Study of singlet-triplet coupling in glyoxal by level anticrossing spectroscopy. VII. Complete assignment of the 00, 81, 6171 and 41 anticrossing spectra

In paper VI of this series, we have made the statistical analysis of the singlet-triplet coupling matrix elements for ten N_S = 0 singlet vibrational levels of glyoxal, without determining the triplet quantum numbers. In this paper we present the complete assignment (triplet rotational quantum numbers and vibrational symmetry) of each anticrossing observed from four singlet vibrational levels: 0⁰, 8¹, 6¹7¹ and 4¹ (which give respectively 36, 76, 155 and 145 anticrossings by 0 to 7.5 T scans). Therefore we determine the zero-field energy origin of most of the triplet vibrational levels which are located within 7 cm⁻¹ of the four singlet levels studied. Two kinds of selection rules are found: the first stemming from direct vibronic spin-orbit interactions and the second from indirect ones (involving an intermediate triplet state). About half of the anticrossings are due to direct vibronic spin-orbit interactions, the mean value of their matrix elements is more than ten times larger than indirect matrix elements and thus are dominant in ϱ〈V_st〉. In conclusion, we confirm that ISC in glyoxal is governed by direct vibronic spin-orbit interactions.     

Luminescence and triplet decay in quinoxaline vapors

The effects of the gas pressure on the quinoxaline triplet state kinetics and luminescence yields were studied in the 10^?3 ?10 torr pressure range. The non-exponential character of the fluorescence decay and long fluorescence lifetimes, previously reported, are confirmed. The collision-free lifetime of the “hot” triplet state measured by triplet—triplet absorption kinetics and by phosphorescence collisional induction is of the order of 100 μs, much longer than the long-fluorescence decay times (0.5–70 μs). The results are discussed on the basis of a model involving anharmonic coupling between triplet levels strongly and weakly coupled to the singlet.     

Discrimination between different paths of deactivation of excited dye molecules by monolayer techniques

The probabilities of different steps in the deactivation of an excited dye molecule have been derived from studies of monolayer assemblies. At ?190° C the singlet-triplet intersystem crossing occurs with equal probabilities from the lowest vibronic level of the singlet state and from higher levels. Thermal deactivation on paths avoiding the lowest vibronic levels of the excited singlet and triplet states is found to be important at room temperature but can be neglected at ?190° C.     

CHLOROPHYLL PHOTOCHEMISTRY IN CONDENSED MEDIA—I. TRIPLET STATE QUENCHING AND ELECTRON TRANSFER TO QUINONE IN CELLULOSE ACETATE FILMS*

Chlorophyll-a was incorporated into cellulose acetate films and the triplet state decay kinetics and electron transfer from triplet to p-benzoquinone in aqueous solution was studied using laser flash photolysis and EPR. The triplet was found to decay by first order kinetics with a rate constant which was independent of Chl concentration. The triplet yield, however, was concentration dependent. These properties are due to quenching which occurs only at the singlet state level. In the presence of quinone, the triplet is quenched and, when the quinone is in an aqueous solution in contact with the film, Chl cation radical (C^±) as well as the semiquinone anion radical (Q^±) can be observed. The C decays by second order kinetics with a rate constant of 1.5 × 10⁶M^-1 s^-1. Although triplet conversion to radicals is slightly lower in the films as compared to fluid solutions (? 3 times), the lifetimes of the radicals are greatly increased (? 10³ times).     

Collision induced intersystem crossing the photophysics of glyoxal vapor excited at 4358 Å

The yields, lifetimes and spectra of singlet ¹A_u (S₁) and triplet ³A_u (T₁) emissions from glyoxal vapor (0.003 to 10 torr) have been measured after initially pumping levels about 1000 cm^?1 above the S₁ zero-point level with the 4358 A Hg line and with flash excitation centered at 4345 A. Only S₁ emission is observed at the lowest pressures. The singlet fluorescence contains appreciable structure from the zero-point level even when the hard sphere collision interval exceeds the radiative lifetime calculated from the absorption coefficient. Implications of long lifetimes (due to S₁ - T₁ vibronic interactions) are not confirmed by pulsed excitation studies. Both S₁ and T₁ emissions are observed at pressures above about 0.1 tert and both are self-quenched. However, added gases such as cyclohexane, argon, and helium selectively quench only S₁ emission. This quenching is collision-induced S₁→T₁ intersystem crossing with cross sections of order 0.1 hard sphere for transitions from the S₁ zero-point level. The triplet yield in 0.2 torr of pure glyoxal is probably near unity, and the subsequent crossing T₁ → S₀, if it occurs, lies in the statistical limit. Indications of fast nonradiative decay from high triplet vibrational levels are seen in the phosphorescence yields. Self-quenching of the triplet state appears to be associated with the photochemical activity of glyoxal.     

The electronic relaxation of biacetyl in the vapor phase

The emissions of biacetyl after pulsed dye-laser excitation were studied at pressures down to 0.05 mtorr. At all energies the time-resolved fluorescence was composed of a nanosecond and a microsecond component. At “zero” pressure the long lived phosphorescence was absent while the “hot” phosphorescence has the same time characteristics as the slow fluorescence. By increasing the pressure the slow fluorescence was quenched while the milisecond phosphorescence was induced. We determined the low-pressure emission characteristics and the pressure effects as a function of excitation energy.From our data we obtained the parameters describing the intermediate type singlet-triplet coupling, the radiative and non-radiative relaxation rates from the singlet and triplet levels and the cross sections for the slow fluorescence quenching, all as a function of energy. Strong evidence is obtained for the participation of rotational states in the intra-molecular relaxation. The important difference between the situation where the singlet levels are isolated (low energy) and where the singlet level widths overlap (at higher energies) is demonstrated. In the former situation very large fluorescence quenching cross sectios were found. It is further shown that for high energies at least two effective collisions are needed to obtain a thermalized triplet; the mean energy removed per effective collision is 2200 cm^?1.     

Photophysical Properties of Pyrazinopsoralen,A New Monofunctional Psoralen*

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

Pyrene fluorescence quenching and triplet-state formation in the presence of DABCO (1,4-Diazabicyclo[2-2-2]octane): A laser photolysis study

In this paper, we present a study of fluorescence quenching of pyrene by DABCO in cyclohexane solutions. The absorption spectra of pyrene singlet state ¹S-ⁿS have been measured in the presence and in the absence of DABCO; the spectra are practically identical. The de-excitation of singlet pyrene by DABCO seems to be a non-reversible process leading to the triplet state, the probability of formation of this triplet state being near unity in the quenching process.     

Long fluorescence lifetime of pyrazine vapors

By the study of the pressure dependence of the fluorescence and phosphorescence yields of pyrazine vapors in the pressure range of 10⁻²-10 torr it was established that the fluorescence decay is not exponential but contains a long component (τ ≈ 10⁻⁶–10⁻⁷ sec) corresponding to the “dilution” of the singlet radiative properties in the dense manifold of triplet levels. The phosphorescence is due exclusively to the collisionally induced relaxation from the quasi-stationary state to the pure triplet state.     

Absolute fluorescence quantum yields for vapour-phase benzene and naphthalene,and comments on the non-radiative processes

Optic—acoustic measurements have been employed in the determination of absolute quantum yields for benzene and naphthalene. Heat yields are measured by a method using oxygen quenching of both triplet and singlet states. For vibrationally relaxed excited singlet states the fluorescence quantum yields, φ^B_f, are 0.16 ± 0.02 and 0.79 ± 0.02 for benzene and naphthalene respectively. For 0.07 torr naphthalene at room temperature with 248 nm excitation, φ_f = 0.35 ± 0.03 and the quantum yield of internal conversion is less than 0.05. The decay of the highly vibrationally excited triplet state is dominated by vibrational relaxation for 0.07 torr naphthalene, but for benzene, even at high pressures, strong competition comes from an indirect coupling process to the ground state.     

Singlet methylene kinetics: Direct measurements of removal rates of ã1A1 and b̃1B1 CH2 and CD2

Rate constants for collisional removal of ã¹A₁ and b?¹B₁ CH₂ and CD₂ have been directly measured, using IR laser induced multiple photon dissociation to prepare the radicals, and time resolved laser induced fluorescence to observe them. For CH₂(ã¹A₁) removal by He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, N₂, H₂, O₂, CO and CH₄, rate constants of 3.1, 4.2, 6.0, 7.0, 16, 8.8, 130, 30, 56 and 73 × 10^?12 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 were found respectively. These represent significant increases over the previously accepted values. Essentially no isotope effect is observed in the removal of CD₂(ã¹A₁) by the rare gases. The rate determining step in removal by the rare gases and N₂ is thought to be singlet—triplet intersystem crossing controlled by long range attractive forces, and the results are discussed in terms of both isolated and mixed state theoretical models of these processes. For the other molecular collision partners, bimolecular chemical removal channels are possible, and may account for the relatively fast rates observed. Radiative lifetimes of five Σ vibronic levels of CH₂(b?¹B₁) and three Σ vibronic levels of CD₂(b?¹B₁) have been measured and found to lie in the range 2.5–6.0 μs, and collisional quenching rates for CH₂(b?¹B₁) are found to be of the order of the gas kinetic collisional frequency.     

Eosin-sensitized photoreduction of benzil with 1-benzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide

The mechanism of eosin-sensitized photoreduction of benzil with 1-benzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide — a model compound of NAD(P)H and the behavior of the excited states of eosin have been investigated. The effect of anthracene as a diffusion-controlled quencher of the photoreaction indicates that both excited triplet state and an unquenchable excited singlet state of eosin participated in the sensitized photoreaction. From the Stern-Volmer plot of quantum yield vs. anthracene concentration, the triplet reaction rate constant has been calculated to be 0.78 × 10⁸ L M^?1S^?1 while the singlet reaction rate constant determined from quenching of eosin fluorescence by benzil is equal to 7.2 × 10⁹ L M^?1S^?1. The singlet and triplet quantum yields are also determined to be 0.09 and 0.18 respectively. Since both the singlet and triplet energies of eosin are lower than that of benzil, energy transfer sensitization is not feasible. It is proposed that electron transfer from the excited eosin to benzil is responsible for the initiation.     

Intrinsic Photophysics of Light-harvesting Charge-tagged Chlorophyll a and b Pigments

Chlorophylls a and b (Chla/b) are responsible for light-harvesting by photosynthetic proteins in plants. They display broad absorption in the visible region with multiple bands, due to the asymmetry of the macrocycle and strong vibronic coupling. Their photophysics relies on the microenvironment, with regard to transition energies as well as quenching of triplet states. Here, we firmly establish the splitting of the Q and Soret bands into x- and y- polarized bands for the isolated molecules in vacuo, and resolve vibronic features. Storage-ring experiments reveal that dissociation of photoexcited charge-tagged complexes occurs over several milliseconds, but with two different time constants. A fast decay is ascribed to dissociation after internal conversion and a slow decay to the population of a triplet state that acts as a bottleneck. Support for the latter is provided by pump-probe experiments, where a second laser pulse probes the long-lived triplet state.     

The Triplet State of 6‐thio‐2′‐deoxyguanosine: Intrinsic Properties and Reactivity Toward Molecular Oxygen

Thiopurine prodrugs are currently among the leading treatment options for leukemia, immunosuppression, and arthritis. Patients undergoing long‐term thiopurine treatment are at a higher risk of developing sunlight‐induced skin cancers than the general population. This side effect originates from the cellular metabolization of thiopurine prodrugs to form 6‐thio‐2′‐deoxyguanosine, which can absorb UVA radiation, populating its reactive triplet state and leading to oxidatively generated damage. However, the photo‐oxidation mechanism is not fully understood. In this contribution, the oxidation potential and the adiabatic triplet energy of 6‐thio‐2′‐deoxyguanosine are estimated computationally, whereas the intrinsic rate of triple‐state decay and the rate constant for triplet quenching by molecular oxygen are determined using time‐resolved spectroscopic techniques. A singlet oxygen quantum yield of 0.24 ± 0.02 is measured in aqueous solution (0.29 ± 0.02 in acetonitrile). Its magnitude correlates with the relatively low percentage of triplet‐O₂ collision events that generate singlet oxygen (S_Δ = 37%). This behavior is rationalized as being due to the exergonic driving force for electron transfer between the triplet state of 6‐thio‐2′‐deoxyguanosine and molecular oxygen (ΔG_ET = ?69.7 kJ mol^?1), resulting in the formation of a charge‐transfer complex that favors nonradiative decay to the ground state over triplet energy transfer.     

Intramolecular photoexcitation dynamics and magnetic field effects in an intermediate-case molecule

Molecular vibration and rotation play a significant role in the intramolecular photoexcitation dynamics of the so-called intermediate-case molecule, and the fluorescence intensity, decay and polarization of s-triazine vapor are shown to depend on the excited rovibronic level of the S₁ state. Fluorescence characteristics are interpreted by assuming three zero-order states: (1) a zero-order singlet state that carries the absorption intensity and emits fluorescence with sharp structure; (2) zero-order singlet states that do not carry the absorption intensity but emit broad fluorescence; and (3) zero-order triplet states. The interaction among these states depends not only on the vibrational level but also on the rotational level excited. It is suggested that the number of triplet states coupled to the singlet state increases with increasing excess vibrational energy. It is also suggested that K-scrambling occurs both in the triplet manifold following intersystem crossing (ISC) and in the singlet manifold following intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR). The fluorescence intensity and decay of s-triazine vapor are significantly influenced by a magnetic field, and the field effects are interpreted in terms of the spin decoupling in the triplet manifold following ISC; the role of external magnetic fields is to mix the spin sublevels of different rovibronic levels coupled to the excited singlet state. Magnetic depolarization of fluorescence also occurs because of the efficient interaction between the excited singlet state and the triplet state.     

CHLOROPHYLL PHOTOCHEMISTRY IN CONDENSED MEDIA—II. TRIPLET STATE QUENCHING AND ELECTRON TRANSFER TO QUINONE IN LIPOSOMES*

The fate of excitation energy and electron transfer to quinones within Chl-a-containing phosphatidyl choline liposomes has been investigated. The bilayer membrane of the liposome stabilizes the Chl triplet state, as evidenced by a three-fold increase in the lifetime over that observed in ethanol solution. The relative triplet yield follows the relative fluorescence yield, indicative of quenching at the singlet level. Triplet state lifetimes are markedly shortened as the Chl concentration is increased, demonstrating that quenching occurs at the triplet level as well. This process is shown to be due to a collisional de-excitation. In the presence of quinones, the Chl triplet reduces the quinone resulting in production of long-lived electron transfer products. The percent conversion of Chl triplet to cation radical when benzoquinone is employed as acceptor is approximately 60 ± 10%, which is slightly less than in ethanol solution (70 ± 10%). The lifetime of the radical, however, can be as much as 1900 times longer. With respect to potentially useful photochemical energy conversion, the magnitude of this increased lifetime is far more significant than is the decreased radical yield.     

Mechanism of collision-induced intersystem crossing in CO

We have studied inert-gas pressure effects on the fluorescence decay in CO selectively excited to the υ = 0 to 7 vibronic levels of the A ¹Π electronic state. It is shown that the dependence of the quenching cross section σ_isc on the average value of the ST mixing coefficient (β²) has a quasi-logarithmic form. A simple two-level model describing semiquantitatively this behavior is proposed.     

Emission spectroscopy and excited-state dynamics of chromyl-chloride vapor

A tunable dye laser has been used to excite single vibronic features in the low-pressure vapor of CrO₂Cl₂. The fluorescence spectrum, fluorescence excitation spectrum and time-resolved fluorescence decay are discussed. It is shown that the active ν′₄ and ν″₄ modes are the same frequency in the gas phase, thus collapsing the sequence congestion normally observed in gas-phase spectra. This degeneracy makes impossible the excitation of single vibronic levels. It is shown that the fluorescence lifetime of the excited state in all except the vibrationally cold level is severely shortened by unimolecular radiationless decay. This radiationless rate is strongly dependent upon the partitioning of energy into various excited-state modes. The radiative lifetime of the vibrationally cold excited state is (1.34 ± 0.08) μs and the apparent bimolecular quenching rate is (5.9 ± 0.2) × 10^?10 cm³/molecules. No evidence of emission from the lowest-energy excited electronic state recently reported by Spoliti [J. Mol. Spectrosc. 52 (1973) 146] is observed.     

Fluorescence decay kinetics of acetone vapour at low pressures

Acetone-h₆ and -d₆ were excited by a short UV laser pulse to the nπ* state. Using pressures of 10^?4-10 ^?3 Torr, two distinct decay components were observed - the faster with a decay time of less than 20 ns and the slower of about 5 μs. Increasing the pressure leads to the appearance of two longer-lived decay components, which are apparently absent in the case of isolated molecules. Based on the deuteration effect, excitation wavelength dependence, quenching kinetics and analogy with other molecules, the four decay components are assigned as follows. The fastest component is due to dephasing of the initially excited state, forming a quasi-stationary eigenstate. The second component is due to the radiative decay of the latter states. The third, to decay of triplet states not directly coupled to the initially excited singlet states, and the last to the thermalized triplet state.     

Reversible intersystem crossing,fluorescence lifetime lengthening and collisionally induced phosphorescence in biacetyl

The emissions of biacetyl excited at 4200 Å were studied at pressures down to 10^?3 torr. Apart from the well-known nanosecond fluorescence, a new emission of the same spectral composition was found with a non-exponential decay in the microsecond range. Furthermore the phosphorescence, as defined by its spectral composition, was found to be collisionally induced.The results imply that after excitation, the molecule rapidly transfers (rate constant k_S→T) to the triplet state, giving rise to the nanosecond decay time; and can then transfer back to the singlet state (rate constant k_T→S), giving rise to the microsecond emission. At the same time internal conversion can occur (k_S→S0). From an analysis of the data we find for k_S→S0 = 2.4 × 10⁷ sec^?1, k_S→T = 7.6 × 10⁷ sec^?1, k_T→S = 1.9 × 10⁵ sec^?1. The kinetic treatment can be transformed to a quantum mechanical one, yielding values for the triplet level density (?_T), the coupling element V_ST and the number of triplet states (N) coupled to the singlet excited. At 4200 Å we find ?_T = 6.3 × 10⁵cm, V_ST = 1.0 × 10^?5 cm^?1, N = 400.Phosphorescence occurs only when the molecule is deactivated by collisions to a vibronic triplet state below the vibrationless excited singlet state. The efficiency of biacetyl collisions is 0.54.