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Originally published in Science Express on 3 February 2005
Science 4 March 2005:
Vol. 307. no. 5714, pp. 1443 - 1446
DOI: 10.1126/science.1106977
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Reports

Laser-Initiated Shuttling of a Water Molecule Between H-Bonding Sites

Jasper R. Clarkson,1 Esteban Baquero,1 V. Alvin Shubert,1 Evgeniy M. Myshakin,2 Kenneth D. Jordan,2 Timothy S. Zwier1*

The two-step laser excitation scheme of stimulated emission pumping (SEP) induces shifts of a single water molecule between two remote hydrogen bonding sites on trans-formanilide. This reaction can be initiated by selective excitation of either isomer (CFormula O-bound or NH-bound) with different SEP excitation wavelengths. Energy (E) thresholds for isomerization in both directions have been measured [796 wave numbers ≤ E(CFormula O->NH) ≤ 988 wave numbers and 750 wave numbers ≤ E(NH->CFormula O) ≤ 988 wave numbers], and the energy difference DE between the CFormula O-bound and NH-bound isomers was extracted (–238 wave numbers ≤ DE ≤ +192 wave numbers).

1 Department of Chemistry, 560 Oval Drive, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907–2084, USA.
2 Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: zwier{at}purdue.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)