Spectroscopic effects of vibronic coupling between nearby 3nπ* and 3ππ* states of dimethylbenzaldehydes in a durene matrix

A vibrational analysis is presented of high resolution ππ* phosphorescence spectra of the 2,4-, 2,5- and 3,4-dimethylbenzaldehyde-1h₁ and ?1d₁, guests in durene host. As previously reported for the fully hydrogenated molecules, the energy gaps between the zero-point levels of the ³ngp*, and ³ππ* states of the guests deuterated on the aldehydic group are determined from the temperature dependence of their phosphorescence spectra and lifetimes. These vibronic energy gaps tend to be larger in the deuterated species.The existence of the vibronic coupling between ³nπ* and ³ππ* states of dimethylbenzaldehydes is suggested by the important activity, in the ππ* phosphorescence spectra, of nontotally symmetric modes involving the aldehydic group and the aromatic ring. Among these vibrations, the most active are the aldehydic CH and CD wagging modes which also show overtone activity. The intensities of the induced bands show a strong deuterium effect which in the 2,4 and 2,5 compounds is anomalous in that the deuterated species shows the higher induced intensity. The observation of phosphorescence spectra from each molecule in two different sites allows an assessment of the crystal field effect which is found to be moderately strong. These observations can be understood qualitatively on the basis of weak pseudo Jahn-Teller-like coupling between the ³ππ* and ³nπ* states which is subject to interference from Herzberg-Teller coupling involving at least one additional state. No convincing evidence is found for nonplanar distortions of the guest molecules.     

Guest and host deuterium effects of the large ZFS parameters D of dimethylbenzaldehydes in durene single crystals

The ZFS parameters D of 2,4-, 2,5- and 3,4-dimethylbenzaldehyde-1h₁ and -1d₁ guests in perhydrogenated and perdeuterated durene single crystals are determined by comparing the experimental and calculated resonance curves. It is found that the deuterium substitution of the guest aldehydic group in a given host leads to the decrease of the D values and to the increase of the energy gaps ΔE_T between the zero-point levels of the ³nπ* and ³ππ* states of the guests. On the other hand, the perdeuteration of the host results in the decrease of ΔE_T with a corresponding increase of the D value of a given guest. The D value of 1 cm⁻¹ determined for 2,5-dimethylbenzaldehyde-1h₁ in perdeuterated durene is the lategest ever found for an aromatic carbonyl compound. Correlations between D and ΔE_T indicate that the ZFS parameters D of the guests are determined by contributions from both spin-spin and spin-orbit interactions between the ³nπ* and ³ππ* states. The large guest and host deuterium effects observed on the D values are attributed to the changes of the gaps ΔE_T of the guests.     

Some comments on vibronic intensities of naphthalene fluorescence spectra from single vibronic levels

It is shown that some features of intensity distribution among certain vibronic transitions in naphthalene molecule can be understood, when one takes into account adiabatic and nonadiabatic interaction between S₁(¹B_3u), S₂(^tB_2u), and S₃(^IB_3u) electronic states. the vibronic activity of the $\text{6}\text{?}$(b_1g) mode in naphthalene-d₈ can be explained in terms of an anharmonic coupling with the $\text{7}\text{?}$(b_1g) mode. The theoretical analysis suggests reinterpretation of some vibronic transitions.     

Moderate-resolution two-photon spectrum of the naphthalene crystal and naphthalene in durene

The two-photon absorption spectra at ～ 5 cm^?1 resolution are presented for the naphthalene crystal and naphthalene in durene at 2°K in polarized light. A rich vibronic spectrum of the ¹B_2u(3200 Å) naphthalene state is observed and some of the strongest vibronic origins are from in-plane vibrations.     

Simulated T ← S spectrum of 2,4,5-trimethylbenzaldehyde in durene

The T_1,2 ← S₀ phosphorescence excitation spectrum of 2,4,5-trimethylbenzaldehyde in durene has been simulated using forty-five zero-order Born-Oppenheimer product states of which thirty-two belong to T₁ (ππ*), the others to T₂ (nπ*). The spectrum is very complicated in the region 400–600 cm^?1 above the T₁ (ππ*) ←3 S₀ origin band at 24150 cm^?1. In this tangled region conventional vibrational analysis is not useful. Several comments on the physical properties of the excited triplet states of 2,4,5-trimethylbenzaldehyde are given.     

Temperature dependence of the vibronic spectrum of cis polyacetylene

Using the Luttinger method at low temperatures, we have produced samples of cis “polyacetylene”, (CH)x, whose absorption maxima (zero phonon lines) lie between 16700 and ≈30000 cm^?1 depending upon chain length. Quite well-resolved vibronic structure has been observed for these samples, with four peaks in the vibronic spectrum clearly visible at room temperature, although degradation of this structure follows ageing at 300 K in vacuum.     

Ab initio calculations of vibronic activity in phosphorescence microwave double resonance spectra of p-dichlorobenzene

The phosphorescence spectrum of p-dichlorobenzene has been calculated using multiconfiguration self-consistent-field wave functions and the quadratic response technique. Attention has been paid to the intensity distribution of the singlet–triplet (³B_1u¹A_g) transition through a number of vibronic subbands. The second order spin–orbit coupling (SOC) contribution to the spin splitting of the ³B_1u (^3*) state is found to be almost negligible, and the calculations therefore provide a good estimate for the zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameters based only on the electron spin–spin coupling expectation values. Nuclear quadrupole resonance constants for the different Cl isotopes are also calculated to accomplish the ZFS assignment. The electric dipole activity of the spin sublevels in the triplet–singlet transitions to the ground-state vibrational levels is estimated by calculations of derivatives using distorted geometries which are shifted from the equilibrium position along different vibrational modes. A vibrational analysis of the phosphorescence spectrum, based on the SOC-induced mixing of the singlet and triplet states calculated along different vibrational modes, provides reasonable agreement with experimental data.Acknowledgment O. R.-P. would like to thank the European MOLPROP network for support. The authors thank Alexander Baev for fruitful discussions. This work was supported by the Swedish Royal Academy of Science (KVA).     

The two-photon phosphorescence excitation spectrum of triphenylene

The two-proton excited phosphorescence of triphenylene in PMMA matrix at 77 K was measured using a tunable flashlamp-pumped rhodamine dye laser in the effect spectral region 32000–36000 cm^?1. The band origin of the S₀S₂ transition, which is uncertain in the one-photon absorption spectrum, was observed at 33200 cm^?1. The vibronic features in the one-photon spectrum were reinterpreted.     

Vibronic structure of the gas phase phosphorescence spectrum of p-benzoquinone

The phosphorescence spectrum of p-benzoquinone has been studied in the gas phase. The vibronic structure is analyzed in terms of frequencies of vibrations strong in the Raman spectrum. The most predominant progression vibrations are found to be two fundamentals of ν₃(CO) and ν₂(CC stretching) around 1680 cm⁻¹ in the Raman spectrum. These modes have not been observed separably in the phosphorescence spectrum of gaseous p-benzoquinone because of low resolution spectrographs employed in early work. Several vibrational frequencies in the excited ³A_u(nπ*) state are proposed on the basis of the analysis of several prominent sequence bands in the emission.     

Importance of vibronic effects on the circular dichroism spectrum of dimethyloxirane

We present a theoretical study on the vibrational structure of a circular dichroism (CD) spectrum using time-dependent density-functional theory in combination with a Franck-Condon-type approach. This method is applied to analyze the complex CD spectrum of dimethyloxirane, which involves delicate cancellations of positive and negative CD bands. Our approach reveals that these cancellations are strongly affected by the shapes of the CD bands, and that it is vital for an accurate simulation of the spectrum to take the different envelopes of these bands into account. One crucial point in some former theoretical studies on this compound, which were restricted to vertical excitations, was the appearance of a strong negative CD band in the energy range of 7.0-7.5 eV, which is not present in the experimental spectrum. We can explain the disappearance of this 2B band by a strong vibrational progression along normal modes with C-O stretching character, so that the band extends over an energy range of almost 1.1 eV. Thus, it overlaps with many other (mostly positive) CD bands, leading to a cancellation of its intensity. The dominant vibrational features in the experimental spectrum can be assigned to the 1B, 3B, and 5B bands, which show several clear vibrational peaks and a total bandwidth of only 0.3-0.5 eV. In order to obtain close agreement between the simulated and the experimental spectrum we have to apply small shifts to the vertical excitation energies that enter the calculation. These shifts account both for possible errors in the time-dependent density-functional theory calculations and for the neglect of differential zero-point energy between ground and excited states in our gradient-based vertical Franck-Condon approach.     

A theoretical study of the vibronic structure in the electronic spectrum of HNO+

The results of an ab initio study of the vibronic and rotational structure in the ²Π state of HNO⁺ are presented. It is shown that the absorption spectrum at 7200 Å observed by Herzberg could be caused by the transition from the ground to the first excited electronic state of HNO⁺     

The calculation of electric dipole vibronic intensities in centrosymmetric coordination compounds using the crystal field-closure-ligand polarization model

Equations are derived for the evaluation of the contribution to the electric dipole vibronic intensity of d-d and f-f transitions in octahedral complex ions. Expressions for the evaluation of the crystal-field and ligand polarization terms and the cross term between are presented in symmetry adapted form and tables of the required coupling constants are given.     

S 1 ←S 0 vibronic spectrum and the structure of the chloral molecule in theS 1 stateS 0 vibronic spectrum and the structure of the chloral molecule in theS 1 state

The vibronic absorption spectrum of chloral (CCl₃COH) vapors is studied in the region of S₁ ← S₀ electron transition (32,000–28,700 cm⁻¹). The 29,070 cm⁻¹ vibronic transition (not observed because of low intensity) is believed to be the ‘start’ of the electron transition. Several fundamentals are found in the S₀ and S₁ states. Inversion splitting of the zero vibrational level in the S₁ state of chloral, indicating a nonplanar structure of the carbonyl fragment, is found. The intensity ratio of the torsional transition bands indicates that the S₁ ← S₀ electronic excitation of the chloral molecule causes significant changes in the orientation of the −CCl₃ group relative to the molecular framework. The potential functions of internal rotation (S₀ and S₁ states) and inversion (S₁ state) of the chloral molecule are determined from experimental data. The potential barriers of internal rotation (S₀ and S₁ states) and inversion (S₁ state) are 380, 780, and 760 cm⁻¹ (4.5, 9.3, and 9.1 kJ/mole), respectively. M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Translated fromZhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 507–513, May–June, 1998.     

Analysis and predictions of the vibronic spectrum of the ethynyl radical C2H by ab initio methods

A purely ab initio study of the vibronic structure of the C₂H spectrum in the region up to 7000 cm^?1, which is complicated by the coupling of theX ²Σ⁺ andA ² II systems, is presented. The potential surfaces for the three lowest-lying electronic states 1² A′, 2² A′ and 1² A″ correlating withX ²Σ⁺ andA ² II at the linear molecular geometry are calculated for the various geometrical distortions by means of the multireference configuration interaction (MRD-CI) method. These adiabatic surfaces are transformed into suitable diabatic counterparts. An approach is developed for a simultaneous treatment of three electronic states coupled via the bending and C-C stretching vibrations. Spin-orbit splitting of the vibronic levels and the vibronically averaged values for the hyperfine coupling constants are computed. The results obtained in this study enable a reliable explanation of the available experimental findings of the C₂H spectrum and predict a number of features to be verified by future experiments.     

Temperature effects on the phosphorescence spectra and lifetimes of 2,4-, 2,5-, and 3,4-dimethylbenzaldehydes dispersed in durene single crystals

The phosphorescence spectra and lifetimes of 2,4-, 2,5-, and 3,4-dimethylbenzaldehydes dispersed in durene single crystals have been measured as a function of temperature between 10 and 200 K. For all the guests involved, the vibrational structures of the spectra are found to be temperature dependent. This is interpreted in terms of two emissions that proceed from a triplet state having predominantly a ππ* character at low temperatures and from a thermally populated triplet state having essentially a nπ* character at higher temperatures. The energy gaps ΔE_T between ³ππ* and ³nπ* states evaluated spectroscopically are found to be 100, 70, and 340 cm^?1, respectively for 2,4-, 2,5- and 3,4-dimethylbenzaldehydes.Activation energies ΔE* determined from the Arrhenius plots of the phosphorescence decay rate constants are in good agreement with the ΔE_T for the first two guests. In contrast, the ΔE* are higher than the ΔE_T for 3,4-dimethylbenzaldehydes as well as for 2,4,5-trimethylbenzaldehyde (where ΔE_T ≈ 400 cm^?1) because of the rapid increase of radiationless transitions in the temperature range where thermal population of the upper ³nπ* state is efficient. In the low and high temperature ranges, the phosphorescence decays for all these guests are exponential. In the intermediate range, these decays are non-exponential. The origin of these non-exponential decays is discussed.     

Observation of vibronic emission spectrum of jet-cooled duryl radical in corona excitation

The vibronically excited but jet-cooled 2,4,5-trimethylbenzyl (duryl) radical was formed in a corona excitation from precursor 1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene (durene) seeded in a large amount of inert carrier gas helium using a pinhole-type glass nozzle. The vibronically resolved emission spectrum of the jet-cooled duryl radical was recorded, for the first time, with a long path monochromator in the visible region. The spectrum was analyzed to obtain an accurate electronic energy of the D1-->D0 transition and vibrational mode frequencies in the ground electronic state by comparing with those of the precursor and those from an ab initio calculation.     

The low energy two-photon spectrum of pyrazine using the phosphorescence photoexcitation method

The two-photon phosphorescence excitation spectrum of neat pyrazine crystal at 1.6 K has been examined in the region 6800-4250 A. A discussion of two-photon allowed and vibronically induced transitions is given. The theoretical discussion shows that, due to the added possibility of vibronic mixing in the intermediate state, in general more non-totally symmetric vibrations are expected to show intensity in a symmetry forbidden two-photon spectrum than in a forbidden one-photon spectrum. An estimate of the relative intensities of allowed and vibronically induced (n, π*) two photon transitions in pyrazine have been carried out using the Cl energies and MO transition moments obtained by Wadt and Goddard. Comparison of these results with the normalized spectrum obtained with polarized light indicates the absorptions observed in the region 30 000–35 000 cm⁻¹ are analyzable in terms of a single electronic transition with a forbidden origin which coincides with the ¹B_3u ← ¹A_g one-photon transition origin. Several of the prominent false origins appearing in this region have been tentatively assigned and indicate that, unlike symmetric modes, frequencies of asymmetric vibrations are significantly altered in the excited state. A lower limit of 0.8 eV is set for the ¹B_3u-¹B_2g splitting which results from the interactions of the two pyrazine lone pair orbitals.     

Comparison of the relative intensities of penning electron spectrum and photoelectron spectrum. Unsaturaated hydrocarbons

The Ne* (³P₂) Penning electron spectra and the Ne I photoelectron spectra of ethylene, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, and styrene were compared. The π bands in the Penning spectra showed enhancement relative to the σ bands in comparison with the corresponding photoelectron spectra, suggesting that Penning electron spectroscopy has potential value for the assignment of photoelectron bands.     

A study of the two-photon spectrum of and vibronic coupling in the first system of pyrene

The polarized, low-energy, two-photon absorption system of pyrene-h₁₀ and pyrene-d₁₀ in fluorene and biphenyl host crystals at 4.2 K has been measured and analyzed to provide firm symmetry assignments. Good agreement was found for the energies of the two-photon band positions in a heptane matrix recorded using a site-selective technique. The transition has A_g vibronic symmetry being induced by single quanta of several b_2u fundamentals; very short progressions in some a_g modes were observed. Vibronic coupling involving a_g modes in the one-photon spectra has been examined. Relative line intensities have been measured for seven fundamentals in absorption and fluorescence together with some overtones and binary combinations. First-order Herzberg—Teller theory can account for these intensities and the intensities in the two-photon spectrum. The vibronic coupling is of medium strength, and plays an important role in determining the intensities of the bands in the spectrum because the allowed component of the transition is weak. In the one-photon, the strength of the coupling is weaker in a biphenyl than in a heptane matrix; in the former case, it is assumed that there is a transition dipole interaction that acts to transfer intensity from the guest to the host in such a way as to reduce the transition moment to the pyrene “lending” state involved in the vibronic coupling.     

S1←S0 vibronic spectrum and structure of fluoral in the S1 state

The vibronic absorption spectrum of fluoral vapor was studied in the region of the S₁←S₀ electronic transition (313–360 nm). The origin O₀ ⁰⁺) of the transition (29419 cm⁻¹) and a number of fundamental frequencies in the S₀ and S₁ states were determined. The character of intensity distribution in the spectral bands indicates that the electronic excitation leads to significant change of the CF₃ group orientation relative to the molecular frame. Moreover, it was found that the carbonyl fragment of the molecule in the S₁ state has pyramidal structure (in contrast, the carbonyl fragment of the fluoral molecule in the S₀ state is planar). The experimental torsion and inversion energy levels were used for the calculation of internal rotation and inversion potential functions of fluoral molecule in the S₁ state. The potential barriers to internal rotation and inversion were found to be 1270 cm⁻¹ (15.2 kJ mol⁻¹) and 550 cm⁻¹ (6.6 kJ mol⁻¹), respectively. The conformational changes caused by S₁←S₀ electronic excitation in the fluoral molecule are similar to those observed in acetaldehyde and biacetyl molecules and differ from the conformational behavior of hexafluorobiacetyl molecule. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 2, pp. 294–299, February, 1998.