Observation of the Infrared-Induced Structural Change in the Microscopic Hydrogen Bond Network of Phenol-Methanol...

To gain insight into microscopic hydrogen bond networks, we measured ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) spectra of the phenol-methanol 1:3 cluster cation, [PhOH(MeOH)₃]⁺ trapped in a variable temperature ion trap. At low temperatures, an isomer with a ring-type hydrogen bond structure dominates, whereas at higher temperatures the chain-type isomers become dominant due to the flexibility of their hydrogen bond structures. We also found a clear temperature dependence of the spectral features, such as band position and width. In addition to the above measurement, we observed the infrared (IR) induced isomerization of [PhOH(MeOH)₃]⁺ to study the dynamical aspects of hydrogen bond networks. We succeeded in observing IR-induced isomerization from the ring to chain forms of [PhOH(MeOH)₃]⁺ at low temperature. The isomerization was clearly identified as a change in the UVPD spectra. The time evolution of the UVPD spectra after IR excitation indicated that the IR-induced isomerization occurs within a nanosecond. The chain-type isomers produced by the IR-induced isomerization are then converted back to the ring-type form by collisions with cold He buffer gas in the trap. This backward isomerization proceeds with a time constant of 100 μs under our experimental conditions. In this study, we evaluated the temperatures of the chain isomers during the backward isomerization on the basis of the spectral features.