PICOSECOND ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY OF CHLOROPHYLL A DIHYDRATE

Abstract— The solution of chlorophyll a in hexane with more than 70% of chlorophyll molecules in the form of the dihydrate (CHl-a.2H₂O)_n is investigated at room temperature by picosecond absorption technique. The transient difference spectra and the kinetic dependences of the absorption changes are measured for several excitation and probe wavelengths. Creation of a new state with blue-shifted absorption band is observed in the system after excitation. A model of the behaviour of the system after excitation is proposed and checked by comparison of the computer-simulated spectral and time dependences with the experimental data. According to the model, about 30% of excited molecules are in the state with the 0.046 eV shift of the absorption band in comparison with the ground state absorption. The lifetime of this state has 170-ps component. The rest of the excited molecules are in the first excited state with the decay time component of 37 ps.