Spectroscopic Investigation Of O-,m-, And P-cyanostyrenes

Korn, Joseph A.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/50935 Copy

Description

Title

Spectroscopic Investigation Of O-,m-, And P-cyanostyrenes

Author(s)

Korn, Joseph A.

Contributor(s)

• Zwier, Timothy S.
• McMahon, Robert J.
• Knezz, Stephanie N.

Issue Date

2014-06-20

Keyword(s)

Planetary atmospheres

Abstract

The atmosphere of Titan contains nitrogen, methane, and a rich mixture of more complex hydrocarbons and nitriles produced by photochemical processing. Data from the 2005 Cassini-Huygens mission suggests that among the more complex compounds are substituted benzenes that are themselves precursors to large polymeric tholins.\footnote{Sebree, J. A.; Kidwell, N. M.; Selby, T. M.; Amberger, B. K.; McMahon, R. J.; Zwier, T. S., Photochemistry of Benzylallene: Ring-Closing Reactions to Form Naphthalene. \textit{Journal of the American Chemical Society} \textbf{2012}, 134 (2), 1153-1163.} Nitriles are particularly prevalent in Titan’s atmosphere due to the dominance of N$_{2}$ in the atmosphere. The cyanostyrenes are of particular interest, in part because they have the same molecular formula (C$_{9}$H$_{7}$N) as quinoline, a prototypical heteroaromatic, and therefore could engage in photochemical isomerization to form this molecule of significant pre-biotic relevance. As a first step in understanding the pathways leading to heteroaromatics, we have studied the isotope-selective spectroscopy of \textit{o-,m-,} and \textit{p-}cyanostyrene under jet-cooled conditions relevant to Titan’s atmosphere. In this talk, the excitation and emission spectra for the three isomers will be presented. Using a combination of resonant two-photon ionization, LIF excitation, and dispersed fluorescence spectroscopies, the vibronic spectroscopy of the three isomers were recorded and compared. The \textit{meta} isomer has two conformational isomers, which have been distinguished and studied using hole-burning methods. The talk will compare and contrast the UV spectral signatures of the set of structural and conformational isomers of the cyanostyrenes, using the ethynylstyrene counterparts as points of comparison.\footnote{Selby, T. M.; Clarkson, J. R.; Mitchell, D.; Fitzpatrick, J. A. J.; Lee, H. D.; Pratt, D. W.; Zwier, T. S., Isomer-Specific Spectroscopy and Conformational Isomerization Energetics of \textit{o-, m-,} and \textit{p-}Ethynylstyrenes. \textit{The Journal of Physical Chemistry A} \textbf{2005}, 109 (20), 4484-4496.}

Publisher

International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy

Type of Resource

text

Language

English

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/50935

DOI

https://doi.org/10.15278/isms.2014.FE12

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2014 by the authors. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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