Probing the shape and stereochemistry of molecular orbitals in locally flexible aromatic chains: a penning ionization electron spectroscopy and Green's function study of the electronic structure of biphenyl.

We report on the results of an exhaustive study of the interplay between the valence electronic structure, the topology and reactivity of orbitals, and the molecular structure of biphenyl by means of Penning ionization electron spectroscopy in the gas phase upon collision with metastable He*(2(3)S) atoms. The measurements are compared with one-particle Green's function calculations of one-electron and shake-up valence ionization spectra employing the third-order algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme [ADC(3)]. Penning ionization intensities are also analyzed by means of the exterior electron-density model and comparison with photoelectron spectra: in contrast with the lines originating from sigma orbitals, ionization lines belonging to the pi-band system have large Penning ionization cross sections due to their greater extent outside the molecular van der Waals surface.