Conformer-dependent vacuum ultraviolet photodynamics and chiral asymmetries in pure enantiomers of gas phase proline

Proline is a unique amino-acid, with a secondary amine fixed within a pyrrolidine ring providing specific structural properties to proline-rich biopolymers. Gas-phase proline possesses four main H-bond stabilized conformers differing by the ring puckering and carboxylic acid orientation. The latter defines two classes of conformation, whose large ionization energy difference allows a unique conformer-class tagging via electron spectroscopy. Photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) is an intense chiroptical effect sensitive to molecular structures, hence theorized to be highly conformation-dependent. Here, we present experimental evidence of an intense and striking conformer-specific PECD, measured in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization of proline, as well as a conformer-dependent cation fragmentation behavior. This finding, combined with theoretical modeling, allows a refinement of the conformational landscape and energetic ordering, that proves inaccessible to current molecular electronic structure calculations. Additionally, astrochemical implications regarding a possible link of PECD to the origin of life’s homochirality are considered in terms of plausible temperature constraints.

Conformer-Dependent VUV Photodynamics and Chiral Asymmetries in Pure Enantiomers of Gas Phase Proline

Proline is a unique amino-acid, with a secondary amine fixed within a pyrrolidine ring providing specific structural properties to proline-rich biopolymers. Gas-phase proline possesses four main H-bond stabilized conformers differing by the ring puckering and carboxylic acid orientation. The latter defines two classes of conformation, whose large ionization energy difference allows a unique conformer-class tagging via electron spectroscopy. Photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) is an intense chiroptical effect sensitive to molecular structures, hence theorized to be highly conformation-dependent. Here, besides a conformer-dependant cation fragmentation behaviour, we present experimental evidence of an intense and striking conformer-specific PECD, measured in the VUV photoionization of proline. This finding, combined with theoretical modelling, allows a refinement of the conformational landscape and energetic ordering, that proves inaccessible to current molecular electronic structure calculations. Additionally, astrochemical implications regarding a possible link of PECD to the origin of life’s homochirality are considered in terms of plausible temperature constraints.

Computing Four-Center Two-Electron Coulomb Integrals Using Exponential Transformations and Trapezoidal Rule

The numerical evaluations of the four-center two-electron Coulomb integrals are among the most time-consuming computations involved in molecular electronic structure calculations. In the present paper we extend the double exponential (DE) transform method, previously developed for the numerical evaluation of threecenter one-electron molecular integrals [J. Lovrod, H. Safouhi, Molecular Physics (2019) DOI:10.1030/0026867.2019.1619854], to four-center two-electron integrals. The fast convergence properties analyzed in the numerical section illustrate the advantages of the new approach.

Theoretical evaluation of valeraldehyde

The aim of this study was to compute the theoretical (software-based) spectroscopic properties of valeraldehyde as a member of the aldehyde family. The structural, thermochemical, electrical and spectroscopic properties of valeraldehyde were investigated using a quantum calculation approach. The infrared, ultraviolet-visible, Raman, and vibrational self-consistent field calculations and thermochemistry were calculated using the computational software GAMESS (General Atomic and Molecular Electronic Structure System) and the nuclear magnetic resonance predictions were calculated. The calculated energy gap between the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) was 164.892.eV, which means valeraldehyde is a poor electrical conductor. The band gap is a non-neglected parameter for optical material. Results of the current computational analysis are useful to predict even a complex aldehyde precursor.