Femtosecond time‐resolved spectroscopy on biological photoreceptor chromophores

This paper reviews our results on femtosecond time‐resolved spectroscopy (transient absorption, transient‐grating and fluorescence spectroscopy) to study the photophysics and photochemistry of the two very important biological photoreceptor chromophores phycocyanobilin (PCB) and protochlorophyllide a (PChla). The compound PCB serves as a model chromophore for the photoreceptor phytochrome. By means of transient‐grating spectroscopy where the excitation wavelength was varied ove r the spectral region of the S₀→ S₁‐absorption the ultrafast processes were studied upon excitation with varying excess energy delivered to the system. On the basis of the results obtained, both the rate of the photoreaction in PCB and the rate of the decay of different excited‐state species via different decay channels depend on the excitation wavelength. Furthermore, transient absorption experiments illuminating the excited‐state dynamics of PChla, a porphyrin‐like compound and, as substrate of the NADPH/protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (POR), a precursor of the chlorophyll biosynthesis are presented. In addition to pump‐energy‐dependent measurements performed with PChla dissolved in methanol, the excited‐state dynamics of PChla was interrogated in different solvents that were chosen to mimic different environmental conditions. In addition to the femtosecond time‐resolved absorption experiments the picosecond time‐resolved fluorescence of the system was studied. The transient absorption and tim e‐resolved fluorescence data allow suggesting a detailed model for the excited‐state relaxation of PChla describing the excited‐state processes in terms of a branching of the initially excited state population into a reactive and nonreactive path. Thus, the excited‐state potential energy surface exhibits two distinct S₁ and S_x minima separated from the Franck–Condon region along two most likely orthogonal reaction coordinates. Finally, the model derived is related to models suggested to acco unt for the reduction of PChla to chlorophyllide a within the natural enzymatic environment of POR.     

苯乙炔分子电子激发态超快动力学研究

采用飞秒时间分辨质谱技术结合飞秒时间分辨光电子影像技术研究了苯乙炔分子电子激发态超快非绝热弛豫动力学.用235 nm光作为泵浦光,将苯乙炔分子激发到第二激发态S2,用400 nm光探测激发态的演化过程.时间分辨的母体离子的变化曲线用指数和高斯函数卷积得到不同的两个组分,一个是超快衰减组分,时间常数为116 fs,一个是慢速组分,时间常数为106 ps.通过分析时间分辨的光电子影像得到光电子动能分布,结合时间分辨光电子能谱数据发现,时间常数为116 fs的快速组分反映了S2态向S1态的内转换过程.实验还表明S1态通过内转换被布局后向T1态的系间窜跃过程为重要的衰减通道.本工作为苯乙炔分子S2态非绝热弛豫动力学提供了较清晰的物理图像.     

Polaron relaxation dynamics in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots

Polaron decay in n-type InAs quantum dots has been investigated using energy dependent, mid-infrared pump–probe spectroscopy. By studying samples with differing ground state to first excited state energy separations the relaxation time has been measured between 40 and 60 meV. The low-temperature decay time increases with increasing detuning between the pump energy and the optical phonon energy and is maximum (55 ps) at 56 meV. From the experimentally determined decay times we are able to extract a low-temperature optical phonon lifetime of 13 ps for InAs QDs. We find that the polaron decay time decreases by a factor of 2 at room temperature due to the reduction of the optical phonon lifetime.     

A role of solvent in vibrational energy relaxation of metalloporphyrins

The formation of a vibrationally excited photoproduct of metalloporphyrins upon (π, π*) excitation and its subsequent vibrational energy relaxation were monitored by picosecond time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy. Stokes Raman bands due to a photoproduct of nickel octaethylporphyrin (NiOEP) instantaneously appeared upon the photoexcitation. Their intensities decayed with a time constant of 300 ps, which indicates electronic relaxation from the (d, d) excited state (B_1g) to the ground state (A_1g), being consistent with the results of transient absorption measurements by Holten and coworkers. Anti-Stokes ν₄ and ν₇ bands for vibrationally excited (d, d) state of NiOEP decayed with time constants of 10 and 300 ps. The former is ascribed to vibrational relaxation, while the latter corresponds to the electronic relaxation from the (d, d) excited state to the electronic ground state. While the rise of anti-Stokes ν₄ intensity was instrument-limited, the rise of anti-Stokes ν₇ intensity was delayed by 2.6±0.5 ps, which indicates that intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution has not been completed in subpicosecond time regime. To study a mechanism of intermolecular energy transfer, solvent dependence of the time constants of anti-Stokes kinetics was investigated using various solvents. No significant solvent dependence of the rise and decay constants was observed for NiOEP. For an iron porphyrin, we observed two phases in intermolecular energy transfer. The fast phase was insensitive to solvent and the slow phase depended on solvents. A model of classical thermal diffusion qualitatively reproduced this behavior. For solute-solvent energy transfer process, low-frequency modes of proteins seem to be less important.     

Direct observation of optically forbidden energy transfer between CuCl quantum cubes via near-field optical spectroscopy

We report, for the first time, evidence of near-field energy transfer among CuCl quantum cubes using an ultrahigh-resolution near-field optical microscopy and spectroscopy in the near UV region at 15 K. The sample was high-density CuCl quantum cubes embedded in a NaCl matrix. Measured spatial distributions of the luminescence intensities from 4.6-nm and 6.3-nm quantum cubes clearly established anticorrelation features. This is thought to be a manifestation of the energy transfer from the lowest state of exciton in 4.6-nm quantum cubes to the first dipole-forbidden excited state of exciton in 6.3-nm quantum cubes, which is attributed to the resonant optical near-field interaction.     

Transient optical absorption and luminescence in Li2B4O7 lithium tetraborate

This paper reports on a study of the transient optical absorption exhibited by Li₂B₄O₇ (LTB) in the visible and UV spectral regions. Using absorption optical spectroscopy with nanosecond time resolution, it is established that the transient optical absorption (TOA) in these crystals originates from optical transitions in hole centers and that the kinetics of the optical-density relaxation is controlled by interdefect tunneling recombination, which involves these hole centers and electronic Li⁰ centers representing neutral lithium atoms. At 290 K, the Li⁰ centers migrate in a thermally stimulated, one-dimensional manner, without carrier ejection into the conduction or valence band. The kinetics of the pulsed LTB cathodoluminescence is shown to be controlled by a relaxation process connected with tunneling electron transfer from a deep center to a small hole polaron migrating nearby, a process followed by the formation of a self-trapped exciton (STE) in an excited state. Radiative annihilation of the STE accounts for the characteristic σ-polarized LTB luminescence at 3.6 eV, whose kinetics is rate-limited by the tunneling electron transfer.     

Femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy

Advances in the field of Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy (FSRS), a new time‐resolved structural technique that provides complete vibrational spectra on the ultrafast timescale, are reviewed. When coupled with a femtosecond optical trigger, the time evolution of a reacting species can be monitored with unprecedented <25 femtosecond temporal and 5 cm^‐1 spectral resolution. New technological and theoretical advances including the development of tunable FSRS and a background‐free FSRS format are discussed. The most recent experimental studies focus on ultrafast reaction dynamics in electronically excited states: isomerization in cyanobacterial phytochrome, ultrafast spin flipping in a solar cell sensitizer, and excited state proton transfer in green fluorescent protein. The use of FSRS to directly map multidimensional reactive potential energy surfaces and to probe the mechanism of reactive internal conversion is prospectively discussed.     

伴随着分子内电荷分离的分子内转动模型的时间分辨荧光光谱研究

本文采用时间分辨荧光光谱方法,考查了两种7-胺基香豆类素衍生物分子在不同溶剂中的荧光辐射弛豫过程,研究了环境因素对伴随着分子内电荷转移的分子内转动激发态(TICT)弛豫过程的影响。结果说明TICT态是非刚性香豆素分子激发态无辐射弛豫路径之一,这一过程受到环境介质的极性、粘度和温度的影响。并指出了在考虑粘度影响时,须对DSE理论进行修正,同时提出了TICT态存在位垒的观点。     

Simultaneous Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy of single conjugated polymer chains

Simultaneous surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and fluorescence is demonstrated from single conjugated polymer chains. As resonance enhancement of SERS depends on the spectral overlap of the polymer's absorption and the incident laser, resonance Raman and fluorescence effectively probe the absorbing and emitting part of the polymer, respectively. The optical phonon energies change along the polymer chain, providing a window to spatially track excited state relaxation. Whereas a mean spatial redistribution of the excitation is witnessed by a change in vibronic fingerprint following interchromophoric energy transfer, intrachromophoric exciton self-trapping leaves the vibrations unchanged.     

发射光谱研究氩气/空气混合气体介质阻挡放电能量传递过程

使用水电极介质阻挡放电装置,对比氩气与氩气/少量空气的混合气体以及空气与空气/少量氩气的混合气体放电的发射光谱,研究了氩气与空气相混合时气体放电中的能量传递过程。实验发现, 当氩气中加入少量的空气时,氩原子谱线均变弱,说明空气中的氮分子对氩原子的各激发态具有猝灭作用。并且随着空气含量的增加,各谱线变弱的速率不同。越是与氮分子的激发电位接近的氩原子的激发态被猝灭的作用越明显。另一方面,当空气中加入少量氩气时,发现氮分子第二正带系和氮分子离子第一负带系的谱线均被增强。说明在空气/少量氩气放电中,氮分子的激发由于亚稳态氩原子的潘宁激发传能而增强。因此在氩气/空气混合气体放电中,气体成分及比例影响放电的发光特性和能量传输特性。     

Relaxation in systems with hierarchical organization: Analytical derivation of the relaxation and dispersion functions

We report a successful attempt to derive a closed-form expression for the relaxation function of a complex system by solving a set of coupled kinetic equations connecting the excitation/de-excitation rates to the number of particles (such as electrical charges, dipoles, etc.) in excited states. Our approach, originating from developments in dielectric and mechanical relaxation studies, allows the use of a unified treatment for a wide array of natural processes which often pose challenges to theoretical modeling. We use the notions that (i) a dipole represents any pair formed by a particle in an excited state (such as an energy level in optically excited molecules, or an electrode in dielectric spectroscopy) and its image in the ground state (or reference electrode), that (ii) coupling between such dipoles may be described as particle transfer from one excited state to another with lower energy, and that (iii) the relaxation function for such a system of dipoles is mathematically equivalent to the cumulative distribution function of particles, i.e., the total number of particles that are still in an excited state at a time t following excitation. Taken together, these ideas naturally lead to the identification of two types of relaxation – parallel and serial relaxation – and allow one to tackle systems with either geometrical or physical self-similarity within a unified mathematical scheme.     

The participant Coster–Kronig preceded Auger transition in the resonant L2,3-M2,3V Auger electron spectrum of Ti metal

The L_2,3-M_2,3V resonant Auger electron spectroscopy (RAES) spectrum of Ti metal measured by Le Fêvre et al. [P. Le Fêvre, J. Danger, H. Magnan, D. Chandesris, J. Jupille, S. Bourgeois, M.-A. Arrio, R. Gotter, A. Verdini, A. Morgante, Phys. Rev. B69 (2004) 155421] is analyzed in the light of relaxation and decay of the resonantly excited L_2,3-hole states. The relaxation time of the resonantly excited L_2,3-hole state to the fully relaxed (screened) one is much shorter than the L_2,3-hole Auger decay time, whereas the participant Coster–Kronig (CK) decay time of the resonantly excited L₂-hole state to the fully relaxed L₃-hole state at the L₂ resonance is as short as the relaxation time of the resonantly excited L₂-hole state to the fully relaxed one. The excited electron is predominantly either rapidly decoupled from the L_2,3-hole decay or annihilated by the participant CK decay. Thus, near the L_2,3 edges the L_2,3-M_2,3V RAES spectral peak appears at constant kinetic energy. The L_2,3-M_2,3V RAES spectrum shows a normal L_2,3-M_2,3V Auger decay profile not modulated by the density of empty d states probed by the resonant excitation. Not only the relaxation time but also the participant CK decay time depends on photon energy because they depend on the density of empty d states probed by the resonant excitation. As a result, the L_2,3 X-ray absorption spectroscopy spectral line broadening depends on photon energy.     

Elementary relaxation processes investigated by femtosecond photoelectron spectroscopy of two‐dimensional materials

Elementary scattering processes in solid matter occur on ultrafast timescales and photoelectron spectroscopy in the time domain represents an excellent tool for their analysis. Conventional photoemission accesses binding energies of electronic states and their momentum dispersion. The use of femtosecond laser pulses in pump‐probe experiments allows obtaining direct insights to the energy and momentum dependence of ultrafast dynamics. This article introduces the elementary interaction processes and emphasizes recent work performed in this rapidly developing field. Decay processes in the low excitation limit are addressed, where electrons decay according to their interaction with carriers in equilibrium. Here, hot electron relaxation in epitaxial metallic film is reviewed. In the limit of an intense optical excitation, scattering of the excited electrons among each other establishes a non‐equilibrium state. Results on charge‐density wave materials and the effect of coherent nuclear motion on the electronic structure, which can break low symmetry ground states, are discussed. Figure reprinted with permission from [71].     

Resonance energy transfer in a dense array of II–VI quantum dots

Förster resonance energy transfer in inhomogeneous dense arrays of epitaxial CdSe/ZnSe quantum dots is demonstrated by time- and space-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The specific feature of this process is the dipole–dipole interaction between the ground exciton levels of small quantum dots and the excited levels of large dots. This interaction brings efficient energy collection and spectral selection of a limited number of emitters. Results of theoretical modeling of optical transitions in spheroidal quantum dots with a Gaussian potential profile agree with the observed features of optical spectra induced by the change of the dominant energy transfer mechanism.     

Effect of relaxation and decay of a charge transfer shakeup satellite on Auger-electron spectroscopy spectra and Auger-photoelectron coincidence spectroscopy spectra of adsorbates

An electron excited to an unoccupied part of adsorbate–substrate hybrid states in a chemisorbed molecule by a resonant core electron excitation or charge transfer (CT) shakeup may delocalize on time scale of core-hole decay so that the excited core-hole state relaxes partly or completely to a fully relaxed one. The Auger decay of the fully relaxed core-hole state via the relaxation of the excited one introduces an additional feature in the resonant Auger-electron spectroscopy (RAES) spectrum and the AES spectrum. However, the additional feature in the RAES spectrum is a normal AES spectrum by decay of the fully relaxed core-hole state, whereas the one in the AES spectrum is the AES spectrum by decay of the fully relaxed core-hole state broadened by the photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) CT shakeup satellite weighted by the branching ratio of the relaxation width. The discrepancies between the AES spectrum measured at high above the ionization threshold and the additional feature in the RAES spectrum consist of the symmetric-like part by the decay of the fully relaxed core-hole state via the relaxation of the CT shakeup state and the asymmetric part by the direct decay of the shakeup states. The asymmetric part increases with a decrease in the hybridization strength. This explains the variation with the hybridization strength in the discrepancies between the RAES spectra and the AES spectra of chemisorbed molecules such as CO/Ni, CO/Cu and CO/Ag. A comparison of the singles PES spectrum with the one measured in coincidence with the AES main line of a selected kinetic energy (KE) provides the delocalization rate of the excited electron in the CT shakeup state as a function of photoelectron KE. The coincidence measurement to obtain the partial singles PES spectrum is discussed.     

瞬态吸收光谱茜素超快动力学研究

激发态质子转移是光物理学、光化学和光生物过程中最基本的化学反应之一。激发态分子内质子转移(excited-state intramolecular proton transfer, ESIPT)通常是指有机分子受到激发,到达激发态后,质子在激发态势能面上从质子供体基团转移到质子受体基团并形成含有分子内氢键多元环的过程, 一般发生在亚皮秒量级。质子转移可应用于有机发光二极管、荧光探针等领域。茜素,即1,2-二羟基蒽醌,可从茜草根部提取,具有与醌类衍生物相似的结构,常用于染料、染色剂和药物等。近年来,发现茜素分子具有质子转移特性,可用来制备新型“绿色”染料敏化电池。利用稳态吸收、稳态荧光和飞秒瞬态吸收光谱技术以及第一性原理理论计算对溶于乙醇溶液的茜素分子的质子转移过程进行了研究和分析。稳态吸收和稳态荧光研究结果表明: 在基态时,茜素分子的正常构型9,10-酮处于稳定状态,容易发生跃迁;在激发态时,茜素分子的互变异构体构型1,10-酮处于稳定状态,容易产生荧光发射。飞秒瞬态吸收光谱测量使用的激光的激发波长为370 nm。测得的瞬态吸收光谱在430 nm附近存在茜素的基态漂白信号。通过使用全局拟合方法对瞬态吸收光谱进行分析研究发现：茜素正常构型9,10-酮的激发态分子内质子转移时间为110.5 fs,茜素互变异构体构型1,10-酮分子内振动弛豫时间为30.7 ps,茜素互变异构体构型1,10-酮荧光寿命为131.7 ps。通过使用单波长动力学拟合的方法对瞬态吸收光谱进行分析发现：发生质子转移的时间尺度与运用全局拟合方法得出的结果基本一致;茜素分子的正常构型9,10-酮分子在110.5 fs的时间尺度内处于快速减少的趋势,而茜素分子的互变异构体构型1,10-酮分子在这一时间尺度内处于快速上升的趋势。当延迟时间增大时,茜素分子的互变异构体构型1,10-酮分子又呈现缓慢衰减的趋势。     

On the Sub-Doppler Spectroscopy of Optically Excited Atoms in a Thin Gas Cell

This work continues a theoretical investigation of the capabilities of the well-known method based on using a monochromatic probe light beam in combination with optical pumping of atoms (molecules) of a rarefied-gas medium by a broadband radiation in a thin cell the diameter of which is much larger than its internal thickness. In contrast to calculations carried out in the previous publications on this method of spectroscopy, here, we consider the case of arbitrary values of pump intensity and thickness of a cylindrical gas cell. Thus, all the possible mechanisms and specificities of velocity selection of atoms in optically excited levels caused by transit-time relaxation of such atoms in gas cells of this kind are analyzed. Within the framework of this approach, sub-Doppler absorption resonances of the probe light beam corresponding to quantum transitions from the upper level excited by optical pumping are investigated. The obtained results can be used in high-resolution spectroscopy of atoms (molecules), as well as for laser-frequency stabilization to established narrow spectral resonances.     

Effect of a protein on the light energy conversion in dual fluorophore-nitroxide probes studied by ESR and fluorescence spectroscopy

Probing biological environment with dual fluorophore-nitroxide (FN) molecules in which fluorophore is tethered with nitroxide, a fluorescence quencher, opens unique opportunities to study molecular dynamics and micropolarity of the medium which affect intramolecular fluorescence quenching (IFQ), electron transfer, photoreduction and light energy conversion. In such molecules, the excited fragment of the chromophore can serve as an electron donor, and the nitroxide fragment as an electron acceptor. The same groups allow monitoring of molecular dynamics and also make it possible to measure micropolarity of the medium in the vicinity of the donor (by fluorescence technique) and acceptor (by electron spin resonance [ESR]) moieties. In the present work, two dual dansyl-nitroxide probes were incorporated in a binding site of bovine serum albumin. Their interactions with the protein, mobility, and photoreduction, as well as micropolarity of the media, have been studied by ESR and fluorescence methods. IFQ and spectral relaxation shift of the dansyl fragment have been monitored by time-resolved fluorescence technique. In parallel, computational studies on intramolecular dynamics of the FN probe were performed. On the basis of the Marcus model of the electron transfer between the excited dansyl fluorophore (donor) and nitroxide group (acceptor) and our experimental data, the mechanism of the electron transfer in the dual molecules incorporated into bovine serum albumin was established. It was shown that dual FN molecules in the protein meet main requirements for an efficient light energy conversion system.     

分子聚集体中激子-激子湮灭过程

分子的激发能量转移和电荷转移是提高光伏电池和发光二极管效率的关键问题,其中分子聚集体中的激子-激子湮灭过程是影响分子激发能量转移的重要方面,细致研究激子-激子湮灭的动力学过程并与相关的瞬间吸收谱信号对比对相关的理论和实验都有重要意义.本文在分子间弱耦合近似下,用经典的率方程,应用方酸分子的基本参数对激子-激子湮灭过程做...