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The valence and core level photoelectron spectra of glycine, proline, and methionine in the gas phase have been investigated by VUV and soft X-ray radiation. The outer valence band photoemission spectra are similar to previously reported He I spectra, although relative peak intensities are different due to the different photon energy. We extended the spectral range to include the inner valence region. The carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen 1s as well as the sulfur 2p core level spectra of these amino acids have been measured and the states identified. Valence band spectra of proline have been recorded as a function of temperature, and they provide information about the relative populations of the lowest energy conformers.

We report high resolution measurements of near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectra (NEXAFS) at the carbon and oxygen K edges of the series of related organic molecules acetaldehyde, acetone, formic acid, methanol, dimethyl ether, and paraldehyde. The spectra are compared with previous measurements of these gases and formaldehyde and with theoretical calculations. Much more fine structure is resolved than previously, particularly at the carbon edge. The results are in good overall agreement with the theoretical predictions of Plashkevych et al. (Chem. Phys. 2000, 260, 11) that the methyl group spectrum is relatively independent of the functional groups to which it is bonded, as are the carbon and oxygen carbonyl group spectra. On the other hand, oxygen atoms in hydroxyl and ether groups are strongly influenced by neighboring atoms. All of the carbon edge spectra investigated show fine structure, and only in the case of acetone do the density of states and number of vibrational degrees of freedom begin to obscure fine detail. The term values of the strongest transitions to states of acetaldehyde and acetone at the C 1s and O 1s edges are in reasonable agreement with theoretical calculations. The splittings of the C 1s -1 3p(CH 3 ) and 3p(CO) Rydberg states due to the low symmetry of the molecules are 0.6-0.7 and 0.38 eV for both molecules, in good agreement with theory. Absolute values of the photoabsorption cross-section, where available in the literature, show moderate to very poor agreement with measured values.

The core level photoabsorption spectra of the nucleobases cytosine and uracil in the gas phase have been measured and the results interpreted with theoretical calculations using an ab initio Green’s function approach. A single tautomer of uracil is populated, in agreement with previous work, while three tautomers of cytosine are clearly identified, whose identity and relative populations at the temperature of the experiment were reported previously. The second-order ADC approach to polarization propagator was employed in calculations of X-ray photoabsorption energies and intensities. The theoretical spectra have been constructed as Boltzmann-factor-weighted sums of individual tautomer spectra. These theoretical spectra are in good agreement with the experimental photoabsorption results at the oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon edges. In addition we report resonant Auger spectra of the valence band of cytosine, which support previous assignments of the character of the valence band states.