Electronic structure,absorption spectra,and hyperpolarisabilities of some novel push–pull zinc porphyrins. A DFT/TDDFT study

DFT/TDDFT calculations have been performed on some novel push–pull zinc porphyrins (denoted ZnPor 1, ZnPor 2, and ZnPor 3). This theoretical work aims to investigate the electronic structure, absorption spectra, and hyperpolarisabilities of these molecules. To examine the effects of the peripheral substituents on the molecular properties, zinc porphine (ZnP) and zinc tetraphenylporphine (ZnTPP) were also included in the study. The orbital energy level patterns of the substituted zinc porphyrins are indeed rather different from those of ZnP and ZnTPP. The peripheral substitution breaks the molecular D_4h symmetry of the porphyrin, thereby leading to the splitting of the absorption Q band. On the other hand, the B band in the spectra may not arise only from a single excited state; instead, it could be made up of several states that are close in energy. The calculated hyperpolarisabilities (β _vec) increase strongly from ZnPor 1 to ZnPor 2 to ZnPor3. The latter two molecules were predicted to have a large β _vec value and thus may have potential application in the development of nonlinear optical (NLO) materials.     

Time-resolved EPR and ODMR studies on the lowest excited triplet states of α-silyl and α-germyl ketones

Sublevel properties of the lowest excited triplet (T¹) nπ* states of α-silyl and α-germyl ketones were examined by means of ODMR, time-resolved EPR and optical spectroscopy. The EPR parameters, D, E and g, population ratios, and triplet lifetimes were obtained. The D value and the triplet lifetime varied among the molecules. In contrast the E value and population ratio remains nearly the same. These properties together with their solvent dependence and emission properties are interpreted in terms of spin-orbit couplings between T₁ (nπ*) and higher S₁ (nπ*), T₂ (ππ*) and S₂ (ππ*) states. An origin of the remarkable red-shifts of ^1,3 (π*) are discussed based on a model of delocalized n, π and π* electrons over the Si and Ge atoms. This model is also consistent with all the triplet properties obtained.     

Time-resolved EPR spectra of a photoexcited phenanthrene-linked copper(II)-free-base porphyrin dimer: An intermediate-coupling case in a triplet-doublet spin system

Time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectra are presented for a phenanthrene-linked copper(II)-free-base porphyrin dimer. In the lowest electronic excited state, the free-base half is in the (π, π*) triplet state and the copper-porphyrin half is in the doublet ground state due to the copper(II) spin. Because of the interaction between the triplet and doublet spins, the excited state of the dimer is described as a coupled triplet-doublet pair state. By choosing the excitation wavelength, this coupled state is produced via either the intersystem crossing within the free base or the energy transfer from the excited state of the copper porphyrin. The observed TREPR spectra show very large spectral widths compared to that of the triplet state in the free-base monomer. In addition, there is a prominent absorptive band in the center of the spectra regardless of the generation pathway. These features can be interpreted as characteristic properties in an intermediate-coupling case, where the degree of the triplet and doublet mixing largely depends on the molecular orientation relative to the magnetic field.     

Photochemistry of a butylene linked porphyrin-quinone donor-acceptor system studied by time-resolved and steady-state EPR spectroscopy

Radicals generated photochemically from a covalently linked porphyrin-quinone donor-acceptor system dissolved in reversed micelles and isotropic solution have been studied by steady-state and time-resolved EPR spectroscopy. In these systems photoinducedintramolecular as well asintermolecular electron transfer processes occur which result in the formation of semiquinone radical anions and porphyrin radical cations. Disproportionation of the semiquinone leads to the formation of porphyrin-hydroquinone (and porphyrin-quinone). The porphyrin-hydroquinone is itself photoactive and reacts through the photoexcited triplet state of the porphyrin. Reduction of the porphyrin to the dihydro from — probablyvia hydrogen abstraction by the photoexcited porphyrin from the hydroquinone — appears to be the dominant reaction. Once formed the dihydrophyrin undergoes further similar photochemistry. Emissively polarized spectra are observed from these systems in steady-state EPR experiments. Timeresolved EPR indicates that this polarization is essentially due to the radical triplet pair mechanism.     

A theoretical analysis of the excited states in 2-benzoylthiophene

The lower excited states of 2-benzoylthiophene have been studied using ab initio quantum chemical methods based on multiconfigurational wave functions. Six singlet and six triplet excited states have been characterized. The geometry has been optimized for the two lowest triplet states, which are responsible for the photoreactivity of the chromophore in the photosensitizing drug tiaprofenic acid. The T¹(π → π?) and T₂(n → π?) states have been found to be close in energy with the π → π? state slightly lower. The excited states have been characterized using density difference and spin density plots. The different photochemical behaviour of the two triplet states can be rationalized from the theoretical data.     

Continuous-Wave and Time-Resolved Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Study of Dimerized Aza-Crown Copper Porphyrins

The dimerization of 5-(4’-(aza-15-crown-5)-phenyl) copper porphyrin (CuP) upon the addition of the K(SCN) salt to a solution of the CuP monomer has been proven by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The magnetic resonance parameters of the CuP monomer, the exchange interaction parameter, J = +0.25 cm^?1, and the Cu–Cu distance of the CuP dimer have been determined by comparing the experimental continuous-wave EPR spectra with the results of the numerical calculations. The photoexcited states have been studied in the time-resolved EPR experiments. It has been shown that the time-resolved EPR spectra of the dimerized porphyrins can be presented as a sum of two components that represent the spectra derived by integrating the dataset in the time windows of 1.1–1.3 and 2.1–2.3 μs. To describe the spectrum in the time window of 2.1–2.3 μs, it is assumed that there is an essential contribution to the signal from the excited state of the supramolecule, which is formed by the interaction between the photoexcited porphyrin in the quartet state and the neighboring non-excited porphyrin in the ground state.     

EPR of photo-excited triplet states: A personal account

A sketch is presented of the path that has led from Zavoisky’s pioneering experiments to modern investigations by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of the phosphorescent (S = 1) triplet state of polyatomic molecules or ions. The group-theoretical method first introduced by Wigner in his analysis of the multiplets of atomic spectroscopy, likewise provides a key for understanding the zero-field splitting and selection rules for radiative decay of the phosphorescent triplet state. Examples to illustrate the progress made through EPR experiments are selected from three fields. (i) Conformational instability on excitation. Both the zero-field splitting and the electron spin density distribution provide unique fingerprints of a triplet state’s geometry — structural information of a kind that is nonexistent for singlet states! Illustrations are provided by benzene C₆H₆ and fullerene C₆₀. (ii) The optical pumping cycle. The spin selectivity of singlet-to-triplet intersystem crossing and radiative decay of the individual spin components of the triplet state is discussed. In practice this selectivity is put to advantage by performing EPR on triplet states in zero-field by means of optical detection. In turn, such experiments have led to a detailed insight into the spin-orbit coupling mechanisms responsible for the spin selectivity of the above processes. The high sensitivity attainable with optical detection has recently culminated in EPR experiments on single molecules. (iii) Quantum interference. In a triplet state of low symmetry two of the spin sublevels may decay to the ground state by the emission of photons of a common polarization (i.e., out of plane for an aromatic hydrocarbon). In such a situation quantum interference between the two decay channels can be induced by an appropriate preparation of the excited state. An example is shown where flash-excitation in the singlet manifold followed by rapid intersystem crossing causes theS = 1 spin angular momentum to be created in a spin state which is not an eigenstate of the zero-field splitting tensor. This nonstationary character of the initial triplet state, which reflects the spin-orbit coupling pathway, is observed through the detection of a spontaneous microwave signal following the 25 ps laser flash.     

Time-resolved EPR study of electron spin polarization and spin exchange in mixed solutions of porphyrin stable free radicals

The time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra are studied in the temperature range of 110–300 K for two mixed solutions of porphyrins, ZnTPP and H₂TPP, in toluene and the stable free radical 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxyl (TEMPO). The EPR spectra and their kinetic behavior were studied for concentrations of TEMPO varied in the interval from 0.51 to 7.68 mM, while the porphyrin concentration was fixed as 1 mM. The EPR spectra of triplet-state porphyrins and free radicals manifest the chemically induced spin polarization. For the relatively short-lived radical-triplet pairs, with the perturbation theory up to the fourth order, the theoretical expressions are obtained for the triplet and radical spin polarization induced by the enhanced intersystem crossing (ISC) due to the interaction of excited singlet-state porphyrins with free radicals and by the triplet quenching by free radicals. The time-dependent EPR spectra of the triplets are simulated taking into account the spin-lattice relaxation. It is shown that the variation of the triplet EPR spectra shape, when the time of observation increases, arises from the spin-lattice relaxation kinetics. The kinetic behavior of the TEMPO EPR spectrum was simulated on the basis of the kinetic scheme suggested earlier in the literature. The triplet spin-lattice relaxation time, the rate of the ISC and the lifetime of the excited singlet state were estimated by fitting the kinetic curves for the triplet EPR spectra intensity. For the mixed porphyrin-TEMPO solutions, a possible set of the rate constants of important bimolecular processes were determined. For this set of parameters, it turns out that the spin polarization transfer has a smaller rate constant than the rate constant of the diffusion collisions of the triplet and radical. It appears that the rate constant of the ISC catalyzed by radicals is relatively high in the solutions close to the melting point of the solvent and in the soft-glassy state. In the triplet porphyrins the initial spin polarization induced by the spin-selective ISC was found to exceed the equilibrium spin polarization by up to two orders of magnitude.     

EPR studies of photoinduced electron transfer in triad model compounds of photosynthesis

Time-resolved EPR spectra are reported for porphyrin-quinone-quinone and porphyrin-porphyrin-quinone triads obtained after photoexcitation in the nematic and soft glass phase of liquid crystals. Spin-polarized EPR spectra were observed for the triplet states of the porphyrin created by spin-selective intersystem crossing (ISC) from the excited singlet state and those of the charge-separated radical pair states (RP) generated by electron transfer (ET) processes. The EPR polarization patterns of the RP are discussed in terms of the favored decay channel of the photoexcited singlet state of the porphyrin donor. The decay pathway may either be singlet ET to the quinone(s) followed by singlet/triplet mixing to yield RPs with triplet character or triplet ET after ISC from the porphyrin singlet to the triplet state, or a superposition of both pathways. It is demonstrated that the nature of the linking bridge between donor and acceptor, i.e., aliphatic cyclohexylene or aromatic phenylene, significantly influences the ET mechanism and thus the polarization patterns of the RP spectra. Using liquid crystals, information about the orientation of the guest molecules in the liquid crystal matrix with respect to the long axes of the liquid crystal molecules can be obtained. In the porphyrin-porphyrin-quinone triads the energy and ET processes strongly depend on the type of metallation of the porphyrins, specifically, whether the distal, the vicinal or both porphyrins bear a zinc atom.     

Time-Resolved and Pulse EPR Study of Triplet States of Alkylketones in β-Cyclodextrin

The triplet states of deoxybenzoin (DOB) and benzophenone (BP) molecules in randomly methylated β-cyclodextrin (CD) cavity are studied by time-resolved (TR) and pulse electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The observed TR EPR spectrum of DOB in β-CD at 30 K is close to the spectrum measured in polar solvent trifluoroethanol, revealing strong hydration by water molecules. At the same time, TR EPR spectrum of BP in β-CD corresponds to nonpolar surrounding of the CO-group. The electron spin relaxation times T ₁ and T ₂ of triplet BP at 30 K measured by pulse EPR are found to be different in β-CD compared to nonpolar toluene glass. The observed increase of T ₂ by up to a factor of four in β-CD is caused by the lower vibration amplitude of CO-bond of BP due to the confinement in β-CD. The influence of β-CD with covalently attached nitroxide on the triplet states of DOB and BP is principally different: the excited triplet states could not be observed by TR EPR due to the efficient quenching of the excited states by nitroxide.     

Ab initio SCF CI study of the electronic spectrum of s-tetrazine

Configuration interaction (CI) studies of ground, n→ π* and π→ π* electronically excited states are reported for s-tetrazine. The first n→ π* singlet excited state (¹ B _3u ), which is responsible for the purple-red colour of the molecule, is calculated at 2·80 eV, compared to the experimental transition energy of 2·22–2·70 eV. The singlet-triplet split of the first n→ π* states (¹ B _3u and ³ B _3u states) is calculated to be 0·76 eV.

The interaction of nitrogen lone pair orbitals (n-orbitals) is studied in terms of the ordering of the n π* excited states and found that the SCF orbital ordering is qualitatively in accord with the ordering of the n π* excited states in the CI level.

The first π→ π* excited state (¹ B _2u ) is calculated at 5·99 eV, slightly above the observed range of absorption. Numerous other high-lying singlet states as well as the triplet states have been calculated and they are used to verify several proposals relating to the excited state dynamics in the photo-physical studies of s-tetrazine.     

The sign of the exchange interaction between triplet excited fullerene and nitroxide free radicals

The sign of the exchange interactionJ in a series of radical triplet pairs (RTPs), formed by a nitroxide free radical and a triplet excited fullerene, has been determined from the spin polarization of time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance spectra. Radical and fullerene are linked together by covalent bonds in different geometries. It is shown that the sign ofJ depends on the overlap between the orbital of nitroxide unpaired electron and the LUMO of fullerene, which is singly occupied in the excited triplet state. When the overlap does not vanish, a negative contribution toJ arises from the admixing of a charge transfer structure in the wave function of the excited doublet state D* of the RTP, which does not take place in the excited quartet state Q*. The mixing of D* and Q* states lowers the energy of the former spin state and gives antiferromagnetic coupling.     

Involvement of triplet state in the photodissociation of hydrogen peroxide: experimental evidence from time-resolved EPR study

The dissociation of photoexcited hydrogen peroxide to generate a pair of hydroxyl radicals is generally believed to take place in a repulsive electronic singlet state. The results presented here, based on time-resolved EPR experiments on the spin polarisation pattern of the acetone ketyl radical (CH₃)₂C^?OH, generated on photodissociation of H₂O₂ in 2-propanol with a 248?nm laser light, strongly indicate significant involvement of a repulsive triplet state of excited hydrogen peroxide.     

Two-laser two-color time-resolved EPR study on higher-excited-state triplet-singlet intersystem crossing of porphyrins and phthalocyanines

Photoinduced effects on the electron spin polarization (ESP) in the lowest excited triplet (T₁) states of porphyrins (PORs) and phthalocyanines (PCs) have been observed with a two-color time-resolved (TR) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) technique in a glassy matrix at low temperatures. On single-color excitation with the wavelengths of the ground state absorptions of PORs and PCs, polarized EPR spectra due to the corresponding T₁ state were observed. The polarization patterns match well with interpretation as anisotropic intersystem crossing (ISC) induced by the spinorbit coupling between the singlet excited (S₁) and the triplet states. In contrast, two-color excitation led to a change of the phase of the T₁ state polarization pattern to the opposite. The observed ESP in the T₁ state resulting from the excitation to the upper triplet state (T _n ) was interpreted in terms of anisotropic ISC between the T _n and S₁ states. From the analysis of the ESP, changes in the quantum yields of the reverse ISC processes were determined at different temperatures. The results could be best interpreted by the existence of thermal pathways with small activation energy in the relaxation processes.     

Structures and electronic states of photoexcited states in a system of two nitroxide radicals linked to fullerene studied by two-dimensional pulsed nutation and time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy

Magnetic properties of fulleropyrrolidine adducts with two stable nitroxide radicals (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl, TEMPO) were studied in toluene solution by continuous-wave time-resolved (TR) and pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy in the ground and photoexcited states. Four isomers of the bisadduct,trans-1,trans-2,trans-3, and equatorial forms, having the second pyrrolidine ring at different [6-6] bonds were synthesized. In the ground states, the exchange interaction between two TEMPOs is so small that the spin state of the bisadduct is a doublet in nature. By means of spectral simulations of the EPR spectra in frozen solution at 70 K, the upper limit of the exchange interaction was estimated to be 5 MHz for thetrans-1 andtrans-2 and 10 MHz for thetrans-3 and equatorial isomers. The simulation was also made to determine relative positions of the two TEMPO groups with respect to the pyrrolidine ring. Photoexcited states of the bisadducts with excitation of the 532 nm laser pulse were studied in frozen toluene solution at 5–100 K by using two-dimensional (2-D) pulsed nutation EPR and TREPR. The spin multiplicity of the excited state was determined by the nutation frequency. All of the four bisadducts showed strong exchange couplings between two TEMPOs and fullerene triplet³C ₆₀ ^* , resulting in the generation of the excited quintet and triplet states. The excited triplet states have been observed and assigned for the first time in strongly coupled triplet-radical systems. The zero-field splittings of the quintet state determined from the 2-D nutation EPR spectra were analyzed as the sum of the spinspin interactions among the three paramagnetic centers, two TEMPOs and³C ₆₀ ^* . On the basis of these analyses, the spin distribution on the³C ₆₀ ^* part and the geometry of two TEMPOs are discussed.     

Features of the Quenching of the Triplet States of Water-Soluble Porphyrins by Molecular Oxygen

Using the methods of time-resolved absorption spectroscopy, we have investigated the features of quenching, by molecular oxygen, of the excited triplet states of water-soluble 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(4-N-methylpyridyl)-porphyrin (H₂TMPyP) and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(4-sulfonatophenyl)-porphyrin (H₂TSPP) in water–ethanol solutions. It has been revealed that for both compounds the rate constant of quenching of the triplet states increases with increasing viscosity of the medium. Quenching of the excited triplet states of the dissociated (in water) and undissociated (in ethanol) forms of water-soluble porphyrins occurs with a different efficiency, and the rate constant of quenching the triplet states by molecular oxygen k _T thereby is higher for the dissociated form. It has been shown by means of mathematical modeling that the experimental results obtained can be described in terms of the change in the rate constants of intracomplex transitions in the porphyrin–oxygen collisional complex at varied solution viscosity and their difference for the dissociated and undissociated forms of water-soluble porphyrin.     

Transient EPR at 240 GHz of the excited triplet state of free-base tetra-phenyl porphyrin

The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum measured at 240 GHz of the lowest excited triplet state of the free-base tetra-phenyl porphyrin (H₂-TPP) molecule is presented. The high frequency that is employed allows for the full resolution of theg-anisotropy (2.00354(2), 2.00272(15), and 2.00194(5) forx, y, andz zero-field axes respectively), and the obtained values are compared to those of other porphyrin-based systems. These results are one of the first addressing theg-anisotropy in the photoexcited state of porphyrins. The usefulness of high-field transient EPR in elucidating not only the principal values of theg-tensor but also the orientation of theg-tensor principal axes with respect to those of the zero-field splitting tensor in porphyrin disordered systems is also discussed.     

CIDEP Created by the Quenching of Photo-Excited Tryptophan at Protein Surface: A Challenge to CIDEP Probing of Protein Structural Changes

Quenching of the triplet excited state of molecular tryptophan by nitroxide radical in 1,4-dioxane and water solutions was investigated by means of time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and Fourier-transform (FT)-EPR. The chemically induced dynamic electron polarization (CIDEP) signals with net emissive phase were recorded at these quenching events and were analyzed through radical-triplet pair mechanism. The CIDEP time profiles were well reproduced by Bloch and kinetic equations, assuming radical-triplet pair mechanism with the appropriate quenching rate constants. From a comparison of the simulation and the experiment, CIDEP enhancement factor in 1,4-dioxane was determined to be −30 × P _eq, where P _eq is the spin polarization of nitroxide at thermal equilibrium. Net emissive CIDEP was also observed by FT-EPR measurements on the nitroxide quenching of the triplet excited state of tryptophan residue in α-lactalbumin. Magnitude of CIDEP created in α-lactalbumin/nitroxide system depends on the pH condition of α-lactalbumin solution, which is related to protein folding dynamics. We argue the CIDEP mechanism at the α-lactalbumin surface and propose a possibility of a novel CIDEP method to probe a protein surface and structural changes.     

Time-Resolved EPR Spectra of Photoexcited Copper Porphyrin

Photoinduced spin-polarized transient electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of copper 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(3-pyridyl)porphyrin (3PyNCu) in the frozen solution have been observed in the X-band. The time evolution and the temperature dependence of the spectra have been studied. The effect of molecular oxygen in the frozen solution on the polarization pattern has also been examined. The magnetic resonance parameters of the ground state of 3PyNCu have been obtained by comparing the experimental continuous-wave and echo-detected EPR spectra with the numerical computations. The magnetic resonance parameters of the excited states and the photoinduced polarizations have been investigated by time-resolved EPR (TREPR) spectroscopy and numerical analysis. The experimental spectra have been considered as a sum of the polarized spectra of the ground and excited states. Our analysis confirmed that the TREPR spectra consisted of two main patterns: the enhanced signal from the ground state and the multiplet contribution belonging to the excited quartet state.     

Luminescence of water-soluble rh(III) porphyrins

The luminescent properties of complexes of rhodium(III) with three water-soluble porphyrins— meso-tetrakis(4-N-methyl pyridyl) porphyrin, meso-tetrakis(4-N,N,N-trimethyl aminophenyl) porphyrin, and meso-tetrakis(4-sulfonate phenyl) porphyrin—were studied. All three complexes were found to phosphoresce both at 77 K and in deaerated solutions at room temperature, with their fluorescence being very weak. The rate constants of radiative (k _p=40-60s^-1) and nonradiative deactivation of a triplet excited state were determined. It was ascertained that, in aqueous solutions, the phosphorescence is quenched by molecular oxygen via an energy-transfer mechanism that is accompanied by formation of singlet oxygen. The quantum yields of formation of singlet oxygen for all the metalloporphyrins studied were found to be close to unity, which is the quantum yield of formation of their triplet states.