Molecular dynamics of liquid acetone determined by depolarized Rayleigh and low-frequency Raman scattering spectroscopy

Abstract

Slow to ultrafast dynamics of liquid acetone at variable temperature was investigated by depolarized Rayleigh and low-frequency Raman scattering spectroscopy, in the region 0–200 cm⁻¹. A detailed analysis was performed on the spectra and corresponding time responses, and a consistent view of the molecular dynamics of this dipolar solvent was obtained. The effects of temperature on the spectra were interpreted, and distinct dynamical processes identified. At very low frequencies, or long time scales, acetone dynamics is characterized by a slow diffusive reorientation obeying the Stokes–Einstein–Debye hydrodynamic theory only in the limit of subslip boundary conditions. An alternative model based on the microviscosity concept proved to be able to reproduce this correlation time and its temperature dependence. A comparative analysis of collective and single-molecule reorientational times, these latter estimated from intramolecular Raman spectra, led to an orientational correlation parameter g₂ of unity, which denotes a statistical disorder of molecular polarizability tensors. A fast local restructuring process is putatively responsible for an additional contribution at subpicosecond time scales often referred to as intermediate response in other molecular liquids. The high frequency portion of the dynamical susceptibility showed the signature of librational intermolecular motions, giving rise to an ultrafast decay of the time correlation function of polarizability anisotropy. The overall approach, which provided valuable information on dynamics, structure and molecular interactions of neat acetone, will be applied to acetone electrolytic solutions.