Excited states, relaxation processes, and coordination reactions in the active centers of heme proteins

Based on the results of studying hemoglobin and myoglobin molecules using the methods of laser absorption spectroscopy of superhigh time resolution, we described photophysical and spectral properties of excited states, and intramolecular electronic and thermal relaxation processes. A mechanisms of the photodissociation reaction of oxy forms of these proteins is proposed and substantiated. Reported at the VIIIth International Conference on Spectroscopy of Porphyrins and Their Analogs, Minsk, September 22–26, 1998. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 66, No. 4, pp. 479–482, July–August, 1999.     

Infrared multiphoton excitation of polyatomic molecules

Results of investigations of the process of multiphoton excitation of polyatomic molecules by CO₂-laser radiation are presented. The mechanism of formation of the profiles of IR absorption bands of polyatomic molecules is discussed. New experimental methods of investigation of relaxation processes at high levels of vibrational excitation of molecules in the ground and triplet states are considered. For vapors of polyatomic molecules and their mixtures with foreign gases, the quantitative characteristics of the collisional exchange and the vibrational-energy transfer as well as the rates of intercombinational conversion ⇛ and triplet-triplet transfer are presented and their dependences on the vibrational-excitation level are discussed. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 5, pp. 675–693, September–October, 1998.     

Formation of chemical compounds in a laser plasma

Using the methods of laser-induced fluorescence and emissive spectroscopy, we carried out investigations of the formation of TiO molecules in a laser plasma produced by focusing the radiation of an AYG:Nd³⁺ laser on the surface of a titanium target in air. The radiation flux density varied within the range 10⁸–10¹⁰ W/cm². We investigated the distribution of molecules over internal states and the space-time distributions of Ti atoms in the ground, metastable, and excited states, as well as of TiO molecules in the ground and excited states. We found that gas-phase reactions with participation of Ti atoms in the ground state provide the most probable channel for the formation of TiO molecules; the role of reagents in ionized, excited, and metastable states is of secondary importance. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 66, No. 1, pp. 109–115, January–February, 1999.     

Polarized fluorescence of radicals in photodissociation of disulfides in the gas phase

The polarization of the fluorescence of radicals formed in laser-induced photodissociation of some disulfides in the gas phase is measured. Experimental data obtained in the study are interpreted within the free recoil model. It is shown that polarization experiments carried out to investigate photodecay in vapors allow researchers to uniquely the intramolecular direction of the dipole moments of transitions with absorption and emission. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 66, No. 1, pp. 54–59, January–February, 1999.     

Properties of lasers based on vapors and solutions of complex organic compounds

We present the most important results of investigations of lasers based on vapors and solutions of complex organic compounds. We investigated the effect of a foreign gas, the duration and intensity of the exciting pulse, the temperature of the active medium, and the spectroscopic parameters of the material on the generation characteristics of complex molecules in the gas phase. The special features of generation of radiation by a laser with distributed feedback in transition from a condensed to the gas phase in heating the active medium are considered. It is suggested that the polarization characteristics of the radiation generated by a vapor laser be used to investigate the laws that govern the relaxation of optically induced anisotropy of excited molecules of the active medium. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 5, pp. 709–720, September–October, 1998.     

Fluorescence of free complex molecules

A number of phenomena that determine the nature of the fluorescence of free complex molecules and the possibility of its analytical application are considered. Attention is specially paid to the specific features of the energetics of radiationless transitions, the role of statistical factors in the formation of spectral properties and the interrelationship among the luminescence-spectrum characteristics of rarefied vapors of complicated molecules, and the processes of energy transfer in collisions. The properties of polarized fluorescence of hot and jet-cooled vapors, the processes of relaxation of anisotropy in time and during collision reorientation, and transfer of anisotropy in photodisintegration are analyzed. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 5, pp. 620–634, September–October, 1998.     

Simulation of the dynamics of photoburning of stable spectral holes by pulsed frequency-periodic and constant sources

Based on the solution of a system of kinetic equations, computer simulation of the dynamics of laser radiation-induced burning of spectral holes is carried out to settle the question in which of the excited states photochemical NH-tautomerization occurs in free bases of porphyrins. A method is suggested to determine experimentally the electronic state in which a displacement of internal protons occurs that leads to the burning of a hole. The method is based on measuring the time dynamics of the formation of the hole. A new approach to determining the population of electronic levels in the process of molecular rearrangement on excitation by continuous lasers is described. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics, National Academy of Sciences, 70, F. Skorina Ave., 220072, Minsk, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 4, pp. 532–538, July–August, 1998.     

Study of femtosecond dynamics in vibrationally excited free bis(trifluoromethyl)ketene and metal carbonyl molecules induced by CO bond resonant excitation

The dynamics of relaxation processes in free bis(trifluoromethyl)ketene (CF₃)₂CCO and Fe(CO)₅ and Cr(CO)₆ metal carbonyl molecules after multiphonon excitation of the C=C=O and C=O vibrations by femtosecond laser infrared radiation was studied. The temporal and spectral dependences of the relaxation of the excited vibrational states were measured. Kinetics with a characteristic decay time of about 5 ps was obtained for (CF₃)₂CCO molecules. Its behavior is interpreted as a manifestation of the intramolecular relaxation of the excited vibration states of the resonance mode. Kinetic curves with characteristic times of about 250–500 fs were observed for Fe(CO)₅ and Cr(CO)₆. The behavior of these curves depends on the mutual orientation of the polarizations of the pump and probe pulses.     

Molecular Dynamics of Alkenylphenol Derivatives in Solution as Studied by NMR Spectroscopy

The formation of hydrogen bonds and molecular dynamics of alkenylphenol derivatives has been investigated in solution using nuclear magnetic resonance. The results confirm formation of an N···H, O···H-type intramolecular hydrogen bond. The spin–lattice relaxation times (T ₁) and activation energy of molecular dynamics have been investigated confirming the importance of relaxation times as a very sensitive tool for studying molecular mobility.     

Photophysics ofβ-carotene and related compounds (review)

A review of data on the photophysics of carotenoids is presented. Results of investigations of spectroscopic, temporal, and energy parameters of excited S₁ and S₂ singlet states of β-carotene and related compounds are critically examined. These states give rise to extremely high probabilities (10¹¹–10¹³ sec⁻¹) of radiationless deactivation of the electronic excitation energy in carotenoids. Results of investigations of photophysical properties of triplet states of carotenoids are considered mainly from the standpoint of quenching of singlet oxygen and triplet states of organic molecules by carotenoids. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics, Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 64, No. 1, pp. 5–19, January–February, 1997.     

Spectroscopic manifestations of isotope substitution in ultrasound jet-cooled complex molecules and their van der waals complexes

It is shown that, upon formation of ultrasound jet-cooled var der Waals complexes of polar molecules of 9-cyanoanthracene, 3-aminophthalimide, and 3-amino-N-methylphthalimide with water molecules, pronounced manifestations of isotope substitution in the ligand molecules take place, which manifest themselves in shifting 0–0-transitions by 5–7 cm⁻¹ and changes in frequencies of intramolecular vibrations. Spectroscopic effects of isotope substitution of atoms of the amino group are established for substituted phthalimides. We propose a new mechanism of the effect of isotope substitution on frequencies of electronic transitions which cannot be reduced to the known one (realized by means of changes in values of the zero vibrational energy) and is based instead on the change in the charge density distribution in the molecule. Belarusian State University, 4, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk 220050, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 64, No. 2, pp. 148–154, March–April, 1997.     

Theory of polarized fluorescence of polyatomic radicals upon photodissociation of complex molecules in the gas phase

The effect of rotational predissociation on the polarization response of an ensemble of photofragments is investigated within the framework of the model with free scatter of fragments for the most general case when both original molecules and fragments are asymmetric rotators. Photoinduced decomposition reactions with single- and two-photon excitation of fragment fluorescence are analyzed. Second- and third-order orientational correlation functions determining the polarization degree of fragment fluorescence are calculated. The behavior of these correlation functions depending on the shape of original molecules and fragments, directions of dipole moments, and characteristic times of the process are analyzed. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 6, pp. 908–914, November–December, 1998.     

Franck-Condon transitions and thermodynamics of photoinduced processes of orientational relaxation in polar solutions

Polar luminescence probe+polar medium subsystems are considered. True minimization parameters of the free energy F are obtained. It is shown that Franck-Condon transitions between F-terms of different electronic states are generally not “vertical”. A complete thermodynamic classification of photoinduced processes of orientational relaxation in the excited S₁ and ground S₀ states is presented. Depending on the excitation conditions they can be either exo- or endothermic, spontaneous or induced (not spontaneous), and accompanied by an increase or decrease in entropy. Indifferent processes also take place. Regularities of shifts of fluorescence spectral bands and burned holes in time-resolved experiments are discussed. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics, Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 64, No. 6, pp. 753–765, November–December, 1997.     

Mechanism of formation and spectral characteristics of triplet excimers of Pd-porphyrins in liquid solutions

Concentration quenching of the triplet state (CQTS) of a number of Pd-porphyrins in toluene is investigated. Based on an analysis of experimental results, a conclusion is drawn that such quenching proceeds via formation of exciting complexes from molecules in the ground and triplet states (TS). From a small value of decay rate constants of the complexes it follows that these complexes are triplet excimers but not complexes due to collision. It is established that by increasing the concentration of porphyrins the maxima of their phosphorescence bands shift toward large wavelengths by a value of up to 3 nm and the bands, as a consequence, broaden by 5–7 nm. The formation of excimers is explained by enhancement of solvophobic dispersion interactions of molecules in the TS. Relatively small changes in the phosphorescence spectra upon formation of excimers are attributable to these interactions. The magnitude of dipole-dipole interaction of molecules in the TS is insignificant since the dipole moment of the T↭S transition is small. On the basis of consideration of the oxidation-reduction and energy characteristics of the compounds, it is shown that the interaction with charge transfer in the case of the CQTS of Pd-porphyrins is inefficient. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 6, pp. 857–863, November–December, 1998.     

Fluorescence-polarization detection of the scattering of molecular beams by a surface

We investigate analytically the effect of the forces that act both in the plane of a scattering surface and normally to it on the polarized fluorescence of reflected molecules in forward scattering. We show that as the velocity of the beam of incident molecules increases, the polarization degree of the fluorescence of reflected molecules becomes substantially different from that of free and/or desorbed molecules. Therefore, the detection of the scattering of molecular beams by a surface using the polarization degree of fluorescence can serve as a rather reliable means of diagnosing surfaces and determining the modes of scattering. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 66, No. 2, pp. 205–212, March–April, 1999.     

Efficiency of the structure analysis of complex molecules in the gas phase by their optical rotation

It was shown in the dipole approximation of optical rotation that in the general case only in orientationally anisotropic vapors is the rotational force dependent on the intramolecular orientation of both the electric and magnetic dipole moments. Expressions relating the optical rotational force to the intramolecular orientation of these moments, the orientational distribution in an anisotropic ensemble, and the configuration of a measurement have been obtained. Calculated dependences of the rotational force on the intramolecular orientation of the magnetic moment at a fixed electric moment and “rotational force excitation spectra” obtained for different types of rigid asymmetric top molecules and rotational contours are presented. It is proposed to measure the intramolecular orientation of the electric and magnetic dipole moments with the use of the rotational force normalized to that detected in the case of observation at a “magic” angle to the direction of the exciting light electric vector. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 6, pp. 843–849, November–December, 1998.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in solutions of A Pd-porphyrin-quinone complex

Photoinduced electron transfer (PET) in a Pd-porphyrin-quinone complex (Pd-P-Q) was investigated using the flash photolysis method in microsecond and picosecond range and by luminescence. The investigations were performed for toluene solutions. Intramolecular PETs in the lower excited singlet state (k_CT=1.7·10¹⁰ sec⁻¹) and in the triplet state (k_CT=2.5·10⁸sec⁻¹) were observed. For a quantum yield of the triplet state that is close to 1 in Pd-porphyrin (Pd-P) this yield is equal to 0.4 in Pd-P-Q. This decrease is the result of PET in the excited state and, possibly, in an unrelaxed triplet state. Triplet Pd-P-Q molecules were efficiently quenched by unexcited molecules, and this process is related to intermolecular charge transfer. This electron transfer is likely to occur from the Pd-P protion of an excited molecule to the quinone protion of an unexcited molecule in the collisional complex (Pd-P-Q)₂. Charged radicals, formed once the collisional complex is transferred and separated, have a wide absorption band with a maximum of about 960 nm. The average lifetime of the radicals was about 2 msec. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics, Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 64, No 1 pp. 61–70, January–February, 1997.     

Intramolecular hydrogen bonds and antioxidant activity of aminophenols

We have used IR Fourier spectroscopy to study intramolecular interactions in solutions of aminophenols in n-hexane. When the hydroxyl group in the molecule is ortho to the amino group, O-H⋯N and N-H⋯O intramolecular hydrogen bonds are formed in the aminophenols. Adding two tert-butyl groups to the benzene ring of ortho-aminophenols strengthens the O-H⋯N bond in the molecules, and prevents formation of an N-H⋯O bond. Additional acylation of the amino group in ortho-aminophenols leads to formation of an O-H⋯O=C intramolecular hydrogen bond. Formation of the above-indicated intramolecular hydrogen bonds in aminophenols affects the course of radiation-induced reactions occurring in n-hexane with participation of these compounds. The antioxidant properties of the aminophenols are enhanced when the hydroxyl groups in the molecules are found in the free state, and are diminished when strong O-H⋯N or O-H⋯O=C intramolecular hydrogen bonds are formed. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 74, No. 5, pp. 577–582, September–October, 2007.     

Indole photodissociation in the gas phase

Kinetic characteristics of the growth in delayed luminescence intensity of indole in the gas phase have been measured with excitation of the molecules in the spectral region 250–287 nm. The luminescence build-up kinetics show two components with characteristic lifetimes of about 1 and 10 μs that are associated with the formation of free radicals due to N–H bond dissociation. Two basic mechanisms for photodissociation of indole in the gas phase have been identified based on an analysis of the dependence of the kinetic characteristics for these components on the excitation radiation wavelength/intensity and the vapor pressures of indole and foreign gases. The fast component results from the dissociation of an N–H bond of vibrationally excited molecules in the ground state that is populated through internal conversion. The slow component is associated with the generation of free radicals because of annihilation of two triplet indole molecules. A dependence of the quantum yield of intersystem crossing on the excitation wavelength in the spectral region 260–287 nm has been found. It is shown that the fluorescence quantum yield drop with a decrease of the excitation radiation wavelength is caused by an increase in the internal conversion quantum yield to the electronic ground state.