Time resolved laser spectroscopy of excited state processes in photoinduced polymerization reactions

During the last years, the use of photoinduced radical chain polymerization of unsatured monomers has increased considerably because of the vide applications of these processes in photoactive polymer-based systems. The present paper is mainly concerned with an investigation of the processes involved. For this purpose, time resolved laser spectroscopy (which appears to be a very convenient method for investigating directly the experimental behaviour of selectively excited chromophores) has been used. The utility of such a technique for the investigation of the primary processes which occur in the excited states of the photoinitiators immediately after the absorption of photons is demonstrated. As examples, main outlines corresponding to the classical processes observed in radical photoinitiated polymerization are considered and discussed: excited state processes in photoinitiators; mechanism of excitation transfer in combination of photosensitive systems; visible laser light induced polymerization; holographic recording.     

Time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy

Time correlated single photon counting was used to investigate solvent dynamics of laser dyes in a polar, viscous solvent. The resolved total luminescence spectra of oxazine 4 in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF) have been measured and solvent relaxation observed.     

Time resolved area normalized emission spectroscopy (TRANES) of DMABN confirms emission from two states

4-N, N-Dimethylaminobenzonitrile (DMABN) is a simple molecule which is extensively studied to understand the excited state kinetics and the origin of time dependent fluorescence in several organic solvents. We use a recently described method, time resolved area normalized emission spectroscopy (TRANES), for the analysis of wavelength dependent fluorescence of DMABN in acetonitrile and 1,4-dioxane. An isoemissive point was observed in the TRANES spectra, which confirms that there are only two emissive species A* and B*: A → A* ? B*.     

Time resolved spectroscopy of triptophan polar solutions

Resolved time spectra and decay curves of triptophan in polar solvents have been obtained and examined using the previous results for indol and NMI in the same solvents. Triptophan time resolved fluorescence ant its decay curves were different when the sample was fluid (room temperature) and when it was “glassy” (low temperature). Decay curves depending on frequency were obtained in fluid solutions, meanwhile for “glassy” samples did not appear such dependence. The similar results previously obtained for indole and NMI, were interpreted assuming the reorientation of the solvent dipole moments as a time-depending phenomenum during fluorescence.     

Oxygen ylides - I. : Reactions of carbenes with oxetane

The ylides generated from carbenes (:CH₂, :CHCO₂Et, :CHPh) and oxetane in the presence of methanol undergo Stevens rearrangement and protonation competitively, yielding tetrahydrofurans and 1,3-dialkoxycyclopropanes as major products.     

Time resolved picosecond emission spectroscopy of organic dye lasers

A technique is described for the direct measurement of radiationless relaxation in excited molecules by time-resolution of picosecond stimulated emission. Stimulated emission has been observed from unequilibrated vibronic levels of the first excited singlet state in fluid solution. In addition fine-structure has been detected in the stimulated emission.     

Second-derivative method: Application to vibrational spectroscopy in excited electronic states

The second-derivative method, which has been known to be useful for finding peaks overlapped in a broad band, is applied to u.v. and visible absorption bands to derive vibrational frequencies in excited electronic states of molecules in solution. By using this method, much better estimates of vibrational frequencies are possible for Franck—Condon active modes than can be made from the absorption spectrum itself. Computational procedure and the results obtained for trans-1,3,5-hexatriene, azulene, pyrazine and anthracene are described with remarks about the effectiveness and limitations of the second-derivative method.     

CO2 laser-induced photolysis of spirohexane: Time resolved observation of vibrationally excited 1,3-butadiene

Vibrationally excited spirohexane (SHX) generated in CO₂ laser irradiation undergoes photolysis producing ethylene, 1,3-butadiene and a C₄ compound as major products. Collisional energy pooling plays a major role in the multiphoton excitation process. Time-resolved formation of 1,3-butadiene is monitored by UV absorption from which the unimolecular rate constant for SHX dissociation is found to be 5.6 × 10⁵ s⁻¹. A red shift of 4O nm observed in the transient UV absorption spectrum has been assigned to nascent 1,3-butadiene, which suggests that vibrationally hot 1,3-butadiene molecules are formed. The effects of laser energy fluence and pressure of SF₆ as a sensitizer on dissociation yield are also investigated.     

The excited states and vibronic spectroscopy of diphenyldiacetylene and diphenylvinylacetylene

Laser induced fluorescence (LIF) excitation scans and dispersed fluorescence (DFL) spectra have been recorded for two four-carbon α,ω-diphenyl systems, diphenyldiacetylene (DPDA, φ-C≡C-C≡C-φ) and trans-diphenylvinylacetylene (DPVA, φ-CH≡CH-C≡C-φ) as isolated molecules cooled in a supersonic expansion. While these molecules have similar conjugation length, they exhibit strikingly different vibronic spectroscopy and photophysics. The near-UV LIF excitation spectrum of diphenyldiacetylene has its electronic origin at 32,158 cm(-1), and a strong progression in the C≡C stretch (2156 cm(-1)). All transitions are inherently broad, with widths of ~30 cm(-1) fwhm or greater. The S(1) origin DFL spectrum is composed of sharp transitions with Franck-Condon activity mirroring that in the excitation spectrum, and broad emission shifted well to the red ascribable to phosphorescence on the μs timescale. Using ab initio calculations, it is possible to show that DPDA exists as a single, planar conformer with D(2h) symmetry. In contrast, trans-diphenylvinylacetylene shows intense sharp transitions in both LIF and DFL spectra with an S(0)-S(1) origin of 31,183.2 cm(-1) and long progressions involving the in-plane fundamentals ν(53) (bridge-phenyl bending) and ν(51) (bridge-phenyl stretch). A sharp reduction in fluorescence yield in DPVA occurs within 300 cm(-1) of the S(1) origin. Possible causes for the photophysical processes occurring in the two molecules are discussed.     

The structure of 5-cyanoindole in the ground and the lowest electronically excited singlet states, deduced from rotationally resolved electronic spectroscopy and ab initio theory

The structure and electronic properties of the electronic ground and the lowest excited singlet states of 5-cyanoindole (5CI) were determined using rotationally resolved spectroscopy of the vibrationless electronic origin of 5CI. In contrast to most other indole derivatives, the lowest excited state of 5CI is determined to be of L(a) character. The conventional approximate coupled cluster singles and doubles model (CC2) fails to describe the geometry of the excited state correctly. Nevertheless, scaling the spin components of equal and opposite spins within the CC2 model as proposed by Hellweg et al. (Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2008, 10, 1159) resulted in very good geometry parameters for the excited state.     

Time resolved spectroscopy on Pigment Yellow 101 in solid state

The photochemistry of the fluorescent Pigment Yellow 101 (P.Y.101) in the crystalline phase is investigated combining time resolved vibrational and electronic spectroscopy. The experiments reveal a complex reaction dynamics spanning several orders of magnitude in time and including excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) from the initial trans-diol conformer. Following photoexcitation and the subsequent wavepacket motion out of the Franck–Condon region two tautomers, an excited trans-diol and trans-keto state are formed. The cis–trans isomerization of the keto form, which was experimentally observed and theoretically confirmed in DFT calculations in studies on P.Y.101 in solution is obstructed in the solid state, consequently the formation of the cis conformer is not directly observed. In addition, a long lived photoproduct with red shifted vibrational frequencies is identified. The life time of this intermediate is determined to be 50 μs, although an unambiguous assignment to a specific molecular configuration cannot be given at present.     

Quantum chemistry and spectroscopy of highly excited states of coordination compounds

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Siberian Branch, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Institute of Catalysis, Siberian Branch, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Institute of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Siberian Branch, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Branch of the Institute of Chemical Physics, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 29, No. 6, pp. 90–103, November–December, 1988.     

Time-resolved spectroscopy of the excited singlet states of tirapazamine and desoxytirapazamine

Laser flash photolysis (LFP, 400 nm excitation) of the anti-cancer drug tirapazamine (TPZ) in acetonitrile produces the singlet excited-state S1 with lambda(max) = 544 nm. The lifetime of this state is 130 ps, in good agreement with the reported fluorescence lifetime. The excited state is reduced to the corresponding radical anion by KSCN or KI. The spectrum of the radical anion is in good agreement with previously reported pulse radiolysis studies and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations. LFP of desoxytirapazamine (dTPZ) also produces the first excited singlet state, S1. The fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime (5.4 ns) of the dTPZ singlet excited state are both much greater than the corresponding values of TPZ. This is explained by DFT calculations that predict that cyclization of TPZ to form an oxaziridine is thermodynamically facile but that cyclization of dTPZ to form an oxadiaziridine is not. Thus, the S1 state of TPZ has a short lifetime and low fluorescence quantum yield due to ready cyclization whereas the cyclization of the S1 state of dTPZ is unimportant and does not limit either the fluorescence quantum yield or the fluorescence lifetime. This conclusion is confirmed by studies of dTPZ', an isomer of dTPZ containing the C=N-O moiety which has a low quantum yield and short fluorescence lifetime similar to that of TPZ.     

Vibrationally excited states of DC5N: Millimeter-wave spectroscopy and coupled cluster calculations

The rotational spectrum of DC₅N has been investigated in the millimeter-wave region for 16 vibrationally excited states which approximately lie below 760 cm⁻¹, namely (v₆ v₇ v₈ v₉ v₁₀ v₁₁)=(000001), (000002), (000003), (000005), (000010), (000020), (000100) (001000), (010000), (100000), (000011), (000101), (001001), (010001), (001010), and (010010). Gas-phase copyrolysis of fully deuterated pyridine and phosphorus trichloride was used to produce the semi-stable DC₅N molecule. In addition to the usual l-type resonances, several vibrational interactions have been taken into account to fit properly the measured transition frequencies. The most important perturbations are caused by the cubic anharmonic interactions which mix the v₆ stretching state with the 2v₁₀ overtone and the v₈+v₁₁ and v₇+v₁₁ bending combination states. The analysis of the spectra was facilitated by theoretical predictions from CCSD(T) calculations with the cc-pVQZ basis.     

Time resolved resonance Raman studies on triplet excited state of 2-methoxy-naphthalene by photo-sensitization

We report on the resonance Raman spectrum of the triplet excited state of 2-methoxy-naphthalene (3ROMe) generated by benzophenone (BP) triplet sensitization. A comparison of the time resolved resonance Raman (TR3) spectra of 3ROMe obtained by energy transfer with that of the spectrum obtained in the absence of BP reveals no change in vibrational frequencies due to weak charge transfer interaction, as expected for a triplet exciplex. It is observed from our computational studies and the experimental data that the unpaired electron in the * orbital of triplet state is more localized on the aromatic ring attached to the methoxy group.     

Electron spin resonance spectroscopy of phenyl-cycloalkyl carbenes

Phenyl-cyclohexyl, phenyl-cyclopentyl, phenyl-cyclobutyl, phenyl-l-benzylcyclobutyl, and phenyl-l-benzylcyclopropylcarbone were photochemically generated in a matrix at low temperature and studied by ESR.     

Time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy of quercetin and morin complexes with Al3+.

The association process of Al3+ with quercetin and morin in methanol was studied by electronic absorption and emission spectroscopies. The number of species in solution with different absorption spectra were determined by the method of Rank analysis of the absorbance matrix, and the stoichiometries of the complexes were evaluated using the Job method. The number of fluorescent species in solution were calculated from the Rank analysis method of the time resolved emission spectra (TRES), and compared with a global analysis of the decay surface using a proper multi-exponential decay model. The association of Al3+ with morin gives rise to two complexes with 1:1 and 2:1 (morin: Al3+) stoichiometries, but in both species the association of the cation involves the carbonyl and 3-hydroxyl groups of the pyrone ring. The fluorescence decay surface of this system is biexponential and the lifetimes of the 1:1 and 2:1 complexes are 4.3 and 2.0 ns, respectively. The association of Al3+ with quercetin forms preferentially two complexes with 1:1 and 1:2 (quercetin: Al3+) stoichiometries where the first cation binds to the site of the pyrone ring but the second one is bound to the cathecol group of the molecule. However, the multichelation character of the quercetin ligand allows larger aggregates to be formed, thereby the species Al2Q3 is also detected in methanol. The lifetime of the 1:1 complex is about 2.7 ns, while for 1:2 and 3:2 complexes the lifetimes measured are 3.5 and 1.8 ns, respectively.     

Infrared/ultraviolet quadruple resonance spectroscopy to investigate structures of electronically excited states

Molecular beam investigations in combination with IR/UV spectroscopy offer the possibility to obtain structural information on isolated molecules and clusters. One of the demanding tasks is the discrimination of different isomers, e.g., by the use of isomer specific UV excitations. If this discrimination fails due to overlaying UV spectra of different isomers, IR/IR methods offer another possibility. Here, we present a new IR/UV/IR/UV quadruple resonance technique to distinguish between different isomers especially in the electronically excited state. Due to the IR spectra, structural changes and photochemical pathways in excited states can be assigned and identified. The method is applied to the dihydrated cluster of 3-hydroxyflavone which has been investigated as photochemically relevant system and proton wire model in the S(1) state. By applying the new IR/UV/IR/UV technique, we are able to show experimentally that both in the electronic ground (S(0)) and the electronically excited state (S(1)) two isomers have to be assigned.     

Application of time-resolved infrared spectroscopy to electronic structure in metal-to-ligand charge-transfer excited states

Infrared data in the nu(CO) region (1800-2150 cm(-1), in acetonitrile at 298 K) are reported for the ground (nu(gs)) and polypyridyl-based, metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) excited (nu(es)) states of cis-[Os(pp)2(CO)(L)](n)(+) (pp = 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) or 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy); L = PPh3, CH(3)CN, pyridine, Cl, or H) and fac-[Re(pp)(CO)3(4-Etpy)](+) (pp = phen, bpy, 4,4'-(CH3)2bpy, 4,4'-(CH3O)2bpy, or 4,4'-(CO2Et)2bpy; 4-Etpy = 4-ethylpyridine). Systematic variations in nu(gs), nu(es), and Delta(nu) (Delta(nu) = nu(es) - nu(gs)) are observed with the excited-to-ground-state energy gap (E(0)) derived by a Franck-Condon analysis of emission spectra. These variations can be explained qualitatively by invoking a series of electronic interactions. Variations in dpi(M)-pi(CO) back-bonding are important in the ground state. In the excited state, the important interactions are (1) loss of back-bonding and sigma(M-CO) bond polarization, (2) pi(pp*-)-pi(CO) mixing, which provides the orbital basis for mixing pi(CO)- and pi(4,4'-X(2)bpy)-based MLCT excited states, and (3) dpi(M)-pi(pp) mixing, which provides the orbital basis for mixing pipi- and pi(4,4'-X(2)bpy*-)-based MLCT states. The results of density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the ground and excited states of fac-[Re(I)(bpy)(CO)3(4-Etpy)](+) provide assignments for the nu(CO) modes in the MLCT excited state. They also support the importance of pi(4,4'-X2bpy*-)-pi(CO) mixing, provide an explanation for the relative intensities of the A'(2) and A' ' excited-state bands, and provide an explanation for the large excited-to-ground-state nu(CO) shift for the A'(2) mode and its relative insensitivity to variations in X.