Excited State Dynamics of Isocyano Rhenium(I) Phenanthroline Complexes from Time-Resolved Spectroscopy

The photophysical processes in a series of isocyano Re(I) phenanthroline complexes {[Re(CNR)_n(CO)_4-n(phen)](PF₆); n=2, 3, 4, R=2,6-(ⁱPr)₂C₆H₃- or ^tBu- (n=2)} in acetonitrile have been studied by resonance Raman spectroscopy, transient resonance Raman spectroscopy, and femtosecond / nanosecond transient spectroscopy to elucidate the nature of their electronic transitions and emissive excited state(s). The kinetics of the intersystem crossing, vibrational relaxation and radiative decay of the metal-to-ligand charge transfer {MLCT [dπ(Re)→π*(phen)]} excited state have also been determined.     

Non‐Bonded Interactions Drive the Sub‐Picosecond Bilin Photoisomerization in the Pfr State of Phytochrome Cph1

Phytochromes are protein‐based photoreceptors harboring a bilin‐based photoswitch in the active site. The timescale of photosignaling via C₁₅=C₁₆ E‐to‐Z photoisomerization has been ambiguous in the far‐red‐absorbing P_fr state. Here we present a unified view of the structural events in phytochrome Cph1 post excitation with femtosecond precision, obtained via stimulated Raman and polarization‐resolved transient IR spectroscopy. We demonstrate that photoproduct formation occurs within 700 fs, determined by a two‐step partitioning process initiated by a planarization on the electronic excited state with a 300 fs time scale. The ultrafast isomerization timescale for P_fr‐to‐P_r conversion highlights the active role of the nonbonding methyl–methyl clash initiating the reaction in the excited state. We envision that our results will motivate the synthesis of new artificial photoswitches with precisely tuned non‐bonded interactions for ultrafast response.     

β‐Carotene Revisited by Transient Absorption and Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy

β‐Carotene in n‐hexane was examined by femtosecond transient absorption and stimulated Raman spectroscopy. Electronic change is separated from vibrational relaxation with the help of band integrals. Overlaid on the decay of S₁ excited‐state absorption, a picosecond process is found that is absent when the C₉‐methyl group is replaced by ethyl or isopropyl. It is attributed to reorganization on the S₁ potential energy surface, involving dihedral angles between C₆ and C₉. In Raman studies, electronic states S₂ or S₁ were selected through resonance conditions. We observe a broad vibrational band at 1770 cm^?1 in S₂ already. With 200 fs it decays and transforms into the well‐known S₁ Raman line for an asymmetric C=C stretching mode. Low‐frequency activity (<800 cm^?1) in S₂ and S₁ is also seen. A dependence of solvent lines on solute dynamics implies intermolecular coupling between β‐carotene and nearby n‐hexane molecules.     

Excited State Intramolecular Proton Transfer of 1-Hydroxyanthraquinone

The excited state intra-molecular proton transfer dynamics of 1-hydroxyanthraquinone in solution are investigated by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy and quantum chemistry calculations. Two characteristic bands of excited state absorption and stimu-lated emission are observed in transient absorption spectra with the excitation by the pump wavelength of 400 nm. From the delayed stimulated emission signal, the time scale of the intra-molecular proton transfer is determined to be about 32 fs. The quantum chemistry calculations show that the molecular orbits and the order of the S₂ and S₁ states are rever-sal and a conical intersection is demonstrated to exist along the proton transfer coordinate. After proton transfer, the second excited state of tautomer populated via the conical intersection undergoes the internal conversion with ～200 fs and the following intermolecular energy relaxation with ～16 ps. The longer component 300 ps can be explained in terms of the relaxation from excited-state tautomer to its ground state. From our observations, two proton transfer pathways via a conical intersection are proposed and the dominated one preserves the molecular orbits.     

Proteorhodopsin Photocycle Kinetics Between pH 5 and pH 9

The retinal protein proteorhodopsin is a homolog of the well‐characterized light‐driven proton pump bacteriorhodopsin. Basic mechanisms of proton transport seem to be conserved, but there are noticeable differences in the pH ranges of proton transport. Proton transport and protonation state of a carboxylic acid side chain, the primary proton acceptor, are correlated. In case of proteorhodopsin, the pK_a of the primary proton acceptor Asp‐97 (pK_a ≈ 7.5) is unexpectedly close to environmental pH (pH ≈ 8). A significant fraction of proteorhodopsin is possibly inactive at natural pH, in contrast to bacteriorhodopsin. We investigated photoinduced kinetics of proteorhodopsin between pH 5 and pH 9 by time resolved UV/vis absorption spectroscopy. Kinetics is inhomogeneous within that pH region and can be considered as a superposition of two fractions. These fractions are correlated with the Asp‐97 titration curve. Beside Asp‐97, protonation equilibria of other groups influence kinetics, but the observations do not point toward major differences of primary proton acceptor function in proteorhodopsin and bacteriorhodopsin. The pK_a of proteorhodopsin and some of its variants is suspected to be an example of molecular adaptation to the physiology of the original organisms.     

Ultrafast Dynamics of the Transoid-cis Isomer Formed in Photochromic Reaction from 3H-Naphthopyran

Recent efforts in designing new 3H-naphthopyran derivatives have been focused on efficient coloration process with a short fading time of the colored transoid-cis TC isomer. It is desirable to avoid photoisomerization of TC leading to transoid-trans TT isomers in the photoreaction. Long lifetime of TT can hamper fast applications such as dynamic holographic materials and molecular actuators, the residual color is one of the serious issues for photochromic lenses. Herein we characterize the photophysical and photochemical channels of TC excited state deactivation competing with the unwanted TC → TT isomerization process. Transient absorption spectroscopy reveals a very short lifetime of the singlet excited TC (≈0.8 ps) and its deactivation channels as S₁→S₀ internal conversion (major), intersystem crossing S₁→T₁, pyran ring formation, photoenolization and TC → TT isomerization. Computations support the S₁→S₀ and T₁→S₀ channels as responsible for photostabilization of the TC form.     

Unraveling Ultrafast Photoinduced Proton Transfer Dynamics in a Fluorescent Protein Biosensor for Ca2+ Imaging

Imaging Ca²⁺ dynamics in living systems holds great potential to advance neuroscience and cellular biology. G‐GECO1.1 is an intensiometric fluorescent protein Ca²⁺ biosensor with a Thr‐Tyr‐Gly chromophore. The protonated chromophore emits green upon photoexcitation via excited‐state proton transfer (ESPT). Upon Ca²⁺ binding, a significant population of the chromophores becomes deprotonated. It remains elusive how the chromophore structurally evolves prior to and during ESPT, and how it is affected by Ca²⁺. We use femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy to dissect ESPT in both the Ca²⁺‐free and bound states. The protein chromophores exhibit a sub‐200 fs vibrational frequency shift due to coherent small‐scale proton motions. After wavepackets move out of the Franck–Condon region, ESPT gets faster in the Ca²⁺‐bound protein, indicative of the formation of a more hydrophilic environment. These results reveal the governing structure–function relationship of Ca²⁺‐sensing protein biosensors.     

Probing the Charge Transfer in a Frustrated Lewis Pair by Resonance Raman Spectroscopy and DFT Calculations

A classical Lewis adduct derives from a covalent bond between a Lewis acid and a base. When the adduct formation is precluded by means of steric hindrance the association of the respective acid-base molecular system is defined as a frustrated Lewis pair (FLP). In this work, the archetypal FLP Mes₃P/B(C₆F₅)₃ was characterized for the first time by resonance Raman spectroscopy, and the results were supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The charge transfer nature of the lowest energy electronic transition, from phosphine to borane, was confirmed by the selective enhancement of the Raman bands associated to the FLP chromophore at resonance condition. Herein, we demonstrate the use of resonance Raman spectroscopy as a distinguished technique to probe the weak interaction involved in FLP chemistry.     

Control of Chromophore Symmetry by Positional Isomerism of Peripheral Substituents

The first example of the control of porphyrinoid chromophore symmetry based on the positional isomerism of peripheral substituents has been achieved by preparing tetraazaporphyrins (TAPs) with C_4h, D_2h, C_2v, and C_s symmetry due to the relative arrangement of peripheral tert‐butylamino and cyano groups as push and pull substituents, respectively. The four structural isomers were successfully isolated and characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and X‐ray crystallography. The band morphology in the Q‐band region varies depending on the molecular symmetry due to the significant perturbation introduced into the chromophore by the push and pull substituents. The C_4h and C_2v isomers exhibit a single Q band, whereas the Q bands of the D_2h and C_s isomers show a marked splitting. The magnetic circular dichroism spectra indicate that the push–pull TAPs retain the properties of the 16‐membered 18π‐electron perimeter generally observed for porphyrinoids. Theoretical calculations have demonstrated that the perturbation introduced by the substituents lowers the D_4h symmetry of the parent TAP π‐conjugated system, and this results in significant spectral changes. A novel approach to the fine‐tuning of the spectral properties of porphyrinoids based on changes in the chromophore symmetry is described.