_4$ state. Complexation of the metal atom with a \ce {CH3F} molecule allows coupling of these two states to occur which ensures the optical transition from the ground state of the complex.Les métaux de transitions possèdent des électrons \emph{d} de valence d'où une grande richesse de configurations électroniques à l'origine de leur réactivité spécifique. Les éléments de la deuxième rangée présentent en particulier des orbitales atomiques \emph{4d} et \emph{5s} de taille et d'énergie voisines, leur permettant d'être impliquées toutes deux dans des processus réactifs. Nous nous sommes intéressés à la réactivité d'un de ces éléments, le zirconium, associé à une simple molécule organique fonctionnalisée dans un complexe de vdW formé en jet moléculaire supersonique dans le cas modèle de la réaction \ce {Zr}~+~\ce {CH3F}.Dans ces complexes, l'une des réactions qui nous intéresse conduit à la formation de \ce {ZrF}. La spectroscopie électronique de \ce {ZrF} dans ses bandes principales entre 400~-~470~nm est extrêmement riche et surprenante pour une molécule diatomique. Cette étude a permis d'identifier l'état fondamental de \ce {ZrF} ($\rm X^2\Delta$) à travers la simulation des structures rotationnelles des bandes observées et d'obtenir des informations essentielles sur sa structure électronique. Ces résultats expérimentaux sont en accord avec les calculs \emph{ab initio}.Les états excités du complexe \ce {Zr\bond{...}F\bond{-}CH3} ont été étudiés avec une méthode de dépopulation. Le domaine spectral 615~-~700~nm est particulièrement intéressant car il révèle un groupe diffus de bandes déplacées vers les plus faibles longueurs d'onde et élargies par rapport à la transition $\rm z^3F$~$\leftarrow$~$\rm a^3F$ dans le métal. Cette transition est interdite à partir de l'état fondamental $\rm a^3F_2$ du zirconium mais permise à partir de l'état $\rm a^3F_4$. La complexation par \ce {CH3F} permet un couplage entre ces deux composantes et assure la ransition optique depuis l'état fondamental du complexe

Direct detection of pyridine formation by the reaction of CH (CD) with pyrrole: a ring expansion reaction

The reaction of the ground state methylidyne radical CH (X2Pi) with pyrrole (C4H5N) has been studied in a slow flow tube reactor using Multiplexed Photoionization Mass Spectrometry coupled to quasi-continuous tunable VUV synchrotron radiation at room temperature (295 K) and 90 oC (363 K), at 4 Torr (533 Pa). Laser photolysis of bromoform (CHBr3) at 248 nm (KrF excimer laser) is used to produce CH radicals that are free to react with pyrrole molecules in the gaseous mixture. A signal at m/z = 79 (C5H5N) is identified as the product of the reaction and resolved from 79Br atoms, and the result is consistent with CH addition to pyrrole followed by Helimination. The Photoionization Efficiency curve unambiguously identifies m/z = 79 as pyridine. With deuterated methylidyne radicals (CD), the product mass peak is shifted by +1 mass unit, consistent with the formation of C5H4DN and identified as deuterated pyridine (dpyridine). Within detection limits, there is no evidence that the addition intermediate complex undergoes hydrogen scrambling. The results are consistent with a reaction mechanism that proceeds via the direct CH (CD) cycloaddition or insertion into the five-member pyrrole ring, giving rise to ring expansion, followed by H atom elimination from the nitrogen atom in the intermediate to form the resonance stabilized pyridine (d-pyridine) molecule. Implications to interstellar chemistry and planetary atmospheres, in particular Titan, as well as in gas-phase combustion processes, are discussed

Spectroscopie et dynamique de réactions chimiques préparées dans des complexes de van der Waals

Transition metal elements have d valence electrons and are characterized by a great variety of electronic configurations responsible for their specific reactivity. The elements of the second row in particular have \emph{4d} and \emph{5s} atomic orbitals of similar size and energy which can be both involved in chemical processes. We have been interested in the reactivity of a transition metal element, zirconium, combined with a simple organic functionalized molecule in a van der Waals complex formed in a supersonic molecular beam in the model reaction \ce {Zr}~+~\ce {CH3F}.In this context, one of the chemicals reactions that we are interested in leads to the formation of \ce {ZrF}. The electronic spectroscopy of \ce {ZrF} in the spectral domain 400~-~470~nm is extremely rich and surprising for a diatomic molecule. With this study, we have been able to identify the ground state of \ce {ZrF} ($\rm X^2\Delta$) by simulating the observed rotational structures and obtain essential information on the electronic structure. These experimental results are in agreement with \emph{ab initio} calculations.The excited states of the complex \ce {Zr\bond{...}F\bond{-}CH3} have been studied with a depopulation method. The spectral domain 615~-~700~nm is particularly interesting because it reveals a group of diffuse bands red-shifted and broadened with respect to the transition $\rm z^3F$~$\leftarrow$~$\rm a^3F$ in the metal. This transition is forbidden from the ground state $\rm a^3F_2$ of zirconium but allowed from the $\rm a^3F_4$ state. Complexation of the metal atom with a \ce {CH3F} molecule allows coupling of these two states to occur which ensures the optical transition from the ground state of the complex.Les métaux de transitions possèdent des électrons \emph{d} de valence d'où une grande richesse de configurations électroniques à l'origine de leur réactivité spécifique. Les éléments de la deuxième rangée présentent en particulier des orbitales atomiques \emph{4d} et \emph{5s} de taille et d'énergie voisines, leur permettant d'être impliquées toutes deux dans des processus réactifs. Nous nous sommes intéressés à la réactivité d'un de ces éléments, le zirconium, associé à une simple molécule organique fonctionnalisée dans un complexe de vdW formé en jet moléculaire supersonique dans le cas modèle de la réaction \ce {Zr}~+~\ce {CH3F}.Dans ces complexes, l'une des réactions qui nous intéresse conduit à la formation de \ce {ZrF}. La spectroscopie électronique de \ce {ZrF} dans ses bandes principales entre 400~-~470~nm est extrêmement riche et surprenante pour une molécule diatomique. Cette étude a permis d'identifier l'état fondamental de \ce {ZrF} ($\rm X^2\Delta$) à travers la simulation des structures rotationnelles des bandes observées et d'obtenir des informations essentielles sur sa structure électronique. Ces résultats expérimentaux sont en accord avec les calculs \emph{ab initio}.Les états excités du complexe \ce {Zr\bond{...}F\bond{-}CH3} ont été étudiés avec une méthode de dépopulation. Le domaine spectral 615~-~700~nm est particulièrement intéressant car il révèle un groupe diffus de bandes déplacées vers les plus faibles longueurs d'onde et élargies par rapport à la transition $\rm z^3F$~$\leftarrow$~$\rm a^3F$ dans le métal. Cette transition est interdite à partir de l'état fondamental $\rm a^3F_2$ du zirconium mais permise à partir de l'état $\rm a^3F_4$. La complexation par \ce {CH3F} permet un couplage entre ces deux composantes et assure la ransition optique depuis l'état fondamental du complexe

Airfoil sampling of a pulsed Laval beam with tunable vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) synchrotron ionization quadrupole mass spectrometry: Application to low--temperature kinetics and product detection

A new pulsed Laval nozzle apparatus with vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) synchrotron photoionization quadrupole mass spectrometry is constructed to study low-temperature radicalneutral chemical reactions of importance for modeling the atmosphere of Titan and the outer planets. A design for the sampling geometry of a pulsed Laval nozzle expansion has been developed that operates successfully for the determination of rate coefficients by time-resolved mass spectrometry. The new concept employs airfoil sampling of the collimated expansion with excellent sampling throughput. Time-resolved profiles of the high Mach number gas flow obtained by photoionization signals show that perturbation of the collimated expansion by the airfoil is negligible. The reaction of C2H with C2H2 is studied at 70 K as a proof-of-principle result for both low-temperature rate coefficient measurements and product identification based on the photoionization spectrum of the reaction product versus VUV photon energy. This approach can be used to provide new insights into reaction mechanisms occurring at kinetic rates close to the collision-determined limit