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In the experiments presented in this work, third-order, time-resolved spectroscopy was applied to the disentanglement of nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom in polyatomic molecules. The motivation for approaching this problem was given by the decisive role that the coupling of nuclear and electronic dynamics plays in the mechanism of photochemical reactions and photobiological processes. In order to approach this complex problem, different strategies within the framework of time-resolved, four-wave mixing spectroscopy were developed that allowed for the dynamic as well as the energetic aspects of vibronic coupling in non-radiative transitions of polyatomic molecules to be addressed. This was achieved by utilizing the influence of optical as well as Raman resonances on four-wave mixing processes. These resonance effects on third-order, optical processes allow for a high selectivity to be attained with respect to the interrogation of specific aspects of molecular dynamics. The development of different strategies within the framework of time-resolved, four-wave mixing spectroscopy for addressing the problem of vibronic coupling began with the experiments on gaseous iodine. This simple, well investigated molecular system was chosen in order to unambiguously characterize the effect of Raman resonances on four-wave mixing processes. A time-resolved degenerative four-wave mixing (DFWM) experiment was carried out on gaseous iodine that allowed for the dynamics of coherent Stokes Raman scattering (CSRS) as well as a coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) to be observed parallel to the dynamics of a DFWM process at different spectral positions of the FWM signal. Here, the state-selectivity of these different FWM processes manifests itself in the vibrational wave packet dynamics on different electronic potentials of iodine. It could be shown that Raman resonances determine the selectivity with which these FWM processes prepare and interrogate nuclear dynamics in different electronic states. With the insight gained into the relevance of Raman resonant processes in FWM spectroscopy, an experimental scheme was devised that utilizes this effect to selectively interrogate the dynamics of a specific vibrational mode within a polyatomic molecule during a radiationless electronic transition. Here, a CARS process was employed to selectively probe specific vibrational modes of a molecular system by variably tuning the energy difference between the lasers involved in the CARS process to be in Raman resonance with the vibrational energy spacing of a particular vibrational mode. Using this aspect of a tunable resonance enhancement within a CARS scheme, this optical process was incorporated in a time-resolved pump-probe experiment as a mode-selective probe mechanism. This type of experimental configuration, that employs four pulsed laser fields, was classified as a pump-CARS scheme. Here, a laser pulse independent of the CARS process initiates the molecular dynamics that are interrogated selectively with respect to the vibrational mode of the system through the simultaneous interaction of the three pulsed fields involved in the CARS process. Time-resolution on a femtosecond timescale is achieved by introducing a time delay between the independent pump laser and the laser pulses of the CARS process. The experimental configuration of a pump-CARS scheme was applied to the study of the nuclear dynamics involved in the radiationless electronic transition between the first excited singlet state (S1) and the electronic ground state (S0) of all-trans-b-carotene. The mode-selective CARS probe allowed for the characteristic timescale with which specific vibrational modes are repopulated in the S0 state to be determined. From the varying repopulation times of specific vibrational modes, a mechanism with which the full set of vibrational states of the S0 potential are repopulated subsequent to the internal conversion process could be postulated. Most importantly, the form of nuclear motion that primarily funnels the population between the two electronic states could be identified as the C=C symmetric symmetric stretch mode in the polyene backbone of b-carotene. With this, the reaction coordinate of this radiationless electronic transition could be identified. The experiment shows, that the CARS probe is capable of determining the nuclear motion coupled to a radiationless electronic transition in complex polyatomic systems. The S1/S0 internal conversion process in b-carotene was further investigated with time-resolved transient gratings. Here, the energetic aspects of a non-adiabatic transition was addressed by determining the influence of the vibrational energy on the rate of this internal conversion. In order to compare the rate of internal conversion taking place out of vibrational ground state modes versus this transition initiating out of vibrationally hot modes, the strategy of shifting the probe mechanism in the transient grating scheme to spectral positions within and out of the red flank of the S1 absorption profile was pursued. The interrogation of different vibrational states was verified by determining the degree of vibrational cooling, taking place parallel to the internal conversion process. With this strategy, it could be shown that vibrationally hot states contribute to the internal conversion with a higher rate than vibrational ground state modes. In summary, different third-order, optical processes in the framework of time-resolved FWM were applied to the study of non-adiabatic dynamics in polyatomic molecules. By utilizing the effect of optical as well as Raman resonances on different FWM processes, it could be shown that third-order, time-resolved spectroscopy is a powerful tool for gaining insight into complex molecular dynamics such as vibronic coupling. The experiments presented in this work showed that the CARS process, as a mode-selective probe in time-resolved experiments, is capable of disentangling nuclear and electronic dynamics.
This thesis gives insights into the real-time dynamics of several free carbenes and radicals on a femtosecond and nanosecond time scale. The experiments were performed with radicals, singlet carbenes and triplet carbenes of various sizes. Several neutral excited states as well as the ionic ground state were characterized. Despite the relevance of such reactive intermediates in almost all chemical reactions, only relatively little experimental information on such systems is found in the literature. This is linked to the experimental challenge of producing such species under isolated conditions. The intermediates are formed from precursor molecules under interaction- free conditions by supersonic jet flash pyrolysis. The precursor molecules were synthetically designed to show clean thermal dissociation into one specific intermediate. A large variety of spectroscopic techniques was applied to study the intermediates. Each method augments the results of the other methods. This enabled to successfully approach the main goal of this thesis: to understand the excited-state dynamics of organic intermediates. The excited states were found to deactivate rapidly to the hot ground state. The observed fast decay is presumably linked to coupled electronically excited states and relaxation takes place by internal conversion or conical intersections. Further reactions then take place on the ground state surface. Absorption spectra, photodissociation dynamics, photoelectron spectra, ionization potentials, excited-state lifetimes and dissociative photoionization were elucidated by the measurements. Pulsed and continuous light sources were used over a large spectral range (UV, Vis, VUV). A well-defined amount of energy was deposited into the molecule. After internal conversion has taken place, a microcanonical ensemble of reactive intermediates can be studied. This data helps to understand the energetics and reaction channels of intermediates. Velocity map imaging enabled to monitor the pyrolysis efficiency in real time by analyzing photoion images. This observation facilitates clean intermediate generation. Experimental results were compared to quantum chemical calculations to aid the interpretation as well as to test the performance of theoretical approaches. Hydrocarbon radicals and carbenes are regarded as benchmark systems for computational methods due to their several low-lying electronic states and open-shell electronic configuration. The experimental data can help to identify and understand the contributions of the examined intermediates to the chemistry of high energy environments (e. g., hydrocarbon cracking reactors, interstellar space and combustion chambers). Here increased numbers of hydrocarbon intermediates are often present and usually have a strong impact on the overall reaction mechanism. Such environments contain in general a complex mixture of several different intermediates. The more spectroscopic and dynamic properties of each isolated intermediate are known, the easier it is to identify it among multiple components and to understand how it contributes to the overall reaction mechanism. Electronic excitation can take place by radiation, particle collisions or thermally at very high temperatures. How excited states influence the reaction mechanisms is still a matter of currant research.
Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, die Methode der adaptiven Pulsformung von Femtosekunden Laserpulsen in der flüssigen Phase experimentell zu realisieren. Eine Erweiterung dieser Technik auf die kondensierte Phase stellt einen wichtigen Schritt in Richtung einer breiten Anwendbarkeit zur Steuerung von chemischen Reaktionen dar. Die größere Teilchendichte im Vergleich zur Gasphase ermöglicht zum einen eine Erhöhung der erzielbaren absoluten Produktausbeuten. Andererseits ergibt sich erst dadurch die Möglichkeit, reale chemische Reaktionen, wie bimolekulare Reaktionen, gezielt zu steuern, da Stöße zwischen verschiedenen Molekülen wahrscheinlicher werden. Die Methode der adaptiven Quantenkontrolle ist für die Anwendung in der flüssigen Phase bestens geeignet, da sie eine kohärente Kontrolle von photoinduzierten molekularen Prozessen selbst in komplexen Quantensystemen erlaubt. In dieser experimentellen Umsetzung einer ,,geschlossenen Kontrollschleife'' wird die spektrale Phasenstruktur von fs-Laserpulsen in einem computergesteuerten Pulsformer moduliert. Der resultierende geformte Laserpuls wechselwirkt anschließend mit dem zu untersuchenden molekularen System und steuert aktiv die Entwicklung des erzeugten Wellenpakets auf der Potentialenergiefläche. Eine quantitative Messung der erzeugten Photoprodukte dieser Licht-Materie Wechselwirkung dient als Rückkopplungssignal eines selbstlernenden Computeralgorithmus. Der auf dem Prinzip der Evolutionstheorie arbeitende Algorithmus verbessert nun iterativ die Pulsform bis ein Optimum des gewünschten Reaktionskanals erreicht wird. Das modulierte elektrische Feld des Laserpulses passt sich somit entsprechend der gestellten Kontrollaufgabe automatisch den molekularen Eigenschaften an. Um jedoch die Anwendung dieser Technik auch in der kondensierten Phase zu demonstrieren, mussten Methoden zur Gewinnung eines Rückkopplungssignals gefunden werden. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden daher Möglichkeiten eines quantitativen Rückkopplungssignals für die adaptive Kontrolle in der flüssigen Phase untersucht, wie die Emissionsspektroskopie und die transiente Absorption im UV/VIS oder infraroten Spektralbereich. In einem ersten Experiment wurde die Emissionsspektroskopie verwendet, um einen Ladungstransferprozess (MLCT) in einem Ru(II)-Komplex ([Ru(dpb)3]2+) mit geformten fs-Laserpulsen zu steuern. Um die dominierende Intensitätsabhängigkeit der Anregung zu eliminieren, wurde die Emissionsausbeute mit dem SHG-Signal eines nichtlinearen Kristalls „normiert“. Diese Auslöschung des intensitätsabhängigen Faktors in beiden Prozessen ermöglichte es, Pulsformen zu finden, die dieses Verhältnis sowohl maximieren als auch minimieren. Ein Ansatz zur Erklärung der experimentellen Ergebnisse konnte mit Hilfe eines störungstheoretischen Modells beschrieben werden. In einem zweiten Experiment wurde erstmals eine photochemische Selektivität zwischen zwei verschiedenen Substanzen in der kondensierten Phase demonstriert. Dabei sollte die jeweilige Zwei-Photonen Anregung des Komplexes [Ru(dpb)3]2+ gegenüber dem Molekül DCM selektiv kontrolliert werden. Wiederum diente die spontane Emission beider Substanzen als Rückkopplungssignal für die Effektivität des Anregungsschritts. Verschiedene Ein-Parameter Kontrollmethoden, wie der Variation der Anregungswellenlänge, der Intensität sowie des linearen Chirps, konnten diese Kontrollaufgabe nicht erfüllen. Jedoch konnte eine Optimierung des Verhältnisses der beiden Emissionsausbeuten mit Hilfe der adaptiven Pulsformung erzielt werden. Das Ergebnis dieses Experiments zeigt, dass photoinduzierte Prozesse in zwei unterschiedlichen molekularen Substanzen trotz der Wechselwirkungen der gelösten Moleküle mit ihrer Lösungsmittelumgebung selektiv und simultan kontrolliert werden können. Das Ziel des dritten Experiments war eine gezielte Steuerung einer komplexeren chemischen Reaktion. Mit Hilfe der adaptiven Pulsformung konnte eine optimale Kontrolle der Photoisomerisierungsreaktion des Moleküls NK88 demonstriert werden. Das dazu benötigte Rückkopplungssignal für den evolutionären Algorithmus wird durch transiente Absorptionsspektroskopie im UV/VIS Spektralbereich bereitgestellt. Eine Untersuchung der Dynamik der Isomerisierungsreaktion mit Hilfe der Pump-Probe Technik erlaubte eine Zuordnung zweier verschiedener Absorptionsbereiche zu den jeweiligen Isomeren. Die Ergebnisse der Optimierung des Verhältnisses der Quantenausbeuten der beiden Isomere zeigten, dass die geformten Laserpulse eine Kontrolle der Effizienz der Photoisomerisierung in der flüssigen Phase ermöglichen. Zusammenfassend kann man sagen, dass im Rahmen dieser Arbeit mit Hilfe der fs-Lasertechnologie und der Technik der adaptiven fs-Quantenkontrolle Experimente durchgeführt wurden, die einen wichtigen Beitrag zu dem neuen Forschungsbereich der Femtochemie darstellen. Die Erweiterung dieser Technik auf die flüssige Phase beschreibt einen ersten Erfolg in Richtung einer neuartigen Chemie.