Ion dip spectroscopy of phenol–OD and phenol–OD(D2O)1

The results of an ion dip spectroscopy study of the phenol–OD [PhOD] molecule and phenol–OD(D2O)1 [PhOD(D2O)1] from 500–1300 cm−1 are presented and the spectra compared with the undeuterated molecule and cluster. The greater modulation of the PhOD ion dip spectrum compared to that of phenol–OD [PhOH] is the result of a longer S1 lifetime for the deuterated molecule due to quenching of internal conversion. The PhOD(D2O)1 cluster spectrum allows us to identify the ground state intermolecular PhOD–D2O stretch as 144 cm−1 compared to 151 cm−1 for the undeuterated cluster. Importantly, the blue shift of the 7a1 mode (C–O stretch) provides evidence that the water acceptor molecule donates charge into the C–O bond.