Fortune, William George;
(2025)
Photodetachment from phenolate in vacuo and in aqueous solution.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This thesis explores the use of two experimental techniques, gas–phase anion photoelectron spectroscopy, and liquid microjet photoelectron spectroscopy, to investigate the electronic structure, excited state dynamics and photodetachment mechanisms in the phenolate anion. The experimental work focuses on the role of both the absence, and the inclusion, of a native environment and the ways in which the environment affects the electronic properties of the phenolate anion across the use of both experimental techniques. Chapter 1 details a background to the electronic structure of both isolated and solvated molecular anions. It also describes photoelectron spectroscopy in both the gas–phase and solution phase, and discusses any experimental considerations when conducting such experiments. An introduction to the phenolate anion as a molecular motif is also presented. Chapter 2 will introduce the experimental apparatus for both the nanosecond anion photoelectron spectrometer, and the liquid microjet photoelectron spectrometer. This chapter will also address the data processing methods used in this work. Chapter 3 presents gas–phase photodetachment spectra of the isolated phenolate anion, which is a common motif in both the green fluorescent protein and the photoactive yellow protein. The photodetachment spectra are presented alongside photoelectron angular distributions, to examine both direct detachment channels and resonant excitation to the S1 ( ππ*) state in the range 300–370 nm. Subsequently, a room–temperature photodetachment action spectrum, which examines the absorption processes in isolated phenolate between 300–600 nm, is presented. In chapter 4, the phenolate anion is examined using liquid–microjet photoelectron spectroscopy, over the range 236–300 nm. This work examines both resonant π–π* transitions to the first two singlet excited states, exploring resonance– enhanced multiphoton detachment. This chapter also benchmarks the non–resonant two–photon binding energy in phenolate using UV photons. Photoelectron spectra presented in this chapter have been included work published in the literature, supporting transient absorption spectroscopy measurements and assisting the advancement of work on electron scattering in solutions. Chapter 5 will provide a summary of the work presented in this thesis and discusses current and future experimental work which would supplement this research area.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Photodetachment from phenolate in vacuo and in aqueous solution |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Chemistry |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10204282 |
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