Femtosecond dynamics of electron transfer in a neutral organic mixed-valence compound

In this article we report a femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption study of a neutral organic mixed-valence (MV) compound with the aim to gain insight into its charge-transfer dynamics upon optical excitation. The back-electron transfer was investigated in five different solvents, toluene, dibutyl ether, methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), benzonitrile and n-hexane. In the pump step, the molecule was excited at 760 nm and 850 nm into the intervalence charge-transfer band. The resulting transients can be described by two time constant. We assign one time constant to the rearrangement of solvent molecules in the charge-transfer state and the second time constant to back-electron transfer to the electronic ground state. Back-electron transfer rates range from 1.5 × 10¹² s⁻¹ in benzonitrile through 8.3 × 10¹¹ s⁻¹ in MTBE, around 1.6 × 10¹¹ s⁻¹ in dibutylether and toluene and to 3.8 × 10⁹ s⁻¹ in n-hexane.     

Ultrafast electronic and vibrational dynamics of stabilized A state mutants of the green fluorescent protein (GFP): Snipping the proton wire

Two blue absorbing and emitting mutants (S65G/T203V/E222Q and S65T at pH 5.5) of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) have been investigated through ultrafast time resolved infra-red (TRIR) and fluorescence spectroscopy. In these mutants, in which the excited state proton transfer reaction observed in wild-type GFP has been blocked, the photophysics are dominated by the neutral A state. It was found that the A* excited state lifetime is short, indicating that it is relatively less stabilised in the protein matrix than the anionic form. However, the lifetime of the A state can be increased through modifications to the protein structure. The TRIR spectra show that a large shifts in protein vibrational modes on excitation of the A state occurs in both these GFP mutants. This is ascribed to a change in H-bonding interactions between the protein matrix and the excited state.     

Doping Copper Ions in a Metal-Organic Framework (UiO-66-NH2):Location Effect Examined by Ultrafast Spectroscopy

We constructed two types of copper-doped metal-organic framework (MOF), i.e., Cu@UiO-66-NH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document} and Cu-UiO-66-NH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}. In the former, Cu\begin{document}$ ^{2+} $\end{document} ions are impregnated in the pore space of the amine-functionalized, Zr-based UiO-66-NH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}; while in the latter, Cu\begin{document}$ ^{2+} $\end{document} ions are incorporated to form a bimetal-center MOF, with Zr\begin{document}$ ^{4+} $\end{document} being partially replaced by Cu\begin{document}$ ^{2+} $\end{document} in the Zr\begin{document}$ - $\end{document}O oxo-clusters. Ultrafast spectroscopy revealed that the photoinduced relaxation kinetics associated with the ligand-to-cluster charge-transfer state is promoted for both Cu-doped MOFs relative to undoped one, but in a sequence of Cu-UiO-66-NH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}\begin{document}$ > $\end{document}Cu@UiO-66-NH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}\begin{document}$ > $\end{document}UiO-66-NH\begin{document}$ _2 $\end{document}. Such a sequence turned to be in line with the trend observed in the visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity tests on the three MOFs. These findings highlighted the subtle effect of copper-doping location in this Zr-based MOF system, further suggesting that rational engineering of the specific metal-doping location in alike MOF systems to promote the photoinduced charge separation and hence suppress the detrimental charge recombination therein is beneficial for achieving improved performances in MOF-based photocatalysis.     

The spectroscopy, dynamics, and electronic structure of pyrenyl-dU nucleosides: P/dU charge transfer state photophysics

Various spectroscopies including UV-vis absorbance, emission, and emission quantum yield are combined with a variety of kinetics measurements including time resolved emission and nanosecond, picosecond, and femtosecond transient absorbance (TA) to systematize the P⁺/dU⁻ charge transfer (CT) state dynamics of a variety of pyrenyl-dU nucleoside conjugates in several solvents of varying polarity. These results are then analyzed further by means of electronic structure computations in vacuum and using two different solvent models. Finally, the excess electron dynamics of a number of DNA duplex structures substituted with two different pyrenyl-dU nucleosides and 5-XdU, where X=Br or F, electron traps are discussed in terms of achieving high yields of long-lived photoinduced CT products in DNA.