FLUORESCENCE LIFETIMES OF CHLOROPHYLL a: SOLVENT, CONCENTRATION AND OXYGEN DEPENDENCE

Fluorescence lifetimes (τ_f) of chlorophyll a (Chi a ) have been measured by the single-photon-counting technique over a wide range of concentrations (?10^-7?10^-4 M ) in deoxygenated pyridine, diethyl ether, toluene and methanol. At pigment concentrations ?1 μ M , reabsorption of fluorescence induces significant artifacts on measured values of τ_f which are dependent on detection wavelength and the specific geometry of the experiment. There is a clear dependence of τ_f on the nature and degree of solvation, including both coordination of the central magnesium and hydrogen-bonding of the solvent (viz. alcohols) to the macrocycle. Quenching of the excited singlet state by molecular oxygen was measured quantitatively in ether, and a bimolecular rate constant markedly slower than the diffusion-controlled limit was obtained.