Theoretical study of one-, two-, and three-photon absorption properties for a series of Y-shaped molecules

In this paper, the equilibrium geometries, one-, two-, and three-photon absorption properties, and the transition nature of a series of Y-shaped molecules which possess an imidazole-thiazole core have been theoretically studied by using the parametrization model 3 and Zerner's intermediate neglect of differential overlap methods. Our calculated results have confirmed the experimental findings that the investigated molecules are all promising multiphoton absorption materials and both the two-photon absorption and the three-photon absorption cross sections are seriatim increscent along with the increase of the electron-donor strength. The nonlinear optical phenomenon originates from the intramolecular charge transfer within the pi-conjugated system. The calculated results indicate that the heterocyclic core increases the two- and three-photon absorption cross sections due to its pi-excessive nature. So it can provide more free electrons to enlarge the charge transfer within the molecule system. In addition, the design of Y shape and the sulfonyl-based electron-accepting group play a part in the enhancement of multiphoton absorption. It is notable that molecules with heterocyclic core will provide favorable condition for multiphoton absorption applications.     

The correction vector method for three-photon absorption: the effects of pi conjugation in extended rylenebis(dicarboximide)s

A correction vector method within the multireference determinant single and double configuration interaction approximation coupled with the semiempirical intermediate neglect of differential overlap Hamiltonian has been developed for the computation of single and multiphoton absorption spectra of conjugated molecules. We study the effect of pi conjugation on these properties in the extended rylenebis(dicarboximide)s. The one-, two-, and three-photon absorption cross sections of the lowest-lying excited states show a power law dependence on the conjugation length, with exponents of about 1.3, 2.6, and 5.6, respectively. The maximum value of the three-photon absorption cross section in these molecules is calculated to be 1.06x10(-78) cm6 s2photon2 for photon energy at 0.57 eV.     

Effects of donor/acceptor strengths on the multiphoton absorption: an EOM-CCSD correction vector study

We have developed a correction method (CV) to calculate the single- and multiphoton absorption (MPA) spectra of organic pi-conjugated systems within the equation of motion coupled-cluster method with single and double excitations (EOM-CCSD). The effects of donor/acceptor strengths on the multiphoton absorption in a series of symmetrically substituted stilbene derivatives have been reinvestigated at both the ab initio and the semiempirical intermediate neglect of differential overlap (INDO) Hamiltonian levels. Both ab initio and INDO calculations show that the electron-donating or electron-withdrawing substituents lead to enhancements of two- and three-photon absorption cross sections, more pronounced for two-photon absorption than for three-photon absorption. The ab initio calculations usually produce larger excitation energies than the semiempirical, which lead to lower MPA cross sections.     

A molecular theory for two-photon and three-photon fluorescence polarization

In the analysis of molecular structure and local order in heterogeneous samples, multiphoton excitation of fluorescence affords chemically specific information and high-resolution imaging. This report presents the results of an investigation that secures a detailed theoretical representation of the fluorescence polarization produced by one-, two-, and three-photon excitations, with orientational averaging procedures being deployed to deliver the fully disordered limits. The equations determining multiphoton fluorescence response prove to be expressible in a relatively simple, generic form, and graphs exhibit the functional form of the multiphoton fluorescence polarization. Amongst other features, the results lead to the identification of a condition under which the fluorescence produced through the concerted absorption of any number of photons becomes completely unpolarized. It is also shown that the angular variation of fluorescence intensities is reliable indicator of orientational disorder.     

Multiphoton Absorption in Expanded Porphyrins

We have calculated the multiphoton absorption cross-sections for three expanded porphyrin derivatives using the sum-over-states-involved tensor approach in combination with the strongly correlated multireference determinant single- and double-configuration interaction method. The calculated results showed that the two- and three-photon energies corresponding to the first peak of the multiphoton absorption spectra showed a decrease (red-shifted) with the number of inserted thiophene groups, whereas the cross sections showed a remarkable increase, particularly for three-photon absorption cross-section. However, the larger twist of the molecular plane for the expanded molecule resulted in an obvious drop in the increasing trend for three-photon absorption cross-section.     

扩展卟啉分子的多光子吸收特性

发展关联电子体系的多参考组态相互作用方法, 应用态求和的张量方法, 计算研究了三种扩展卟啉分子的多光子吸收特性. 计算结果表明, 通过中间插入噻吩杂环基团, 扩展卟啉分子的双光子和三光子吸收峰发生较大红移, 对应的吸收截面得到显著的提高, 并且三光子吸收截面的增加更为明显; 但是由于卟啉环扩大导致分子平面发生扭曲, 三光子吸收截面的增大趋势明显减弱.     

Fluorescence behavior of 7-hydroxycoumarine excited by one-photon and two-photon absorption by means of a tunable dye laser

The fluorescence spectrum of 7-hydroxycoumarine in ethanol excited by a pulsed tunable dye laser reveals different features when excitation proceeds via one-photon and two-photon absorption. In the former case the spectrum shows two peaks delayed in time by approximately 2 ns and characterized by different lifetimes. The relative intensity of these peaks is unaffected by significant changes in the dye concentration and therefore the formation of an “exciplex” species seems to be here confirmed. In the spectrum obtained by two-photon excitation the second peak at longer wavelength is absent. Results are presented for both room and liquid nitrogen temperatures as well as for other solvents such as glycerin and EPA. These results are considered to be important for the evaluation of absolute two-photon cross sections where the quantum efficiencies of one- and two-photon processes are assumed to be the same.     

High-order multiphoton fluorescence of organic molecules in solution by intense femtosecond laser pulses

The five and possibly seven-photon fluorescence was observed for organic molecules in solution for the first time. A high-intensity laser enabled us to measure the properties of the high and any-order processes, and the emission could be directly visualized by the eye. These results showed that the common two-photon microscope could be upgraded to the higher order multiphoton microscope by choosing suitable excitation wavelengths. The multiphoton absorption cross sections differed by a factor of 10(33) as the order of the multiphoton process increased.     

三苯胺-噁二唑超支化共轭聚合物的多光子泵浦绿色荧光

采用钯催化Heck反应制备了一种新型三苯胺-噁二唑超支化荧光聚合物PI. 用飞秒Ti:sapphire激光研究了PI的三光子和双光子上转换荧光光谱, 激发波长位于近红外区(800~1350 nm). 在1280 nm和80 fs激光激发下, PI的三光子上转换荧光发射波长分别为525 nm(THF), 534 nm(CH2Cl2)和578 nm(DMF). 在800 nm和150 fs激光激发下, PI的双光子上转换荧光发射波长分别为527 nm(THF), 532 nm(CH2Cl2)和573 nm(DMF). 采用非线性透过率法测定荧光聚合物PI的三光子和双光子吸收系数. 系统研究了PI的线性吸收和透过、单光子荧光、荧光寿命、前线轨道能级及热稳定性. 实验结果表明, 三苯胺-噁二唑超支化共轭聚合物的多光子吸收和上转换荧光发射性能比树型分子或线型聚合物更为优异.     

Mono- and bichromatic electron dynamics: LiH, a test case

This paper describes an electron dynamics method where the time dependence of an external oscillating electric field is the perturbing part of the Hamiltonian. Application of the electric field induces charge movement inside the molecule and electronic transitions between the molecular orbitals. The test system is the neutral LiH molecule. The method is applied to wave functions calculated using the B3LYP (hybrid) density functional, with the STO-3G and the 6-31+G basis sets. The molecule undergoes full population inversion between the HOMO and the LUMO when the electric field is in resonance with the HOMO-LUMO energy gap. The magnitude of the electric field directly affects the rate at which electronic transitions occur and the rate at which charges move between lithium and hydrogen atoms. The method is used to model both monochromatic and bichromatic multiphoton effects in LiH. Monochromatic one-, two- and three-photon transitions occur between the HOMO, LUMO and two other virtual orbitals. There is evidence of both [1+2] direct and [1+1+1] stepwise multiphoton transitions. Bichromatically, two "laser" pulses are applied at different frequencies. Electronic transitions can be fine-tuned to occur via pre-specified pathways of virtual molecular orbitals.     

臭氧分子在激光场中的多光子激发

采用二次量子化方法和酉变换讨论了O3分子在激光场中的多光子激发.推导出了O3分子的振动Hamiltonian 算子、从基态到各激发态的跃迁几率公式,以及O3分子从激光场中吸收的光子数公式,并分析了计算结果.这包括对O3分子伸缩振动能谱的计算及与实验结果的比较,跃迁几率随外场频率的变化、随时间的变化,以及O3分子在辐射场中的能量吸收情况(取光场强度为5×10-2 W/cm2).建立讨论所有具有C2v对称分子从基态到第四激发态以下各态多光子激发问题的模型.     

Three-photon absorption in anthracene-porphyrin-anthracene triads: a quantum-chemical study

We have applied correlated quantum-chemical methods to investigate the three-photon absorption (3PA) response of a porphyrin triad derivative, where the central macrocycle is linked in mesopositions to two anthracene units via acetylenic bridges. The 3PA frequency-dependent spectrum of this derivative is dominated by a single resonance feature in the transparent region, associated with charge-transfer states between porphyrin and anthracene. The calculations indicate a two order of magnitude enhancement in the 3PA cross section in the triad molecule with respect to the individual entities, which is attributed to close one-, two-, and three-photon resonances together with strong electronic couplings among the units.     

Multiphoton photodetachment of C60-

A model delta-function potential is considered for simulating the interaction of the attached electron in C(60) (-) with the fullerene environment. The analytical expressions for the energy eigenstates, and the Green's function, are used to deduce the one-, two-, and three-photon photodetachment probabilities for C(60) (-). Particularly interesting is the observation that the three-photon photodetachment is greatly enhanced by the bound states with energies close to the energies for resonant absorption of one and two photons, and a resonance in the l=3 state.     

Laser multiphoton ionization of aromatic molecules in nonpolar liquids

The laser multiphoton ionization (MPI) of fluoranthene in tetramethylsilane (TMS) and of azulene in n-tridecane, n-pentane, 2,2,4,4-tetramethylpentane, TMS and tetramethyltin is reported. Three distinct types of MPI mechanisms have been identified: two-photon ionization, stepwise three-photon ionization and mixed two- and three-photon ionization. The stepwise three-photon process consists of two-photon excitation, relaxation to a lower lying excited state with a lifetime comparable to the laser pulse duration (for azulene this state is the S₂ while for fluoranthene both the S₁ and S₂ states) and subsequent ionization with the absorption of a third photon. The ionization threshold of azulene in each liquid has been determined and found to vary linearly with the V₀ of the liquid.     

Molecular beam scattering of NO+Ne: a joint theoretical and experimental study

The collision dynamics of the NO+Ne system is investigated in a molecular beam scattering experiment at a collision energy of 1055 cm(-1). Employing resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization of NO, we measured state-resolved integral and differential cross sections for the excitation to various levels of both spin-orbit manifolds. The dependence of the scattered intensity on the laser polarization is used to extract differential quadrupole moments for the collision induced angular momentum alignment. The set of cross section data is compared with results of a full quantum mechanical close coupling calculation using the set of ab initio potential energy surfaces of Alexander et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 114, 5588 (2001)]. In previous work, it was found that the positions and rotational substructures for the lowest bend-stretch vibrational states derived from these surfaces agree very well with the observed spectrum of the NO-Ne complex. For the same potential, we find that the calculated cross sections show a less satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. While the overall Jf dependence and magnitude of the integral and differential cross sections are in good agreement, noticeable discrepancies exist for the angle dependence of the differential cross sections. In general, the calculated rotational rainbow structures are shifted towards larger scattering angles indicating that the anisotropy of the potential is overestimated in the fit to the ab initio points or in the ab initio calculation itself. For most states, we find the measured alignment moments to be in excellent agreement with the results of the calculation as well as with predictions of sudden models. Significant deviations from the sudden models are observed only for those fine-structure changing collisions which are dominated by forward scattering. Results of the full quantum calculation confirm the deviations for these states.     

Two photon absorption properties of 1,3,5-tricyano-2,4,6-tris(styryl)benzene derivatives

Two-photon absorption (TPA) properties of 1,3,5-tricyano-2,4,6-tris(styryl)benzene derivatives have been investigated. Comparison of the absorption and fluorescence spectra reveals that these compounds show large Stokes shifts, which increase gradually as the conjugation length increases. One-photon absorption and excitation spectra are similar except that the latter exhibit several peaks near lambda(max). It is also found that the one- and two-photon-induced fluorescence excitation spectra are quite similar, which indicates that the one- and two-photon allowed-excited states are the same. The peak TPA cross section values (delta(max)) measured with nanosecond pulses by the two-photon-induced fluorescence method are in the range (50-2620) x 10(-50) cm4 s/photon. The delta(max) value increases as the donor strength and conjugation length increase. A linear relationship is observed between delta(max) and beta, and this delta-beta relationship is found to serve as a useful synthetic strategy for the design of novel TPA dyes with the octupolar structure.     

One-color reversible control of photochromic reactions in a diarylethene derivative: three-photon cyclization and two-photon cycloreversion by a near-infrared femtosecond laser pulse at 1.28 μm

One-color control of colorization/decolorization reactions of diarylethene molecules was attained by using nonresonant high-order multiphoton absorption processes with a near-infrared (NIR) femtosecond laser pulse at 1.28 μm with 35 fs full width at half-maximum (fwhm). The intensity of a rather weak laser pulse (<1 nJ/pulse) can induce the simultaneous three-photon absorption leading to the colorization, while much weaker intensity induces two-photon absorption resulting in the decolorization. The spatial patterning concomitant with higher-order multiphoton absorption processes was also demonstrated.     

Modular fluorescent benzobis(imidazolium) salts: syntheses, photophysical analyses, and applications

A series of benzobis(imidazolium) (BBI) salts has been prepared and studied as a new class of versatile fluorescent materials. Using a high yielding, modular synthetic strategy, BBI salts with a range of functionality poised for investigating fundamental and applications-oriented characteristics, including emission wavelength tunability, solvatochromism, red-edge excitation, chemical stability, multiphoton excitation, and protein conjugation, were prepared in overall yields of 40-97%. Through structural variation, the BBIs exhibited lambda(em) ranging between 329 and 561 nm while displaying phi(f)s up to 0.91. In addition, the emission characteristics of these salts were found to exhibit strong solvent dependencies with Stokes shifts ranging from 4570 to 13 793 cm(-1), depending on the nature of the BBI core. Although red-edge effects for BBI salts with Br and BF4 counterions were found to be similar, unique characteristics were displayed by an analogue with MeSO4 anions. The stability of an amphiphilic BBI was quantified in aqueous solutions of varying pH, and >85% of the emission intensity was retained after 2 h at pH 3-9. Through multiphoton excitation experiments in aqueous solutions, a BBI salt was found to exhibit three-photon fluorescence action cross sections similar to serotonin. The application of BBI salts as fluorescent protein tags was demonstrated by conjugating bovine serum albumin to a maleimide-functionalized derivative.     

Quantum chemical studies of three-photon absorption of some stilbenoid chromophores

Three-photon absorption of a series of donor-acceptor trans-stilbene derivatives is studied by means of density functional theory applied to the third-order response function and its residues. The results obtained by using different functionals are compared with experimental data for similar systems obtained from the literature. With a Coulomb attenuated, asymptotically corrected functional, the excitation energy to the first resonance state is much improved. Comparison with experiment indicates that this is the case for the three-photon cross section as well. In particular, the overestimation of the cross sections and underestimation of excitation energies offered by the density functional theory using common density functionals is corrected for. It is argued that a reliable theory for three-photon absorption in charge transfer and other chromophore systems thereby has been obtained. Further elaboration of the theory and its experimental comparison call for explicit inclusion of solvent polarization and pulse propagation effects.