Laser study of the photophysical properties of UF6

The purpose of this paper is to review the most relevant theoretical and experimental results reported in recent years, on the photophysical properties of the uranium hexafluoride molecule in the gas phase. Details of the structure of the molecular orbitals of UF₆ are discussed with reference to theoretical calculations of the electronic states. Tentative assignments of the electronic transitions in the experimental visible-uv absorption spectrum are also considered. The fluorescence properties of the excited states of UF₆ are critically reviewed. The use of laser beams to excite the fluorescence emission of UF₆ is shown to be a fruitful experimental technique. The measurement of fluorescence parameters (i.e. the emission and excitation spectra, the decay time and quantum yield) is a particularly valuable and sensitive way of studying the dynamics and structure of the excited electronic states. The different mechanisms of fluorescence quenching that have been proposed are also critically reviewed.     

Photophysical properties of a series of 4‐aryl substituted 1,4‐dihydropyridines

In this article, a series of Hantzsch 1,4‐dihydropyridines with different substituted aryl groups were synthesized and its spectral data obtained by UV–Vis absorption and fluorescence emission spectroscopies in solution. The dihydropyridines present absorption located around 350 nm and fluorescence emission in the blue–green region. A higher Stokes’ shift could be observed for the derivative 3b because of an intramolecular charge transfer in the excited state from the dimethylaniline to the dihydropyridine chromophores, which was corroborated by a linear relation of the fluorescence maxima (ν_max) versus the solvent polarity function (Δf) from the Lippert–Mataga correlation. A comparison between the experimental data and time‐dependent density functional theory‐polarizable continuum model calculations of the vertical transitions was performed to help on the elucidation of the photophysics of these compounds. For these calculations, the S₀ and S₁ states were optimized using Becke, three‐parameter, Lee–Yang–Parr/6‐31 G* and Configuration Interaction Singles/6‐31 G*, respectively. The predicted absorption maxima are in good agreement with the experimental; however, the theoretical fluorescence emission maxima do not match the experimental, which means that the excited specie cannot be related to neither a locally excited state nor to an aromatized structure. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phenyl substituted Mg porphyrazines: The effect of annulation of a chalcogen-containing heterocycle on the spectral-luminescent properties

We have performed complex experimental and theoretical investigations of the spectral-luminescent properties and electronic structure of new phthalocyanine analogs, Mg octaphenylporphyrazine and its derivatives with an annulated thiadiazole or selenadiazole ring instead of two phenyl groups. Fluorescence characteristics have been determined at 293 and 77 K: emission, excitation, and fluorescence polarization spectra; fluorescence quantum yield ?? _F , and lifetime ?? _F . Annulation of a five-membered chalcogen-containing heterocycle leads to splitting of the long-wavelength absorption band Q(0-0) and to the bathochromic shift of its longest wavelength component Q _x (0-0), which increase upon passage from S to Se. At the same time, the fluorescence quantum yield ?? _F and lifetime ?? _F decrease, which is related to the intramolecular heavy-atom effect. The geometric structure of the ground state of the Mg porphyrazine molecules has been determined based on the density functional theory (DFT), and excited electronic states have been calculated with modified parametrization of the INDO/S method, INDO/Sm. Semiquantitatively, the calculated level positions of the lowest Q states and spectral shifts of Mg octaphenylporphyrazine and S-derivative agree with experimental data. For the range of the Soret band, calculated transition energies and their intensity distributions substantially depend on the dihedral angle ?? between a phenyl ring and porphyrazine macrocycle. We show that, based on calculations at the angle ?? = 60°, bands in the observed absorption spectra can be assigned with an accuracy of ??2000 cm^?1.     

The fluorescence and electronic structure of phenyl-substituted tetraazachlorin molecules

The effect of the addition of phenyl groups to pyrrole rings of tetraazachlorins, a new class of tetrapyrroles, on the photophysical properties and electronic structure of the molecules has been investigated by a complex of experimental and theoretical methods. Characteristics of fluorescence at 293 and 77 K have been determined for phenyl-substituted tetraazachlorins. The objects of this study include unsubstituted tetraazaporphine. The introduction of phenyl groups affords a marked increase in the fluorescence quantum yield. For tetraazaporphine and phenyl-substituted tetraazachlorins, fluorescence buildup occurs as the temperature is decreased from 293 to 77 K, but to a lesser extent than for tetraazachlorins having no phenyl groups, which were earlier studied by the authors. The fluorescence buildup mechanism is discussed. The singlet oxygen generation quantum yield has been determined for the tetrapyrroles examined. This characteristic increases upon tetrapyrrole is phenylation. The electronic structure and absorption spectra of unsubstituted porphine and chlorin, tetraazaporphine, tetraazachlorin, octaphenyltetraazaporphine, and tetramethylhexaphenyltetraazachlorin have been calculated by the INDO/Sm method (original modification of the INDO/S method) with molecular geometry optimization using DFT. The results of the quantum-chemical calculation of the absorption spectra are in good agreement with experimental data for transitions to the lowest excited electronic states Q _x (S ₁) and Q _y (S ₂).     

Anomalous Emission of C-Nitroso Compounds

There is a clear need for experimental studies specifically designed to detect fluorescence or phosphorescence from excited states higher than S₁ or T₁, since they provide a means of evaluation of rate parameters of internal conversion in polyatomic molecules. Although various theoretical approaches¹ have been made to the study of radiationless transitions, our present understanding of these processes remains imcomplete due to absence of sufficient experimental data. The wellknown azulene emission, the first authentic exception to Kasha rule was discovered as early as in 1955². This was followed by observation of similar anomalous emission from many derivatives of azulene^3,4,5. Besides this, a number of workers have reported anomalous emissions from higher excited states in other molecules^1,6,7. Many of these reported anomalous emissions were later proved to be as due to impurities and in some cases as arising from higher vibronic levels of the S¹ state. Most of the remaining cases are rendered less authentic and not so useful in further experimental exploitation of the anomalous situation due to low quantum yiald, lack of vibronic structurce and close specings of the electronic states.     

Vibrational dynamics and structural investigation of 4‐benzoylpyridine

The polarized Raman spectra in different environments along with the IR counterpart of 4‐benzoylpyridine (4‐BOP) were critically analyzed to assign all of its normal modes of vibration. The knowledge of the positions of different excited electronic states (EESs)was obtained from the study of electronic absorption spectra. Measurement of Raman excitation profiles (REPs)of several normal modes was carried out to get insight into structural and symmetry properties of the molecule. All the experimental observations were substantiated and corroborated theoretically by quantum chemical calculations (QCCs). The possibility of exciton splitting of the ¹L_a band has been explored both from theoretical and experimental points of view. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Theoretical determination of the K2 electronic structure

A theoretical study of the electronic structure of K₂⁺ is presented. Potential energy curves for the ground and various electronic excited states have been computed in the framework of a model potential method over a wide range of internuclear distances. Spectroscopic constants for the lowest short-range bound states have been determined and they are compared with available experimental and theoretical values. Long-range structures (wells and humps) have been also predicted, some of which being described from a long-range model.     

Radiative and non-radiative transitions in ErP5O14 single crystals

The radiative and non-radiative transitions from excited states of ErP₅O₁₄ were studied on the basis of the Judd-Ofelt theory and experimental data. It was shown that the non-radiative relaxations, predominantly multiphonon emission, are very effective in the depopulation of excited states of erbium in erbium pentaphosphate crystals. The concentration quenching of erbium fluorescence is found to be small.     

Excitonic nature of the dual fluorescence of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-2-ene and 1,4-dimethyl-(2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-2-ene)

Absorption, fluorescence excitation, and fluorescence spectra and the dependence of the degree of fluorescence polarization on the emission wavelength are measured for glass-like ethanol solutions of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-2-ene and 1,4-dimethyl-(2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-2-ene) at a temperature of 77 K. The analysis of the spectral polarization data shows that two excited electronic states S₁ and S₂ that contribute to the emission of the compounds are related to the exciton splitting and correspond to the symmetric (S₂) and antisymmetric (S₁) wave functions.     

Excitation Wavelength Dependence of Dual Fluorescence of DMABN in Polar Solvents

Steady-state absorption, fluorescence excitation and emission spectra of 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)benzonitrile (DMABN) have been measured at room temperature in cyclohexane, 1,4-dioxane, dichloromethane, and acetonitrile solutions. The fluorescence spectra of DMABN are found to exhibit dual emission in 1,4-dioxane, dichloromethane, and acetonitrile solutions and single emission in cyclohexane solution. The effect of solvent polarity and excitation wavelength on the emission spectra has also been studied. The fluorescence excitation spectra of DMABN monitored at the emission bands are different. The presence of two different conformations of the same molecule in the ground state has lead to two close lying excited states; local excited (LE) and charge transfer (CT), and thereby results in the dual fluorescence of the compound. The experimental studies were supported by ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations performed at the B3LYP/6-31Gd level of theory. On the basis of the experimental results and our theoretical calculations, we suggest that there are two conformers of DMABN, which are stable in the ground state, equilibrated in solution at room temperature that give rise dual fluorescence upon excitation.     

Relaxation Processes at High Levels of Vibrational Excitation of Polyatomic Molecules in the Ground Electronic State

By the spectral and kinetic characteristics of the luminescence of vapors of polyatomic molecules (anthracene, anthraquinone, fluorenone) initiated by selective IR multiphoton excitation (IR MPE) of molecules in the ground electronic state S ₀ the relaxation processes proceeding under vibrational excitation of molecules to energies exceeding the energies of the lower excited electronic states have been investigated. The changes in the spectral and kinetic characteristics with increasing CO₂ laser energy density and vapor P _v and foreign gas pressure P _FG are analyzed. They are similar to the characteristics obtained for normal fluorescence of these molecules with changing vibrational energy E _vib content. On the basis of experimental data and model calculations it has been concluded that at the laser radiation densities used in the case of IR MPE the molecules reach energies considerably exceeding the energies of the electronic levels. It is shown that a nonadiabatic connection between the electronic states leads to the population of mixed electronic states isoenergetic to the vibrational levels of the ground electronic state and to emission of delayed luminescence spectrally identical to the normal luminescence of these molecules. It has been found that when high vibrational levels are populated, new relaxation channels, such as reverse electron relaxation, emission from high vibrational levels of the ground electronic state, and multiquantum vibrational energy transfer at collisions leading to a rapid establishment of vibrational equilibrium become important.     

Tailoring the chemical reactivity and optical properties of clusters by size, structures and lasers

We present results of theoretical investigations in three areas. I. Reactivity of anionic noble metal oxide clusters (Ag, Au) relevant for catalyst design: It will be shown that the cooperative effects are needed to activate clusters in order to invoke strongly size selective reactions with O₂ and CO. These results obtained with DFT method elucidated fully experimental findings. II. Stationary optical properties of silver clusters: ab initio results on absorption spectra of small silver clusters and on geometric relaxation of their excited states leading to the observed fluorescence are presented and compared with experimental data. III. Real-time investigation of ultrafast processes and their control by tailored laser fields: nonstoichiometric Na_nF_n-1 clusters are suitable prototypes to study dynamics in excited electronic states. For this purpose we use our combination of the Wigner distribution method and MD “on the fly” allowing to treat all degrees of freedom. Analysis of simulated pump-probe signals will be shown for Na₂F for which experimental data are available. Pump-dump control of the photoisomerization in Na₃F₂ avoiding conical intersection will be presented using our new strategy for obtaining tailored laser fields based on the intermediate target in excited state which (if available) guarantees the controllability in the complex systems.     

Solvent Effects on the Spectroscopic Properties of Styrylquinolinium Dyes Series

The study on the relationship between the structure and spectroscopic properties of styrylquinolinium dyes were carried out by measuring the electronic visible absorption, steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectra of quinoline based hemicyanine dyes. The influence of the solvent on absorption and emission spectra and the solvatochromic properties, observed for both ground and first excited states, for all the dyes were applied for the evaluation of their excited state dipole moments. The ground state dipole moments of dyes under the study were established by applying ab initio calculations. The measured, using solvatochromic methods, excited state dipole moments of tested hemicyanines are in the range from 5.38 to 18.90 D and the change in the dipole moments caused by excitation were found to differ from 1.88 to 6.64 D. It was observed that for all tested dyes the dipole moments of the excited states were higher than those of a ground states. The fluorescence lifetime measurements with picosecond resolution was performed for entire series of hemicyanine dyes possessing different dialkylamino groups attached to the phenyl ring. The average lifetimes of the dye fluorescence, determined from the measured data by multi-order exponential decay curve fitting, were in the range from about 120 to 1200 ps at the fluorescence peak wavelength. The fluorescence lifetime measurements were performed for dyes in ethyl acetate solutions. The time-resolved fluorescence spectra measurements allowed to propose the mechanism of the dyes excited states deactivation.     

Effect of pH on the fluorescence and phosphorescence spectra of indolecarboxylic acids. Evidence for the existence of a singlet excited-state indole acid dianion

Room-temperature electronic absorption, fluorescence, and low-temperature (77 K) phosphorescence spectra of a series of indolecarboxylic acids have been measured in predominantly aqueous solutions at pH 1.2, 7.0, 12.5, and in 5 N NaOH. The ¹L_a and ¹L_b π, π ¹ states have been assigned to the electronic transitions for all the compounds under study. The quenching of fluorescence, the appearance of a new fluorescence emission band, red-shifted by 40 nm, in very alkaline media, and the disappearance of the indole carboxylate short-wavelength band have been attributed to the formation of an excited singlet-state indolate carboxylate (dianion) stabilized by hydrogen bonding with the solvent. The existence of two successive excited singlet-state prototropic equilibria is discussed.     

甲醇/TiO2(110)界面激发态的表征

用光电子能谱的方法研究了甲醇/TiO₂(110)界面的电子结构．在激发波长为400 nm的双光子光电子能谱(2PPE)中,探测到了一个末态能量在费米能级以上5.5 eV的共振信号．之前的研究[Chem. Sci. 1, 575 (2010)]表明,这个共振信号与甲醇在5配位的钛离子(Ti_5c)上的光催化解离相关．双光子光电子能谱同时携带初态和中间态的信息．为此设计了一个调谐激发光波长的2PPE实验以及一个单光子光电子能谱(1PPE)和2PPE对比的实验,结果一致表明这个共振信号来自于未占据的中间态,也就是激发态．能带色散关系测量表明这个激发态是局域的．时间分辨2PPE测得这个激发态的寿命是24 fs．     

Dynamics of F2 centers in LiF: One phonon sideband and Raman scattering

The vibrational structure of the F₂⁺ emission in LiF was investigated, together with the resonant Raman scattering from the first excited electronic state. The one phonon sideband of the emission and the resonant Raman spectrum were found to be very similar, as expected for transitions involving non degenerate electronic states.     

Electronic states of the CeO molecule: Absorption,emission, and laser spectroscopy

The electronic spectrum of the CeO molecule is characterized by the existence of many 0-0 bands resulting from transitions between various Ω components of excited states and the 16 lower Ω states which arise from the lowest configuration… (4f)(6s). Classical studies of rotational structure of absorption and emission spectra have been extended, and argon-ion and tunable dye (coumarin 460, rhodamine 6G, rhodamine 101) lasers have been used to excite known transitions in bands which had previously been rotationally analyzed. The resulting fluorescence spectra have been used to establish the relative energies of the lower states. By tuning the lasers to excite analyzed transitions from different known electronic states it has been possible to determine the energies of 16 low-lying states, to assign quantum numbers to 14 with certainty, and to suggest assignments for the other 2. The resulting energy level diagram of lower states is discussed and shown to correlate well with the 4f6s configuration of the Ce²⁺ ion. From the energies of the low-lying states, those of the higher excited states are calculated and in some cases new values of vibrational and rotational constants are derived.     

Steady‐State and Time‐Resolved Emission Studies of 6‐Methoxy Quinoline

Abstract

Steady‐state absorption, fluorescence excitation, and emission spectra of 6‐methoxy quinoline (6‐MQ) were measured at room temperature in cyclohexane, dioxane, ethanol, acetonitrile, water, and water–dioxane solvents. Absorption spectra of cyclohexane, n‐hexane, and isopentane solutions show resolved vibronic structure at room temperature. However, the excitation spectrum of cyclohexane solution is structureless and is found to be emission wavelength dependent, indicating the formation of at least two distinct species in the ground state. Similar behavior was observed in dioxane and water–dioxane solutions. For all other solutions, the fluorescence excitation spectrum of 6‐MQ was found to be the same for different emissions. Emission of 6‐MQ in all solvents consisted of two bands with their maxima around 355 nm (I) and 430 nm (II), the actual positions and the relative intensities being dependent on the solvent used. The bands I and II were respectively attributed to normal and protonated/H‐bonded species of either ¹L_a or ¹L_b states or mixed (¹L_a/¹L_b) state of ππ* character. Fluorescence decay of this dye in all solvents monitored over each emission maximum showed biexponential behavior, and the analysis yielded two different lifetime components for each emission band. The short and long fluorescence decay components were respectively in the range of 0.30–3.00 ns and 18–20 ns. The observed emission characteristics coupled with the nature of the fluorescence polarization spectra and two different decay components for each emission suggest the existence of two different conformers having two different excited electronic states.