Electronic spectra and luminescence properties of 1,2-benzotetraphene in crystalline matrices at 77 K

Quasilinear absorption and luminescence spectra of 1,2-benzotetraphene were obtained in polycrystalline matrices at 77 K. Tne energies of successive excited singlet states as well as the energy of the lowest excited triplet state were found experimentally and compared with those calculated by the PPP CI method. The fluorescence lifetime and quantum yield were determined experimentally. Moreover, the radiationless transition probabilities, lifetime of triplet state and phosphorescence quantum yield were estimated employing the Siebrand-Williams model. The results obtained suggest that radiationless ISC processes are the main deactivation channel of the S₁ and T₁ states. The vibrational analysis of quasilinear absorption and luminescence spectra was performed and fundamental frequencies of ground and first excited singlet states were determined.     

Photophysical Properties of Pyrazinopsoralen,A New Monofunctional Psoralen*

Abstract— Pyrazinopsoralen (PzPs), a new monofunctional psoralen, has a UV absorption spectrum similar to other psoralens except that it absorbs more strongly in the long-UVA than 8-methoxypsoralen. The solvent effects on the UV absorption and fluorescence emission spectra indicate that the lowest excited singlet state is the π,π* state like other psoralen derivatives. It shows a much lower fluorescence quantum yield (0.0008 in ethanol at room temperature) than the other psoralens as expected by the increased proximity effect (vibronic perturbation) due to close ¹(n,π*) to ¹(π,π*) states. The fluorescence lifetime was 1.05 ns in methylcyclohexane with a single exponential decay, while more than two components were observed in other solvents with the short-lived component being the major (>95%). The triplet state of PzPs could not be detected by phosphorescence, laser flash excitation (T-T absorption) and singlet oxygen formation probably due to very low φ_isc, or short lifetime of the triplet state (τ_T) caused by the fast T₁→ S₀ intersystem crossing.     

Excited state dynamics of Michler's ketone: a laser flash photolysis study

Steady state absorption and fluorescence as well as the time resolved absorption studies in the pico and subpicosecond time domain have been performed to characterize the excited singlet and triplet states of Michler's ketone (MK). The nature of the lowest excited singlet (S₁) and triplet (T₁) states depends on the polarity of the solvent - in nonpolar solvents they have either pure nπ * character or mixed character of nπ * and ππ * states but in more polar solvents the states have CT character. Concentration dependence of the shapes of the fluorescence as well the excited singlet and triplet absorption spectra provide the evidence for the association of the MK molecules in the ground state.     

Temperature dependence of the deactivation of electronically excited indazoles in solution

The T-T spectra, the triplet quantum yield φ_T and the fluorescence quantum yield φ_F of 2-tert. butyl-4-methylindazole and 1,3-dimethylindazole have been measured in the temperature range of +25° to −196°C in solvents of different viscosities. It could be shown that in all cases where photochemical reactions from the first excited singlet state are absent, the sum φ_F + φ_T equals unity within the limits of error.     

Long-lived Triplet Excited State of Perylenemonoimide (PMI) in a Diimine Pt(II) Bis-acetylide Complex: Preparation and Study of the Photophysical Property with Transient Spectra

We prepared a N^N Pt(II) bisacetylide complex that has strong absorption of visible light (molar absorption coefficients ϵ=6.7×10⁴ M⁻¹ cm⁻¹ at 570 nm), and the singlet oxygen quantum yield (Φ_Δ) is up to 78 %. Femtosecond transient absorption spectra show the intersystem crossing (ISC) of the complex takes 81.8 ps, nanosecond transient absorption spectra show the triplet excited state lifetime is 7.6 μs. Density functional theory (DFT) computation demonstrated that the S₁ and T₁ states are mainly localized on the perylenemonoimide (PMI) ligands, although the involvement of the Pt(II) centre is noticeable. The complex was used as triplet photosensitizer to generate delayed fluorescence with perylenebisimide (PBI) as the triplet state energy acceptor and emitter, via the intermolecular triplet-triplet energy transfer (TTET) and triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA), the delayed fluorescence lifetime is up to 52.5 μs under the experimental conditions.     

List of subject

We report the high resolution emission (S₁ → S₀, T₁ → S₀) and laser single site singlet excitation (S₁ ← S₀) spectra for the various insertion sites of coronene in n-heptane cooled to 1.5 K. The observation of site splitting of doubly degenerate vibrations and weak electric dipole forbidden 0, 0 bands in the S₁ → S₀ and T₁ → S₀ spectra indicates that the ground state, the first excited singlet and lowest triplet states are all distorted. In these spectra, the intensity distribution of the various sites in the 0, 0 bands suggests that the distortion is different from site to site but similar in S₀, S₁ and T₁. Identical ordering of the sites in S₁ S₀ and S₁ S₀ spectra as well as the observation of weak shifts in the vibrational frequencies in the two states implies the absence of strong pseudo Jahn-Teller forces in the first excited singlet state. We propose, further, that this is also true for the triplet state. This conclusion is supported by the similarity in zero-field splitting parameters of coronene and deuterated coronene. Taken together, these results indicate strongly that the distortion of coronene in n-heptane is primarily crystal field induced and is not greatly changed upon excitation of the molecule to its lowest excited states.     

Interplay of α,α‐ versus α,β‐Conjugation in the Excited States and Charged Defects of Branched Oligothiophenes as Models for Dendrimeric Materials

This article investigates the excited and charged states of three branched oligothiophenes with methyl–thienyl side groups as models to promote 3D arrangements. A comparison with the properties of the parent systems, linear all‐α,α‐oligothiophenes, is proposed. A wide variety of spectroscopic methods (i.e., absorption, emission, triplet–triplet transient absorption, and spectroelectrochemistry) in combination with DFT calculations have been used for this purpose. Whereas the absorption spectra are slightly blueshifted upon branching, both the emission spectra and triplet–triplet absorption spectra are moderately redshifted; this indicates a larger contribution of the β‐linked thienyl groups in the delocalization of the S₁ and T₁ states rather than into the S₀ state. The delocalization through the α,β‐conjugated path was found to be crucial for the stabilization of the trication species in the larger branched systems, whereas the linear sexithiophene homologue can only be stabilized up to the dication species.     

Photophysical Properties of Some Methyl-Substituted Angelicins: Fluorometric and Flash Photolytic Studies

This paper describes the results of a study of the photophysical properties of various methyl-angelicins (MA) in solvents of different polarity and proticity. The behavior of their excited singlet and triplet states was investigated by fluorometry and nanosecond laser flash photolysis. On the basis of semiempirical (ZINDO/S-CI) calculations and the solvent effect on the absorption and fluorescence properties, the lowest excited singlet state (S₁) is assigned to a partially allowed π, π* state. The close lying S₂ state is n,π* in nature. The efficiency of the decay pathways of S₁ (fluorescence, intersystem crossing and internal conversion) strongly depends on the energy gap between the S₁ and S₂ states consistent with the manifestation of “proximity effect.” Thus, MA in cyclohexane decay only through S₁→ S₀ internal conversion, while in acetonitrile and ethanol, where the n, π* state is located at higher energy, their fluorescence and intersystem crossing increase significantly. The lowest excited triplet states (T₁) were characterized in terms of their absorption spectra, decay kinetics, molar absorption coefficients and formation quantum yields. The interaction of T₁ MA with molecular oxygen leads to an efficient formation of singlet oxygen, as evidenced by the appearance of characteristic IR phosphorescence centered at 1269 nm.     

Theoretical study of the absorption and emission spectrum and non-adiabatic excited state dynamics of gas-phase xanthone

The ground, singlet, and triplet excited state structures (S₁, S₂, T₁, and T₂) of xanthone have been calculated and characterized in the adiabatic representation by using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). However, the fast intramolecular transition mechanisms of xanthone are still under debate, and so we perform non-adiabatic excited state dynamics of the photochemistry of xanthone gas phase and find that it follows El-Sayed's rule. Electronic transition mechanism of xanthone is sequential from the S₂ state: the singlet internal conversion (IC) time from S₂ (¹ππ*) to S₁ (¹nπ*) is 3.85 ps, the intersystem crossing (ISC) from S₁ (¹nπ*) to T₂ (³ππ*) takes 4.76 ps, and the triplet internal conversion from T₂ (³ππ*) to T₁ (³nπ*) takes 472 fs. The displaced oscillator, Franck–Condon approximation, and one-photon excitation equations were used to simulate the absorption spectra of S₀ → S₂ transition, with v₅₅ being most crucial for S₀ structure; the fluorescence spectra of S₁ → S₀ transition with v₄₇ for S₁; and the phosphorescence spectra of T₁ → S₀ transition with v₄ for T₁. Our method can reproduce the experimental absorption, fluorescence, and phosphorescence spectra of gas-phase xanthone.     

Theoretical investigation on quinoline-based platinum (II) complexes as efficient singlet oxygen photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy

Geometry optimizations of the quinoline-based platinum (II) complexes (1-R, 2-R) and their related calculations on excited state energies, electronic absorption spectra and orbital populations have been carried out by the hybrid density functional theory (DFT) and its time-dependent approach (TD-DFT). The solvent effects on excitation energies are taken into account using the conductor-like polarizable continuum model (C-PCM). The red-shifted level of absorption bands, energy gaps between the singlet ground state (S₁) and the first triplet excited state (T₁) for each examined complex have been elaborated thoroughly as well. We find that the quinoline-8-thoil (ligand 2) induces much more significant red-shifted level than 8-hydroxyquinoline (ligand 1), and singlet-triplet splitting energy gaps of all examined complexes are bigger than threshold energy to yield singlet oxygen. It is revealed that the electronic red-shifted absorption bands originate from metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transitions, and also shown that the quinoline-based Pt (II) complexes with strong donor groups could be considered as potential candidates for unearthing of novel photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy (PDT).     

Electronic spectra and intersystem spin‐orbit coupling in 1,2‐ and 1,3‐squaraines

The main photophysical properties of a series of recently synthetized 1,2‐ and 1,3‐squaraines, including absorption electronic spectra, singlet‐triplet energy gaps, and spin‐orbit matrix elements, have been investigated by means of density functional theory (DFT) and time‐dependent DFT approaches. A benchmark of three exchange‐correlation functionals has been performed in six different solvent environments. The investigated 1,2 squaraines have been found to possess two excited triplet states (T₁ and T₂) that lie below the energy of the excited singlet one (S₁). The radiationless intersystem spin crossing efficiency is thus enhanced in both the studied systems and both the transitions could contribute to the excited singlet oxygen production. Moreover, they have a singlet‐triplet energy gap higher than that required to generate the cytotoxic singlet oxygen species. According to our data, these compounds could be used in photodynamic therapy applications that do not require high tissue penetration. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Singlet and Triplet Excited States and Intersystem Crossing in Free‐Base Porphyrin: TDDFT and DFT/MRCI Study

Extensive time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) and DFT/multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) calculations are performed on the singlet and triplet excited states of free-base porphyrin, with emphasis on intersystem crossing processes. The equilibrium geometries, as well as the vertical and adiabatic excitation energies of the lowest singlet and triplet excited states are determined. Single and double proton-transfer reactions in the first excited singlet state are explored. Harmonic vibrational frequencies are calculated at the equilibrium geometries of the ground state and of the lowest singlet and triplet excited states. Furthermore, spin–orbit coupling matrix elements of the lowest singlet and triplet states and their numerical derivatives with respect to nuclear displacements are computed. It is shown that opening of an unprotonated pyrrole ring as well as excited-state single and double proton transfer inside the porphyrin cavity lead to crossings of the potential energy curves of the lowest singlet and triplet excited states. It is also found that displacements along out-of-plane normal modes of the first excited singlet state cause a significant increase of the 2|H_so|S₁>, 1|H_so|S₁>, and 1|H_so|S₀> spin–orbit coupling matrix elements. These phenomena lead to efficient radiationless deactivation of the lowest excited states of free-base porphyrin via intercombination conversion. In particular, the S₁→T₁ population transfer is found to proceed at a rate of ≈10⁷ s⁻¹ in the isolated molecule.     

Selective excitation effects in microwave optical double resonance and phosphorescence spectroscopy of molecular crystals

The photoexcitation routes used to produce molecular crystal, triplet states are shown to have important optical and microwave spectral consequences. 2-benzoylpyridine crystals at 4.2 K have T₁ → S₀ phosphorescence spectra showing line width dependence on whether initial production of the T₁ state is through direct T₁ → S₀ absorption, or through S₁ ← S₀ absorption followed by S₁ → T₁ intersystem crossing. Striking differences are seen in the optically detected zero-field resonance spectra.     

The electronic spectra of 10, 10-dimethylanthracen-9-one crystals: Spin—orbit/vibronic coupling in 3nπ3 states

10, 10-dimethylanthracen-9-one single crystal emission and absorption spectra have been recorded at low temperatures, as well as Raman spectra on the melt. The absorption spectra of both the lowest triplet and lowest excited singlet states clearly show the absorption origins of the three different molecular sites in the triclinic unit cell of the crystal. The emission spectra indicate that substantial spin—orbit/vibronic state mixing occurs, giving rise to transitions between the z sub-level of the lowest ³nπ³ state (T₁) and both totally and non-totally symmetric vibrations of the ground state. The preferred intensity stealing route is from T₁ (z) to S₂(¹ππ³) by spin—orbit coupling with vibronic mixing of S₃ and S₄(¹ππ³, ¹B₂).     

Rhenium(I) carbonyl complex of 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline-Spectroscopic properties, X-Ray structure, theoretical studies of ground and excited electronic states

The paper presents structural studies of the tricarbonyl complexes incorporating 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (dpphen) - [Re(CO)₃(dpphen)Cl]₂·Me₂CO (1) and [Re(CO)₃(dpphen)Cl] (2). The absorption and emission spectra of [Re(CO)₃(dpphen)Cl] were discussed with the aid of DFT and time-dependent TD-DFT theories. The theoretical studies reveal mixing between the singlet (S₁) and triplet (T₁) excited states of MLCT character.     

Tuning the Triplet Excited State of Bis(dipyrrin) Zinc(II) Complexes: Symmetry Breaking Charge Transfer Architecture with Exceptionally Long Lived Triplet State for Upconversion

Zinc(II) bis(dipyrrin) complexes, which feature intense visible absorption and efficient symmetry breaking charge transfer (SBCT) are outstanding candidates for photovoltaics but their short lived triplet states limit applications in several areas. Herein we demonstrate that triplet excited state dynamics of bis(dipyrrin) complexes can be efficiently tuned by attaching electron donating aryl moieties at the 5,5′-position of the complexes. For the first time, a long lived triplet excited state (τ_T=296 μs) along with efficient ISC ability (Φ_Δ=71 %) was observed for zinc(II) bis(dipyrrin) complexes, formed via SBCT. The results revealed that molecular geometry and energy gap between the charge transfer (CT) state and triplet energy levels strongly control the triplet excited state properties of the complexes. An efficient triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion system was devised for the first time using a SBCT architecture as triplet photosensitizer, reaching a high upconversion quantum yield of 6.2 %. Our findings provide a blueprint for the development of triplet photosensitizers based on earth abundant metal complexes with long lived triplet state for revolutionary photochemical applications.     

Sub‐Picosecond Singlet Exciton Fission in Cyano‐Substituted Diaryltetracenes

Thin films of 5,11‐dicyano‐6,12‐diphenyltetracene ( TcCN ) have been studied for their ability to undergo singlet exciton fission (SF). Functionalization of tetracene with cyano substituents yields a more stable chromophore with favorable energetics for exoergic SF (2E(T₁)?E(S₁)=?0.17 eV), where S₁ and T₁ are singlet and triplet excitons, respectively. As a result of tuning the triplet‐state energy, SF is faster in TcCN relative to the corresponding endoergic process in tetracene. SF proceeds with two time constants in the film samples (τ=0.8±0.2 ps and τ=23±3 ps), which is attributed to structural disorder within the film giving rise to one population with a favorable interchromophore geometry, which undergoes rapid SF, and a second population in which the initially formed singlet exciton must diffuse to a site at which this favorable geometry exists. A triplet yield analysis using transient absorption spectra indicates the formation of 1.6±0.3 triplets per initial excited state.     

Interpretation of resonance cars and shpolskii spectra with calculated molecular geometries,vibrational frequencies and relative intensities: Chrysene in it's lowest excited singlet and triplet state

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectra of excited molecules as well as Shpolskii spectra provide information about geometry changes between ground and excited states. Vibrational frequencies and relative intensities from recently obtained CARS spectra of the chrysene S₁ and T₁ state and earlier observed Shpolskii spectra are interpreted in terms of molecular geometry and force-field changes by means of quantum-chemical consistent force field (QCFF) and Franck-Condon factor calculations. The comparison of observed and calculated relative intensities indicates a coupling between the S₁ and S₂ state enhancing some of the vibrational radiative singlet transitions both in absorption and fluorescence spectra whereas within the phosphorescence spectra proportionality to calculated Franck-Condon factors is obeyed. The T₁ state is the more loosely bound state and its geometry change is different from that of the S₁ state. The resonance CARS transitions in the S₁ state are assigned to totally symmetric vibrations getting their intensity by a coupling scheme analogous to the A term of the resonance Raman effect: the relative intensity of a transition is shown to be proportional to the Franck-Condon factor to the higher excited state and to the squared vibrational frequency. Using this relation this state can be identified by means of its finger-print-like intensity pattern.     

The lowest triplet state of tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanedithione. II. Calculation of spin-orbit coupling

A calculation of the spin-orbit coupling in the lowest excited triplet state of tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanedithione (TMCBDT) has been performed. The results show the following. (1) In the TMCBDT crystal the ground singlet-to-lowest triplet transition moment is predicted to be exclusively ? c polarized, as observed. (2) The assignment of the lowest triplet state should be ³A_u as found earlier for the oxygen analog. TMCBD. (3) The two largest contributions (～ 60%) to the isolated-molecule T₁ → S₀ transition moment come from the two triplet-triplet transitions.

and

, both of which are polarized along the CS bonds. (4) The total contribution to the transition moment parallel to the CS bonds is 76% from the T_l ← T₁ transitions and 24% from the S_γ ← S₀ transitions. And, finally, (5) the calculated oscillator strength of 2 × 10^?4 for the largest T₁ ← S₀ component (along y) falls within the range of typical spin-allowed, singlet-singlet n-⁼ transitions.     

Vibronic effects accelerate the intersystem crossing processes of the through-space charge transfer states in the triptycene bridged acridine–triazine donor–acceptor molecule TpAT-tFFO

Quantum chemical studies employing combined density functional and multireference configuration interaction methods suggest five excited electronic states to be involved in the prompt and delayed fluorescence emission of TpAT-tFFO. Three of them, a pair of singlet and triplet charge transfer (CT) states (S₁ and T₁) and a locally excited (LE) triplet state (T₃), can be associated with the (Me → N) conformer, the other two CT-type states (S₂ and T₂) form the lowest excited singlet and triplet states of the (Me → Ph) conformer. The two conformers, which differ in essence by the shearing angle of the face-to-face aligned donor and acceptor moieties, are easily interconverted in the electronic ground state whereas the reorganization energy is substantial in the excited singlet state, thus explaining the two experimentally observed time constants of prompt fluorescence emission. Forward and reverse intersystem crossing between the singlet and triplet CT states is mediated by vibronic spin–orbit interactions involving the LE T₃ state. Low-frequency vibrational modes altering the distance and alignment of the donor and acceptor π-systems tune the S₁ and T₃ states (likewise S₂ and T₃) into and out of resonance. The enhancement of intersystem crossing due to the interplay of vibronic and spin–orbit coupling is considered a general feature of organic through-space charge-transfer thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters.

DFT/MRCI quantum chemical studies suggest five excited electronic states to be involved in the prompt and delayed fluorescence emission of TpAT-tFFO.