The 351-nm photoelectron spectrum of the negative ion of
1,3-benzoquinodimethane (m-xylylene) is
reported. Features are observed in the photoelectron spectrum
corresponding to formation of the 3B2,
1A1, and
1B2
states of m-xylylene. The electron affinity of the
triplet ground state is found to be 0.919 ± 0.008 eV, and
vibrational
frequencies of 290, 540, and 1500 cm-1 are
obtained. The active modes are assigned to α-carbon bending,
ring
deformation, and methylene bending, respectively. The
1A1 state is found to lie 9.6 ± 0.2 kcal/mol
higher in energy
than the ground state, in good agreement with theoretical predictions.
Vibrational frequencies of 265, 1000, and
1265 cm-1 are found for this state. The
1B2 is estimated to be <21.5 kcal/mol higher
in energy than the ground
state. Density functional calculations have been carried out on
the negative ion, indicating that the 2B1 ion
is a
minimum on the potential energy surface, lying 2.9 kcal/mol lower in
energy than the 2A2 ion, which is a
transition
state.