Photophysics and spectroscopy of the higher electronic states of zinc metalloporphyrins: a theoretical and experimental study

The photophysics of the S2 and S1 excited states of zinc porphyrin (ZnP) and five of its derivatives (ZnOEP, ZnTBP, ZnTPP, ZnTFPP, ZnTCl8PP) have been investigated by measuring their steady-state absorption and fluorescence spectra, quantum yields and excited state lifetimes at room temperature in several solvents. The radiative and radiationless decay constants of the fluorescent excited states accessible in the visible and near UV regions of the spectrum have been obtained. Despite the similarities in the Soret spectra of these compounds, their S2 excited state radiationless decay rates differ markedly. Although the S2-S1 electronic energies of a given zinc porphyrin vary linearly with the Lippert (refractive index) function of the solvent, the S2 radiationless decay rates of the set of compounds do not follow the energy gap law of radiationless transition theory. Calculations, using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), of the energies and symmetries of the complete set of excited states accessible by 1- or 2-photon absorption in the near UV-visible have also been carried out. Substitution on the porphyrin macrocycle framework affects the ground state geometry and alters the electron density distributions, the orbital energies and the relative order of the excited electronic states accessible in the near UV-blue regions of the spectrum. The results are used to help interpret both the nature of the electronic transitions in the Soret region, and the relative magnitudes of the radiationless transition rates of the excited states involved.     

Optical and photophysical properties of indolocarbazole derivatives

We present a study of the optical and photophysical properties of five ladder indolo[3,2-b]carbazoles, namely, M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5. The ground-state optimized structures were obtained by B3LYP/6-31G* density functional theory (DFT) calculations, whereas the optimization (relaxation) of the first singlet excited electronic state (S1) was performed using the restricted configuration interaction (singles) (RCIS/6-31G*) approach. The excitation to the S1 state does not cause important changes in the geometrical parameters of the compounds, as corroborated by the small Stokes shifts. The excitation and emission energies have been obtained by employing the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). For all the compounds, excitation to the S1 state is weakly allowed, whereas the S2 <-- S0 electronic transition of each oligomer possesses a much larger oscillator strength. The absorption and fluorescence spectra of the compounds have been recorded in chloroform. A reasonable agreement is obtained between TDDFT vertical transition energies and the (0,0) absorption and fluorescence bands. On one hand, the pattern of the aliphatic side chains does not affect the absorption and fluorescence maxima of the compounds. On the other hand, the replacement of aliphatic chains by phenyl or thiophene rings induces hypsochromic shifts in the absorption and fluorescence spectra. Finally, the fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime of the compounds in chloroform have been obtained. From these data, the radiative and nonradiative rate constants of the deactivation of the S1 state have been determined.     

Photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer to meta position of benzene ring in 6-aminophthalides

Substitution of non-fluorescent phthalide (Pd) with amino group at meta (6) position in relation to the electron-accepting part of the lactone ring completely changes Pd photophysics: a new long-wavelength absorption band arises and the molecule becomes highly fluorescent. The experimental data and the analysis of vertical electronic transitions with TDDFT method indicate that the first absorption band in 6-aminophthalides (6-APds) comprises a single CT transition to the S1 state. Almost equal absorption and emission transition dipole moments indicate that S0 <--> S1 transition in all 6-APds is not affected by any mixing with other electronic states, the excited-state vibrational relaxation is not accompanied by significant conformational changes and the Stokes shifts reflect mainly solvation energetics of these molecules. Excited state dipole moments obtained from solvatochromic plots and from CASSCF calculations confirm large charge displacement from amino group towards the meta position of the benzene ring upon excitation of 6-APds to S1 state. Long fluorescence lifetimes and high fluorescence quantum yields demonstrate efficient and stable excited state charge separation in 6-APds. Taken together with sensitivity of 6-APds to polarity and proticity of the environment these properties make them good candidates for fluorescent probes of long-time scale molecular dynamics.     

Excited state properties of novel p- and n-type organic semiconductors with an anthracene unit

Photoinduced dynamics of novel p- and n-type organic semiconductors with an anthracene unit are theoretically investigated with quantum chemistry methods. The calculated vertical absorption and fluorescence frequencies of them are consistent with the experimental data. The changing tendencies of the dihedral angles between anthracene unit and trifluoromethylphenyl (or thiophene) in the photoinduced dynamics processes (vertical absorption and vertical fluorescence) are examined from the geometries of optimized ground and excited states. To study the influence of the individual units of the derivatives to the excited state properties of the derivatives, the energies and densities of frontier orbital HOMOs and LUMOs of the individual unit and the derivatives are studied in the processes of vertical absorption and fluorescence. The excited state properties of the two derivatives in the processes of vertical absorption and fluorescence are studied with 2D and 3D real space analysis methods, which are employed to study the electron–hole coherence and the excitation delocalization (with transition density matrix method), and charge and energy transfer (with transition and charge difference density method). Overall, the computed results remain in good agreement with the relevant experimental data, and the theoretical results promote deeper understanding to the optical and electronic properties of the semiconductor in the process of photoinduced dynamics.     

Theoretical Study of the Molecular and Electronic Structures of CPDT-TCNQ and Its Difluoro and Dimethyl Derivatives

1 INTRODUCTION Since the discovery of one-dimensional metallic behavior of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) with tetracyano- quinodimethane (TCNQ)[1], organic charge-transfer (CT) complexes and CT salts have been intensively studied in search of electrically conducting and superconducting properties[2 ～ 6] which are most unusual for an organic material. The most intriguing property is that it is excellent metal with conducti- vity similar to that of metals at room temperature[7, 8]. In these…     

Stacking Effects on Anthraquinone/DNA Charge-Transfer Electronically Excited States

The design of more efficient photosensitizers is a matter of great importance in the field of cancer treatment by means of photodynamic therapy. One of the main processes involved in the activation of apoptosis in cancer cells is the oxidative stress on DNA once a photosensitizer is excited by light. As a consequence, it is very relevant to investigate in detail the binding modes of the chromophore with DNA, and the nature of the electronically excited states that participate in the induction of DNA damage, for example, charge-transfer states. In this work, we investigate the electronic structure of the anthraquinone photosensitizer intercalated into a double-stranded poly(dG-dC) decamer model of DNA. First, the different geometric configurations are analyzed by means of classical molecular dynamics simulations. Then, the excited states for the most relevant poses of anthraquinone inside the binding pocket are computed by an electrostatic-embedding quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics approach, where anthraquinone and one of the nearby guanine residues are described quantum mechanically to take into account intermolecular charge-transfer states. The excited states are characterized as monomer, exciton, excimer, and charge-transfer states based on the analysis of the transition density matrix, and each of these contributions to the total density of states and absorption spectrum is discussed in terms of the stacking interactions. These results are relevant as they represent the footing for future studies on the reactivity of anthraquinone derivatives with DNA and give insights on possible geometrical configurations that potentially favor the oxidative stress of DNA.     

Theoretical investigations of the perylene electronic structure: Monomer,dimers, and excimers

The structural and electronic properties of perylene molecule, dimers, and excimers have been computationally studied. The present work represents the first systematic study of perylene molecule and dimer forms by means of long‐range corrected time‐dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) approaches. Initially, the study explores the photophysical properties of the molecular species. Vertical transitions to many excited singlet states have been computed and rationalized with different exchange‐correlation functionals. Differences between excitation energies are discussed and compared to the absorption spectrum of perylene in gas phase and diluted solution. De‐excitation energy from the relaxed geometry of the lowest excited singlet is in good agreement with the experimental fluorescence emission. Optimization of several coplanar forms of the perylene pair prove that, contrary to generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and hybrid exchange‐correlation functionals, corrected TDDFT is able to bind the perylene dimer in the ground state. Excitation energies from different dimer conformers point to dimer formation prior to photoexcitation. The fully relaxed excimer geometry belongs to the perfectly eclipsed conformation with D_2h symmetry. The excimer equilibrium intermolecular distance is shorter than the separation found for the ground state, which is an indication of stronger interchromophore interaction in the excimer state. Excimer de‐excitation energy is in rather good agreement with the excimer band of perylene in concentrated solution. The study also scans the energy profiles of the ground and lowest excited states along several geometrical distortions. The nature of the interactions responsible for the excimer stabilization is explored in terms of excitonic and charge resonance contributions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Investigation of the structure, the optical properties, and the photophysics of some indolocarbazoles having terminal aromatic rings

Structures, optical properties, and photophysics of ladder indolo[3,2-b]carbazoles substituted symmetrically by phenylene and thiophene rings have been investigated theoretically and experimentally. The ground state optimized structures were obtained using the density functional theory (DFT) as approximated by the B3LYP functional and employing the 6-31G^* basis set. All derivatives were found nonplanar in their electronic ground states. The character and the energy of the singlet–singlet electronic transitions have been investigated by applying the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) to the correspondingly optimized-ground-state geometries. The ab initio restricted configuration interaction (singles) method (RCIS/6-31G^*) was adopted to obtain the first singlet excited-state structures (S₁) of the molecule. TDDFT calculations performed on the S₁ optimized geometries was used to obtain emission energies. UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopies were analyzed in conjunction with theoretical calculations. The computed excitation and emission energies were found in reasonable agreement with the experimental absorption and fluorescence spectra. Finally, the photophysical behavior of the indolocarbazoles have been studied by means of steady state and time resolved fluorescence. The overall data have allowed the determination of the rate constants for the radiative and nonradiative decay processes. Both theoretical and experimental data show that the replacement of phenylene rings by thiophene units induces a red shift in the absorption and fluorescence spectra. This behavior is interpreted in terms of the electron donor properties of the thiophene ring. On the other hand, the change of the substitutional pattern, from 2,8 to 3,9, causes a significant hypsochromic shift of the absorption and fluorescence bands.     

Pigment Yellow 101: A showcase for photo-initiated processes in medium-sized molecules

Pigment Yellow 101 (P.Y.101) is a fluorescent yellow pigment which exhibits a surprisingly rich photochemistry of several competing reaction pathways as revealed by recent time-resolved femtosecond experiments. Our elaborate quantum chemical investigations employing density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) show that the observed fluorescence competes with excited state intramolecular proton transfer and trans–cis isomerization processes. Moreover, the experimentally observed spectral features of the complicated excited state dynamics can be assigned to stable trans-diol, trans-keto and cis-diol, cis-keto isomers on the ground and excited state surfaces. Still, due to its molecular size P.Y.101 poses a challenge to electronic structure theory and many problems occur in particular with respect to the excited state calculations. Thus, P.Y.101 serves also as an educative example for which TDDFT yields a reasonable vertical electronic spectrum, but fails in the prediction of excited state structures, when standard GGA or hybrid functionals with low fractions of Hartree–Fock exchange are employed. This failure is attributed to the charge-transfer failure of TDDFT.     

Electronic transitions involved in the absorption spectrum and dual luminescence of tetranuclear cubane [Cu4I4(pyridine)4] cluster: a density functional theory/time-dependent density functional theory investigation

We present a combined density functional theory (DFT)/time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) study of the geometry, electronic structure, and absorption and emission properties of the tetranuclear "cubane" Cu4I4py4 (py = pyridine) system. The geometry of the singlet ground state and of the two lowest triplet states of the title complex were optimized, followed by TDDFT excited-state calculations. This procedure allowed us to characterize the nature of the excited states involved in the absorption spectrum and those responsible for the dual emission bands observed for this complex. In agreement with earlier experimental proposals, we find that while in absorption the halide-to-pyridine charge-transfer excited state (XLCT*) has a lower energy than the cluster-centered excited state (CC*), a strong geometrical relaxation on the triplet cluster-centered state surface leads to a reverse order of the excited states in emission.     

Theoretical study of the absorption and nonradiative deactivation of 1-nitronaphthalene in the low-lying singlet and triplet excited states including methanol and ethanol solvent effects

The photophysics of the 1-nitronaphthalene molecular system, after the absorption transition to the first singlet excited state, is theoretically studied for investigating the ultrafast multiplicity change to the triplet manifold. The consecutive transient absorption spectra experimentally observed in this molecular system are also studied. To identify the electronic states involved in the nonradiative decay, the minimum energy path of the first singlet excited state is obtained using the complete active space self-consistent field∕∕configurational second-order perturbation approach. A near degeneracy region was found between the first singlet and the second triplet excited states with large spin-orbit coupling between them. The intersystem crossing rate was also evaluated. To support the proposed deactivation model the transient absorption spectra observed in the experiments were also considered. For this, computer simulations using sequential quantum mechanic-molecular mechanic methodology was used to consider the solvent effect in the ground and excited states for proper comparison with the experimental results. The absorption transitions from the second triplet excited state in the relaxed geometry permit to describe the transient absorption band experimentally observed around 200 fs after the absorption transition. This indicates that the T(2) electronic state is populated through the intersystem crossing presented here. The two transient absorption bands experimentally observed between 2 and 45 ps after the absorption transition are described here as the T(1)→T(3) and T(1)→T(5) transitions, supporting that the intermediate triplet state (T(2)) decays by internal conversion to T(1).     

Effect of hydroxylic solvent on the fluorescence behavior of some bioactive 9-oxo-imidazo[1,2-a]purine derivatives

The spectral and photophysical behavior of four fluorescent 9-oxo-imidazo[1,2-a]purine derivatives containing pyridyl, pyridylphenyl, phenyl, and biphenylyl substituents at the C(6) position of the tricyclic skeleton is described. The studies were performed in several aprotic and protic organic solvents using absorption spectroscopy as well as steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The results are also presented of TDDFT calculations on singlet-singlet excitation energies and oscillator strengths for two models of 9-oxo-imidazo[1,2-a]purine, with phenyl or pyridyl substituents, both in the gas phase and in methanol solution. While the derivatives with aryl substituents did not show any significant dependence of their static and dynamic fluorescence properties on the nature of the solvent, the compounds containing a pyridine residue exhibited a remarkable reduction of their fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes in the alcoholic solutions. The solute-solvent hydrogen-bonding interaction in the first excited singlet state is responsible for the fast radiationless decay rates determined for pyridyl- and pyridylphenyl-substituted compounds in protic solvents. The results of experimental and theoretical studies show that the hydrogen of the alcohols' hydroxyl group and the nitrogen atom of the pyridine moiety are involved in the interaction. The fluorescence-quenching experiments performed for the pyridyl-substituted 9-oxo-imidazo[1,2-a]purine derivative using trifluoroethanol, methanol, and butanol as quenchers revealed that the quenching efficiencies, expressed by the Stern-Volmer quenching constants, correlate with the H-bond donating abilities of the alcohols. The quenching is a dynamic process, and the H-bonded complex formed is nonfluorescent. The experimentally determined and the calculated values of the dipole moment change associated with the electronic excitation indicate that the excited S(1) states of all of the molecules studied in this work have an intramolecular charge-transfer character and that electronic charge is transferred to the C(6) substituent upon excitation. Thus, the ability of the pyridyl substituent nitrogen atom to act as an H-bond acceptor in the excited S(1) state is enhanced. The 6-pyridyl-9-oxo-imidazo[1,2-a]purine presents a novel fluorophore, which, besides its medical applications, may be useful as a sensor of hydroxyl groups in microorganized systems.     

有机染料敏化剂JK16和JK17的几何结构、电子结构及相关性质

运用密度泛函理论中的杂化泛函B3LYP研究了高效太阳能电池新型染料敏化剂JK16和JK17的几何结构、电子结构、极化率和超极化率, 并用含时密度泛函理论(TDDFT)研究了电子吸收谱. 基于含时密度泛函理论计算结果和实验结果的定性符合, 指认了在可见和近紫外区的吸收属于π→π*跃迁. 计算结果还表明JK16和JK17激发能最低的三个跃迁都与光诱导电荷转移过程有关, 而且二-二甲基芴氨基苯并噻吩基团对光电转换过程的敏化起主要作用, 发生于染料敏化剂JK16、JK17和TiO2界面之间的电荷转移是由染料分子激发态向半导体导带的电子注入过程. 此外, 通过对JK16和JK17的比较, 分析了亚乙烯基对几何结构、电子结构和谱学特性的影响.     

Geometry,Electronic Structure,and Related Properties of Dye Sensitizer： 3,4-bis[1- （carboxymethyl）-3-indolyl]- 1 H-pyrrole-2,5-dione

The geometry, electronic structure, polarizability and hyperpolarizability of dye sensitizer 3,4-bis[1-（carboxymethyl）-3-indolyl]-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione （BIMCOOH） were studied using density functional theory （DFT） with hybrid functional B3LYP, and the electronic absorption spectra were investigated using semi-empirical quantum chemical method ZINDO-1 and time-dependent DFT （TDDFT）. The results of natural bond orbital suggest that the natural charges of the dione, indole, and acetic groups are about 0.15e, -0.29e, and 0.44e, respectively. The calculated isotropic polarizability, polarizability anisotropy invariant and hyperpolarizability are 305.4, 188.3, and 1155.4 a.u., respectively. The electronic absorption spectral features in visible and near-UV region were assigned to the π→π^＊ transition due to the qualitative agreement between the experiment and the TDDFT calculations, and the transitions of the excited states 9-11 related to photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer processes. The analysis of electronic structure and UV-Vis absorption indicates that the indole groups primarily contributed sensitization of photo-to-currency conversion processes, and the interracial electron transfer between semiconductor TiO2 electrode and dye sensitizer BIMCOOH are electron injection processes from excited states of the dyes to the semiconductor conduction band.     

Ultrafast hydrogen bond strengthening of the photoexcited fluorenone in alcohols for facilitating the fluorescence quenching

The time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method was performed to investigate the excited-state hydrogen-bonding dynamics of fluorenone (FN) in hydrogen donating methanol (MeOH) solvent. The infrared spectra of the hydrogen-bonded FN-MeOH complex in both the ground state and the electronically excited states are calculated using the TDDFT method, since the ultrafast hydrogen-bonding dynamics can be investigated by monitoring the vibrational absorption spectra of some hydrogen-bonded groups in different electronic states. We demonstrated that the intermolecular hydrogen bond C=O...H-O between fluorenone and methanol molecules is significantly strengthened in the electronically excited-state upon photoexcitation of the hydrogen-bonded FM-MeOH complex. The hydrogen bond strengthening in electronically excited states can be used to explain well all the spectral features of fluorenone chromophore in alcoholic solvents. Furthermore, the radiationless deactivation via internal conversion (IC) can be facilitated by the hydrogen bond strengthening in the excited state. At the same time, quantum yields of the excited-state deactivation via fluorescence are correspondingly decreased. Therefore, the total fluorescence of fluorenone in polar protic solvents can be drastically quenched by hydrogen bonding.     

Solvent effects on isomerization and spectral properties of photochromic-switching diarythene derivatives in polar and apolar solutions

The photocyclization behavior and dynamic conformational transition of photochromic switches of diarythene derivatives in solutions are investigated by using the density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Three possible conformations, antiparallel (anti), parallel (para), and twist, for the open-ring isomers of 1,2-bis(2-methylbenzothiophene-3-yl)maleic anhydride are located. Both PCM-B3LYP/6-31G* calculations and MD simulations demonstrate that anti and twist open-ring isomers can interconvert freely in n-hexane and acetonitrile solutions at room temperature. The statistical ratio of twist to anti isomers from MD simulations is 2.09 in n-hexane and 1.07 in CH(3)CN, in qualitative agreement with those (1.18 in n-hexane and 1.05 in CH(3)CN) estimated from Arrhenius analysis of DFT activation energies. The solvent polarity has little influence on the isomerization of open-ring isomers in the ground state. Due to the evident charge transfer upon excitations, the solvent effects on the electronic structures and absorption spectra of low-lying excited states (S(1) and S(2)) are more significant. For such charge-transfer excited states, the long-range corrected functional CAM-B3LYP gives better agreement with the experimental spectra than B3LYP. The solvent polarity and polarization of the charge-transfer excited states are crucial for fabricating the novel functionalized photochromic molecular switches.     

Dicyano and pyridine derivatives of β-carotene: synthesis and vibronic, electronic, and photophysical properties

Density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory calculations provide pictures of the molecular orbitals involved in the ground and excited states of two cyano derivatives of 8'-apo-β-caroten-8'-al synthesized via an acid-base-catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation reaction. Population analysis shows that the symmetry-allowed transition, S(0) ((1)A(g)) → S(2) ((1)B(u)) based on the C(2h) symmetry is a HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) to LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) π → π* transition with electron densities located mostly on the polyene chain. Calculated and actual steady-state absorption spectra show similar features with low-energy peak maxima between 550 and 600 nm.     

黄芩素激发态分子内质予转移耦合电荷转移反应的实验和理论研究

通过稳态光谱实验和量子化学计算相结合,研究了黄芩素激发态质子转移耦合电荷转移的反应. 实验和计算中S1态吸收峰的缺失表明S1态是暗态. S1暗态导致在实验中观察不到黄芩素在乙醇溶液中的荧光峰,且固体的荧光峰很弱. 黄芩素分子的前线分子轨道和电荷差异密度表明S1态是电荷转移态,然而S2态是局域激发态. 计算的黄芩素分子的势能曲线在激发态只有一个稳定点,这表明了黄芩素激发态分子内质子转移的过程是一个无能垒的过程.