@article{YangZhuWolfetal.2018, author = {Yang, Jie and Zhu, Xiaolei and Wolf, Thomas J. A. and Li, Zheng and Nunes, Jo{\~a}o Pedro Figueira and Coffee, Ryan and Cryan, James P. and G{\"u}hr, Markus and Hegazy, Kareem and Heinz, Tony F. and Jobe, Keith and Li, Renkai and Shen, Xiaozhe and Veccione, Theodore and Weathersby, Stephen and Wilkin, Kyle J. and Yoneda, Charles and Zheng, Qiang and Martinez, Todd J. and Centurion, Martin and Wang, Xijie}, title = {Imaging CF3I conical intersection and photodissociation dynamics with ultrafast electron diffraction}, series = {Science}, volume = {361}, journal = {Science}, number = {6397}, publisher = {American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0036-8075}, doi = {10.1126/science.aat0049}, pages = {64 -- 67}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Conical intersections play a critical role in excited-state dynamics of polyatomic molecules because they govern the reaction pathways of many nonadiabatic processes. However, ultrafast probes have lacked sufficient spatial resolution to image wave-packet trajectories through these intersections directly. Here, we present the simultaneous experimental characterization of one-photon and two-photon excitation channels in isolated CF3I molecules using ultrafast gas-phase electron diffraction. In the two-photon channel, we have mapped out the real-space trajectories of a coherent nuclear wave packet, which bifurcates onto two potential energy surfaces when passing through a conical intersection. In the one-photon channel, we have resolved excitation of both the umbrella and the breathing vibrational modes in the CF3 fragment in multiple nuclear dimensions. These findings benchmark and validate ab initio nonadiabatic dynamics calculations.}, language = {en} } @article{WilkinParrishYangetal.2019, author = {Wilkin, Kyle J. and Parrish, Robert M. and Yang, Jie and Wolf, Thomas J. A. and Nunes, J. Pedro F. and G{\"u}hr, Markus and Li, Renkai and Shen, Xiaozhe and Zheng, Qiang and Wang, Xijie and Martinez, Todd J. and Centurion, Martin}, title = {Diffractive imaging of dissociation and ground-state dynamics in a complex molecule}, series = {Physical review : A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics}, volume = {100}, journal = {Physical review : A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, address = {College Park}, issn = {2469-9926}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevA.100.023402}, pages = {10}, year = {2019}, abstract = {We have investigated the structural dynamics in photoexcited 1,2-diiodotetrafluoroethane molecules (C2F4I2) in the gas phase experimentally using ultrafast electron diffraction and theoretically using FOMO-CASCI excited-state dynamics simulations. The molecules are excited by an ultraviolet femtosecond laser pulse to a state characterized by a transition from the iodine 5p perpendicular to orbital to a mixed 5p parallel to sigma hole and CF2 center dot antibonding orbital, which results in the cleavage of one of the carbon-iodine bonds. We have observed, with sub-Angstrom resolution, the motion of the nuclear wave packet of the dissociating iodine atom followed by coherent vibrations in the electronic ground state of the C2F4I radical. The radical reaches a stable classical (nonbridged) structure in less than 200 fs.}, language = {en} } @article{WangZhangYanetal.2022, author = {Wang, Feipeng and Zhang, Zheng and Yan, Yuyang and Shen, Zijia and Wang, Qiang and Gerhard, Reimund}, title = {Surface reconstruction on electro-spun PVA/PVP nanofibers by water evaporation}, series = {Nanomaterials}, volume = {12}, journal = {Nanomaterials}, number = {5}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2079-4991}, doi = {10.3390/nano12050797}, pages = {7}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Tailoring the secondary surface morphology of electro-spun nanofibers has been highly desired, as such delicate structures equip nanofibers with distinct functions. Here, we report a simple strategy to directly reconstruct the surface of polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVA/PVP) nanofibers by water evaporation. The roughness and diameter of the nanofibers depend on the temperature during vacuum drying. Surface changes of the nanofibers from smooth to rough were observed at 55 degrees C, with a significant drop in nanofiber diameter. We attribute the formation of the secondary surface morphology to the intermolecular forces in the water vapor, including capillary and the compression forces, on the basis of the results from the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy. The strategy is universally effective for various electro-spun polymer nanofibers, thus opening up avenues toward more detailed and sophisticated structure design and implementation for nanofibers.}, language = {en} }