The (HCOOH)2 anion, formed by electron attachment to the formic acid dimer (FA2), is an archetypal system for exploring the mechanics of the electron-induced proton transfer motif that is purported to occur when neutral nucleic acid base-pairs accommodate an excess electron [K. Aflatooni, G. A. Gallup, and P. D. Burrow, J. Phys. Chem. A 102, 6205 (1998)

https://doi.org/10.1021/jp980865n
; J. H. Hendricks, S. A. Lyapustina, H. L. de Clercq, J. T. Snodgrass, and K. H. Bowen, J. Chem Phys. 104, 7788 (1996)
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.471484
; C. Desfrancois, H. Abdoul-Carime, and J. P. Schermann, J. Chem Phys. 104, 7792 (1996)]. The FA2 anion and several of its H/D isotopologues were isolated in the gas phase and characterized using Ar-tagged vibrational predissociation and electron autodetachment spectroscopies. The photoelectron spectrum of the FA2 anion was also recorded using velocity-map imaging. The resulting spectroscopic information verifies the equilibrium FA2− geometry predicted by theory which features a symmetrical, double H-bonded bridge effectively linking together constituents that most closely resemble the formate ion and a dihydroxymethyl radical. The spectroscopic signatures of this ion were analyzed with the aid of calculated anharmonic vibrational band patterns.

Topics
Harmonic analysis, Vibrational spectra, Autoionization, Velocity map imaging, Autodetachment spectroscopy, Photoelectron spectroscopy, Photoexcitations, Gas phase, Chemical bonding, Nucleic acids
© 2012 American Institute of Physics.
2012
American Institute of Physics
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