Probing the electronic structure and spectroscopy of pyrrolyl and imidazolyl radicals using high-resolution photoelectron imaging of cryogenically cooled anions

Abstract

High-resolution photoelectron imaging and photodetachment spectroscopy of cryogenically cooled pyrrolide and imidazolide anions are used to probe the electronic structure and spectroscopy of pyrrolyl and imidazolyl radicals. The high-resolution data allow the ground state vibronic structures of the two radicals to be completely resolved, yielding accurate electron affinities of 2.1433 ± 0.0008 eV and 2.6046 ± 0.0006 eV for pyrrolyl and imidazolyl radicals, respectively. Fundamental frequencies for eight vibrational modes of pyrrolyl and ten vibrational modes of imidazolyl are measured, including several nonsymmetric Franck–Condon-forbidden modes. Two electronic excited states are also observed for the two radicals, displaying diffuse spectral features in both systems. The observations of nonsymmetric vibrational modes in the ground states and the diffuse excited state features provide strong evidence for vibronic couplings between the ground state and the two close-by excited states. The 2-pyrrolide isomer is also observed as a minor species from the electrospray ionization source and the electron affinity of 2-pyrrolyl is measured to be 1.6690 ± 0.0030 eV along with five vibrational frequencies. Even though the HOMOs of both pyrrolide and imidazolide anions are p orbitals, photodetachment spectroscopy reveals completely different threshold behaviors for the two anions: a d-wave-dominated spectrum for pyrrolide and an s-wave-dominated spectrum for imidazolide. The current study provides a wealth of electronic and spectroscopic information, which is ideal to compare with more accurate vibronic coupling calculations for these two important radicals, as well as interesting information about the photodetachment dynamics of the two anions.