The vibrational dephasing dynamics of the nitrosyl stretching vibration (ν(NO)) in sodium nitroprusside (SNP, Na2[Fe(CN)5NO]·2H2O) are investigated using two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy. The ν(NO) in SNP acts as a model system for the nitrosyl ligand found in metalloproteins which play an important role in the transportation and detection of nitric oxide (NO) in biological systems. We perform a 2D IR line shape study of the ν(NO) in the following solvents: water, deuterium oxide, methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, formamide, and dimethyl sulfoxide. The frequency of the ν(NO) exhibits a large vibrational solvatochromic shift of 52 cm(-1), ranging from 1884 cm(-1) in dimethyl sulfoxide to 1936 cm(-1) in water. The vibrational anharmonicity of the ν(NO) varies from 21 to 28 cm(-1) in the solvents used in this study. The frequency-frequency correlation functions (FFCFs) of the ν(NO) in SNP in each of the seven solvents are obtained by fitting the experimentally obtained 2D IR spectra using nonlinear response theory. The fits to the 2D IR line shape reveal that the spectral diffusion time scale of the ν(NO) in SNP varies from 0.8 to 4 ps and is negatively correlated with the empirical solvent polarity scales. We compare our results with the experimentally determined FFCFs of other charged vibrational probes in polar solvents and in the active sites of heme proteins. Our results suggest that the vibrational dephasing dynamics of the ν(NO) in SNP reflect the fluctuations of the nonhomogeneous electric field created by the polar solvents around the nitrosyl and cyanide ligands. The solute solvent interactions occurring at the trans-CN ligand are sensed through the π-back-bonding network along the Fe-NO bond in SNP.

Using polarization-selective two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy, we measure anharmonic couplings and angles between the transition dipole moments of the four cyanide stretching (νCN) vibrations found in [(NH3)5Ru(III)NCFe(II)(CN)5](-) (FeRu) dissolved in D2O and formamide and [(NC)5Fe(II)CNPt(IV)(NH3)4NCFe(II)(CN)5](4-) (FePtFe) dissolved in D2O. These cyanide-bridged transition metal complexes serve as model systems for studying the role of high frequency vibrational modes in ultrafast photoinduced charge transfer reactions. Here, we focus on the spectroscopy of the νCN modes in the electronic ground state. The FTIR spectra of the νCN modes of the bimetallic and trimetallic systems are strikingly different in terms of frequencies, amplitudes, and lineshapes. The experimental 2D IR spectra of FeRu and FePtFe and their fits reveal a set of weakly coupled anharmonic νCN modes. The vibrational mode anharmonicities of the individual νCN modes range from 14 to 28 cm(-1). The mixed-mode anharmonicities range from 2 to 14 cm(-1). In general, the bridging νCN mode is most weakly coupled to the radial νCN mode, which involves the terminal CN ligands. Measurement of the relative transition dipole moments of the four νCN modes reveal that the FeRu molecule is almost linear in solution when dissolved in formamide, but it assumes a bent geometry when dissolved in D2O. The νCN modes are modelled as bilinearly coupled anharmonic oscillators with an average coupling constant of 6 cm(-1). This study elucidates the role of the solvent in modulating the molecular geometry and the anharmonic vibrational couplings between the νCN modes in cyanide-bridged transition metal mixed valence complexes.

Nitrophorin 4 (NP4) belongs to a family of pH-sensitive, nitric oxide (NO) transporter proteins which undergo a large structural change from a closed to an open conformation at high pH to allow for NO delivery. Measuring the pH-dependent structural dynamics in NP4–NO around the ligand binding site is crucial for developing a mechanistic understanding of NO binding and release. In this study we use coherent two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy to measure picosecond structural dynamics sampled by the nitrosyl stretch in NP4–NO as a function of pH at room temperature. Our results show that both the closed and open conformers of the protein are present at low (pD 5.1) and high (pD 7.9) pH conditions. The closed and open conformers are characterized by two frequencies of the nitrosyl stretching vibration labeled A0 and A1, respectively. Analysis of the 2D IR lineshapes reveals that at pD 5.1, the closed conformer experiences structural fluctuations arising from solvation dynamics on a ∼3 ps timescale. At pD 7.9, both the open and closed conformers exhibit fluctuations on a ∼1 ps timescale. At both pD conditions, the closed conformers maintain a static distribution of structures within the experimental time window of 100 ps. This is in contrast to the open conformer, which is able to interconvert among its sub-states on a ∼100 ps timescale. Our results directly measure the timescales of solvation dynamics in the distal pocket, the flexibility of the open conformation at high pH, and the rigidity of the closed conformers at both pH conditions. We discuss how the pH dependent equilibrium structural fluctuations of the nitrosyl ligand measured in this study are related to the uptake and delivery of nitric oxide in Nitrophorin 4.

Using polarization-selective two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) and infrared pump-probe spectroscopies, we study vibrational relaxation of the four cyanide stretching (νCN) vibrations found in [(NH3)5RuIIINCFeII(CN)5]− (FeRu) dissolved in D2O or formamide and [(NC)5FeIICNPtIV(NH3)4NCFeII(CN)5]4− (FePtFe) dissolved in D2O. These cyanide-bridged transition metal complexes serve as models for understanding the role high frequency vibrational modes play in metal-to-metal charge transfers over a bridging ligand. However, there is currently little information about vibrational relaxation and dephasing dynamics of the anharmonically coupled νCN modes in the electronic ground state of these complexes. IR pump-probe experiments reveal that the vibrational lifetimes of the νCN modes are ∼2 times faster when FeRu is dissolved in D2O versus formamide. They also reveal that the vibrational lifetimes of the νCN modes of FePtFe in D2O are almost four times as long as for FeRu in D2O. Combined with mode-specific relaxation dynamics measured from the 2D IR experiments, the IR pump-probe experiments also reveal that intramolecular vibrational relaxation is occurring in all three systems on ∼1 ps timescale. Center line slope dynamics, which have been shown to be a measure of the frequency-frequency correlation function, reveal that the radial, axial, and trans νCN modes exhibit a ∼3 ps timescale for frequency fluctuations. This timescale is attributed to the forming and breaking of hydrogen bonds between each mode and the solvent. The results presented here along with our previous work on FeRu and FePtFe reveal a picture of coupled anharmonic νCN modes where the spectral diffusion and vibrational relaxation dynamics depend on the spatial localization of the mode on the molecular complex and its specific interaction with the solvent.