Cocrystallization Tailoring Multiple Radiative Decay Pathways for Amplified Spontaneous Emission

Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) is intrinsically associated with lasing applications. Inefficient photon energy transfer to ASE is a long‐standing issue for organic semiconductors that consist of multiple competing radiative decay pathways, far from being rationally regulated from the perspective of molecular arrangements. Herein, we achieve controllable molecular packing motifs by halogen‐bonded cocrystallization, leading to ten times increased radiative decay rate, four times larger ASE radiative decay selectivity and thus remarkable ASE threshold decrease from 223 to 22 μJ cm^?2, albeit with a low photoluminescence quantum yield. We have made an in‐depth investigation on the relationship among molecular arrangements, vibration modes, radiative decay profiles and ASE properties. The results suggest that cocrystallization presents a powerful approach to tailor the radiative decay pathways, which is fundamentally important to the development of organic ASE and lasing materials.     

Quantum trajectory analysis of single-photon control from a single-molecule source

We investigate theory of single-photon control from a two-level single-molecule source irradiated by laser pulses of various shapes and pulse durations in terms of quantum trajectories which link stochastic dynamics of the radiating source with quantum measurement theory. Using Monte Carlo wave function simulation, we analyze the detailed dissipative dynamics of the single-molecule source and the photon statistics as revealed by repeated Gedanken photon measurement on the single radiating source. We show that much of the photon statistics from the two-level single-molecule single-photon sources, including few-photon emission probability, waiting time distribution, and two-time correlation function of the fluorescent light, can be understood qualitatively from the simple picture of Rabi nutation and pi pulse in terms of pulse areas.     

Influence of Thermal Radiation on Hot Cluster Decay Rates and Abundances

The influence of radiative cooling on the unimolecular decay rates of free, hot clusters and molecules with unspecified excitation energies is quantified. Two different regimes, dedined by the magnitude of the energy of the photons emitted, are identified and the boundary between them is given. The boundary is determined in terms of the photon emission rate constants and thermal properties of the particles. Also the abundance spectra are calculated for the continuous cooling case, corresponding to small photon energies. The two regimes correspond to continuous cooling and single photon quenching of the unimolecular decay. The radiative effect can be parametrized by a redefinition of the time each individual cluster has available to undergo evaporation, expressed by an effective radiative time constant.     

Photon emission statistics and photon tracking in single-molecule spectroscopy of molecular aggregates: dimers and trimers

Based on the generating function formalism, we investigate broadband photon statistics of emission for single dimers and trimers driven by a continuous monochromatic laser field. In particular, we study the first and second moments of the emission statistics, which are the fluorescence excitation line shape and Mandel's Q parameter. Numerical results for this line shape and the Q parameter versus laser frequency in the limit of long measurement times are obtained. We show that in the limit of small Rabi frequencies and laser frequencies close to resonance with one of the one-exciton states, the results for the line shape and Q parameter reduce to those of a two-level monomer. For laser frequencies halfway the transition frequency of a two-exciton state, the photon bunching effect associated with two-photon absorption processes is observed. This super-Poissonian peak is characterized in terms of the ratio between the two-photon absorption line shape and the underlying two-level monomer line shapes. Upon increasing the Rabi frequency, the Q parameter shows a transition from super- to sub- to super-Poissonian statistics. Results of broadband photon statistics are also discussed in the context of a transition (frequency) resolved photon detection scheme, photon tracking, which provides a greater insight in the different physical processes that occur in the multi-level systems.     

Interferences due to easily ionised elements in a microwave-induced plasma system with graphite-furnace sample introduction

Several aspects of both enhancement and suppression of the analyte emission intensity caused by an easily ionised element (EIE) have been studied in an atmospheric pressure He microwave-induced plasma (MIP). A sequence of experiments, designed to elucidate possible mechanisms of this EIE effect, examines the following aspects: the concentration dependence of the effect for various EIEs; spatially separated vaporisation of EIE and analyte into the plasma; the effect of operating parameters upon the EIE-induced enhancement; the influence of the EIE on the excitation temperature and on the efficiency of coupling of microwave energy to the cavity. The EIE-induced suppression of emission intensity is consistent with reduced power dissipation in the plasma, due to decoupling of the plasma from the microwave power source, whereas the EIE-induced enhancement of emission intensity is best explained by a radiative energy transfer mechanism.     

Radiative decay of nonstationary system

When a finite quantum system, say a fluorescent molecule is attached to a bulk surface and excited by a short laser pulse, the decay dynamics of the system is modulated by the surface and the signal is enhanced due to the bulk surface. We have considered the decay dynamics of a model of displaced distorted molecule whose excited potential surface is coupled to a continuum and then this first continuum is in turn coupled to a second continuum. In the short time scale there is a coherent exchange of energy between the system molecule and the first continuum states. In the long time scale the energy of the whole system plus first continuum drains out to the final continuum states. A dendrimer nanocomposite with the gold surface shows an enhanced light emission. This can be qualitatively understood from the model we proposed here. We have numerically studied the various potential parameters of the molecule which can affect the signal. When the potential surfaces are flat, the band structure of the first continuum states along with its initial excitation has some nontrivial effect on the profile of the radiative decay.     

Radiationless processes in a molecular beam: Time resolved emission from benzophenone

In order to study the radiative properties of the isolated benzophenone molecule, a molecular beam of benzophenone is excited by a pulsed nitrogen laser or a pulsed tunable dye laser and the subsequent emission intensity is measured as a function of time. We find the decay to be exponential with a lifetime of about O.5μs. This value is shorter than the radiative lifetime calculated from absorption measurements. As the background pressure in the molecular beam chamber is raised from 10^?6 torr to 10^?4 torr, the decay of the emission lengthens and becomes biexponential. An explanation involving giant self-collision-induced cross sections for intersystem crossing is advanced to reconcile these observations with results from previous studies of benzophenone emission decay.     

Novel Eu-doped lead telluroborate glasses for red laser source applications

We report the absorption, luminescence and decay analysis of Eu³⁺-doped lead telluroborate (PTBEu) glasses for different Eu³⁺ concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 2.0 mol%. Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters obtained from ⁵D₀→⁷F_J=0-6 emission transitions of Eu³⁺ were used to calculate the radiative transition probabilities, luminescence branching ratios and radiative decay times. The luminescence spectra and decay times were measured at 464 nm excitation. The optical band gap energies are also determined. The luminescence intensity ratio, color purity and emission cross-section values support that the PTBEu20 glass is a suitable candidate for red laser source applications.     

High-efficiency carrier multiplication and ultrafast charge separation in semiconductor nanocrystals studied via time-resolved photoluminescence

We demonstrate novel methods for the study of multiple exciton generation from a single photon absorption event (carrier multiplication) in semiconductor nanocrystals (or nanocrystal quantum dots) that are complementary to our previously reported transient absorption method. By monitoring the time dependence of photoluminescence (PL) from CdSe nanocrystals via time-correlated single photon counting, we find that carrier multiplication is observable due to the Auger decay of biexcitons. We compare these data with similar studies using transient absorption and find that the two methods give comparable results. In addition to the observation of dynamical signatures of carrier multiplication due to the Auger decay, we observe spectral signatures of multiple excitons produced from the absorption of a single photon. PL spectra at short times following excitation with high-energy photons are red-shifted compared to the single-exciton emission band, which is consistent with previous observations of significant exciton-exciton interactions in nanocrystals. We then show using a combination of transient absorption and time-resolved PL studies that charge transfer between a nanocrystal and a Ru-based catalyst model compound takes place on a time scale that is faster than Auger recombination time constants, which points toward a possible design of donor-acceptor assemblies that can be utilized to take advantage of the carrier multiplication process.     

Theoretical Insights into the Substituent Effects on the Fluorescence of Boron Complexes of 2-(Benzothiazol-2-yl)phenols: a Quantum Mechanics Study

The performance of organic fluorescent materials can be improved by chemical substitutions with auxochrome groups such as amino to increase solubility, alter emitting color, or modify film quality. The complex 6,6-difluoro-6-bora-5-oxa-11-thia-6 a-aza-benzo[a]fluorine(BOBTP) and its derivatives, which possess excellent luminescent property at room temperature, were theoretically simulated by density functional theory. The geometries of the ground state and the first excited state of BOBTPs complexes were investigated and their bond parameters were obtained. Further, these bond parameters are compared with each other, and the computational wavelengths of maximum absorption and emission of studied complexes match up with the experimental values. It was found that amino substituent bonding to appropriate positions of BOBTP can reduce the reorganization energy significantly, which is ascribed to electron-donating effect of the amino group. The reorganization energy also plays an important role in the fluorescence quantum yield of all the BOBTPs. In particular, the radiative decay of complexes 3 and 4 is dominant due to the smaller reorganization energies, so their fluorescence quantum yield is almost 1, on the contrary the non-radiative decay and intersystem crossing rate of both the 1 and 2 can not be ignored for the larger reorganization energies, and the corresponding fluorescence quantum yields were calculated when the radiative decay rate(kr) and nonradiative decay rate(k(nr)) were taken into account.     

Enhancement of platinum octaethyl porphyrin phosphorescence near nanotextured silver surfaces

We observe more than a 200-fold increase in the photoexcited phosphorescent emission of PtOEP (2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H,23H-porphyrin platinum II) in a polystyrene film on nanotextured silver surfaces, coincident with a reduction in the triplet state lifetime by a factor of 5. The large enhancement results in films with apparent luminescence quantum yields much greater than unity and can be understood in terms of increased radiative rates due to interactions between the molecules and the electron plasma in nearby silver nanoparticles. We study the photoluminescence efficiency, excitation spectrum, and decay dynamics as a function of film thickness and silver density. We use a model of the photophysics to decompose the phosphorescent enhancement into contributions from increases in absorption, emissive rate, and quenching. Quenching increases in importance for very thin films, and we conclude that approximately 3 nm spacing between metal and chromophore leads to the largest photoluminescence enhancement.     

Photon echo spectroscopy of porphyrins and heme proteins: effects of quasidegenerate electronic structure on the peak shift decay

Three pulse photon echo peak shift spectroscopy and transient grating measurements on Zn-substituted cytochrome c, Zn-tetraphenylporphyrin, and Zn-protoporphyrin IX are reported. The effects of protein conformation, axial ligation, and solvent are investigated. Numerical simulations of the peak shift and transient grating experiments are presented. The simulations employed recently derived optical response functions for square-symmetric molecules with doubly degenerate excited states. Simulations exploring the effects of excited-state energy splitting, symmetric and asymmetric fluctuations, and excited-state lifetime show that the time scales of the peak shift decay in the three-level system largely reflect the same dynamics as in the two-level system. However, the asymptotic peak shift, which is a clear indicator of inhomogeneous broadening in a two-level system, must be interpreted more carefully for three-level systems, as it is also influenced by the magnitude of the excited-state splitting. The calculated signals qualitatively reproduce the data.     

RADIATIVE AND NON-RADIATIVE LOSSES IN THE RETINOL POLYENES

Abstract— The radiative fluorescence lifetimes of the all-trans, 9 cis and 13 cis retinol, have been measured at various temperatures, and in various solvents. The comparison of these results and of the data calculated from the absorption spectra using the Strickler and Berg equation shows that the transition probabilities are at least one hundred times lower for the radiative emission than for the absorption. Such a discrepancy, which is a general property of the polyenic structure, is closely related to the magnitude of the shift between absorption and fluorescence spectra. We interpret the observed elongation of the radiative fluorescence lifetimes and the temperature dependence of the radiative transitions in the case of all trans retinol as being due to the fact that only the lowest vibrorotational sublevels of ¹S₁, have a reasonable radiative transition probability: the temperature dependence of the radiationless transitions is considered to be due to the existence of a non radiative decay pathway at 550cal/mole above the '0' level.     

二苯多烯分子的光物理性质与共轭长度的关系

应用无辐射跃迁理论, 结合密度泛函理论, 研究了共轭多烯体系光物理性质随共轭长度变化的规律. 结果表明, 辐射跃迁速率与共轭长度几乎无关, 但无辐射跃迁速率随链长而增加. 这是因为当共轭链增长时, 振子强度增加, 跃迁能减小, 从而对辐射跃迁速率相抵消, 而在无辐射跃迁过程中, 能隙规则起到主导作用.     

Low-temperature dynamics of weakly localized Frenkel excitons in disordered linear chains

We calculate the temperature dependence of the fluorescence Stokes shift and the fluorescence decay time in linear Frenkel exciton systems resulting from the thermal redistribution of exciton population over the band states. The following factors, relevant to common experimental conditions, are accounted for in our kinetic model: (weak) localization of the exciton states by static disorder, coupling of the localized excitons to vibrations in the host medium, a possible nonequilibrium of the subsystem of localized Frenkel excitons on the time scale of the emission process, and different excitation conditions (resonant or nonresonant). A Pauli master equation, with microscopically calculated transition rates, is used to describe the redistribution of the exciton population over the manifold of localized exciton states. We find a counterintuitive nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the Stokes shift. In addition, we show that depending on experimental conditions, the observed fluorescence decay time may be determined by vibration-induced intraband relaxation, rather than radiative relaxation to the ground state. The model considered has relevance to a wide variety of materials, such as linear molecular aggregates, conjugated polymers, and polysilanes.     

Modeling of a type II photofrin-mediated photodynamic therapy process in a heterogeneous tissue phantom

We present a quantitative framework to model a Type II photodynamic therapy (PDT) process in the time domain in which a set of rate equations are solved to describe molecular reactions. Calculation of steady-state light distributions using a Monte Carlo method in a heterogeneous tissue phantom model demonstrates that the photon density differs significantly in a superficial tumor of only 3 mm thickness. The time dependences of the photosensitizer, oxygen and intracellular unoxidized receptor concentrations were obtained and monotonic decreases in the concentrations of the ground-state photosensitizer and receptor were observed. By defining respective decay times, we quantitatively studied the effects of photon density, drug dose and oxygen concentration on photobleaching and cytotoxicity of a photofrin-mediated PDT process. Comparison of the dependences of the receptor decay time on photon density and drug dose at different concentrations of oxygen clearly shows an oxygen threshold under which the receptor concentration remains constant or PDT exhibits no cytotoxicity. Furthermore, the dependence of the photosensitizer and receptor decay times on the drug dose and photon density suggests the possibility of PDT improvement by maximizing cytotoxicity in a tumor with optimized light and drug doses. We also discuss the utility of this model toward the understanding of clinical PDT treatment of chest wall recurrence of breast carcinoma.     

Multiphoton tea CO2 laser excitation of the triplet state of propynal

Multiple infrared photon excitation of propynal triplet molecules gives rise to a strongly perturbed phosphorescence. Following absorption of a few IR photons per molecule the phosphorescence spectrum extends to higher energy, the intensity increases, the decay — deviating from the original exponential decay — accelerates and the emission quantum yield drops dramatically. These findings are explained in terms of temperature sensitive radiative (T₁ → S₀) and radiationless (T₁ → S₀) processes with the vibrational temperature as the determining factor. During the perturbed triplet decay, the IR excitation initially confined to the vibrational degrees of freedom becomes distributed among all degrees of freedom which results in a decrease in the vibrational temperature and thus a complex phosphorescence decay.     

Bridged Stilbenes: AIEgens Designed via a Simple Strategy to Control the Non‐radiative Decay Pathway

To broaden the application of aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) luminogens (AIEgens), the design of novel small‐molecular dyes that exhibit high fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_fl) in the solid state is required. Considering that the mechanism of AIE can be rationalized based on steric avoidance of non‐radiative decay pathways, a series of bridged stilbenes was designed, and their non‐radiative decay pathways were investigated theoretically. Bridged stilbenes with short alkyl chains exhibited a strong fluorescence emission in solution and in the solid state, while bridged stilbenes with long alkyl chains exhibited AIE. Based on this theoretical prediction, we developed the bridged stilbenes BPST[7] and DPB[7], which demonstrate excellent AIE behavior.