Intracoil excited singlet state annihilation in polyvinyldiphenylanthracene

The intensity of fluorescence of poly(diphenylanthracene) (PDPA) has been found to be highly non-linear in excitation laser energy, while either diphenylanthracene or polystyrene with a low loading of covalently bound diphenylanthracene (PS-co-DPA) is linear under the same conditions. It is proposed that a Forster-type annihilation process occurs: S₁ + S₁ → S₀ + S_n → 2S₀. The R₀ for this process is estimated to be ≈ 35 Å. On the other hand the singlet exciton diffusion constant (Λ_S) is estimated to be very low, by the method of comparative quenching.     

The gold porphyrin first excited singlet state

Gold porphyrins are often used as electron-accepting chromophores in artificial photosynthetic constructs. Because of the heavy atom effect, the gold porphyrin first-excited singlet state undergoes rapid intersystem crossing to form the triplet state. The lowest triplet state can undergo a reduction by electron donation from a nearby porphyrin or another moiety. In addition, it can be involved in triplet-triplet energy transfer interactions with other chromophores. In contrast, little has been known about the short-lived singlet excited state. In this work, ultrafast time-resolved absorption spectroscopy has been used to investigate the singlet excited state of Au(III) 5,15-bis(3,5-di-t-butylphenyl)-2,8,12,18,-tetraethyl-3,7,13,17-tetramethylporphyrin in ethanol solution. The excited singlet state is found to form with the laser pulse and decay with a time constant of 240 fs to give the triplet state. The triplet returns to the ground state with a life-time of 400 ps. The lifetime of the singlet state is comparable with the time constants for energy and photoinduced electron transfer in some model and natural photosynthetic systems. Thus, it is kinetically competent to take part in such processes in suitably designed supermolecular systems.     

The absorption spectrum of the first excited singlet state of pyrene obtained by modulation excitation spectrophotometry

The absorption spectrum of the first excited singlet state of pyrene dissolved in polymethylmethacrylate has been obtained over the range 390–500 nm using modulation excitation spectrophotometry. The advantages of this technique as compared to nanosecond laser flash photolysis are discussed.     

Fluorescence quenching of photoreaction products in the excited singlet state

The properties of steady-state spontaneous luminescence of a quantum system with a photoproduct with recordable fluorescence under the conditions of dynamic quenching of excited states by extraneous substances were considered. It was shown that the dependence of photoproduct fluorescence intensity and yield on quencher concentration was nontrivial and could not be conveniently used to determine the Stern-Volmer constant. At the same time, the initial form of the luminophore and its photoproduct produced in a kinetically controlled reaction are quenched in such a way that the ratio of their fluorescence intensities increases linearly as the quencher concentration grows. The corresponding equation was used to determine the constant of bimolecular quenching of reaction product excited states. The results were used in an analysis of the experimental fluorescence spectra of flavone (3-hydroxiflavone), whose fluorescence was excited under the conditions of dynamic quenching of the S ₁ state. Our analysis was shown to be applicable to a wide range of compounds with photoreactions accompanied by two-band fluorescence (charge transfer, proton transfer, phosphorescence, complex formation, etc.). It could be used to accurately determine bimolecular contact constants for excited states of photoreaction product molecules. Original Russian Text ? V.I. Tomin, 2009, published in Zhurnal Fizicheskoi Khimii, 2009, Vol. 83, No. 3, pp. 580–585.     

Adiabatic photodissociation of acenaphthylene dimers in the excited singlet state

Fluorescence spectroscopic studies of acenaphthylene dimers in saturated hydrocarbon solution have revealed that the dimer (A₂) photodissociates to     

Competition between singlet state photoreduction and triplet state photodimerization of dimethyl 3-dehydrogibberellenate

Photolysis of dilute solutions (10^-4M) of dimethyl 3-dehydrogibberellenate 1, in MeOH, EtOH, i-PrOH, t-BuOH and 2, 2, 2-trifluoroethanol, showed that while the last two solutions underwent photodimerization reactions only; the other solutions gave photoreduction products 2 and 3, besides some photodimerization product. It is further shown that while photodimerization proceeded through triplet excited state, photo-reduction, surprisingly, proceeded only through singlet excited state.     

Twisting dynamics in the excited singlet state of Michler's ketone

Ultrafast relaxation dynamics of the excited singlet (S(1)) state of Michler's ketone (MK) has been investigated in different kinds of solvents using a time-resolved absorption spectroscopic technique with 120 fs time resolution. This technique reveals that conversion of the locally excited (LE) state to the twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) state because of twisting of the N,N-dimethylanilino groups with respect to the central carbonyl group is the major relaxation process responsible for the multi-exponential and probe-wavelength-dependent transient absorption dynamics of the S1 state of MK, but solvation dynamics does not have a significant role in this process. Theoretical optimization of the ground-state geometry of MK shows that the dimethylanilino groups attached to the central carbonyl group are at a dihedral angle of about 51 degrees with respect to each other because of steric interaction between the phenyl rings. Following photoexcitation of MK to its S1 state, two kinds of twisting motions have been resolved. Immediately after photoexcitation, an ultrafast "anti-twisting" motion of the dimethylanilino groups brings back the pretwisted molecule to a near-planar geometry with high mesomeric interaction and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) character. This motion is observed in all kinds of solvents. Additionally, in solvents of large polarity, the dimethylamino groups undergo further twisting to about 90 degrees with respect to the phenyl ring, to which it is attached, leading to the conversion of the ICT state to the TICT state. Similar characteristics of the absorption spectra of the TICT state and the anion radical of MK establish the nearly pure electron transfer (ET) character of the TICT state. In aprotic solvents, because of the steep slope of the potential energy surface near the Franck-Condon (FC) or LE state region, the LE state is nearly nonemissive at room temperature and fluorescence emission is observed from only the ICT and TICT states. Alternatively, in protic solvents, because of an intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interaction between MK and the solvent, the LE region is more flat and stimulated emission from this state is also observed. However, a stronger hydrogen-bonding interaction between the TICT state and the solvent as well as the closeness between the two potential energy surfaces due to the TICT and the ground states cause the nonradiative coupling between these states to be very effective and, hence, cause the TICT state to be weakly emissive. The multi-exponentiality and strong wavelength-dependence of the kinetics of the relaxation process taking place in the S1 state of MK have arisen for several reasons, such as strong overlapping of transient absorption and stimulated emission spectra of the LE, ICT, and TICT states, which are formed consecutively following photoexcitation of the molecule, as well as the fact that different probe wavelengths monitor different regions of the potential energy surface representing the twisting motion of the excited molecule.     

Transient absorption of vibrationally excited ice Ih

The ultrafast dynamics of HDO:D2O ice Ih at 180 K is studied by midinfrared ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy. The vibrational relaxation of HDO:D2O ice is observed to proceed via an intermediate state, which has a blueshifted absorption spectrum. Polarization resolved measurements reveal that the intermediate state is part of the intramolecular relaxation pathway of the HDO molecule. In addition, slow dynamics on a time scale of the order of 10-100 ps is observed, related to thermally induced collective reorganizations of the ice lattice. The transient absorption line shape is analyzed within a Lippincott-Schroeder model for the OH-stretch potential. This analysis identifies the main mechanism behind the strong spectral broadening of the v(OH)=1-->2 transition.     

Influence of excited state aromaticity in the lowest excited singlet states of fulvene derivatives

The absorption spectra and excited state dipole moments of four differently substituted fulvenes have been investigated both experimentally and computationally. The results reveal that the excited state dipole moment of fulvenes reverses in the first excited singlet state when compared to the ground state. The oppositely polarized electron density distributions, which dominate the ground state and the first excited singlet state of fulvenes, respectively, reflect the reversed π-electron counting rules for aromaticity in the two states (4n + 2 vs. 4n, respectively). The results show that substituents indeed influence the polarity of fulvenes in the two states, however, cooperative interactions between the substituents and the fulvene moiety are most pronounced in the ground state.     

Picosecond absorption spectra of the second excited singlet state of a molecule in the condensed phase: Xanthione

The flourescence emission from the S₂ state of xanthione in benzene solution was time resolved using a Nd³⁺ glass mode-locker laser driven light gate technique. Using a separate optical apparatus, in conjunction with the mode-locked laser, transient absorption spectra were recorded at times subsequent to excitation. In both experiments excitation was provided by the 353 nm third harmonic of the neodymium laser. The exponential lifetime of the S₂ flourescence was found to be 12±3 ps. Two distinct transient absorption bands appear as a function of time after excitation. At early times a band centered at 620 nm is observed which we ascribe to absorption from S₂ while at longer times a band at 540 nm appears. This latter transient persists for up to 2 ns and we assign this band to absorption from T₁.     

Dynamic and structural models of pyrimidine in the lowest excited singlet state

Problems on the normal vibrations of pyrimidine in the ground and excited states are solved. The matrices of rotation and shift of normal coordinates due to electronic excitation and Franck-Condon integrals are calculated. The vibronic spectra of pyrimidine are interpreted. Based on this interpretation, bond lengths and bond angles in the electronically excited first singlet state of the molecule are calculated: C₁C₂ 1.388 å, C₂N₃ 1.366 å, N₃C₄ 1.352 å, C-H 1.099 å; C₆C₁C₂ 105.5?, N₃C₄N₅ 127.8?, H₂C₂N₃ 110.1?.     

Fluorescence from the second excited singlet state of thiophosgene vapour

Fluorescence has been observed from the second excited singlet state of thiophosgene vapour. The emission is excited mainly by transitions originating in the out-of-plane bending mode of the ground state and terminating in the lowest vibrational levels of the excited state.     

Hydration-dependent structural deformation of guanine in the electronic singlet excited state

Theoretical study was performed to investigate how the degree of hydration affects the structures and properties of the canonical form (keto-N9H) of guanine in the ground and lowest singlet pipi* excited state. This work is the continuation of our earlier work where we have studied the hydration of guanine in the first solvation shell with one, three, five, and six water molecules. In the present investigation, we have considered 7-13 water molecules in hydrating guanine. Ground-state geometries were optimized at the Hartree-Fock level, whereas the configuration interaction-singles (CIS) method was used for the excited-state geometry optimization. The 6-311G(d,p) basis set was used in all calculations. The harmonic vibrational frequency analysis was used to determine the nature of the optimized ground- and excited-state potential energy surfaces; all geometries were found to be minima at the respective potential surfaces. It was found that the degree of hydration has a significant influence on the excited-state structural nonplanarity of guanine. It is expected that excited-state dynamics of guanine will depend on the degree of hydration. Ground- and excited-state geometries of selected hydrated species were also optimized in the bulk water solution using the polarizable continuum model (PCM). It was found that bulk water solution generally does not have significant influence on the structure of the hydrated species. Effects of hydration on different stretching vibrations in the ground and excited states are also discussed.     

Resonance fluorescence from the second excited singlet state of naphthalene

Resonance fluorescence exhibiting anomously long radiative decay times was observed from the second excited singlet state of the “isolated” naphthalene molecule, excited by the fourth harmonic of an Nd³⁺ laser.     

Fluorescence of ammonia-d3 from its first excited singlet state

Structured emission spectra have been observed from ND₃ excited at 2139 Å and 2144 Å. The emission is short-lived (τ_{$\text{1}\text{2}$} < 10^?10 s) and has been assigned to the ND₃($\text{A}$) → ND₃($\text{X}$) fluorescence transition.     

Laser action and excited state absorption of chlorophyll-a

Stimulated emission of chlorophyll-a is observed in the spectral range around 670 nm. The calculated wavelength at the threshold turns out to be shifted by 20 nm towards longer wavelengths. To clarify this discrepancy, extrinsic-loss variations at the laser as well as measurements of nonlinear are carried out. The results indicate an excited singlet state absorption (σ > 10¹⁷ cm² within the range from 670 to 700 nm).