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arXiv · 2601.02117

Addressing intramolecular vibrational redistribution in a single molecule through pump and probe surface-enhanced vibrational spectroscopy

Aurelian Loirette-Pelous·Roberto A. Boto·Javier Aizpurua·Ruben Esteban
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Abstract

The development of accurate tools to characterize Intramolecular Vibrational Redistribution (IVR) is of major interest in chemistry. In this context, surface-enhanced vibrational spectroscopies stand up as well-established techniques to study molecular vibrational lines and populations with a sensitivity that can reach the single-molecule level. However, to date, this possibility has not been fully developed to address IVR. Here, we establish a quantum mechanical framework based on molecular optomechanics that accounts for IVR, and we adopt it to analyze strategies to optimize IVR characterization by surface-enhanced vibrational spectroscopy. In particular, we model two different pump-and-probe configurations where the vibrational pumping is provided either by infrared laser illumination or by Stokes scattering processes in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). We show for the two pumping configurations the existence of clear signatures on the anti-Stokes SERS spectra of population transfer between coupled vibrational modes in a molecule. Our calculations adopt realistic molecular and SERS parameters, suggesting that these signatures of IVR could be accessible at the single-molecule level within realistic experimental platforms.

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Aurelian Loirette-Pelous, Roberto A. Boto, Javier Aizpurua, Ruben Esteban. 2026-01-05. Addressing intramolecular vibrational redistribution in a single molecule through pump and probe surface-enhanced vibrational spectroscopy. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.6c00030

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