Electron stimulated ring opening in diphenylphthalide dicarboxylic acid: Its likely role in the unique properties of phthalide-based materials

The electronic properties of diphenylphthalide dicarboxylic acid (DPDA) are studied under gas-phase conditions using dissociative electron attachment spectroscopy and in the condensed environment by means of total current spectroscopy. The experimental features are assigned with the support of density functional theory calculations of the energies of the lowest-lying anion states to describe both resonances responsible for low-energy (0–15 eV) electron attachment to the isolated molecule and the maxima in the density of unoccupied electronic states in the condensed ultrathin (up to 10 nm) films. Resonance electron attachment to DPDA is found to be followed by the opening of the γ-lactone ring in the molecular negative ions, an unusual mechanism leading to their stabilization. A similar mechanism is expected to be responsible for the unique properties of phthalide-based materials in the condensed state.