Separation and conversion dynamics of nuclear-spin isomers of gaseous methanol

Zhen-Dong Sun (), Meihua Ge and Yujun Zheng
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Zhen-Dong Sun: School of Physics, Shandong University, 27 Shanda Nanlu, Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
Meihua Ge: School of Physics, Shandong University, 27 Shanda Nanlu, Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
Yujun Zheng: School of Physics, Shandong University, 27 Shanda Nanlu, Jinan, Shandong 250100, China

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract All symmetrical molecules with non-zero nuclear spin exist in nature as nuclear-spin isomers (NSIs). However, owing to the lack of experimental information, knowledge is rare about interconversions of NSIs of gaseous molecules with torsional symmetry. Here we report our separation and conversion observations on NSI-torsion-specific transition systems of gaseous methanol from a light-induced drift experiment involving partially spatial separation of the ortho and para isomers. We find that vibrationally excited molecules of the methanol spin isomer have a smaller collision cross-section than their ground-state counterparts. Interconversion of the enriched ortho isomer with the para isomer, which is generally considered improbable, has been quantitatively studied by sensitive detections of the spectral intensities. Rather counterintuitively, this reveals that the interconversion is inhibited with increasing pressure. Our results suggest that the spin conversion mechanism in methanol is via a quantum relaxation process with the quantum Zeno effect induced by molecular collisions.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7877

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