Laser flash photolysis study of triphenylimidazole

Laser flash photolysis of the photocyclization of triphenylimidazole (TPI) in ethyl alcohol at 308 nm. indicates that the dihydrophenanthroimidazole (DHPI) intermediate is produced rapidly, has a lifetime of 0.25 ms, and returns predominantly back to triphenylimidazole. Analysis of the decay channels for this intermediate indicates two rate constants: (1) k1 = 3.3 x 10(3) s(-1), associated with reversion back to triphenylimidazole and (2) k2 = 0.67 x 10(2) s(-1), which is associated with the conversion of the dihydrophenanthroimidazole to the photoproduct, 2-phenyl-9,10-phenanthroimidazole. The photoproduct is readily observed as an increasing component in the biexponential fluorescence decay data. Fluorescence lifetimes for triphenylimidazole and 2-phenyl-9,10-phenanthroimidazole (PPI) in ethyl alcohol were determined to be 1.76 and 8.21 ns, respectively, with no additional components in the fluorescence decay as the photochemistry proceeds. An additional transient absorption observed in the 450 nm. region, with a lifetime of 0.7 micros, decaying faster than the dihydrophenanthroimidazole intermediate, is assigned to the triplet state of triphenylimidazole.     

Laser flash photolysis study of carboethoxynitrene

[reaction: see text] Laser flash photolysis (LFP, 266 nm) of carboethoxyazide produces a mixture of the ethoxycarbonyl radical (lambda(max) = 333 nm, tau = 0.4 micros, CF(2)ClCFCl(2), ambient temperature) and triplet carboethoxynitrene (lambda(max) = 400 nm, tau = 1.5 micros, CF(2)ClCFCl(2), ambient temperature). The carbon-centered radical is selectively scavenged by oxygen allowing sole observation of the triplet nitrene. We deduce that the singlet nitrene has a lifetime between 2 and 10 ns in CF(2)ClCFCl(2) at ambient temperature.     

A study of isomeric retinal triplets by low temperature spectroscopic and kinetic flash photolysis

Spectroscopic and kinetic data of triplets of all-trans retinal and several of the cis isomers obtained with frozen samples at liquid nitrogen temperature are reported. They are believed due to unisomerized triplets of the corresponding ground state isomers. Interestingly, decay of transients from 7-cis-retinal was found to be wavelength dependent.     

Laser flash photolysis of aqueous acetaminophen solutions

The N-acetyl-4-aminophenoxyl radical, a supposed intermediate of the enzymatic oxidation of acetaminophen in living organisms, was prepared and studied by means of nanosecond laser flash photolysis. A number of important spectral-kinetic parameters of this species were determined, namely, the absorption coefficient at 440 nm ((4.2±0.2)×10³ l mol^?1cm^?1), the quantum yield of acetaminophen photoionization at 266 nm (φ= 0.03), and the rate constants for recombination (2k= (2.4±0.3))×10⁹ l mol^?1s^?1) and the reaction with the superoxide radical (k= (9±2))×10⁹ l mol^?1s^?1).     

Laser flash photolysis of benzophenone in polymer films

With a nanosecond laser we studied flash photolysis of benzophenone (BP) dissolved in four different polymer films. We measured kinetics of decay of a triplet state of benzophenone (3)BP as well as kinetics of decay of benzophenone ketyl free radicals BPH(?). Polymer matrices have plenty of reactive C-H bonds, and the hydrogen abstraction by (3)BP leads to a formation of geminate pair which either recombines into molecular products or dissociates. Decay kinetics of (3)BP is well described by dispersive kinetics and in particular by the kinetic law suggested in Albery, W. J.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1985, 107, 1854. We observed a broader distribution of rate constants in hard films. It was observed that the decay kinetics of transients radicals in the "hard" polymers is quite satisfactory described by the same law for dispersive kinetics. Kinetics of radicals decay in "soft" polymers is satisfactorily described as a diffusion-enhanced reaction. Effect of a hardness of polymer matrix on the measured kinetic parameters is discussed.     

Laser flash photolysis and inactivation of carboxypeptidase A

Abstract— Laser photolysis of CPA at 265 nm photoionizes 3 to 4 Trp residues per molecule inactivated, leading to e^-_aq and the disulfide bridge electron adduct. The electron adduct is formed by an internal process and is not involved in the activity loss. Based on this work and published photochemical and pulse radiolysis studies on CPA it is proposed that photolysis of a key Trp residue, possibly Trp 73 adjacent to zinc ligand Glu 72 , mediates release of the zinc ion and consequent loss of peptidase activity.     

Laser flash photolysis study on the retinol radical cation in polar solvents

Laser flash photolysis (LFP) of retinol in argon-saturated methanol gives rise to a transient at 580 nm (transient A). Formation of transient A is accompanied by a transient growth at 370 nm. The rate of this growth is retinol concentration-dependent. The transient growth at 370 nm was removed in the presence of N(2)O, which is known to scavenge solvated electrons. These results can be interpreted by formation of retinol˙(+) (λ(max) = 580 nm) and solvated electrons following LFP of retinol. Subsequently, the solvated electrons are rapidly scavenged by retinol to form retinol˙(-) (λ(max) = 370 nm in methanol). On the other hand, transient A is not ascribed to the retinyl cation, as was previously proposed, because the retinyl cation, generated from LFP of retinyl acetate, and transient A show different reactivities towards halide ions (e.g. k(Br) = 1.7 × 10(9) and 1.51 × 10(10) M(-1) s(-1) respectively, in acetonitrile). After demonstrating the identity of transient A as retinol˙(+), its reactions with carotenoids were examined in air-saturated polar solvents. In the presence of carotenoids, an enhancement in the decay of retinol˙(+) was observed and was accompanied by formation of the corresponding carotenoid radical cations via electron transfer from carotenoids to retinol˙(+). Furthermore, the reactivity of retinol˙(+) towards pyridine derivatives was investigated in air-saturated polar solvents. It was found that the decay of retinol˙(+) was accelerated with concomitant formation, with the same rate, of a transient at 370 nm. Similar observations were obtained with increasing pH of air-saturated aqueous 2% Triton X-100 of retinol˙(+). The 370 nm (or 380 nm in the case of Triton X-100) transient is attributed to the base adducts or deprotonated neutral radicals. On the basis of these results, the reactivities of the retinyl cation and retinol˙(+) are compared and the consequences of retinol˙(+) formation within biological environments are discussed.     

Laser flash photolysis of carboxymethylcellulose in an aqueous solution

Laser flash photolysis with excitation at 248 nm was used to study photochemically derived changes of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) in aqueous solutions. Transient absorption spectra of solutions after photolysis revealed a broad band with a maximum of approximately 720 nm, which could be ascribed to the signal of the hydrated electron. The interaction of the hydrated electron with CMC was slow (<10⁷ dm³ mol^?1 s^?1), but the OH radical, formed by the decomposition of H₂O₂, reacted with CMC at a high rate constant (9.5–11.0 × 10⁸ dm³ mol^?1 s^?1). The rate constant of the reactions of CMC with hydroxyl radicals depended on the conformation of the macromolecules, which was determined by the pH of the solution. Transient absorption was recorded at a wavelength shorter than 370 nm for CMC solutions photolyzed in the presence of H₂O₂. As a result of OH attack, long‐lived radicals were formed on CMC. The recombination of macroradicals led to the formation of crosslinking bonds between side‐chain groups, and as a result of it an insoluble gel arose in low‐pH solutions. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 505–518, 2005     

Laser flash photolysis study of methanol addition to the C60 radical cation

Stable alcohol adducts of buckminsterfullerene (C₆₀) can be created via addition to C₆₀ radical cations. The radical cations were generated by photosensitized electron transfer from C₆₀ in a solution of N-methylacridinium hexafluorophosphate and biphenyl. Growth and decay of the C₆₀ radical cation population was monitored by transient absorption spectroscopy at 980 nm. The lifetime of the transient decreases in the presence of methanol, supporting trapping of the radical cation.     

Laser flash photolysis detection of mono- and biradical mesitylene

Time-resolved transient absorption spectra have been obtained first for mesitylene by 355 nm laser flash photolysis at ambient temperature. Mono- and biradicals were observed in the experiment, in which the transient absorption peak at about 370 nm was assigned to the biradical and the peak at about 580 nm to the monoradical; the biradical has a longer lifetime than the monoradical. According to the representative value of the C-H bond dissociation energy for aromatic compounds monoradical formation might be a single-photon process. For comparison with the absorption spectra the time-resolved fluorescence spectra were obtained and also the biradical was assigned to about 393 nm.     

Laser flash photolysis detection of mono- and biradical mesitylene

Time-resolved transient absorption spectra have been obtained first for mesitylene by 355 nm laser flash photolysis at ambient temperature. Mono- and biradicals were observed in the experiment, in which the transient absorption peak at about 370 nm was assigned to the biradical and the peak at about 580 nm to the monoradical; the biradical has a longer lifetime than the monoradical. According to the representative value of the C—H bond dissociation energy for aromatic compounds monoradical formation might be a single-photon process. For comparison with the absorption spectra the time-resolved fluorescence spectra were obtained and also the biradical was assigned to about 393 nm.     

Photophysical properties of 5-hydroxyindole (5HI): Laser flash photolysis study

Steady state fluorescence emission and transient absorption spectra of 9-fluorenone (9FL) were measured in the presence of 5-hydroxyindole (5HI) in highly polar acetonitrile (ACN) environment at ambient temperature. Cyclic voltammetry measurements demonstrate that ground state 5HI as a donor could take part in highly exothermic electron transfer (ET) reactions with excited 9FL, which should serve as electron acceptor. From the transient absorption measurements it is inferred that in geminate ion-pair (GIP) (or contact ion pair), formed initially due to photoinduced ET, the decay of this contact ion-pair occurs not only through ion recombination (back electron transfer to ground state of reactants), but through the other processes also such as proton-transfer (hydrogen abstraction) from radical cation to anion and separation of ion-pair producing the free ions. From the computed reorganisation energy parameter (λ) and experimentally observed -‡ _ET ⁰ values it is hinted that there is a possibility that highly exothermic forward electron transfer reactions in the singlet stateS ₁ occur, within present reacting systems, in Marcus inverted region. Back transfer seems to follow the same path. Investigations with similar other reacting systems are underway.     

A laser flash photolysis study of dibenzocycloheptadienylidene

Laser flash photolysis of diazodibenzocyclohaptadiene gives the title carbene which is readily observed and which reacts by hydrogen abstraction to give the corresponding radical.     

Photosensitized oxidation of methionine derivatives. Laser flash photolysis studies

The early events in the triplet 4-carboxybenzophenone (CB)-induced oxidation of N-acetyl-methionine methyl ester (N-Ac-Met-OCH₃) are investigated in aqueous solution. Upon electron transfer from the methionine residue of N-Ac-Met-OCH₃ to ³CB*, the resulting sulfur radical cation undergoes further reactions: (1) back electron transfer, (2) escape of the radical ions from the solvent cage, or (3) proton transfer and escape of the radicals. The yields and paths of these reactions are shown to depend strongly on the pH of the solution, and, similar to the previously reported results for dipeptides (Met-Gly and Gly-Met), on the structural nature of the methionine substituents. In the experiments performed in this work, low quencher concentrations were used to avoid formation of intermolecular transients (e.g., dimeric sulfur-centered radical cation (S∴S)⁺). Under these experimental conditions, the one-electron oxidized sulfur does not seem to become stabilized in an (S∴N)⁺ three-electron bonded intramolecular complex. The proposed mechanism is further supported by the stable products analysis. A detailed mechanism involving characterization of the transients is discussed and compared to that of methionine and methionine-containing dipeptides (Met-Gly and Gly-Met). Moreover, a newly installed transient absorption laser system is described in details.     

The photolysis of acylphosphine oxides: III: Laser flash photolysis studies with pivaloyl compounds

Argon-saturated dilute solutions of pivaloyldiphenylphosphine oxide (PDPO), dimethylpivaloyl phosphonate (PDME) and diethylpivaloyl phosphonate (PDEE) in various solvents were irradiated with 20 ns flashes of 347 nm light. All compounds underwent α scission from excited singlet states: Φ(α) ≈ 1 (PDPO) and Φ(α) ≈ 0.3 (PDME and PDEE). The singlet lifetimes (determined by single-photon counting) are 30 ns for PDPO and 11 ± 3 ns for PDME and PDEE. In the case of PDPO, singlet deactivation occurs predominantly via α scission. In the case of the phosphonates, triplets are also formed (Φ(T) = 0.6; τ = 30 ns) as revealed from quenching with naphthalene. Dimethoxyphosphonyl and diethoxyphosphonyl radicals reacted very effectively with styrene (k_R.+St = 2 × 10⁸ M⁻¹ s⁻¹), as was indicated by the formation of the chracteristic absorption of adduct styryl radicals at 322 nm. In the case of diphenylphosphonyl radicals k_R.+St is about three times lower, which is thought to result from the rather flattened tetrahedral structure of this radical as compared with the pronounced tetrahedral structure of O=Ṗ(OR)₂ radicals. In the case of the phosphonates, the optical absorption spectra of three transients with different lifetimes were recorded which were tentatively assigned to biradicals, phosphonyl radicals and pivaloyl radicals. The extinction coefficient ϵ_{260 nm} of pivaloyl radicals is 2.8 × 10³ M⁻¹ cm⁻¹.     

Laser flash photolysis study of the photocatalytic step of the photo-fenton reaction in saline solution

The photo-Fenton reaction (Fe2+/Fe3+, H2O2, UV light) is strongly inhibited by high concentrations of added chloride ion. In this work, the effect of added chloride ion on the photocatalytic step that converts Fe(III) back to Fe(II) is studied by nanosecond laser flash photolysis over a wide range of pH (1.0-3.3) and concentrations of Fe(III) (0.1-1.0 mM) and chloride ion (0.05-0.75 M). An explicit mechanistic model based on the preferential formation of the less-reactive Cl2*- radical anion via two routes (competitive photolysis of the iron(III)-chloride complex to chlorine atoms instead of the desired hydroxyl radical and pH-dependent scavenging of the hydroxyl radical by chloride ion) is proposed. This model, which fits the laser flash photolysis data for the production and decay of Cl2*- over the entire range of conditions investigated, suggests that inhibition of the photocatalytic step of the photo-Fenton process in the presence of chloride ion can be circumvented by maintaining the pH of the medium at or slightly above 3.0 throughout the reaction.     

Laser flash photolysis and pulse radiolysis study on chemical activity of VP-16 and podophyllotoxin

Time-resolved laser flash photolysis and pulse radiolysis have been used to study the chemical activity of podophyllotoxin(PPT) and etoposide(VP-16). The mechanism of photoioniza-tion of etoposide and podophyllotoxin has been confirmed and illustrated. It is demonstrated that VP-16 and PPT in aqueous solution can be photoionized at 248 nm to give hydrated electron and neutral radical resulting from rapid deprotonation of radical cation of VP-16 and PPT. The quantum yield for the photoionization of VP-16 and PPT with single-photo is 0.21 and 0.61, respectively. In addition, they can react with hydrated electron, hydrogen radical and hydroxyl radical. This will give chemists some advice on synthesizing new derivatives of podophyllotoxin in cancer treatment.     

Laser flash photolysis studies of elementary reactions of significance in combustion

Recent measurements of radical-radical and radical-atom rate coefficients and of the heats of formation of ethyl and t-butyl radicals are discussed, in the context of the provision of rate data for elementary reactions of importance in combustion and pyrolysis.     

Techniques of flash photolysis

Abstract— The design of a typical flash photolysis equipment is considered in detail and the factors limiting the time resolution and the sensitivity are analyzed. The characteristics of low pressure discharge lamps are compared with those of high pressure arcs, of exploding foils and of the electromagnetic ‘pinch’ discharge. For the analytical flash, operating at a much lower power level, many satisfactory designs exist which give a good continuum and short duration. Methods of improving the optical system are discussed, and the special advantages of using a microscope optical system for investigating substances with high extinction coefficients are illustrated by an account of recent work on chlorophyll.