Electronic Spectroscopy of Resonantly Stabilized Aromatic Radicals : 1-Indanyl and Methyl Substituted Analogues

The gas-phase electronic spectra of two resonantly stabilized radicals, 1-indanyl (C9H9) and 1-methyl-1-indanyl (C10H11), have been recorded in the visible region using a resonant two-color two-photon ionization (R2C2PI) scheme. The D1(A″) ← D0(A″) origin bands of 1-indanyl and 1-methyl-1-indanyl radicals are observed at 21157 and 20565 cm–1, respectively. The excitation of a′ vibrations in the D1 state is observed up to ∼1500 cm–1 above the origin band in both cases. The experimental assignments are in agreement with DFT and TD-DFT calculations. The R2C2PI spectrum recorded at m/z = 131 amu (C10H11) features three additional electronic transitions at 21433, 21369, and 17989 cm–1, which are assigned to the origin bands of 7-methyl-1-indanyl, 2,3,4-trihydronaphthyl, and methyl-4-ethenylbenzyl radicals, respectively.