Studies on structural dynamics of reaction intermediates by vibrational spectroscopy

Pulse radiolysis has been recognized as a powerful tool for studies on various reaction intermediates, because wide variety of samples can be selectively oxidized or reduced by oxidizing or reducing agents generated by electron pulse, respectively. In many cases, reaction processes of generated intermediates are followed by transient absorption measurements. On the other hand, vibrational spectroscopy is also expected to provide valuable information on molecular structures of the intermediates. From this viewpoint, we have tried to apply time-resolved resonance Raman (TR³) spectroscopy to pulse radiolysis. In the present paper, we summarize our recent research results based on TR³ spectroscopy during pulse radiolysis of various samples. (author)