Intramolecular vibrational energy relaxation in nitrous acid (HONO).

Intramolecular vibrational energy relaxation (IVR) in nitrous acid (HONO) is studied with the help of ultrafast two-color pump-probe spectroscopy. In a previous paper [V. Botan et al., J. Chem. Phys. 124, 234511 (2006)], it has been observed that trans-HONO cools through a cascade of overtones of one specific mode after pumping the OH stretch vibration. We had suggested that this cooling mode is the ONO bend vibration. Furthermore, molecules that have initially been excited by the OH stretch vibration of cis-HONO and then underwent isomerization follow the same relaxation pathway. In the present study, we extend the investigation of IVR of cis- and trans-HONO to the N=O stretch and HON bend spectral regions, finding further evidence that the bottleneck of trans cooling is indeed the ONO bend vibration. In combination with information on the anharmonic coupling constants of different modes, the energy relaxation dynamics preceding this cooling cascade can also be followed in unprecedented detail.