Photoinduced charge shift as the driving force for the excited-state relaxation of analogues of the Photoactive Yellow Protein chromophore in solution

Transient absorption spectroscopy with subpicosecond laser excitation is used to probe the primary photoinduced processes in two ester analogues (linear and cyclic) of the Photoactive Yellow Protein (PYP) chromophore in solution. The PYP chromophore is the thioester derivative of the deprotonated trans-4-hydroxycinnamic acid. The results found for the ester analogues are compared to those previously obtained for the deprotonated trans-4-hydroxycinnamic acid and its amide and thioester derivatives. Special attention is paid to the role of the electron donor–acceptor character of the chromophore substituents and of the molecular flexibility on the excited-state relaxation pathway and kinetics. Solvent viscosity and polarity effects on the kinetics are also analyzed. Two hypothetical relaxation pathways involving a one-bond flip mechanism are proposed to explain the observation of a transient species in the course of the excited-state relaxation of the analogues bearing the stronger electron-acceptor substituents. In the first one, the intermediate is described as a perp ground state, whereas the second one involves a twisted excited state where the conformation of the ethylenic bond deviates from 90°. In both cases, the relaxation of the transient state may lead or not to the cis isomer.     

Ultrafast excited-state dynamics of tetraphenylethylene studied by semiclassical simulation

Detailed simulation study is reported for the excited-state dynamics of photoisomerization of cis-tetraphenylethylene (TPE) following excitation by a femtosecond laser pulse. The technique for this investigation is semiclassical dynamics simulation, which is described briefly in the paper. Upon photoexcitation by a femtosecond laser pulse, the stretching motion of the ethylenic bond of TPE is initially excited, leading to a significant lengthening of ethylenic bond in 300 fs. Twisting motion about the ethylenic bond is activated by the energy released from the relaxation of the stretching mode. The 90 degrees twisting about the ethylenic bond from an approximately planar geometry to nearly a perpendicular conformation in the electronically excited state is completed in 600 fs. The torsional dynamics of phenyl rings which is temporally lagging behind occurs at about 5 ps. Finally, the twisted TPE reverts to the initial conformation along the twisting coordinate through nonadiabatic transitions. The simulation results provide a basis for understanding several spectroscopic observations at molecular levels, including ultrafast dynamic Stokes shift, multicomponent fluorescence, viscosity dependence of the fluorescence lifetime, and radiationless decay from electronically excited state to the ground state along the isomerization coordinate.     

A comparative picosecond transient infrared study of 1-methylcytosine and 5'-dCMP that sheds further light on the excited states of cytosine derivatives

The role of N1-substitution in controlling the deactivation processes in photoexcited cytosine derivatives has been explored using picosecond time-resolved IR spectroscopy. The simplest N1-substituted derivative, 1-methylcytosine, exhibits relaxation dynamics similar to the cytosine nucleobase and distinct from the biologically relevant nucleotide and nucleoside analogues, which have longer-lived excited-state intermediates. It is suggested that this is the case because the sugar group either facilitates access to the long-lived (1)n(O)π* state or retards its crossover to the ground state.     

Ultrafast photoisomerization of photoactive yellow protein chromophore analogues in solution: influence of the protonation state.

We investigate solvent viscosity and polarity effects on the photoisomerization of the protonated and deprotonated forms of two analogues of the photoactive yellow protein (PYP) chromophore. These are trans-p-hydroxybenzylidene acetone and trans-p-hydroxyphenyl cinnamate, studied in solutions of different polarity and viscosity at room temperature, by means of femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion. The fluorescence lifetimes of the protonated forms are found to be barely sensitive to solvent viscosity, and to increase with increasing solvent polarity. In contrast, the fluorescence decays of the deprotonated forms are significantly slowed down in viscous media and accelerated in polar solvents. These results elucidate the dramatic influence of the protonation state of the PYP chromophore analogues on their photoinduced dynamics. The viscosity and polarity effects are, respectively, interpreted in terms of different isomerization coordinates and charge redistribution in S(1). A trans-to-cis isomerization mechanism involving mainly the ethylenic double-bond torsion and/or solvation is proposed for the anionic forms, whereas "concerted" intramolecular motions are proposed for the neutral forms.     

Ultrafast hydrogen bond strengthening of the photoexcited fluorenone in alcohols for facilitating the fluorescence quenching

The time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method was performed to investigate the excited-state hydrogen-bonding dynamics of fluorenone (FN) in hydrogen donating methanol (MeOH) solvent. The infrared spectra of the hydrogen-bonded FN-MeOH complex in both the ground state and the electronically excited states are calculated using the TDDFT method, since the ultrafast hydrogen-bonding dynamics can be investigated by monitoring the vibrational absorption spectra of some hydrogen-bonded groups in different electronic states. We demonstrated that the intermolecular hydrogen bond C=O...H-O between fluorenone and methanol molecules is significantly strengthened in the electronically excited-state upon photoexcitation of the hydrogen-bonded FM-MeOH complex. The hydrogen bond strengthening in electronically excited states can be used to explain well all the spectral features of fluorenone chromophore in alcoholic solvents. Furthermore, the radiationless deactivation via internal conversion (IC) can be facilitated by the hydrogen bond strengthening in the excited state. At the same time, quantum yields of the excited-state deactivation via fluorescence are correspondingly decreased. Therefore, the total fluorescence of fluorenone in polar protic solvents can be drastically quenched by hydrogen bonding.     

Excited-state intramolecular proton transfer in 2-(3'-hydroxy-2'-pyridyl)benzoxazole. Evidence of coupled proton and charge transfer in the excited state of some o-hydroxyarylbenzazoles

The influence of solvent, temperature, and viscosity on the phototautomerization processes of a series of o-hydroxyarylbenzazoles was studied by means of ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectroscopy and steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The compounds studied were 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole (HBI), 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole (HBO), 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole (HBT), 2-(3'-hydroxy-2'-pyridyl)benzimidazole (HPyBI), and the new derivative 2-(3'-hydroxy-2'-pyridyl)benzoxazole (HPyBO), this one studied in neutral and acid media. All of these compounds undergo an excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) from the hydroxyl group to the benzazole N3 to yield an excited tautomer in syn conformation. A temperature- and viscosity-dependent radiationless deactivation of the tautomer has been detected for all compounds except HBI and HPyBI. We show that this radiationless decay also takes place for 2-(3-methyl-1,3-benzothiazol-3-ium-2-yl)benzenolate (NMeOBT), the N-methylated analog of the tautomer, whose ground-state structure has anti conformation. In ethanol, the radiationless decay shows intrinsic activation energy for HPyBO and HBO; however, it is barrierless for HBT and NMeOBT and controlled instead by the solvent dynamics. The relative efficiency of the radiationless decay in the series of molecules studied supports the hypothesis that this transition is connected with a charge-transfer process taking place in the tautomer, its efficiency being related to the strength of the electron donor (dissociated phenol or pyridinol moiety) and electron acceptor (protonated benzazole). We propose that the charge transfer is associated with a large-amplitude conformational change of the tautomer, the process leading to a nonfluorescent charge-transfer intermediate. The previous ESIPT step generates the structure with the suitable redox pair to undergo the charge-transfer process; therefore, an excited-state intramolecular coupled proton and charge transfer takes place for these compounds.     

Two-color picosecond stimulated photon echoes in solids

We report a novel type of photon echo, the relaxed two-color stimulated echo, in the molecular mixed crystal of pentacene in naphthalene. A prerequisite to observation of this type of echo is that the inhomogeneous broadening on the selected transitions be correlated. The echo is used to study the picosecond vibrational deactivation of some excited-state vibrations of pentacene. Evidence for intermediate levels in the relaxation pathway is presented.     

Solvent effects on the excited-state processes of protochlorophyllide: a femtosecond time-resolved absorption study

The excited-state dynamics of protochlorophyllide a, a porphyrin-like compound and, as substrate of the NADPH/protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase, a precursor of chlorophyll biosynthesis, is studied by femtosecond absorption spectroscopy in a variety of solvents, which were chosen to mimic different environmental conditions in the oxidoreductase complex. In the polar solvents methanol and acetonitrile, the excited-state dynamics differs significantly from that in the nonpolar solvent cyclohexane. In methanol and acetonitrile, the relaxation dynamics is multiexponential with three distinguishable time scales of 4.0-4.5 ps for vibrational relaxation and vibrational energy redistribution of the initially excited S1 state, 22-27 ps for the formation of an intermediate state, most likely with a charge transfer character, and 200 ps for the decay of this intermediate state back to the ground state. In the nonpolar solvent cyclohexane, only the 4.5 ps relaxational process can be observed, whereas the intermediate intramolecular charge transfer state is not populated any longer. In addition to polarity, solvent viscosity also affects the excited-state processes. Upon increasing the viscosity by adding up to 60% glycerol to a methanolic solution, a deceleration of the 4 and 22 ps decay rates from the values in pure methanol is found. Apparently not only vibrational cooling of the S1 excited state is slowed in the more viscous surrounding, but the formation rate of the intramolecular charge transfer state is also reduced, suggesting that nuclear motions along a reaction coordinate are involved in the charge transfer. The results of the present study further specify the model of the excited-state dynamics in protochlorophyllide a as recently suggested (Chem. Phys. Lett. 2004, 397, 110).     

Ultrafast dynamics of flavins in five redox states

We report here our systematic studies of excited-state dynamics of two common flavin molecules, FMN and FAD, in five redox states--oxidized form, neutral and anionic semiquinones, and neutral and anionic fully reduced hydroquinones--in solution and in inert protein environments with femtosecond resolution. Using protein environments, we were able to stabilize two semiquinone radicals and thus observed their weak emission spectra. Significantly, we observed a strong correlation between their excited-state dynamics and the planarity of their flavin isoalloxazine ring. For a bent ring structure, we observed ultrafast dynamics from a few to hundreds of picoseconds and strong excitation-wavelength dependence of emission spectra, indicating deactivation during relaxation. A butterfly bending motion is invoked to get access to conical intersection(s) to facilitate deactivation. These states include the anionic semiquinone radical and fully reduced neutral and anionic hydroquinones in solution. In a planar configuration, flavins have a long lifetime of nanoseconds, except for the stacked conformation of FAD, where intramolecular electron transfer between the ring and the adenine moiety in 5-9 ps as well as subsequent charge recombination in 30-40 ps were observed. These observed distinct dynamics, controlled by the flavin ring flexibility, are fundamental to flavoenzyme's functions, as observed in photolyase with a planar structure to lengthen the lifetime to maximize DNA repair efficiency and in insect type 1 cryptochrome with a flexible structure to vary the excited-state deactivation to modulate the functional channel.     

Photophysical behaviour of some pyrenylethylene derivatives and its implication on trans → cis photoisomerisation reactions

The fluorescence properties of some pyrenylethylene derivatives capable of exhibiting twisted intramolecular charge transfer phenomenon havebeen studied as a function of solvent polarity. The solvent polarity dependent change in the fluorescence quantum yield has been interpreted in terms of intramolecular retational relaxations. The trans → cis photoisomerization data of the compounds indicate that the twist around the ethylenic double bond is accelerated in polar solvents.     

The photoisomerization mechanism of azobenzene: a semiclassical simulation of nonadiabatic dynamics

We have simulated the photoisomerization dynamics of azobenzene, taking into account internal conversion and geometrical relaxation processes, by means of a semiclassical surface hopping approach. Both n-->pi* and pi-->pi* excitations and both cis-->trans and trans-->cis conversions have been considered. We show that in all cases the torsion around the N==N double bond is the preferred mechanism. The quantum yields measured are correctly reproduced and the observed differences are explained as a result of the competition between the inertia of the torsional motion and the premature deactivation of the excited state. Recent time-resolved spectroscopic experiments are interpreted in the light of the simulated dynamics.     

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Excited-State Dynamics of Bacteriorhodopsin

Abstract— The excited-state dynamics of bacteriorhodopsin was studied by molecular dynamics simulation. For the purpose of suppressing large displacement of amino acid residues on the surface of bacteriorhodopsin, positional restraints were imposed on these residues. A new method was developed to investigate the movement of amino acid residues upon photoexcitation and their role on the ultrafast photoisomerization of the chromophore. The structural change of bacteriorhodopsin was then traced up to 200 fs, i.e. until the formation of the intermediate I. We found that when all the conjugated bonds of the chromophore were allowed to twist freely in the excited state, many bonds including the C13=C14 bond twist in large scale within 100 fs. When only the C13=C14 bond and the single bonds were allowed to twist freely, the twisting took place at most 20° within 200 fs. From these results, it is claimed that a special potential surface is provided for the C13=C14 bond twisting by the protein environment in the course of the isomerization reaction, giving rise to the specific, ultrafast photoisomerization of bacteriorhodopsin. As a trace of such a mechanism, we observed that several functionally important residues incuding Asp85, Asp212 and Tyr185 responded quickly to the photoexcitation of the chromophore.     

Excited-State Proton Transfer and Decay in Hydrogen-Bonded Oxazole System:MS-CASPT2//CASSCF Study

Herein we have employed high-level multi-reference CASSCF and MS-CASPT2 electronic structure methods to systematically study the photochemical mechanism of intramolecularly hydrogen-bonded 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)-4-methyloxazole. At the CASSCF level, we have optimized minima, conical intersections, minimum-energy reaction paths relevant to the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), rotation, photoisomerization, and the excited-state deactivation pathways. The energies of all structures and paths are refined by the MS-CASPT2 method. On the basis of the present results, we found that the ESIPT process in a conformer with the OH…N hydrogen bond is essentially barrierless process; whereas, the ESIPT process is inhibited in the other conformer with the OH…O hydrogen bond. The central single-bond rotation of the S₁ enol species is energetically unfavorable due to a large barrier. In addition, the excited-state deactivation of the S₁ keto species, as a result of the ultrafast ESIPT, is very efficient because of the existence of two easily-approached keto S₁/S₀ conical intersections. In stark contrast to the S₁ keto species, the decay of the S₁ enol species is almostly blocked. The present theoretical study contributes valuable knowledge to the understanding of photochemistry of similar intramolecularly hydrogen-bonded molecular and biological systems.     

Photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer in push-pull polyenes: effects of solvation, electron-donor group, and polyenic chain length

Subpicosecond absorption spectroscopy is used to characterize the primary photoinduced processes in a class of push-pull polyenes bearing a julolidine end group as the electron donor and a diethylthiobarbituric acid end group as the electron acceptor. The excited-state decay time and relaxation pathway have been studied for four polyenes of increasing chain length (n = 2-5 double bonds) in aprotic solvents of different solvation time, polarity, and viscosity. Intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) leading to a transient state of cyanine-like structure (fully conjugated with no bond length alternation) is observed in all polar solvents at a solvent dependent rate, but the reaction is not observed in cyclohexane, a nonpolar solvent. In polar solvents, the reaction time increases with the average solvation time but remains slightly larger, except in the viscous solvent triacetin. These facts are interpreted as an indication that both solvent reorganization and internal restructuring are involved in the ICT-state formation. The observed photodynamics resemble those we previously found for another class of polyenes bearing a dibutylaniline group as the donor, including a similar charge-transfer rate in spite of the larger electron donor character of the julolidine group. This observation brings further support to the proposal that an intramolecular coordinate is involved in the charge-transfer reaction, possibly a torsional motion of the donor end group. On the other hand, relaxation of the ICT state leads to cis-trans isomerization or crossing to the triplet state, depending on the length of the polyenic chain. In dioxane, tetrahydrofuran, and triacetin, the ICT state of the shorter chains (n = 2, 3) relaxes to the isomer with a viscosity-dependent rate, while that of the longer ones (n = 4, 5) leads to the triplet state with a viscosity-independent rate, as expected. In acetonitrile, the ICT-state lifetime is generally much shorter. A change from photoisomerization to intersystem crossing at n = 4 is also proposed in this solvent, but the formation of a photoproduct at n = 2 is not clear. In cyclohexane, where the ICT state is not formed, the relaxation pathway of the initially excited state is found to lead to an isomer for n = 2. As in polar solvents, a change to intersystem crossing at n = 4 is proposed. The direct relaxation to the ground state found at n = 3 for the series bearing a dibutylaniline group is not observed with the julolidine group. The results clearly illustrate that photoinduced reaction trajectories in push-pull polyenes are controlled by the static and dynamic properties of the solvent, the chemical nature and size of the end groups, and the conjugated-chain length and flexibility.     

Excited-state intramolecular proton transfer molecules bearing o-hydroxy analogues of green fluorescent protein chromophore

o-Hydroxy analogues, 1a-g, of the green fluorescent protein chromophore have been synthesized. Their structures and electronic properties were investigated by X-ray single-crystal analyses, electrochemistry, and luminescence properties. In solid and nonpolar solvents 1a-g exist mainly as Z conformers that possess a seven-membered-ring hydrogen bond and undergo excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) reactions, resulting in a proton-transfer tautomer emission. Fluorescence upconversion dynamics have revealed a coherent type of ESIPT, followed by a fast vibrational/solvent relaxation (<1 ps) to a twisted (regarding exo-C(5)-C(4)-C(3) bonds) conformation, from which a fast population decay of a few to several tens of picoseconds was resolved in cyclohexane. Accordingly, the proton-transfer tautomer emission intensity is moderate (0.08 in 1e) to weak (～10(-4) in 1a) in cyclohexane. The stronger intramolecular hydrogen bonding in 1g suppresses the rotation of the aryl-alkene bond, resulting in a high yield of tautomer emission (Φ(f) ≈ 0.2). In the solid state, due to the inhibition of exo-C(5)-C(4)-C(3) rotation, intense tautomer emission with a quantum yield of 0.1-0.9 was obtained for 1a-g. Depending on the electronic donor or acceptor strength of the substituent in either the HOMO or LUMO site, a broad tuning range of the emission from 560 (1g) to 670 nm (1a) has been achieved.     

Ethyne-bridged (porphinato)zinc(II)-(porphinato)iron(III) complexes: phenomenological dependence of excited-state dynamics upon (porphinato)iron electronic structure

We report the synthesis, spectroscopy, potentiometric properties, and excited-state dynamical studies of 5-[(10,20-di-((4-ethyl ester)methylene-oxy)phenyl)porphinato]zinc(II)-[5'-[(10',20'- di-((4-ethyl ester)methylene-oxy)phenyl)porphinato]iron(III)-chloride]ethyne (PZn-PFe-Cl), along with a series of related supermolecules ([PZn-PFe-(L)1,2]+ species) that possess a range of metal axial ligation environments (L = pyridine, 4-cyanopyridine, 2,4,6-trimethylpyridine (collidine), and 2,6-dimethylpyridine (2,6-lutidine)). Relevant monomeric [(porphinato)iron-(ligand)1,2]+ ([PFe(L)1,2]+) benchmarks have also been synthesized and fully characterized. Ultrafast pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopic experiments that interrogate the initially prepared electronically excited states of [PFe(L)1,2]+ species bearing nonhindered axial ligands demonstrated subpicosecond-to-picosecond relaxation dynamics to the ground electronic state. Comparative pump-probe transient absorption experiments that interrogate the initially prepared excited states of PZn-PFe-Cl, [PZn-PFe-(py)2]+, [PZn-PFe-(4-CN-py)2]+, [PZn-PFe-(collidine)]+, and [PZn-PFe-(2,6-lutidine)]+ demonstrate that the spectra of all these species are dominated by a broad, intense NIR S1 --> Sn transient absorption manifold. While PZn-PFe-Cl, [PZn-PFe-(py)2]+, and [PZn-PFe-(4-CN-py)2]+ evince subpicosecond and picosecond time-scale relaxation of their respective initially prepared electronically excited states to the ground state, the excited-state dynamics observed for [PZn-PFe-(2,6-lutidine)]+ and [PZn-PFe-(collidine)]+ show fast relaxation to a [PZn+-PFe(II)] charge-separated state having a lifetime of nearly 1 ns. Potentiometric data indicate that while DeltaGCS for [PZn-PFe-(L)1,2]+ species is strongly influenced by the PFe+ ligation state [ligand (DeltaGCS): 4-cyanopyridine (-0.79 eV) < pyridine (-1.04 eV) < collidine (-1.35 eV) < chloride (-1.40 eV); solvent = CH2Cl2], the pump-probe transient absorption dynamical data demonstrate that the nature of the dominant excited-state decay pathway is not correlated with the thermodynamic driving force for photoinduced charge separation, but depends on the ferric ion ligation mode. These data indicate that sterically bulky axial ligands that drive a pentacoordinate PFe center and a weak metal axial ligand interaction serve to sufficiently suppress the normally large magnitude nonradiative decay rate constants characteristic of (porphinato)iron(III) complexes, and thus make electron transfer a competitive excited-state deactivation pathway.     

Determination of the formation of dark state via depleted spontaneous emission in a complex solvated molecule

We present a general two-color two-pulse femtosecond pump-dump approach to study the specific population transfer along the reaction coordinate through the higher vibrational energy levels of excited states of a complex solvated molecule via the depleted spontaneous emission. The time-dependent fluorescence depletion provides the correlated dynamical information between the monitored fluorescence state and the SEP "dumped" dark states, and therefore allow us to obtain the dynamics of the formation of the dark states corresponding to the ultrafast photoisomerization processes. The excited-state dynamics of LDS 751 have been investigated as a function of solvent viscosity and solvent polarity, where a cooperative two-step isomerization process is clearly identified within LDS 751 upon excitation.     

Ultrafast Excited State Relaxation Dynamics of New Fuchsine- a Triphenylmethane Derivative Dye

An all-inclusive investigation of the ultrafast excited state relaxation dynamics of a triphenylmethane derivative molecule, New Fuchsine (NF), using a combined approach of density functional theory (DFT), femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (fs-TAS), and photoluminescence spectroscopy is presented in this work. The DFT calculations confirmed the formation of twisted molecular structure in the excited state of NF in ethanol solution with bond rotation of ≈86°. TAS measurements of NF solution exhibited ultrafast ground state-recovery pathway via a conical intersection confirming an ultrafast structural reorientation. On the contrary, TAS measurements of NF thin-film exhibited a longer excited-state lifetime suggesting a hindered molecular twisted state formed as an intermediate step. Photophysical kinetic models are proposed to globally fit the fs-TAS data establishing the twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) state mediated ground state recovery for NF in solution and thin film, respectively. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence study of NF film provided a clear insight into the effect of rotational motion of phenyl rings in NF molecules over the TICT mediated emission.     

Exploring the role of decoherence in condensed-phase nonadiabatic dynamics: a comparison of different mixed quantum/classical simulation algorithms for the excited hydrated electron

Mixed quantum/classical (MQC) molecular dynamics simulation has become the method of choice for simulating the dynamics of quantum mechanical objects that interact with condensed-phase systems. There are many MQC algorithms available, however, and in cases where nonadiabatic coupling is important, different algorithms may lead to different results. Thus, it has been difficult to reach definitive conclusions about relaxation dynamics using nonadiabatic MQC methods because one is never certain whether any given algorithm includes enough of the necessary physics. In this paper, we explore the physics underlying different nonadiabatic MQC algorithms by comparing and contrasting the excited-state relaxation dynamics of the prototypical condensed-phase MQC system, the hydrated electron, calculated using different algorithms, including: fewest-switches surface hopping, stationary-phase surface hopping, and mean-field dynamics with surface hopping. We also describe in detail how a new nonadiabatic algorithm, mean-field dynamics with stochastic decoherence (MF-SD), is to be implemented for condensed-phase problems, and we apply MF-SD to the excited-state relaxation of the hydrated electron. Our discussion emphasizes the different ways quantum decoherence is treated in each algorithm and the resulting implications for hydrated-electron relaxation dynamics. We find that for three MQC methods that use Tully's fewest-switches criterion to determine surface hopping probabilities, the excited-state lifetime of the electron is the same. Moreover, the nonequilibrium solvent response function of the excited hydrated electron is the same with all of the nonadiabatic MQC algorithms discussed here, so that all of the algorithms would produce similar agreement with experiment. Despite the identical solvent response predicted by each MQC algorithm, we find that MF-SD allows much more mixing of multiple basis states into the quantum wave function than do other methods. This leads to an excited-state lifetime that is longer with MF-SD than with any method that incorporates nonadiabatic effects with the fewest-switches surface hopping criterion.     

Solvent-Induced Symmetry-Breaking Charge Transfer in an Octupolar Triphenylamine Derivative Resolved with Transient Fluorescence Spectroscopy

The excited-state symmetry-breaking charge transfer (SBCT) dynamics in quadrupolar or octupolar molecules without clear infrared markers is usually hard to be tracked directly. In this work, on the basis of the evolution of instantaneous emission dipole moment obtained by femtosecond transient fluorescence spectroscopy, we presented a real-time characterization of the solvent-induced SBCT dynamics in an octupolar triphenylamine derivative. While the emission dipole moment of the octupolar trimer in weakly polar toluene changes little during the excited-state relaxation, it exhibits a fast reduction in a few picoseconds in strongly polar tetrahydrofuran. In comparison with the uorescence dynamics of dipolar monomer, we deduced that the emitting state of the octupolar trimer in strongly polar solvent, which undergoes solvent-induced structural uctuation, changes from exciton-coupled octupolar to excitation localized dipolar symmetry. In weakly polar solvent, the octupolar symmetry of the trimer is largely preserved during the solvation stabilization.