Evolution of the ionisation energy with the stepwise growth of chiral clusters of [4]helicene - INSU - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers
Article Dans Une Revue Nature Communications Année : 2024

Evolution of the ionisation energy with the stepwise growth of chiral clusters of [4]helicene

Sérgio R. Domingos
  • Fonction : Auteur
Denis S. Tikhonov
  • Fonction : Auteur
Amanda L. Steber
  • Fonction : Auteur
Patrick Eschenbach
  • Fonction : Auteur
Sebastien Gruet
  • Fonction : Auteur
Kévin Martin
  • Fonction : Auteur
Laurent Nahon
  • Fonction : Auteur
Johannes Neugebauer
  • Fonction : Auteur
Narcis Avarvari
  • Fonction : Auteur
Melanie Schnell
  • Fonction : Auteur

Résumé

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely established as ubiquitous in the interstellar medium (ISM), but considering their prevalence in harsh vacuum environments, the role of ionisation in the formation of PAH clusters is poorly understood, particularly if a chirality-dependent aggregation route is considered. Here we report on photoelectron spectroscopy experiments on [4]helicene clusters performed with a vacuum ultraviolet synchrotron beamline. Aggregates (up to the heptamer) of [4]helicene, the smallest PAH with helical chirality, were produced and investigated with a combined experimental and theoretical approach using several state-of-the-art quantum-chemical methodologies. The ionisation onsets are extracted for each cluster size from the mass-selected photoelectron spectra and compared with calculations of vertical ionisation energies. We explore the complex aggregation topologies emerging from the multitude of isomers formed through clustering of P and M, the two enantiomers of [4]helicene. The very satisfactory benchmarking between experimental ionisation onsets vs. predicted ionisation energies allows the identification of theoretically predicted potential aggregation motifs and corresponding energetic ordering of chiral clusters. Our structural models suggest that a homochiral aggregation route is energetically favoured over heterochiral arrangements with increasing cluster size, hinting at potential symmetry breaking in PAH cluster formation at the scale of small grains.
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insu-04763885 , version 1 (03-11-2024)

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Sérgio R. Domingos, Denis S. Tikhonov, Amanda L. Steber, Patrick Eschenbach, Sebastien Gruet, et al.. Evolution of the ionisation energy with the stepwise growth of chiral clusters of [4]helicene. Nature Communications, 2024, 15, ⟨10.1038/s41467-024-48778-0⟩. ⟨insu-04763885⟩
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