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 effect of annulation of benzene rings on the photophysics and electronic structure of tetraazachlorin molecules

The photophysics and electronic structure of tribenzotetraazachlorins (H₂, Zn, and Mg), which are novel analogues of phtalocyanines, have been studied experimentally and theoretically. At 293 K, the electronic absorption, fluorescence, and fluorescence excitation spectra are recorded and the fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime, as well as the quantum yield of singlet oxygen generation, are measured; at 77 K, the fluorescence, fluorescence excitation, and fluorescence polarization spectra are recorded and the fluorescence lifetime values are measured. The dependences of the absorption spectra and photophysical parameters on the structure variation are analyzed in detail. Quantum-chemical calculations of the electronic structure and absorption spectra of tribenzotetraazachlorins (H₂, Mg) are performed using the INDO/Sm method (modified INDO/S method) based on molecular-geometry optimization by the DFT PBE/TZVP method. The results of quantum-chemical calculations of the electronic absorption spectra are in very good agreement with the experimental data for the transitions to two lower electronic states.     

Transient absorption spectra of tetraazaporphine and its reduced derivatives upon picosecond excitation

Transient absorption spectra of tetraazaporphine and substituted derivatives of tetraazachlorin and tetraazabacteriochlorin were obtained upon picosecond excitation with various probe pulse delay times in order to resolve the open question about the reasons for fluorescence quenching in tetraazaporphine hydrogenated derivatives. The quantum yield of triplet state T ₁ formation has been estimated. It has been shown that in all investigated cases radiationless de-excitation of the fluorescent level S ₁ occurs by two channels: S ₁ ⤳ T ₁ and S ₁ ⤳ S ₀, the latter being predominant. As the S ₁ level becomes lower, the transition rate for this channel increases. For tetraazaporphine and its derivatives, a quasi-photochemical mechanism is proposed that accounts for the anomalous efficiency of the S ₁ ⤳ S ₀ channel in the dissipation of the electronic excitation energy.     

Spectral-luminescence properties of a norbornene-substituted tetraazachlorin and its metal complexes

The spectral-luminescence properties of a tetraazachlorin derivative with a norbornene fragment annelated to a reduced pyrrole ring and its complexes with zinc and palladium have been studied at 293 and 77 K. For the norbornene-substituted free base, differences in fluorescence from unsubstituted tetraazachlroin and its dibenzobarrelene-substituted analog are found. The fluorescence lifetime is observed to rise by ∼7 times for the free base and by ∼1.6 ties for the Zn complex on going from 293 to 77 K. An essential dependence of the photophysical parameters on the nature of the solvent is noted. The fluorescence polarization spectrum of the norbornene-substituted tetraazachlorin reveals in the Soret band region at least four electronic transitions. For the Pd complex, weak phosphorescence in the near IR region has been detected; the 0–0 band maximum is at 990 nm and the singlet–triplet interval amounts to 5800 cm^–1, which is larger by 400 cm^–1 than for Pd tetraazaporphine. The quantum yields of the photosensitized formation of singlet oxygen have been determined using a relative luminescence method.     

Spectral and luminescent properties of jet-cooled dinaphthofuran

The fluorescence and fluorescence excitation spectra of jet-cooled dinaphtho[2,1-b:1′,2′-d]furan (dinaphthofuran) molecules, as well as their complexation with inert gases Ar, Kr, and Xe, are studied. The indicatrices of the degree of polarization of fluorescence of dinaphthofuran molecules upon excitation of the electronic transitions S ₀?S ₁ and S ₀?S ₂ are calculated as functions of the intramolecular orientation of the transition dipole moments. The fluorescence polarization spectrum is measured under excitation within the rotational contour of the line of the purely electronic transition v ₀ ⁰ = 29 294 cm^?1. In contrast to complex planar molecules, the S ₀?S ₂ fluorescence excitation spectrum of dinaphthofuran is found to be continuous, with the Q branch of the rotational contour being absent. The fluorescence excitation spectra of van der Waals complexes of dinaphthofuran with inert gases exhibit multiplet lines, which is associated with the helical structure of the molecules studied.     

Electronic structure and spectral and luminescent properties of anti-HIV-active aminophenols

The method of intermediate neglect of differential overlap (INDO) with spectroscopic parameterization is used to calculate the electronic structure and the electronically excited states of substituted o-aminophenols comprising the SO₂ group. It is demonstrated that incorporation of this group into the 2-anilino-4,6-di-tretbutylphenol molecule leads to separation of the π-systems of phenyl rings forming the molecule. The intramolecular hydrogen bonds of various types and the SO₂ group change the charge redistribution between separate fragments of molecules thereby decreasing the donor properties of the phenyl fragments and the acceptor properties of the hydroxyl and amino groups. The influence of the SO₂ group on the absorption and fluorescence spectra is insignificant and consists in a small long-wavelength shift of the absorption band spectrum and insignificant changes of the band intensities. Due to a higher degree of deviation of the molecules from the planar structure after incorporation of this group, the intersystem crossing increases; therefore, the quantum fluorescence yield of sulfosubstitutes is insignificant.     

Spectral-Luminescent Properties of Substituted Tetraazachlorin and of Its Zinc Complex

The spectral, energy, kinetic, and polarization characteristics of fluorescence of di(tert-butylbenzo)barrelene-substituted tetraazachlorin and of its zinc complex in solutions are measured. The results are compared with similar data for tetraazaporphin and unsubstituted chlorin. Quenching of the fluorescence of the tetraazachlorins under investigation is noted.     

Polarized Fluorescence of Jet-Cooled indole and Carbazole and Their Complexes with Water

The spectra of the fluorescence excitation within the rotational contours of the bands of the pure electronic long-wavelength S ₀-S ₁ transitions of jet-cooled indole and carbazole molecules and their complexes with water are measured. For the carbazole-water complex, a contour with three maxima is registered, which is possibly related to the occurrence of two isomers, differing in a slight displacement of hydrogen between the nitrogen atom of the imine group of carbazole and the oxygen atom of the water molecule. The degrees of polarization of integral fluorescence upon excitation within the rotational contours of the S ₀-S ₁ electronic transition bands of the above molecules and their complexes with water are determined for the first time. The coincidence of the calculated (7.7%) and measured (7.3%) values of the degree of polarization upon excitation in the rotational Q branch of the ^b L ₁-A electronic transition of indole confirms the accepted intramolecular orientation of the transition dipole moment at an angle of 38.3° with respect to the principal axis of inertia A. Upon excitation of indole, its complex with water, and carbazole into the P and R branches, the measured and calculated degrees of polarization are also close to each other and amount to 2–3%. This confirms the occurrence of contributions to the fluorescence polarization due to the rotations of the indole molecules around the principal axes of inertia A and C.     

Calculation of Normal Vibrations and Interpretation of the Quasiline Spectra of Tetraazachlorin

Quasiline fluorescence and fluorescence-excitation spectra of tetraazachlorin and its N-deuterated derivative in n-octane at 77 K have been investigated and the frequencies of the normal vibrations for the electronic states S ₀ and S ₁ have been determined. Calculation of the normal vibrations of these molecules has been done and used to interpret the experimental data. Based on the results of analysis of the intensities in the spectra, the change in the structure of the molecule in the electronic state S ₁ is discussed.     

Relaxation processes with participation of excited S 1 and T 1 states of spatially distorted meso-phenyl-substituted octamethylporphyrins

We have performed comparative analysis of the spectral properties and photophysical parameters of spatially distorted octamethylporphyrins (OMPs) upon varying the number (from one to four) and position of bulky meso-phenyl substituents in liquid solutions at 293 K and in solid media at 77 K. It has been substantiated that, for the series of studied compounds, which are characterized by a high degree of nonplanar distortions, considerable changes in the spectral-kinetic properties of singlet and triplet states at 293 K in liquid solutions are determined by the dynamic relaxation of the tetrapyrrole macrocycle that is caused by steric interactions of meso-phenyls with neighboring bulky groups ??-CH₃. The decay of T ₁ states of mono- and di-meso-phenyl-substituted (trans) OMP molecules in liquid solutions has a biexponential character, which is indicative of conformational rearrangements of the macrocycle in the T ₁ state. We are the first to measure the phosphorescence of spatially distorted metal-free OMP molecules in solid solutions at 77 K. It has been sub-stantiated that the decrease in the phosphorescence lifetime and quantum yield observed in the series of studied compounds with increasing number of meso-phenyl substituents at 77 K is related to a gradual increase in the probability of the nonradiative intersystem crossing, caused by the lowering of the energy of the T ₁ level. We have revealed that spatially distorted tetrapyrrole macrocycles in rigid media at 77 K in the ground state are represented by two conformations. It has been found that the oxygen quenching rate constants of excited S ₁ and T ₁ electronic states of planar and spatially distorted porphyrin molecules are close to each other and depend weakly on the character distortion of the macrocycle. We have shown that the singlet oxygen generation quantum yield (??_??) of studied compounds depends on the number of meso-phenyl substituents in the OMP molecule and is determined by the character of the conformational dynamics of the tetrapyrrole macrocycle at 293 K.     

Fluorescence and fluorescence excitation spectra of jet-cooled carbazole

The fluorescence excitation spectra of jet-cooled carbazole molecules at vibrational temperatures of 55 and 80 K and the fluorescence spectrum of these molecules excited by radiation at the frequency of a pure electronic transition are measured. As the vibrational temperature increases, the excitation spectra exhibit a series of lines of the same symmetry, which are caused by the interaction of the active vibration with a subensemble of optically inactive vibrations. The final symmetry of the totally and nontotally symmetric vibrations is determined from the shape of the rotational contours of the lines of vibronic transitions. The values of a decrease in the frequency of the nontotally symmetric vibrations in the first excited electronic state S ₁ due to their interaction with the electronic state S ₂ are calculated to be up to 100 cm^?1. The frequencies of the pure electronic transitions in the absorption and fluorescence spectra coincide with each other and are equal to 30809 cm^?1, the frequencies of vibrations in the ground state S ₀ exceeding the frequencies of the corresponding vibrations in the excited state S ₁. The degree of polarization of the integral fluorescence is determined for a series of vibronic transitions of the a ₁ and b ₂ final symmetry that are observed in the fluorescence excitation spectra, and the contribution of the intensity with the borrowed polarization θ_⊥ to the integral fluorescence is calculated. It is found that the intensity θ_⊥ is higher for the transitions of the b ₂ symmetry and can reach ≈50%.     

Fluorescence and Electronic Structure of the Laser Dye DCM in Solutions and in Polymethylmethacrylate

The photophysical properties and polarization of the fluorescence of the laser dye 4-dicyanomethylene-2-methyl-6-(p(dimethylamino)styryl)-4H-pyran (DCM) in solutions of different polarities and in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) at 293 and 77 K were investigated by stationary and pulsed fluorescent spectroscopy. Based on the data of polarized fluorescence, an oscillator model has been suggested, according to which the electronic absorption spectrum of DCM in the 240–500-nm range is formed by at least three electron transitions. The quantum yield of fluorescence _f increases linearly with increase in the polarity of a solvent in a toluene dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) mixture from 0.08 (toluene) to 0.80 (DMSO). An increase of _f to 0.90 was also observed on increase in the rigidity of the medium by freezing a solution of DCM in n-propanol at 77 K or introducing of a dye to the polymeric matrix of PMMA at room temperature ( _f = 0.76). The fluorescence-decay kinetics of DCM in toluene, n-propanol, and PMMA at 293 K follows a biexponential law, whereas in n-hexane and vaseline oil at 293 K and in n-propanol at 77 K it follows a monoexponential law. The mechanisms underlying radiationless deactivation of the electron-excitation energy in solutions and in polymeric media are discussed.     

Theoretical Analysis of the Fluorescence Spectra of 7-Azaindole and Its Tautomer

The electronic—vibrational fluorescence spectra of the first, S₀ → ¹L_b, and second, S₀ → ¹L_a, electronic transitions of 7-azaindole and its tautomer for an isolated state have been calculated. Specific features of structural changes in 7-azaindole and its tautomer upon electronic excitation are determined. Vibrational spectra are assigned for the ground state, and the vibrational structure of fluorescence spectra is interpreted. It is shown that the intensity redistribution between the 6a and 6b oscillations, which is observed in the fluorescence spectrum of the S₀ → ¹L_b transition in 7-azaindole, can be explained as a result of intensity borrowing (according to the Herzberg—Teller mechanism) from the ¹L_a state.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in meso-nitrophenyl-substituted porphyrins and their chemical dimers

It is shown that steric interactions of volume substituents in the β-positions of pyrrole rings and the nitro group in mono-and di-meso-phenyl-substituted of octaethylporphyrins and their chemical dimers containing the electron-acceptor NO₂ group in the ortho-position of the phenyl ring at 295 K favor the direct overlap of molecular orbitals of the interacting subunits, resulting in the efficient quenching of fluorescence due to the direct electron transfer from the S₁ level to the lower-lying state via the “through-space” mechanism. The electron transfer in these compounds in nonpolar media (the rate constant k _et ^S =(3.2–9.5)×10⁹ s^?1 is nonadiabatic, whereas in strongly polar solvents (k _et ^S =2×10¹¹ s^?1) the adiabatic effects can be manifested. In compounds containing the NO₂ group in meta-or para-positions of the phenyl ring, the nonadiabatic electron transfer from the S ₁ level occurs less efficiently both in polar [k _et ^S =(0.2–5)×10¹⁰ s^?1] and nonpolar media [k _et ^S =(0.1–1.0)×10⁷ s^?1]. In this case, the electron transfer involves molecular orbitals of phenyl (the “through-bond” mechanism), and its efficiency depends on the orbital electron density in the meta-and para-positions of the phenyl ring. Based on the experimental data obtained and analysis of the electron transfer within the framework of the Marcus theory, the energy scheme of relaxation processes of the electronic energy in the compounds under study involving charge transfer states is suggested.     

Investigation of the octaethylporphin cationic forms in a silicate gel matrix by methods of low-temperature site selective spectroscopy

The spectral-luminescent properties of an octaethylporphin-doped inorganic xerogel prepared from tetraethoxysilane by the sol-gel method have been investigated. With the help of selective excitation and selective monitoring of fluorescence, it has been established that the octaethylporphin molecules, on their embedment into the gel matrix, form two cationic forms, dicationic and monocationic; the longest wavelength absorption band of the latter is shifted to the red. The significant influence of the gel matrix on the energy of the excited electronic Q states (S₁ and S₂) is shown. By the fluorescence line narrowing method at 4.2 K, fine-structure fluorescence and fluorescence excitation spectra of both forms have been obtained; the frequencies of the normal modes in the S₀ and S₁ states have been determined. The data on vibrational frequencies are interpreted on the basis of their juxtaposition with those from the fluorescence line narrowing spectrum of octaethylporphin and resonance Raman spectra of its complexes with copper and nickel. Cases of the appearance of out-of-plane vibrations in the fluorescence spectra have been revealed; their activation is explained by the nonplanarity of the porphyrin macrocycle for the cationic forms.     

Effect of the fluorine substitution in ethyl groups of 1,4-distyrylbenzene on the fine structure fluorescence and fluorescence excitation spectra

The fine-structure fluorescence and fluorescence excitation spectra of conjugated chain compounds, 1,4-distyrylbenzene (DSB) and its fluorine-substituted derivative α,ω-1,4-distyrylbenzene, have been obtained by the Shpolskii method in an n-octane matrix at a temperature of 4.2 K. These spectra have been simulated by representing the band of each of the vibronic transitions as the sum of a zero-phonon line and a phonon wing with the corresponding parameters, such as the half-widths of the spectral lines and the Debye-Waller factors. Based on this simulation, the relative intensities of vibronic transitions have been determined and the frequencies of normal vibrations in the S ₀ and S ₁^* states have been refined. It has been found that the energy of the purely electronic transition in the molecule of the fluorine-substituted derivative is higher by 950 cm⁻¹ compared to the unsubstituted DSB. The parameters of the Franck-Condon and Herzberg-Teller interactions have been determined. The observed violation of the mirror symmetry between the conjugated spectra is explained by the interference of intramolecular interactions.     

Calculation of Normal Vibrations of the Tetraazaporphin Molecule and Interpretation of Quasiline Spectra

Quasiline fluorescence and fluorescence-excitation spectra of tetraazaporphin and its N-deuterated derivative in n-octane at 77 K have been investigated, and the frequencies of normal vibrations in electronic states S ₀ and S ₁ have been determined. Calculation of normal vibrations of these molecules has been done and, on its basis, the experimental data are interpreted. It is shown that in the spectra, predominantly the totally symmetric vibrations of type A _g symmetry of the point D _2h symmetry group are active. Some activation of the nontotally symmetric B _1g vibrations in the fluorescence-excitation spectra is explained by the nonadiabatic interaction of the vibrational sublevels of the excited electronic state S ₁ with the purely electronic level S ₂.     

The influence of electronic and structural factors on the photoinduced electron transfer in sterically strained <Emphasis Type="Italic">meso</Emphasis>-nitrophenyl-substituted porphyrins

The electronic and structural factors affecting the efficiency of the photoinduced electron transfer in meso-nitrophenyl-substituted octaethylporphyrins are theoretically analyzed by semiempirical methods of quantum chemistry. It is shown that the experimental differences between the rate constants of electron transfer associated with the change in the position of the nitro group in the meso-phenyl ring (ortho, meta, or para positions) are determined by such factors as torsional vibrations of the phenyl ring around the single C₁-C_m bond, electronic properties of the phenyl group, rotations of the nitro group around the single C-N bond, and out-ofplane deformations of the porphyrin macrocycle. It is ascertained that the matrix elements of electronic interactions and the energies of excited charge-transfer states depend substantially both on the position of the nitro group in the meso-phenyl ring and on intramolecular vibrations of the phenyl and the nitro groups. In nonpolar media, the fluorescence quenching in the compounds under study occurs mainly due to the admixture of chargetransfer excitations to the lowest S ₁ state of porphyrin. Upon increasing polarity, the main channel of deactivation of excited singlet states is direct photoinduced electron transfer either through space (the ortho position) or through a bond involving the participation of orbitals of the phenyl spacer (the meta and para positions).     

Triplet-Triplet fluorescence of 9,10-dibromanthracene in hexane

The temperature dependence of the triplet-triplet fluorescence (TTF) spectrum of 9,10-dibromanthracene in hexane is studied in the near infrared region between 800 and 1050 nm in the temperature range from 200 to 320 K. The TTF spectrum exhibits two distinct bands at 842 and 949 nm at 293 K. Upon cooling from 293 to 200 K, the intensity of the 842-nm band decreases and that of the 949-nm band increases. The different behavior of the band intensities is explained by the overlap of the emission at 950 nm, which can be related to a photoproduct. The 842-nm band is assigned to the 0-0 T ₂(³ B _1g →T ₁(³ B _2u transition. The quantum yield of TTF at 293 K measured within the 842-nm band is 8.3×10^?7 (±20%)), and for emission in the region from 800 to 1050 nm it is equal to 1.4×10^?6 (after subtraction of the contribution from the S ₁→S ₀ singlet-singlet fluorescence). The effect of the intersystem crossing and internal conversion on the temperature dependence of TTF is discussed.