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Ludger Wöste

Publications and source records attributed to Ludger Wöste.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Catalytic CO oxidation by free Au2-: experiment and theory.

Temperature-dependent rf-ion trap mass spectrometry and first-principles simulations reveal the detailed reaction mechanism of the catalytic gas-phase oxidation of CO by free Au(2)(-) ions in the presence of O(2). A metastable intermediate with a mass of Au(2)CO(3)(-) was observed at low temperatures. Two alternative structures corresponding to digold carbonate or peroxyformate are predicted for this intermediate. Both structures are characterized by low activation barriers for the formation of CO(2). These combined experimental and theoretical investigations provide a comprehensive understanding of the kinetics, energetics, and atomic arrangements along the reaction path, thus allowing a formulation of the catalytic cycle for the oxidation reaction.

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Gas-phase infrared spectrum of the protonated water dimer.

The protonated water dimer is a prototypical system for the study of proton transfer in aqueous solution. We report infrared photodissociation spectra of cooled H+(H2O)2 [and D+(D2O2] ions, measured between 620 and 1900 wave numbers (cm-1). The experiment directly probes the shared proton region of the potential energy surface and reveals three strong bands below 1600 cm-1 and one at 1740 cm-1 (for H5O2+). From a comparison to multidimensional quantum calculations, the three lower energy bands were assigned to stretching and bending fundamentals involving the O...H+...O moiety, and the highest energy band was assigned to a terminal water bend. These results highlight the importance of intermode coupling in shared proton systems.

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Deciphering the reaction dynamics underlying optimal control laser fields.

Femtosecond high-resolution pump-probe experiments have been used together with theoretical ab initio quantum calculations and wave packet dynamics simulations to decode an optimal femtosecond pulse that is generated from adaptive learning algorithms. This pulse is designed to maximize the yield of the organometallic ion CpMn(CO)3 while hindering the competing fragmentation. The sequential excitation and ionization of the target ion are accomplished by an optimized field consisting of two dominant subpulses with optimal frequencies and time delays.

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Observation and theoretical description of periodic geometric rearrangement in electronically excited nonstoichiometric sodium-fluoride clusters.

We present two-color fs pump-probe spectra of Na2F which were recorded by employing excitation wavelengths around 1208 nm (pump) and ionization wavelengths around 405 nm (probe). The observed oscillatory structure of the signal with a period of 185 fs shows an excellent agreement with our simulated spectra. The employed ab initio Wigner distribution approach provides clear evidence that this observation is caused by photoinduced metal bond breaking followed by a butterfly-type periodic geometric rearrangement.

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