Crystal Multi‐Conformational Control Through Deformable Carbon‐Sulfur Bond for Singlet‐Triplet Emissive Tuning

Crystal‐state luminophores have been of great interest in optoelectronics for years, whereas the excited state regulation at the crystal level is still restricted by the lack of control ways. We report that the singlet‐triplet emissive property can be profoundly regulated by crystal conformational distortions. Employing fluoro‐substituted tetrakis(arylthio)benzene luminophores as prototype, we found that couples of molecular conformations formed during different crystallizations. The deformable carbon‐sulphur bond essentially drove the distortion of the molecular conformation and varied the stacking mode, together with diverse non‐covalent interactions, leading to the proportional adjustment of the fluorescence and phosphorescence bands. This intrinsic strategy was further applied for solid‐state multicolor emissive conversion and mechanoluminescence, probably offering new insights for design of smart crystal luminescent materials.     

Photophysical studies of dipolar organic dyes that feature a 1,3-cyclohexadiene conjugated linkage: the implication of a twisted intramolecular charge-transfer state on the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells

A detailed study of the synthesis and photophysical properties of a new series of dipolar organic photosensitizers that feature a 1,3‐cyclohexadiene moiety integrated into the π‐conjugated structural backbone has been carried out. Dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on these structurally simple dyes have shown appreciable photo‐to‐electrical energy conversion efficiency, with the highest one up to 4.03 %. Solvent‐dependent fluorescence studies along with the observation of dual emission on dye 4 b and single emission on dyes 4 a and 32 suggest that dye 4 b possesses a highly polar emissive excited state located at a lower‐energy position than at the normal emissive excited state. A detailed photophysical investigation in conjunction with computational studies confirmed the twisted intramolecular charge‐transfer (TICT) state to be the lowest emissive excited state for dye 4 b in polar solvents. The relaxation from higher‐charge‐injection excited states to the lowest TICT state renders the back‐electron transfer process a forbidden one and significantly retards the charge recombination to boost the photocurrent. The electrochemical impedance under illumination and transient photovoltage decay studies showed smaller charge resistance and longer electron lifetime in 4 b ‐based DSSC compared to the DSSCs with reference dyes 4 a and 32 , which further illustrates the positive influence of the TICT state on the performance of DSSCs.     

Femtosecond fluorescence and intersystem crossing in rhenium(I) carbonyl-bipyridine complexes

Ultrafast electronic-vibrational relaxation upon excitation of the singlet charge-transfer b (1)A' state of [Re(L)(CO) 3(bpy)] ( n ) (L = Cl, Br, I, n = 0; L = 4-Et-pyridine, n = 1+) in acetonitrile was investigated using the femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion technique with polychromatic detection. In addition, energies, characters, and molecular structures of the emitting states were calculated by TD-DFT. The luminescence is characterized by a broad fluorescence band at very short times, and evolves to the steady-state phosphorescence spectrum from the a (3)A" state at longer times. The analysis of the data allows us to identify three spectral components. The first two are characterized by decay times tau 1 = 85-150 fs and tau 2 = 340-1200 fs, depending on L, and are identified as fluorescence from the initially excited singlet state and phosphorescence from a higher triplet state (b (3)A"), respectively. The third component corresponds to the long-lived phosphorescence from the lowest a (3)A" state. In addition, it is found that the fluorescence decay time (tau 1) corresponds to the intersystem crossing (ISC) time to the two emissive triplet states. tau 2 corresponds to internal conversion among triplet states. DFT results show that ISC involves electron exchange in orthogonal, largely Re-localized, molecular orbitals, whereby the total electron momentum is conserved. Surprisingly, the measured ISC rates scale inversely with the spin-orbit coupling constant of the ligand L, but we find a clear correlation between the ISC times and the vibrational periods of the Re-L mode, suggesting that the latter may mediate the ISC in a strongly nonadiabatic regime.     

How To Make Nitroaromatic Compounds Glow: Next‐Generation Large X‐Shaped,Centrosymmetric Diketopyrrolopyrroles

Red‐emissive π‐expanded diketopyrrolopyrroles (DPPs) with fluorescence reaching λ=750 nm can be easily synthesized by a three‐step strategy involving the preparation of diketopyrrolopyrrole followed by N‐arylation and subsequent intramolecular palladium‐catalyzed direct arylation. Comprehensive spectroscopic assays combined with first‐principles calculations corroborated that both N‐arylated and fused DPPs reach a locally excited (S₁) state after excitation, followed by internal conversion to states with solvent and structural relaxation, before eventually undergoing intersystem crossing. Only the structurally relaxed state is fluorescent, with lifetimes in the range of several nanoseconds and tens of picoseconds in nonpolar and polar solvents, respectively. The lifetimes correlate with the fluorescence quantum yields, which range from 6 % to 88 % in nonpolar solvents and from 0.4 % and 3.2 % in polar solvents. A very inefficient (T₁) population is responsible for fluorescence quantum yields as high as 88 % for the fully fused DPP in polar solvents.     

Electron vs energy transfer in arrays featuring two Bodipy chromophores axially bound to a Sn(IV) porphyrin via a phenolate or benzoate bridge

In this report we describe the synthesis of multichromophore arrays consisting of two Bodipy units axially bound to a Sn(IV) porphyrin center either via a phenolate (3) or via a carboxylate (6) functionality. Absorption spectra and electrochemical studies show that the Bodipy and porphyrin chromophores interact weakly in the ground state. However, steady-state emission and excitation spectra at room temperature reveal that fluorescence from both the Bodipy and the porphyrin of 3 are strongly quenched suggesting that, in the excited state, energy and/or electron transfer might occur. Indeed, as transient absorption experiments show, selective excitation of Bodipy in 3 results in a rapid decay (τ ≈ 2 ps) of the Bodipy-based singlet excited state and a concomitant rise of a charge-separated state evolving from the porphyrin-based singlet excited state. In contrast, room-temperature emission studies on 6 show strong quenching of the Bodipy-based fluorescence leading to sensitized emission from the porphyrin moiety due to a transduction of the singlet excited state energy from Bodipy to the porphyrin. Emission experiments at 77 K in frozen toluene reveal that the room-temperature electron transfer pathway observed in 3 is suppressed. Instead, Bodipy excitation in 3 and 6 results in population of the first singlet excited state of the porphyrin chromophore. Subsequently, intersystem crossing leads to the porphyrin-based triplet excited state.     

Solid-State Emission from Mono- and Bichromophoric Boron Dipyrromethene (BODIPY) Derivatives and Comparison with Fluid Solution

The syntheses and crystal structures of sterically crowded mono- and bichromophoric BODIPY-based dyes are reported. The “monomeric” compound is weakly fluorescent in the liquid phase due to fast internal conversion associated with rotation of aryl rings at the boron atom. The side-by-side “dimer” exhibits weak excitonic coupling between the dipyrrin units and is much more emissive in fluid solution. Solid samples of both molecular entities are strongly fluorescent under near-UV illumination. Thus, the mono-chromophore exhibits dual fluorescence from what appears to be a mixture of crystalline and possibly amorphous (or interfacial regions) distributions. The bi-chromophore packs in the crystal as pairs of chromophores with each unit being provided by a different molecule. This leads to excitonic splitting and the formation of a strong H-band in the absorption spectrum. Fluorescence occurs from the corresponding J-species and also from what appears to be an aggregated state associated with interfacial areas. Both bulk and interface-bound states show relatively long-lived fluorescence while the crystal structures indicate the likelihood for fast electronic energy migration between molecules.     

Photodissociation dynamics of hydroxybenzoic acids

Aromatic amino acids have large UV absorption cross-sections and low fluorescence quantum yields. Ultrafast internal conversion, which transforms electronic excitation energy to vibrational energy, was assumed to account for the photostability of amino acids. Recent theoretical and experimental investigations suggested that low fluorescence quantum yields of phenol (chromophore of tyrosine) are due to the dissociation from a repulsive excited state. Radicals generated from dissociation may undergo undesired reactions. It contradicts the observed photostability of amino acids. In this work, we explored the photodissociation dynamics of the tyrosine chromophores, 2-, 3- and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid in a molecular beam at 193 nm using multimass ion imaging techniques. We demonstrated that dissociation from the excited state is effectively quenched for the conformers of hydroxybenzoic acids with intramolecular hydrogen bonding. Ab initio calculations show that the excited state and the ground state potential energy surfaces change significantly for the conformers with intramolecular hydrogen bonding. It shows the importance of intramolecular hydrogen bond in the excited state dynamics and provides an alternative molecular mechanism for the photostability of aromatic amino acids upon irradiation of ultraviolet photons.     

Triplet formation involving a polar transition state in a well-defined intramolecular perylenediimide dimeric aggregate

A cofacially stacked perylenediimide (PDI) dimer with a xanthene linker was studied under a variety of conditions (solvent, temperature) and serves as a model for the molecular interactions occurring in solid films. Intrinsically, the PDI units have a fluorescence quantum yield (Phi F) close to unity, but Phi F is lowered by a factor of 6-50 at room temperature when two PDI moieties are held in a cofacial arrangement, while the decay time of the most emissive state is increased significantly (tau F = 27 ns in toluene) compared to a monomeric PDI molecule (tau F = 4 ns). Fluorescence measurements show a strong solvent and temperature dependence of the characteristics of the emissive excited state. In a glassy matrix of toluene (TOL) or 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF), Phi F is high, and the decay time is long (tau F = approximately 50 ns). At higher temperature, both Phi F and tau F are reduced. Interestingly, at room temperature, Phi F and tau F are also reduced with increasing solvent polarity, revealing the presence of a polar transition state. Photoinduced absorption of the stacked molecules from the picosecond to the microsecond time scale shows that after photoexcitation reorganization occurs in the first nanoseconds, followed by intersystem crossing (ISC), producing the triplet excited state. Using singlet oxygen ( (1)Delta g) luminescence as a probe, a triplet quantum yield (Phi T) greater than 50% was obtained in air-saturated 2-Me-THF. Triplet formation is exceptional for PDI chromophores, and the enhanced ISC is explained by a decay involving a highly polar transition state.     

正己烷中对二烷基氨基苯甲酸的分子内电荷转移双重荧光

在非极性溶剂正己烷中,观察到了系列对二烷基氨基苯甲酸的双重荧光.皮秒激光诱导时间分辨荧光和溶剂极性效应研究证实:该双重荧光系由于激发态分子内电荷转移过程形成的电荷转移态和局部激发态所发射.超快反应动力学研究表明:在非极性溶剂中,对二烷基氨基苯甲酸分子内电荷转移过程是由较低的反应活化能所致.     

Decoupling fluorescence and photochromism in bifunctional azo derivatives for bulk emissive structures

Bifunctional molecules that combine independent push-pull fluorophores and azo photochromes have been synthesized to create fluorescent structures upon light-induced migration in neat thin films. Their photochromic and emissive properties have been systematically investigated and interpreted in light of those of the corresponding model compounds. Fluorescence lifetimes and photoisomerization and fluorescence quantum yields have been determined in toluene solution. Kinetic analyses of the femtosecond transient absorption spectra reveal that the fluorophores evolve in a few picoseconds into a distorted intramolecular charge-transfer excited state, strongly stabilized in energy. Radiative relaxation to the ground state occurred competitively with the energy-transfer process to the azo moiety. Introduction of a 10??-long rigid and nonconjugated bridge between the photoactive units efficiently inhibits the energy transfer while it imparts enhanced free volume, which favors photoactivated molecular migration in the solid state.     

Electronic energy levels in all-trans long linear polyenes: the case of the 3,20-di(tert-butyl)-2,2,21,21-tetramethyl-all-trans-3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19-docosanonaen (ttbp9) conforming to Kasha's rule

The absorption, fluorescence and fluorescence excitation spectra for 3,20-di(tert-butyl)-2,2,21,21-tetramethyl-all-trans-3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19-docosanonaen (ttbP9) in dilute solutions of 2-methylbutane were recorded at temperatures over the range 120-280 K. The high photostability of this nonaene allows us to assert that it exhibits a single fluorescence and that this can be unequivocally assigned to emission from its 1(1)B(u) excited state, it being the first excited electronic state. Available photophysical data for this polyene and the wealth of information reported for shorter all-trans polyenes allow us to conclude that if the first excited electronic state for the chromophore possessed 2(1)A(g) symmetry, then the energy of such a state might have been so close to that of the 1(1)B(u) state that: 1) the radiationless internal conversion mechanism would preclude the observation of the emission from the 1(1)B(u) state reported in this work and 2) the 2(1)A(g) state reached through internal conversion would be vibrationally coupled to 1(1)B(u) and would facilitate the detection of the emission from 2(1)A(g), which was not observed in any of the solvents used in this work. The spectroscopic and photochemical implications of these findings for other polyenes are discussed.     

Theoretical predictions of red and near-infrared strongly emitting X-annulated rylenes

The optical properties of rylenes are extremely interesting because their emission colors can be tuned from blue to near-infrared by simply elongating the chain length. However, for conjugated chains, the dipole-allowed odd-parity 1B(u) excited state often lies above the dipole-forbidden even-parity 2A(g) state as the chain length increases, thus preventing any significant luminescence according to Kasha's rule. We systemically investigated the 1B(u)∕2A(g) crossover behaviors with respect to the elongating rylene chain length with various quantum chemistry approaches, such as time-depended density functional theory (TDDFT), complete active space self-consistent field theory (CASSCF∕CASPT2), multireference configuration interaction (MRCI)∕Zerner's intermediate neglect of diatomic overlap (ZINDO), and MRCI∕modified neglect of differential overlap. The calculated results by CASSCF∕CASPT2 and MRCI∕ZINDO are completely coherent: the optical active 1B(u) state lies below the dark B(3g) or 2A(g) state for perylene and terrylene, which results in strong fluorescence; while a crossover to S(1) = 2A(g) occurs and leads to much weaker fluorescence for quaterrylene. Then we put forward a molecular design rule on how to recover fluorescence for the longer rylenes by introducing heteroatom bridges. Several heteroatom-annulated rylenes are designed theoretically, which are predicted to be strongly emissive in the red and near-infrared ranges. These are further confirmed by theoretical emission spectra as well as radiative and nonradiative decay rate calculations by using the vibration correlation function formalisms we developed earlier coupled with TDDFT.     

Luminescence and upconversion from thulium(iii) species in solution

Thulium salts and complexes are shown to be emissive from three states in the excited state manifold of Tm(3+). Formation of the (1)D(2) state can result in luminescence, or in energy transfer to the lower energy (1)G(4) and (3)H(4) emissive states. Where chromophores are present in the ligand structure, emission is restricted to thulium centred emissive states that are lower in energy than the chromophore centred donor state. We have also observed direct multi-photon excitation of the thulium excited state manifold. Furthermore, additional transitions are observed in the multi-photon excitation spectra that are consistent with upconversion as a consequence of sequential single photon absorption and relaxation processes within the thulium excited state manifold.     

Semi-Empirical Model to Retrieve Finite Temperature Terahertz Absorption Spectra using Morse Potential

Terahertz (THz) absorption is a fingerprint property of materials, due to the underlying low-frequency vibration/phonon modes being strongly dependent on the chemical constitutions and microscopic structures. The low excitation energies (0.414-41.4 meV) are related to two intrinsic properties of THz vibrations: the potential energy surfaces (PESs) are shallow, and the vibrationally excited states are usually populated via thermal fluctuations. The shallow PESs make the vibrations usually anharmonic, leading to redshifted vibrational excited state absorption; combined with considerable vibrational excited states population, characteristic THz signals are usually redshifted and congested with varying degrees at different temperatures. Combining existing experimental THz spectra at low temperatures, first principles vibration analysis, and the Morse potential, we developed a semi-empirical model to evaluate the anharmonicity of the low-frequency modes. The model was benchmarked with purine molecular crystal to generate THz spectra at different temperatures, the results were consistent with experiments. The good agreement suggests this model would facilitate the application of THz spectroscopy in molecular crystal characterization.     

How a Small Structural Difference Can Turn Optical Properties of π‐Extended Coumarins Upside Down: The Role of Non‐Innocent Saturated Rings

The fluorescence properties of two new families of heterocycles possessing either a seven‐ or five‐membered ring attached at the core molecule are entirely different in solution and in the solid state. Crystallization has the effect of inhibiting non‐radiative excited‐state deactivation pathways, operative in solution for the seven‐membered ring compounds, thus leading to significant fluorescence efficiency in the solid state, with quantum yields ranging from 0.10 to 0.36. Conversely, the five‐membered ring derivatives, which display notable emission properties in solution, are almost non‐emissive in the crystalline state, characterized by a long‐range π‐stacked arrangement. When embedded in polymeric films, both series show fluorescence features similar to the solution case, with remarkable fluorescence quantum yields ranging from 0.09 to 0.41. According to quantum chemical calculations, 3H‐chromeno[3,4‐c]pyridine‐4,5‐diones show the specific mechanism of fluorescence quenching. The derivatives bearing the seven‐membered ring undergo, in solution, a significant structural deformation in the excited state, resulting in a large decrease of the energy gap between S₁ and S₀ and hence to a substantial contribution of the internal conversion in the relaxation process. The fluorescence quenching of the five‐membered ring derivatives is in turn related to the intermolecular interaction between adjacent molecules prevailing to a greater extent in the crystal lattice.     

Tunable Dual Fluorescence of 3‐(2,2′‐Bipyridyl)‐Substituted Iminocoumarin

3‐(2,2′‐Bipyridyl)‐substituted iminocoumarin molecules (compounds 1 and 2 ) exhibit dual fluorescence. Each molecule has one electron donor and two electron acceptors that are in conjugation, which leads to fluorescence from two independent charge transfer (CT) states. To account for the dual fluorescence, we subscribe to a kinetic model in which both CT states form after rapid decays from the directly accessed S₁ and S₂ excited states. Due to the slow internal conversion from S₂ to S₁, or more likely the slow interconversion between the two subsequently formed CT states, dual emission is allowed to occur. This hypothesis is supported by the following evidence: 1) the emission at short and long ends of the spectrum originates from two different excitation spectra, which eliminates the possibility that dual emission occurs after an adiabatic reaction at the S₁ level. 2) The fluorescence quantum yield of compound 2 grows with increasing excitation wavelength, which indicates that the high‐energy excitation elevates the molecule to a weakly emissive state that does not internally convert to the low‐energy, highly emissive state. The intensity of the two emission bands of 1 is tunable through the specific interactions between either of the two electron acceptors with another species, such as Zn²⁺ in the current demonstration. Therefore, the development of ratiometric fluorescent indicators based on the dual‐emitting iminocoumarin system is conceivable. Further fundamental studies on this series of compounds using time‐resolved spectroscopic techniques, and explorations of their applications will be carried out in the near future.     

Ruthenium complexes that break the rules: structural features controlling dual emission

A family of heteroleptic RuII coordination complexes containing substituted 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) ligands with extended conjugation was found to exhibit two simultaneously emissive excited states at room temperature in fluid solution. These systems demonstrate a breakdown of the standard nonradiative decay pathways that normally lead to a single, dominant, lowest energy emissive excited state in RuII complexes and most other chromophores. The structural requirements for dual emission were explored through the synthesis and characterization of isomeric systems. Two features were found to be primarily responsible for resolvable dual emission. Extended conjugation at the 4-position of the 1,10-phenanthroline ligand was identified as an essential feature, and asymmetry in the phenanthroline ligand substitutions appears to greatly facilitate the production of these two nonequilibrated emissive states. Additional complexes were studied which displayed "tunable" emissive characteristics for the two excited states as a function of covalent and noncovalent modification.     

Dual fluorescence in 9-amino-2,7,12,17-tetraphenylporphycene

The absorption spectrum of the asymmetric 9-amino-2,7,12,17-tetraphenylporphycene shows new, strongly red-shifted bands compared to the symmetric parental 2,7,12,17-tetraphenylporphycene and to the also asymmetric 9-acetoxy-2,7,12,17-tetraphenylporphycene. Dual emission is also observed with relative contributions that depend strongly on the excitation wavelength and temperature. The gap between the two fluorescence bands is 84 nm. Tautomerization in both the ground and excited states is shown to account for these observations, the 9-amino group being particularly able to selectively lower the energy of the first excited singlet state of just one of the trans tautomers. Introduction of amino groups in porphycenes may be a convenient way to gain a deeper insight into the tautomerization mechanisms in this macrocyclic core.     

DNA excited-state dynamics: ultrafast internal conversion and vibrational cooling in a series of nucleosides

To better understand DNA photodamage, several nucleosides were studied by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. A 263-nm, 150-fs ultraviolet pump pulse excited each nucleoside in aqueous solution, and the subsequent dynamics were followed by transient absorption of a femtosecond continuum pulse at wavelengths between 270 and 700 nm. A transient absorption band with maximum amplitude near 600 nm was detected in protonated guanosine at pH 2. This band decayed in 191 +/- 4 ps in excellent agreement with the known fluorescence lifetime, indicating that it arises from absorption by the lowest excited singlet state. Excited state absorption for guanosine and the other nucleosides at pH 7 was observed in the same spectral region, but decayed on a subpicosecond time scale by internal conversion to the electronic ground state. The cross section for excited state absorption is very weak for all nucleosides studied, making some amount of two-photon ionization of the solvent unavoidable. The excited state lifetimes of Ado, Guo, Cyd, and Thd were determined to be 290, 460, 720, and 540 fs, respectively (uncertainties are +/-40 fs). The decay times are shorter for the purines than for the pyrimidine bases, consistent with their lower propensity for photochemical damage. Following internal conversion, vibrationally highly excited ground state molecules were detected in experiments on Ado and Cyd by hot ground state absorption at ultraviolet wavelengths. The decays are assigned to intermolecular vibrational energy transfer to the solvent. The longest time constant observed for Ado is approximately 2 ps, and we propose that solute-solvent H-bonds are responsible for this fast rate of vibrational cooling. The results show for the first time that excited singlet state dynamics of the DNA bases can be directly studied at room temperature. Like sunscreens that function by light absorption, the bases rapidly convert dangerous electronic energy into heat, and this property is likely to have played a critical role in life's early evolution on earth.