Photoelectron Circular Dichroism in the Photodetachment of Deprotonated 1-Phenylethanol

Photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) is a chiroptical effect that manifests in the angle-dependent photoemission of an electron upon irradiation of a chiral molecule by circularly polarized light. Studies of this chiroptical effect can aid in our fundamental understanding of electron dynamics, as this effect is acutely sensitive to the probed molecular state and electron emission conditions. Photodetachment of anions is a photoemission regime that has historically been understudied in conjunction with PECD. Through comparisons to electronic structure calculations, the photoelectron spectrum of deprotonated 1-phenylethanol is assigned to a single electronic transition of a single conformer. This allows for the investigation of the dependence of PECD on the electron kinetic energy and vibrational state of the molecule. PECD in the photodetachment of the deprotonated 1-phenylethanol anion is measured at different photon energies from 3.59 to 2.38 eV, showing a change in the resulting PECD value for a given transition with differing electron kinetic energies.