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Thomas A Baker

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas A Baker.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Imaging nanostructures with scanning photoionization microscopy.

We report detailed studies of local electronic properties in nanostructured thin metallic films using scanning photoionization microscopy. This novel form of microscopy combines the advantages of diffraction-limited optical excitation with the ability to detect both photons and low kinetic energy photoelectrons, permitting sensitive characterization of heterogeneous surfaces under vacuum conditions. Using this technique, correlated measurements of multiphoton photoemission cross section and optical penetration depth are reported for Au films supported on Pt. These results present a first step toward combining confocal fluorescence or Raman microscopy with time-resolved photoelectron imaging spectroscopy in complex metal film environments, which should be ideally suited to investigating local plasmonic effects in nanostructures.

Journal Article↗

Geometry of simple molecules. 2. Modeling the geometry of AX3E and AX2E2 molecules through the nonbonded interaction (NBI) model.

A new conceptual model of molecular geometry is presented, called the nonbonded interaction (NBI) model. This model is applied to the geometries of the AX3E and AX2E2 (A = N, O, P, S, As, Se, or Te; X = H, F, Cl, Br, I, CH(3), tBu, CF3, SiH3, Sn(tBu)3, or SnPh3) molecule types. For these molecules, the NBI model can be quantified on the basis of a balance between terminal atom-terminal atom (X-X) interactions and lone pair-terminal atom (E-X) interactions. The empirically observed X-A-X angles range from 91.0 degrees (SeH2) to 180 degrees (O(Sn(tBu)3)2), and the NBI model predicts the X-A-X angle with a mean unsigned error of 1.0 degrees using the empirical A-X distance, 1.5 degrees using the LMP2/6-31G** A-X distance, and 1.1 degrees using the MMFF94 A-X distance. This level of precision compares well to the LMP2/6-31G**-predicted X-A-X angles and is significantly better than the MMFF94-predicted X-A-X angles. Terminal groups that are not sufficiently spherical (CF3, SiH3, and SnPh3) can still be addressed qualitatively by the NBI model, as can molecules with a mixture of terminal groups. The NBI model is able to explain, often quantitatively, the geometry of all of the molecules studied, without any additional postulates or extensive parametrization.

Journal Article↗