Structure and Dynamics of Several Rare Gas-Halogen van der Waals Molecules

Author: Evard, Dwight David

Year: 1988

Degree: Dissertation (Ph.D.)

Advisor: Janda, Kenneth C.

Committee Members: Beauchamp, Jesse L.; Grubbs, Robert H.; Bercaw, John E.; Janda, Kenneth C.

Option: Chemistry

DOI: 10.7907/90wr-zj81

Abstract

The structure and dynamics of several rare gas-halogen van der Waals molecules have been studied in the six laser-free jet expansion experiments which are described in this thesis. High resolution (0.01 cm⁻¹ spectra were obtained for one B ← X transition of both NeBr₂ and NeCl₂, in order to determine the structure and lifetime of these complexes in the ground and excited states. NeCl₂ was studied extensively at moderate resolution (0.05 cm⁻¹ to probe the potential energy surface and the correlation of the van der Waals bond with the covalent bond. The lifetime of metastable vibrationally excited NeBr₂ X(ν = 1) was determined directly by measuring its concentration as a function of distance from the source to the detection region. A pump-probe technique was used to study ArCl₂ to probe the structure and dynamics of the complex. ArₙCl₂ (n = 1, 2, 3) was studied to test the validity of the bond-bond additivity model of binding for the complex. This set of experiments has provided a great deal of information on the nature of the structure and dynamics of the complexes.

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