Hydrogen-bonded systems are ubiquitous in nature, where they provide structure and pathways for energy dissipation. Cyclic, hydrogen-bonded interfaces are capable of mediating proton transfer, but these structures have broad and complex vibrational spectra. To study these vibrational features, an ultrafast continuum midinfrared (CIR) laser pulse has been incorporated as the probe pulse in several vibrational spectroscopies used to study the vibrational dynamics and proton transfer of cyclic, hydrogen-bonded dimers. Unlike traditional ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy, which is limited to a few hundred cm-1 of bandwidth in a single experiment, ultrafast mid-infrared continuum spectroscopy allows vibrational dynamics and coupling to be observed across the full vibrational spectrum. The vibrational dynamics of the 7-azaindole- acetic acid heterodimer were studied with mid-infrared pump-CIR probe and two dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy, which revealed strong coupling across the spectrum and very fast energy transfer across the bridging hydrogen bonds. Additionally, photoinduced proton transfer was studied in the 7-azaindole homodimer with preliminary UV pump-CIR probe experiments, which showed the formation of the doubly proton-transferred tautomer and spectral signatures of proton transfer. Further development of ultrafast mid-IR spectroscopy was explored with the generation of high energy continuum mid-IR pulses in bulk chalcogenide glass.

The advent of laser-based sources of ultrafast infrared pulses has extended the study of very fast molecular dynamics to the observation of processes manifested through their effects on the vibrations of molecules. In addition, non-linear infrared spectroscopic techniques make it possible to examine intra- and intermolecular interactions and how su

This book is intended to give an introduction to intermolecular forces from an experimental point of view. Within the last 10 years the interest has turned more and more into an understanding of the weak, but important, int- molecular forces. New experimental techniques have been developed which have helped to gain more insight into this interesting topic. This book is intended as an introduction for graduate students who are familiar with the main concepts of n~olecular spectroscopy. Special emphasis will be laid on the theoretical concepts. After a detailed description of experimental techniques, the results for two prototype systems which have been the subject of several studies in the literature within recent years will be presented. Ar-CO is becoming the most extensively studied van der Waals complex, theoretically and experimentally. Nevertheless, this example shows that even though the theory has greatly improved and has helped us to improve our knowledge of intermolecular forces, even for relatively simple cases the theory car1 still fall short of an accurate description. For a long time (NH3)2 was considered as a prototype for hydrogen bo- ing. However, subsequent experimental and theoretical studies have revealed the mysteries of the obtained spectra and proved that our previous concept of hydrogen bonds was just too naive.

Ultrafast time-resolved infrared spectroscopy has been a powerful tool in resolving and studying ultrafast motions in bulk chemical and biological systems. The utility of ultrafast time-resolved infrared spectroscopy is illustrated through two studies of solute-solvent complexes. The same experimental methods used to study bulk systems are then extended to study surface systems through the development of both surface molecular probes and new spectroscopic techniques. Ultrafast polarization and wavelength selective IR pump-probe spectroscopy is used to measure the inertial and long time orientational dynamics of pi-hydrogen bonding complexes. The complexes studied are composed of phen-d-ol (phenol-OD) and various pi-base solvents with different electron donating or withdrawing substituents. The inertial motion is found to be insensitive to the strength of the hydrogen bond, but highly sensitive to the local solvent structure as reported on by inhomogeneous line broadening. The local solvent structure therefore acts as the controlling influence in determining the extent of inertial orientational relaxation, and thus the angular potential. Variation in the pi-hydrogen bond strength is of secondary importance. Hydrogen bonded complexes between phenol and phenylacetylene are studied using ultrafast two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) chemical exchange spectroscopy. Phenylacetylene has two possible pi-hydrogen bonding acceptor sites (phenyl or acetylene) that compete for hydrogen bond donors in solution at room temperature. The chemical exchange process occurs in ~5 ps, and is assigned to direct hydrogen bond migration along the phenylacetylene molecule. The observation of direct hydrogen bond migration can have implications for macromolecular systems. 2D IR vibrational echo spectroscopy and heterodyne detected transient grating (HDTG) spectroscopy (an ultra-sensitive analog of pump-probe spectroscopy) are developed as means of study of the structural and vibrational dynamics of surfaces. The surfaces studied are silica surfaces functionalized with a transition metal carbonyl complex, tricarbonyl (1,10)-phenanthroline rhenium chloride. The functionalization process produces chromophore surface density of 1-2 × 10^14 per cm squared. The high surface density achieved indicates that energy transfer between molecules on the surface could impact the experimental observables probed in 2D IR and HDTG spectroscopy. The theory of excitation transfer induced spectral diffusion has been developed and is capable of calculating the effect of the energy transfer on any spectroscopic observable through a master equation approach. Initial estimates of surface structural dynamics, based on both experimental 2D IR data and theoretical calculations, showed sub-100ps structural dynamics in the molecular monolayers even without the presence of solvent. Furthermore, solvent is shown to accelerate the structural dynamics in a manner that is different from that of bulk solution. Additional surface density dependent experiments indicate the negligible nature of excitation transfer even in these dense systems. The functionalized molecular monolayers are found to have a ~40 ps structural dynamics relaxation time in the absence of solvent. Further investigation of the effects of solvents on the RePhen(CO)3Cl monolayers has been carried out. Immersion in solvent is found to change the infrared spectrum, structural dynamics and vibrational dynamics in ways that differ from the changes evidenced in the bulk. The monolayers were immersed in both solvents that can dissolve RePhen(CO)3Cl and those that cannot. For both hexadecane and D2O, which cannot dissolve the headgroup, the structural dynamics of the monolayer are slowed by the presence of solvent while the vibrational dynamics are not impacted. Polar organic solvents, which can dissolve the headgroup, accelerate the dynamics. Dimethylformamide (DMF) is found to have a particularly strong effect on the structural dynamics of the monolayers, accelerating the timescale from 40 ps to 15 ps, yet DMF has little impact on the vibrational dynamics. Chloroform is found to enhance the vibrational lifetime of the CO symmetric stretch of the RePhen(CO)3Cl headgroups in the monolayer by 50%. These results indicate that the properties of thin films can be modified by the presence of solvent, even in the case when the solvent is repelled by the monolayer.