Electronic spectroscopy and structure of gas-phase molecular ions

Abstract

This thesis describes investigations of gas-phase molecular cations --- protonated azobenzenes, ruthenium sulfoxide coordination complexes, and the ferrocenium and tropylium cations --- using electronic action spectroscopy. Protonated azobenzenes and ruthenium sulfoxide complexes are prototypical molecular photoswitches, which reversibly change isomeric form in response to light, and are building blocks of light-activated molecular machines. The ferrocenium cation is, along with its reduced form ferrocene, a common redox standard and an archetypal organometallic complex. Tropylium is a 6 pi-aromatic molecule with rare sevenfold symmetry and is involved in the combustion of aromatic hydrocarb..