Radiationless decay of the second excited singlet states of aromatic thiones: Experimental verification of the energy gap law

S₂ → S₀ fluorescence quantum yields and S₂ lifetimes of eight aromatic thiones in inert perfluoroalkane solutions at room temperature have been measured using picosecond laser techniques. Photostable, structurally rigid thiones undergo S₂ → S₁ internal conversion at rates consistent with the energy gap law of radiationless transitions. An average electronic coupling matrix element of 1.9 × 10² cm^?1 is found.     

Reversible radiationless decay in methylglyoxal

We report an examination of the fluorescence decay of methylglyoxal vapor excited from the ground ¹A′(S₀) electronic state to the excited ¹A″(S₁) electronic state as a function of additive pressure and excitation wavelength. To explain the low-pressure behavior we postulate a kinetic model which includes a “reversible” collison-free intersystem crossing (S₁-T₁) rate. Quantum mechanical considerations suggest that the optically excited single vibronic level is not coupled with pure T₁ levels.     

Laser Spectroscopy and Lifetime Measurements of the S1 State of Tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) in a Cold Gas-Phase Free-Jet

The S₁ electronic state of 7,7,8,8-Tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) has been investigated by laser induced fluorescence (LIF), dispersed fluorescence (DF) spectroscopy, and lifetime measurements under jet-cooled conditions in the gas-phase. The LIF spectrum showed a weak origin band at 412.13 nm (24262 cm⁻¹) with prominent progression and combination bands involving vibrations of 327, 1098, and 2430 cm⁻¹. In addition, very strong bands appeared at ∼363.6 nm (3300 cm⁻¹ above the origin). Both the LIF and DF spectra indicate considerable geometric change in the S₁ state. The fluorescence lifetime of S₁ at zero-point level was obtained to be 220 ns. This lifetime is 40 times longer than the radiative lifetime estimated from the S₁−S₀ oscillator strength. Furthermore, the lifetimes of the vibronic bands exhibited drastic energy dependence, indicating a strong mixing with the triplet (T₁) or intramolecular charge-transfer (CT) state. This study is thought to disclose intrinsic nature of TCNQ, which has been well known as a component of organic semiconductors and a versatile p-type dopant.     

Electronic energy transfer from the S2 state of rhodamine 6G

In this paper we present the results of an experimental study of intermolecular electronic energy transfer (EET) from the short-lived Second excited singlet state of rhodamine 6G (R6G) to the ground state of 2,5-bis [5′-tert-butyl-2-benzoxazolyl] thiophene (BBOT). The S₂ state of the donor was excited by sequential, time-delayed, two-photon excitation (STDTPE) utilizing the second harmonic and the first harmonic of a mode-locked Nd³⁺: glass laser, while the EET process was interrogated by monitoring the enhancement of the S₁ → S₀ fluorescence of BBOT. The enhancement of the fluorescence intensity of BBOT was found to be linear in the energies of the two exciting pulses, and linear in the concentration of the energy acceptor (over the BBOT concentration range of (0.3–7) × 10^?5 M), which is in accord with the predictions of the Forster—Dexter mechanism for resonant EET from an ultrashort-lived donor state at low acceptor concentrations. Quantitative measurements of the S₂ → S₀ fluorescence yield in R6G solution directly excited by STDTPE and of the S₁ → S₀ fluorescence of BBOT from R6G + BBOT solutions resulting from EET led to the values of Y_D(S₂ → S₀) = (2.1 ± 0.5) × 10^?6 for the emission quantum yield of the S₂ state of R6G and τr_D(S₂) ≈ 3 × 10^?14 s for the lifetime of the metastable S₂ state of this molecule.     

Highly resolved structure of the electronic spectra of azulene in frozen hydrocarbon matrices

Vibronic structures of electronic spectra of azulene embedded into various hydrocarbon matrices are examined at 77°K. High-resolution spectra are obtained using crystalline matrices of isooctane and methylcyclohexane. The O-O bands of third and fourth electronic transitions (33836 and 35550 cm^?1, respectively, in the low-temperature modification of the isooctane matrix) are identified in the absorption spectrum of azulene. Using the P-P-P approximation with the unified parametrization the lowest excited states energies as well as bond lengths for the S_o and their respective changes in the S₁ and S₂ electronic states are calculated. Differences in the vibrational frequencies found for the respective electronic states of the azulene molecule are discussed in connection with the lack of the mirror symmetry between the S₂←S_o absorption and S₂→S_o fluorescence.     

Influence of an identified dimer vibration on the emission spectrum of [2,2]paracyclophane

The emission spectrum of polycrystalline [2,2]paracylophane shows a resolved vibronic structure with a 241 cm^?1 progression at He temperatures. The dependence of the energy of this mode upon selective deuteration in combination with results from FIR and Raman spectra could be used to identify the mode as a torsional dimer vibration. The emission spectra could be simulated assuming a linear coupling of the torsional mode to the electronic transitions with coupling strengths of S = 10 (fluorescence) and S = 13 (phosphorescence). This corresponds to an equilibrium displacement of the benzene rings under electronic excitation by a torsional angle of 10.6° (S₁) and 12.1° (T₁), in addition to the small torsion in the ground state S₀ by about 3°.     

Theoretical study on geometry and spectroscopic properties of 1,1′-binaphthyl in the electronic ground and first excited singlet states

Equilibrium geometries for the electronic ground and first excited singlet states of 1,1'-binaphthyl have been calculated by minimization of the total energy with respect to all internal coordinates. Using these results, an interpretation of the fluorescence S₁→ S₀ and absorption spectra S_m ← S₀ and S_n ← S₁ in rigid and fluid solutions is given.For the first time the equilibrium geometry of the first excited singlet state of 1, 1′-binaphthyl has been calculated. On excitation to the S₁ state the dihedral angle θ between the two naphthalene moieties is de- creased from 61 ° to 41 °. A detailed survey of CH bond lengths in the S₀ and S₁ states has been given. This result should be of particular importance for the theoretical treatment of radiationless transitions.Using equilibrium geometries for the S₀ and S₁ states a satisfactory interpretation of the S_m ← S₀ and S_n ← S₁ absorption spectra as well as of the fluorescence spectra in fluid and rigid solutions can be given. Concerning the S_n ← S₁ absorption spectrum in fluid solution, the calculations predict a strong absorption (A ← B transition) in the still uninvestigated region of energies lower than 11000 cm^?1.From the results of this paper and of other calculations it can be concluded that the Warshel-Karplus method yields reliable equilibrium geometries for electronic ground and excited states of unsaturated hydrocarbons [22,23].     

Electronic to vibrational energy transfer and relaxation in matrices. II. Hg in mixed N2/Kr matrices

The electronic fluorescence spectrum of Hg-doped N₂/Kr mixed matrices obtained by laser excitation of the Hg³P₁ level is composed of the Hg “atomic” (³P₁—¹S₀ and ³P₀—¹S₀) fluorescence and the exciplex fluorescence due to the (Hg—N₂)^* complex stable in the excited state. The temperature dependence of their intensities and lifetimes was studied in the temperature range 12–24 K. It is argued that the essential part of the ³P₀ and exciplex emission is due to two types of Hg sites with one N₂ nearest neighbor, differing probably in the orientation of the N₂ molecular axis. Strong irreversible effects due to the diffusion of N₂ molecules induced by laser irradiation are observed.     

Rotational isomers of several aromatic molecules studied by supersonic jet spectroscopy

The electronic spectra of m—substituted phenols and β-naphthol in supersonic free jets have been investigated. All the molecules studies exhibit two strong features in the fluorescence excitation spectra, which are due to two rotational isomers in which the hydrogen atom of the OH group is in cis and trans configurations with respect to the m—substituent. The difference between the S₁ — S₀ excitation energies of the two isomers is in the range from 100 to 300 cm^?1. This large difference indicates the potentiality of electronic spectroscopy in the discrimination of the rotational isomers. The dispersed fluorescence spectra of the molecules as well as the electronic spectra of the hydrogen—bonded complexes provide definite evidences for the existence of the two isomers     

Rotational effects on intramolecular radiationless transitions in a large molecule

We report the observation of a pronounced rotational-state dependence for the fluorescence quantum yield and fluorescence decay from the S₁(0,0+1160 cm⁻¹) state of jet-cooled 9-cyanoanthracene. We attribute these results to the effects of Coriolis rotational-vibrational interaction on intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution, which influence electronic relaxation.     

Investigation of the structure, the optical properties, and the photophysics of some indolocarbazoles having terminal aromatic rings

Structures, optical properties, and photophysics of ladder indolo[3,2-b]carbazoles substituted symmetrically by phenylene and thiophene rings have been investigated theoretically and experimentally. The ground state optimized structures were obtained using the density functional theory (DFT) as approximated by the B3LYP functional and employing the 6-31G^* basis set. All derivatives were found nonplanar in their electronic ground states. The character and the energy of the singlet–singlet electronic transitions have been investigated by applying the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) to the correspondingly optimized-ground-state geometries. The ab initio restricted configuration interaction (singles) method (RCIS/6-31G^*) was adopted to obtain the first singlet excited-state structures (S₁) of the molecule. TDDFT calculations performed on the S₁ optimized geometries was used to obtain emission energies. UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopies were analyzed in conjunction with theoretical calculations. The computed excitation and emission energies were found in reasonable agreement with the experimental absorption and fluorescence spectra. Finally, the photophysical behavior of the indolocarbazoles have been studied by means of steady state and time resolved fluorescence. The overall data have allowed the determination of the rate constants for the radiative and nonradiative decay processes. Both theoretical and experimental data show that the replacement of phenylene rings by thiophene units induces a red shift in the absorption and fluorescence spectra. This behavior is interpreted in terms of the electron donor properties of the thiophene ring. On the other hand, the change of the substitutional pattern, from 2,8 to 3,9, causes a significant hypsochromic shift of the absorption and fluorescence bands.     

Molecular geometry and excited electronic states. Theoretic study on the molecular geometry and the fluorescence lifetime difference of isometric phenylnapkthalenes1

The equilibrium molecular geometries of 1-phenyl- and 2-phenyl-naphthalenes in the electronic S_o and S₁ states have been calculated by minimization of the total energy with respect to all molecular coordinates. The singlet term systems of both isomers have been determined using these results. Although the fluorescence transition energy is nearly the same in both cases it was found that the corresponding electronic transitions were allowed in 1-phenylnaphthalene but were forbidden in 2-phenylnaphthalene. The result explains the different fluorescence lifetimes observed.     

N‐Annulated Perylene‐Substituted and Fused Porphyrin Dimers with Intense Near‐Infrared One‐Photon and Two‐Photon Absorption

Fusion of two N‐annulated perylene (NP) units with a fused porphyrin dimer along the S₀–S₁ electronic transition moment axis has resulted in new near‐infrared (NIR) dyes 1 a / 1 b with very intense absorption (ε>1.3×10⁵ M ^?1 cm^?1) beyond 1250 nm. Both compounds displayed moderate NIR fluorescence with fluorescence quantum yields of 4.4×10^?6 and 6.0×10^?6 for 1 a and 1 b , respectively. The NP‐substituted porphyrin dimers 2 a / 2 b have also been obtained by controlled oxidative coupling and cyclodehydrogenation, and they showed superimposed absorptions of the fused porphyrin dimer and the NP chromophore. The excited‐state dynamics of all of these compounds have been studied by femtosecond transient absorption measurements, which revealed porphyrin dimer‐like behaviour. These new chromophores also exhibited good nonlinear optical susceptibility with large two‐photon absorption cross‐sections in the NIR region due to extended π‐conjugation. Time‐dependent density functional theory calculations have been performed to aid our understanding of their electronic structures and absorption spectra.     

Observation of photodissociation of S2Cl2 and resonance Raman and fluorescence spectra of S2Cl under 514.5 nm radiation

The laser Raman spectrum of S₂Cl₂ varies with the sample temperature and/or the laser power. The Raman signals of S₂Cl₂ decreases as the sample molecules within the laser beam are dissociated by absorbing 514.5 nm photons. Above 540 K and 2 W of laser power, new resonance Raman and fluorescence bands appear. These bands were all assigned to S₂Cl. The fluorescence bands could be classified into two transition systems. Only one of them had the ground electronic state X̃ as its lower state. For the other, the low lying first excited state à was suspected. The fundamental frequencies suggested for the three vibrational modes were 664, 196 and 450 cm⁻¹ for the X̃ state and 630, 249 and 554 cm⁻¹ for the à state respectively.     

Resolving Ultrafast Photoinitiated Dynamics of the Hachimoji 5-aza-7-deazaguanine Nucleobase: Impact of Synthetically Expanding the Genetic Alphabet†

The guanine derivative, 5-aza-7-deazaguanine (^5N7CG) has recently been proposed as one of four unnatural bases, termed Hachimoji (8-letter) to expand the genetic code. We apply steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy to investigate its electronic relaxation mechanism and probe the effect of atom substitution on the relaxation mechanism in polar protic and polar aprotic solvents. Mapping of the excited state potential energy surfaces is performed, from which the critical points are optimized by using the state-of-art extended multi-state complete active space second-order perturbation theory. It is demonstrated that excitation to the lowest energy ¹ππ* state of ^5N7CG results in complex dynamics leading to ca. 10- to 30-fold slower relaxation (depending on solvent) compared with guanine. A significant conformational change occurs at the S₁ minimum, resulting in a 10-fold greater fluorescence quantum yield compared with guanine. The fluorescence quantum yield and S₁ decay lifetime increase going from water to acetonitrile to propanol. The solvent-dependent results are supported by the quantum chemical calculations showing an increase in the energy barrier between the S₁ minimum and the S₁/S₀ conical intersection going from water to propanol. The longer lifetimes might make ^5N7CG more photochemically active to adjacent nucleobases than guanine or other nucleobases within DNA.     

Theoretical Study of the Electronic Excited States and Fluorescence Spectra of Squaraine in Solution

Bis[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]squaraine (SQ-DMA) has been used as a long wavelength fluorescence dye. In spite of various experimental and theoretical studies, its excited state properties and the relaxation mechanism have not been elucidated. In this work, we tried to clarify these points from a theoretical point of view. The heats of reaction from the planar to possible twisted conformers in the first excited state S₁ in solvents were calculated to be significantly endothermic, thus the twisted structures turn out to be less important, which contradicts earlier proposals made in experimental studies. This behavior is in a sharp contrast with that of the related molecule 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)benzonitrile, and is explained by the difference in their electronic characters of their relevant excited states; the S₁ state of SQ-DMA is a simple HOMO-to-LUMO excited state with a delocalized character. Furthermore, the theoretically simulated absorption and fluorescence spectra with the planar structure of SQ-DMA are in good agreement with the corresponding experimental results. These results suggest that the responsible S₁ state is the lowest ¹B_1u state with a planar D_2h structure.     

The fluorescence of all-trans diphenyl polyenes

The temperature dependence of the fluorescence and fluorescence excitation spectra of all-trans diphenyl hexathene (DPH) and octatetraene (DPO) in six solvents confirms the S₁(¹A_g*) and S₂(¹B_u*) state assignment, and determines their energy difference ΔE. The S₁ fluorescence rate parameter k_F depends on ΔE, the solvent refractive index n, the S₂ (n = 1) fluorescence rate parameter k_F20 (2.23 × 10⁸ s^?1 for DPH, 2.33 × 10⁸ s^?1 for DPO), and the S₂-S₁ coupling matrix element V (745 cm^?1 for DPH, 500 cm^?1 for DPO). The S₁ fluorescence is induced by ¹B_u*-¹A_g* potential interaction (PI), via a b_u vibrational mode (≈ 900 cm^?1), and not by vibronic coupling. The main S₁ radiationless transition, rate parameter k_R, is thermally-activated internal rotation through an angle θ about the central ethylenic bond(s). The PI distorts the S₁ (θ) potential surface and thus influences k_R.     

A STUDY OF THE PHOTOPHYSICAL AND PHOTOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE S8 MOLECULE The Quenching of Benzene,Naphthalene and Pyrene Fluorescence by S8 Molecules in S8 + Liquid Methanol System. I

Abstract

The energy of the first excited singlet state S₁ of S₈ is estimated as 89 ± 3 kcal · mole^?1. S₈ does not exhibit fluorescence, but quenches the fluorescence of certain sensitizers (benzene, naphthalene, pyrene) acting as an energy acceptor in the energy transfer process from the S₁ state of the sensitizer. The process of the quenching of donor fluorescence by S₈ was analysed using the Stern–Volmer equation.     

Jet-cooled styrene: spectra and isomerization

The excitation and dispersed fluorescence spectra for the ùA′ ← X?¹A′ transition of styrene, cooled in a supersonic jet are reported. Assignment of the vibrational modes in the ground and excited electronic states are made and the excess energy dependence of the fluorescence spectra are analyzed in terms of their relevance to the dynamics of photoisomerization. We compare our results with those of stilbene and discuss the influence of IVR and mode mixing in the S₁ surface.     

Laser excited S2 → S1 and S1 → S0 emission spectra and the S2 → Sn absorption spectrum of azulene in solution

We present the S₁ → S₀ fluorescence spectrum, between 740 and 940 nm, of azulene solutions (10^?3 M in methanol) excited with a Q-switched ruby laser. The nitrogen-laser excited S₂ → S₁ fluorescence spectrum, between 700 and 930 nm, is also reported. The transient S₁ → S_n spectrum between 500 and 650 nm was studied, using synchronous nitrogen laser and dye laser excitation. The S₅ (¹B₁(3)) state of azulene was found to be located at 45500 cm^?1 and the cross section σ₂₅ of the transient absorption S₂ → S₅ is estimated to be 3 × 10^?18 cm²/molecule.