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A Ce atom reaction with propene is carried out in a pulsed laser vaporization molecule beam source. Several Ce–hydrocarbon species formed by the C—H and C—C bond activation of propene are observed by time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and Ce(C3Hn) (n = 4 and 6) are characterized by mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy and density functional theory, multiconfiguration, and relativistic quantum chemical calculations. The MATI spectrum of each species consists of two vibronic band systems, each with several vibronic bands. Ce(C3H6) is identified as an inserted species with Ce inserting into an allylic C—H bond of propene and Ce(C3H4) as a metallocycle through 1,2-vinylic dehydrogenation. Both species have a Cs structure with the Ce 4f16s1 ground valence electron configuration in the neutral molecule and the Ce 4f1 configuration in the singly charged ion. The two vibronic band systems observed for each species are attributed to the ionization of two pairs of the lowest spin–orbit coupled states with each pair being nearly degenerate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it plays a critical role in the photophysics and catalysis of lanthanides, spin–orbit coupling of electrons on individual lanthanide atoms in small clusters is not well understood. The major objective of this work is to probe such coupling of the praseodymium (Pr) 4f and 6s electrons in Pr2O2 and Pr2O2+. The approach combines mass-analyzed threshold ionization spectroscopy and spin–orbit multiconfiguration second-order quasi-degenerate perturbation theory. The energies of six ionization transitions are precisely measured; the adiabatic ionization energy of the neutral cluster is 38 045 (5) cm−1. Most of the electronic states involved in these transitions are identified as spin–orbit coupled states consisting of two or more electron spins. The electron configurations of these states are 4f46s2 for the neutral cluster and 4f46s for the singly charged cation, both in planar rhombus-type structures. The spin–orbit splitting due to the coupling of the electrons on the separate Pr atoms is on the order of hundreds of wavenumbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-mediated N–H and C–H bond activation of aliphatic amines is an effective strategy for synthesizing biologically important molecules. Ln (Ln = La and Ce) atom reactions with dimethylamine are carried out in a pulsed-laser vaporization supersonic molecular beam source. A series of dehydrogenation species are observed with time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and the dehydrogenated Ln-containing species in the formula Ln(CH2NCH3) are characterized by single-photon mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations. The theoretical calculations include density functional theory for both Ln species and multiconfiguration self-consistent field and quasi-degenerate perturbation theory for the Ce species. The MATI spectrum of La(CH2NCH3) consists of a single vibronic band system, which is assigned to the ionization of the doublet ground state of N-methyl-lanthanaaziridine. The MATI spectrum of Ce(CH2NCH3) displays two vibronic band systems, which are attributed to the ionization of two-pair lowest-energy spin–orbit coupling states of N-methyl-ceraaziridine. Both metallaaziridines are three-membered metallacycles and formed by the thermodynamically and kinetically favorable concerted dehydrogenation of the amino group and one of the methyl groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ln (Ln = La and Ce) atom reactions with methylamine are carried out in a pulsed-laser vaporization supersonic molecular beam source. A series of dehydrogenation species are observed with time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and the dehydrogenated Ln-containing species in the formula Ln(NCH3) are characterized by mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy and density functional theory and multiconfiguration spin–orbit coupling computations. The MATI spectrum of La(NCH3) consists of two vibronic band systems that are assigned to the ionization of the 2A1 ground state of the C3v isomer La(N–CH3) and the 2A′ ground state of the Cs isomer La(NH–CH2). The MATI spectrum of Ce(NCH3) also displays two band systems, which are attributed to the ionization of the low-energy spin–orbit coupling states of the C3v isomer Ce(N–CH3). Ln(N–CH3) is formed by the concerted dehydrogenation of the amino group, while La(NH–CH2) is formed by the dehydrogenation of both amino and methyl groups. Ce(NH–CH2) is presumably formed in the reaction based on the computational predictions but not observed by the spectroscopic measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ce atom reactions with ethylene, 2-butene, and isobutene are carried out in a pulsed laser vaporization molecule beam source. Ce-containing species are observed with time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and Ce(C4H6) is characterized with mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy and relativistic quantum chemical calculations. Two structural isomers are identified for Ce(C4H6): one is the tetrahedronlike Ce[C(CH2)3] in C3v symmetry and the other is the five-membered metallocyclic Ce(CH2CHCHCH2) in Cs. The MATI spectrum of the C3v isomer exhibits two vibronic band systems separated by 88 cm−1, while that of the Cs isomer displays three split by 60 and 101 cm−1. The multiple band systems are attributed to spin-orbit splitting and vibronic transitions involving metal-hydrocarbon and hydrocarbon-based vibrations. The splitting in the C3v isomer arises from interactions of two triplet and two singlet states at the lowest energies, while each splitting in the Cs isomer involves two triplets and a singlet. Although the Ce atom has ground electron configuration 4f15d16s2, Ce valence electron configurations in both isomers are 4f16s1 in the neutral ground state and 4f1 in the ion. The remaining Ce 5d electrons in the isolated atom are spin paired in molecular orbitals that are a bonding combination between Ce 5dπ and hydrocarbon π* orbitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precise ionization energy of praseodymium oxide (PrO) seeded in supersonic molecular beams is measured with mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) spectroscopy. A total of 33 spin–orbit (SO) states of PrO and 23 SO states of PrO+ are predicted by second-order multiconfigurational quasi-degenerate perturbation (MCQDPT2) theory. Electronic transitions from four low-energy SO levels of the neutral molecule to the ground state of the singly charged cation are identified by combining the MATI spectroscopic measurements with the MCQDPT2 calculations. The precise ionization energy is used to reassess the ionization energies and the reaction enthalpies of the Pr + O → PrO+ + e− chemi-ionization reaction reported in the literature. An empirical formula that uses atomic electronic parameters is proposed to predict the ionization energies of lanthanide monoxides, and the empirical calculations match well with available precise experimental measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]