Direct Observation of Aggregation-Induced Emission Mechanism

The mechanism of aggregation-induced emission, which overcomes the common aggregation-caused quenching problem in organic optoelectronics, is revealed by monitoring the real time structural evolution and dynamics of electronic excited state with frequency and polarization resolved ultrafast UV/IR spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. The formation of Woodward–Hoffmann cyclic intermediates upon ultraviolet excitation is observed in dilute solutions of tetraphenylethylene and its derivatives but not in their respective solid. The ultrafast cyclization provides an efficient nonradiative relaxation pathway through crossing a conical intersection. Without such a reaction mechanism, the electronic excitation is preserved in the molecular solids and the molecule fluoresces efficiently, aided by the very slow intermolecular charge and energy transfers due to the well separated molecular packing arrangement. The mechanisms can be general for tuning the properties of chromophores in different phases for various important applications.     

Velocity of a Molecule Evaporated from a Water Nanodroplet: Maxwell–Boltzmann Statistics versus Non‐Ergodic Events

The velocity of a molecule evaporated from a mass‐selected protonated water nanodroplet is measured by velocity map imaging in combination with a recently developed mass spectrometry technique. The measured velocity distributions allow probing statistical energy redistribution in ultimately small water nanodroplets after ultrafast electronic excitation. As the droplet size increases, the velocity distribution rapidly approaches the behavior expected for macroscopic droplets. However, a distinct high‐velocity contribution provides evidence of molecular evaporation before complete energy redistribution, corresponding to non‐ergodic events.     

From Ultrafast Structure Determination to Steering Reactions: Mixed IR/Non‐IR Multidimensional Vibrational Spectroscopies

Ultrafast multidimensional infrared spectroscopy is a powerful method for resolving features of molecular structure and dynamics that are difficult or impossible to address with linear spectroscopy. Augmenting the IR pulse sequences by resonant or nonresonant UV, Vis, or NIR pulses considerably extends the range of application and creates techniques with possibilities far beyond a pure multidimensional IR experiment. These include surface‐specific 2D‐IR spectroscopy with sub‐monolayer sensitivity, ultrafast structure determination in non‐equilibrium systems, triggered exchange spectroscopy to correlate reactant and product bands, exploring the interplay of electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom, investigation of interactions between Raman‐ and IR‐active modes, imaging with chemical contrast, sub‐ensemble‐selective photochemistry, and even steering a reaction by selective IR excitation. We give an overview of useful mixed IR/non‐IR pulse sequences, discuss their differences, and illustrate their application potential.     

Shedding new light on the role of the Rydberg state in the photochemistry of aniline

Efficient electronic relaxation following the absorption of ultraviolet light is crucial for the photostability of biological chromophores, so understanding the microscopic details of the decay pathways is of considerable interest. Here, we employ femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging to investigate the ultrafast intramolecular dynamics of aniline, a prototypical aromatic amine, following excitation just below the second absorption maximum. We find that both the second ππ* state and the Rydberg state are populated during the excitation process. Surprisingly, the dominant non-radiative decay pathway is an ultrafast relaxation mechanism that transfers population straight back to the electronic ground-state. The vibrational energy resolution and photoelectron angular distributions obtained in our experiments reveal an interesting bifurcation of the Rydberg population to two non-radiative decay channels. The existence of these competing non-radiative relaxation channels in aniline illustrates how its photostability arises from a subtle balance between dynamics on different electronically excited states and importantly between Rydberg and valence states.     

Selective excitation of molecular modes in a mixture by optimal control of electronically nonresonant femtosecond four-wave mixing spectroscopy

Femtosecond time-resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (fs-CARS) gives access to ultrafast molecular dynamics. Due to the spectrally broad laser pulses, usually poorly resolved spectra result from this spectroscopy. However, it can be demonstrated that by shaping the femtosecond pulses a selective excitation of specific vibrational modes is possible. We demonstrate that using a feedback-controlled optimization technique, molecule-specific CARS spectra can be obtained from a mixture of different substances. A careful analysis of the experimental results points to a nontrivial control of the vibrational mode dynamics in the electronic ground state of the molecules as underlying mechanism.     

Time-dependent density functional theory excited state nonadiabatic dynamics combined with quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical approach: photodynamics of indole in water

We present a combination of time-dependent density functional theory with the quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical approach which can be applied to study nonadiabatic dynamical processes in molecular systems interacting with the environment. Our method is illustrated on the example of ultrafast excited state dynamics of indole in water. We compare the mechanisms of nonradiative relaxation and the electronic state lifetimes for isolated indole, indole in a sphere of classical water, and indole + 3H(2)O embedded in a classical water sphere. In the case of isolated indole, the initial excitation to the S(2) electronic state is followed by an ultrafast internal conversion to the S(1) state with a time constant of 17 fs. The S(1) state is long living (>30 ps) and deactivates to the ground state along the N-H stretching coordinate. This deactivation mechanism remains unchanged for indole in a classical water sphere. However, the lifetimes of the S(2) and S(1) electronic states are extended. The inclusion of three explicit water molecules opens a new relaxation channel which involves the electron transfer to the solvent, leading eventually to the formation of a solvated electron. The relaxation to the ground state takes place on a time scale of 60 fs and contributes to the lowering of the fluorescence quantum yield. Our simulations demonstrate the importance of including explicit water molecules in the theoretical treatment of solvated systems.     

Mechanistic Origin of the Vibrational Coherence Accompanying the Photoreaction of Biomimetic Molecular Switches

The coherent photoisomerization of a chromophore in condensed phase is a rare process in which light energy is funneled into specific molecular vibrations during electronic relaxation from the excited to the ground state. In this work, we employed ultrafast spectroscopy and computational methods to investigate the molecular origin of the coherent motion accompanying the photoisomerization of indanylidene–pyrroline (IP) molecular switches. UV/Vis femtosecond transient absorption gave evidence for an excited‐ and ground‐state vibrational wave packet, which appears as a general feature of the IP compounds investigated. In close resemblance to the coherent photoisomerization of rhodopsin, the sudden onset of a far‐red‐detuned and rapidly blue‐shifting photoproduct signature indicated that the population arriving on the electronic ground state after nonadiabatic decay through the conical intersection (CI) is still very focused in the form of a vibrational wave packet. Semiclassical trajectories were employed to investigate the reaction mechanism. Their analysis showed that coupled double‐bond twisting and ring inversions, already populated during the excited‐state reactive motion, induced periodic changes in π‐conjugation that modulate the ground‐state absorption after the non‐adiabatic decay. This prediction further supports that the observed ground‐state oscillation results from the reactive motion, which is in line with a biomimetic, coherent photoisomerization scenario. The IP compounds thus appear as a model system to investigate the mechanism of mode‐selective photomechanical energy transduction. The presented mechanism opens new perspectives for energy transduction at the molecular level, with applications to the design of efficient molecular devices.     

The role of large conformational changes in efficient ultrafast internal conversion: deviations from the energy gap law

Conversion of electronic excitation energy into vibrational energy was investigated for photochromic spiropyran molecules, using femtosecond UV-mid-IR pump-probe spectroscopy. We observe a weaker energy gap dependence than demanded by the "energy gap law". We demonstrate that large conformational changes accompanying the optical excitation can explain the observed time scale and energy gap dependence of ultrafast S(1) --> S(0) internal conversion processes. The possibility of dramatic deviations from standard energy gap law behavior is predicted. We conclude that controlling molecular conformations by rigid environments can have a substantial impact on photophysical and (bio)chemical processes.     

Transient vibronic structure in ultrafast fluorescence spectra of photoactive yellow protein

The ultrafast photo-induced dynamics of wild-type photoactive yellow protein and its site-directed mutant of E46Q in aqueous solution was studied at room temperature by femtosecond fluorescence spectroscopy using the optical Kerr-gate method. The vibronic structure appears, depending on the excitation photon energy, in the time-resolved fluorescence spectra just after photoexcitation, which winds with time and disappears on a time scale of sub-picoseconds. This result indicates that the wavepacket is localized in the electronic excited state followed by dumped oscillations and broadening, and also that the initial condition of the wavepacket prepared depending on the excitation photon energy affects much the following ultrafast dynamics in the electronic excited state.     

Femtosecond Polarization Switching in the Crystal of a [CrCo] Dinuclear Complex

Capability to control macroscopic molecular properties with external stimuli offers the possibility to exploit molecules as switching devices of various types. However, application of such molecular‐level switching has often been limited by its speed and thus efficiency. Herein, we demonstrate ultrafast, photoinduced polarization switching in the crystal of a [CrCo] dinuclear complex by ultrafast pump–probe spectroscopy in the visible and mid‐infrared regions. The photoinduced polarization switching was found to have a time constant of 280 fs, which makes the [CrCo] complex crystal the fastest polarization‐switching material realized using the metastable state. Moreover, the pump–probe data in the visible region reveal the pronounced appearance of coherent nuclear wavepacket motion with a frequency as low as 22 cm^?1, which we attribute to a lattice vibrational mode. The pronounced non‐Condon effect for its resonance Raman enhancement implies that this mode couples the relevant electronic states, thereby facilitating the ultrafast polarization switching.     

Non‐Bonded Interactions Drive the Sub‐Picosecond Bilin Photoisomerization in the Pfr State of Phytochrome Cph1

Phytochromes are protein‐based photoreceptors harboring a bilin‐based photoswitch in the active site. The timescale of photosignaling via C₁₅=C₁₆ E‐to‐Z photoisomerization has been ambiguous in the far‐red‐absorbing P_fr state. Here we present a unified view of the structural events in phytochrome Cph1 post excitation with femtosecond precision, obtained via stimulated Raman and polarization‐resolved transient IR spectroscopy. We demonstrate that photoproduct formation occurs within 700 fs, determined by a two‐step partitioning process initiated by a planarization on the electronic excited state with a 300 fs time scale. The ultrafast isomerization timescale for P_fr‐to‐P_r conversion highlights the active role of the nonbonding methyl–methyl clash initiating the reaction in the excited state. We envision that our results will motivate the synthesis of new artificial photoswitches with precisely tuned non‐bonded interactions for ultrafast response.     

Direct observation of the transition state of ultrafast electron transfer reaction of a radiosensitizing drug bromodeoxyuridine

Replacement of thymidine in DNA by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) has long been known to enhance DNA damage and cell death induced by ionizing/UV radiation, but the mechanism of action of BrdU at the molecular level is poor understood. Using time-resolved femtosecond laser spectroscopy, we obtain the real-time observation of the transition state of the ultrafast electron transfer (ET) reaction of BrdU with the precursor to the hydrated electron, which is a general product in ionizing/UV radiation. The results show that the ET reaction is completed within 0.2 picosecond (ps) after the electronic excitation, leading to the formation of a transition state BrdU*- with a lifetime of approximately 1.5 ps that then dissociates into Br- and a high reactive radical dU*. The present results can greatly enhance our understanding not only of the mechanism of BrdU as a radio-/photosensitizer but of the role of prehydrated electrons in electron-initiated processes in biological and environmental systems.     

3,4,9,10-Perylenetetracarboxylic Acid Derivatives, Their Spectral Behavior and Their Chemical Interaction with Hydrated Iron Oxide Nanopar

The photophysical properties such as electronic absorption, excitation and emission spectra as well as molar absorptivity and fluorescence quantum yield of N,N‐bis(pyrimidenyl)‐3,4,9,10‐perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (PmPBD), N,N‐bis(pyridenyl)‐3,4,9,10‐perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (PyPBD) and N,N‐bis(4‐methylpyridenyl)‐3,4,9,10‐perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (MPyPBD) have been measured in different solvents. Both electronic absorption and fluorescence spectra are not sensitive to medium polarity, while the fluorescence quantum yield ((_f) is solvent dependent. Perylene derivatives under investigation undergo molecular aggregation to dimmer or larger aggregates in water. Dye solution in dimethylformmaide (DMF) gives laser emission at 565 nm upon pumping with 337.1 nm nitrogen laser pulse. The excitation energy transfer from 7‐dimethylamino‐4‐methylcoumarine (DMC) to PmPBD has been studied to improve the laser emission of PmPBD. The value of energy transfer rate constant (k_ET) and critical transfer distance (R₀) indicate a F?rster type energy transfer mechanism. There is a large interaction between the perylene compounds under investigation and the hydrated nanoparticles in the excited state therefore the fluorescence quenching rate constant of these derivatives by hydrated iron oxide nanoparticles has a large value.     

Ultrafast S1 to S0 internal conversion dynamics for dimethylnitramine through a conical intersection

Electronically nonadiabatic processes such as ultrafast internal conversion (IC) from an upper electronic state (S(1)) to the ground electronic state (S(0)) though a conical intersection (CI), can play an essential role in the initial steps of the decomposition of energetic materials. Such nonradiative processes following electronic excitation can quench emission and store the excitation energy in the vibrational degrees of freedom of the ground electronic state. This excess vibrational energy in the ground electronic state can dissociate most of the chemical bonds of the molecule and can generate stable, small molecule products. The present study determines ultrafast IC dynamics of a model nitramine energetic material, dimethylnitramine (DMNA). Femtosecond (fs) pump-probe spectroscopy, for which a pump pulse at 271 nm and a probe pulse at 405.6 nm are used, is employed to elucidate the IC dynamics of this molecule from its S(1) excited state. A very short lifetime of the S(1) excited state (～50 ± 16 fs) is determined for DMNA. Complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) calculations show that an (S(1)/S(0))(CI) CI is responsible for this ultrafast decay from S(1) to S(0). This decay occurs through a reaction coordinate involving an out-of-plane bending mode of the DMNA NO(2) moiety. The 271 nm excitation of DMNA is not sufficient to dissociate the molecule on the S(1) potential energy surface (PES) through an adiabatic NO(2) elimination pathway.     

Quantum Mechanical Molecular Interactions for Calculating the Excitation Energy in Molecular Environments: A First‐Order Interacting Space Approach

Intermolecular interactions regulate the molecular properties in proteins and solutions such as solvatochromic systems. Some of the interactions have to be described at an electronic‐structure level. In this study, a commutator for calculating the excitation energy is used for deriving a first‐order interacting space (FOIS) to describe the environmental response to solute excitation. The FOIS wave function for a solute‐in‐solvent cluster is solved by second‐order perturbation theory. The contributions to the excitation energy are decomposed into each interaction and for each solvent.     

The Femtochemistry of a Ferracyclobutadiene

The eminent role of metallacyclobutadienes as catalytic intermediates in organic synthesis and polymer chemistry is widely acknowledged. In contrast, their photochemistry is as yet entirely unexplored. Herein, the photo‐induced primary processes of a ferracyclobutadiene tricarbonyl complex in solution are revealed by femtosecond mid‐infrared spectroscopy. The time‐resolved vibrational spectra expose an ultrafast substitution of a basal CO ligand by a solvent molecule in a consecutive dissociation–association mechanism. Following optical excitation, the system relaxes non‐radiatively to the triplet ground state from which a CO is expelled. Since the triplet state is bound with respect to Fe−CO cleavage, the dissociation can only occur from vibrationally excited states. The excitation energy, vibrational relaxation, and intersystem crossing to the singlet ground state control the primary quantum yield for formation of the ferracyclic dicarbonyl–solvent product complex.     

Dynamics of highly excited nitroaromatics

Although the photodissociation of nitroaromatics in low excitation electronic states has been extensively studied in recent decades, little is known about the highly excited electronic states. The fragmentation dynamics of three nitroaromatics, nitrobenzene, o-nitrotoluene, and m-nitrotoluene, in highly excited states, populated by the absorption of two photons at 271 nm, are studied with time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The temporal evolutions of the highly excited states are monitored by one-photon ionization at 408 nm. The transients of parent and fragment ions exhibit two ultrafast deactivation processes. The first process is ultrafast internal conversion from the initial excitation to Rydberg states in tens of femtoseconds. The second one is conversion from the Rydberg states to the vibrational manifold in the ground electronic states within hundreds of femtoseconds. The internal conversion process is accelerated by methyl substitution. In o-nitrotoluene, the two processes become much faster due to the hydrogen transfer from the CH(3) to the NO(2) group (ortho effect).     

Influence of electronic resonances on mode selective excitation with tailored laser pulses

Femtosecond time-resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (fs-CARS) gives access to ultrafast molecular dynamics. However, the gain of the temporal resolution entails a poor spectral resolution due to the inherent spectral width of the femtosecond excitation pulses. Modifications of the phase shape of one of the exciting pulses results in dramatic changes of the mode distribution reflected in coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectra. A feedback-controlled optimization of specific modes making use of phase and/or amplitude modulation of the pump laser pulse is applied to selectively influence the anti-Stokes signal spectrum. The optimization experiments are performed under electronically nonresonant and resonant conditions. The results are compared and the role of electronic resonances is analyzed. It can be clearly demonstrated that these resonances are of importance for a selective excitation by means of phase and amplitude modulation. The mode selective excitation under nonresonant conditions is determined mainly by the variation of the spectral phase of the laser pulse. Here, the modulation of the spectral amplitudes only has little influence on the mode ratios. In contrast to this, the phase as well as amplitude modulation contributes considerably to the control process under resonant conditions. A careful analysis of the experimental results reveals information about the mechanisms of the mode control, which partially involve molecular dynamics in the electronic states.     

Dynamics of excited-state conformational relaxation and electronic delocalization in conjugated porphyrin oligomers

We have investigated the influence of nuclear geometric relaxation on the extent of the excited-state electronic delocalization in conjugated zinc porphyrin oligomers using ultrafast transient photoluminescence spectroscopy. By use of metal-coordinating templates that force the oligomers into specific geometries in solution we are able to distinguish clearly between relaxation effects arising from the two vibrational modes that preferentially couple to the electronic transitions in such materials, i.e., carbon-carbon bond stretches and inter-ring torsions. We find that light absorption generates an excited state that is initially strongly delocalized along the oligomer but contracts rapidly following vibrational relaxation of the nuclei along C-C stretch coordinates on the subpicosecond time scale. We are able to monitor such excitonic self-trapping effects by observing the extent to which the concomitant ultrafast rotation of the transition dipole moment is found to correlate with the degree of bending induced in the molecular backbone. We further demonstrate that interporphyrin torsional relaxation leads to a subsequent increase in the excited-state electronic delocalization on a longer time scale (approximately 100 ps). Such dynamic planarization of the molecular backbone is evident from the time-dependent increase in the overall emission intensity and red-shift in the peak emission energy that can be observed for wormlike flexible porphyrin octamers but not for torsionally rigidified cyclic or double-strand octamer complexes. These results therefore indicate that, following excitation, the initially highly delocalized excited-state wave function first contracts and then expands again along the conjugated backbone in accordance with the time periods for the vibrational modes coupled to the electronic transition.