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Determination of the Photoisomerization Quantum Yield of a Hydrazone Photoswitch

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The electron affinity of phenanthrene.

Martin Tschurl¹, Ulrich Boesl, Stefan Gilb

¹Department Chemie, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, 85748 Garching, Germany. martin.tschurl@ch.tum.de

The Journal of Chemical Physics

|November 30, 2006

Summary

Researchers determined phenanthrene

Area of Science:

Physical Chemistry
Spectroscopy
Computational Chemistry

Background:

Phenanthrene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, has an undetermined electron affinity.
Direct measurement of electron affinity is challenging due to the absence of a parent ion peak.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine the electron affinity of phenanthrene.
To investigate the microsolvation properties of phenanthrene water complexes.
To explore the correlation between electron affinity and reduction potential in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Main Methods:

Photodetachment-photoelectron spectroscopy was employed to study phenanthrene and its water complexes.
Ab initio calculations were used to determine the structures of phenanthrene water clusters.

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An extrapolation method utilizing water cluster data was applied to determine the electron affinity.

Main Results:

The electron affinity of bare phenanthrene was determined to be -0.01 ± 0.04 eV, indicating a negative value.
The study provided insights into the microsolvation of phenanthrene by water molecules.
A correlation between electron affinity and reduction potential for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was investigated.

Conclusions:

Phenanthrene possesses a negative electron affinity, confirmed by spectroscopic and computational methods.
Water complexation provides a viable route for determining the electron affinity of molecules with low-lying negative ions.
The findings contribute to understanding the electronic properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.