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The dynamics of iodide-uracil-water (I−·U·H2O) clusters following π-π* excitation of the nucleobase are probed using time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. Photoexcitation of this cluster at 4.77 eV results in electron transfer from the iodide moiety to the uracil, creating a valence-bound anion within the cross correlation of the pump and probe laser pulses. This species can decay by a number of channels, including autodetachment and dissociation to I− or larger anion fragments. Comparison of the energetics of the photoexcited cluster and its decay dynamics with those of the bare iodide-uracil (I−·U) complex provides a sensitive probe of the effects of microhydration on these species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of low energy electron attachment to monohydrated uracil are investigated using time-resolved photoelectron imaging to excite and probe iodide-uracil-water (I−·U·H2O) clusters. Upon photoexcitation of I−·U·H2O at 4.38 eV, near the measured cluster vertical detachment energy of 4.40 eV ± 0.05 eV, formation of both the dipole bound (DB) anion and valence bound (VB) anion of I−·U·H2O is observed and characterized using a probe photon energy of 1.58 eV. The measured binding energies for both anions are larger than those of the non-hydrated iodide-uracil (I−·U) counterparts, indicating that the presence of water stabilizes the transient negative ions. The VB anion exhibits a somewhat delayed 400 fs rise when compared to I−·U, suggesting that partial conversion of the DB anion to form the VB anion at early times is promoted by the water molecule. At a higher probe photon energy, 3.14 eV, I− re-formation is measured to be the major photodissociation channel. This product exhibits a bi-exponential rise; it is likely that the fast component arises from DB anion decay by internal conversion to the anion ground state followed by dissociation to I−, and the slow component arises from internal conversion of the VB anion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photofragment action spectroscopy and femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging are utilized to probe the dissociation channels in iodide-uracil (I-·U) binary clusters upon photoexcitation. The photofragment action spectra show strong I- and weak [U--H]- ion signal upon photoexcitation. The action spectra show two bands for I- and [U--H]- production peaking around 4.0 and 4.8 eV. Time-resolved experiments measured the rate of I- production resulting from excitation of the two bands. At 4.03 eV and 4.72 eV, the photoelectron signal from I- exhibits rise times of 86 ± 7 ps and 36 ± 3 ps, respectively. Electronic structure calculations indicate that the lower energy band, which encompasses the vertical detachment energy (4.11 eV) of I-U, corresponds to excitation of a dipole-bound state of the complex, while the higher energy band is primarily a π-π* excitation on the uracil moiety. Although the nature of the two excited states is very different, the long lifetimes for I- production suggest that this channel results from internal conversion to the I-·U ground state followed by evaporation of I-. This hypothesis was tested by comparing the dissociation rates to Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dipole bound (DB) and valence bound (VB) anions of binary iodide-adenine complexes have been studied using one-color and time-resolved photoelectron imaging at excitation energies near the vertical detachment energy. The experiments are complemented by quantum chemical calculations. One-color spectra show evidence for two adenine tautomers, the canonical, biologically relevant A9 tautomer and the A3 tautomer. In the UV-pump/IR-probe time-resolved experiments, transient adenine anions can be formed by electron transfer from the iodide. These experiments show signals from both DB and VB states of adenine anions formed on femto- and picosecond time scales, respectively. Analysis of the spectra and comparison with calculations suggest that while both the A9 and A3 tautomers contribute to the DB signal, only the DB state of the A3 tautomer undergoes a transition to the VB anion. The VB anion of A9 is higher in energy than both the DB anion and the neutral, and the VB anion is therefore not accessible through the DB state. Experimental evidence of the metastable A9 VB anion is instead observed as a shape resonance in the one-color photoelectron spectra, as a result of UV absorption by A9 and subsequent electron transfer from iodide into the empty p-orbital. In contrast, the iodide-A3 complex constitutes an excellent example of how DB states can act as doorway state for VB anion formation when the VB state is energetically available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of electron attachment to the DNA base thymine are investigated using femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging of the gas phase iodide-thymine (I-T) complex. An ultraviolet pump pulse ejects an electron from the iodide and prepares an iodine-thymine temporary negative ion that is photodetached with a near-IR probe pulse. The resulting photoelectrons are analyzed with velocity-map imaging. At excitation energies ranging from -120 meV to +90 meV with respect to the vertical detachment energy (VDE) of 4.05 eV for I-T, both the dipole-bound and valence-bound negative ions of thymine are observed. A slightly longer rise time for the valence-bound state than the dipole-bound state suggests that some of the dipole-bound anions convert to valence-bound species. No evidence is seen for a dipole-bound anion of thymine at higher excitation energies, in the range of 0.6 eV above the I-T VDE, which suggests that if the dipole-bound anion acts as a "doorway" to the valence-bound anion, it only does so at excitation energies near the VDE of the complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]