Substituent effects on the nonadiabatic dynamics of ethylene: π-donors and π-acceptors

Deciphering Methylation Effects on S2(ππ*) Internal Conversion in the Simplest Linear α,β-Unsaturated Carbonyl

Chemical substituents can influence photodynamics by altering the location of critical points and the topography of the potential energy surfaces (electronic effect) and by selectively modifying the inertia of specific nuclear modes (inertial effects). Using nonadiabatic dynamics simulations, we investigate the impact of methylation on S₂(ππ*) internal conversion in acrolein, the simplest linear α,β-unsaturated carbonyl. Consistent with time constants reported in a previous time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy study, S₂ → S₁ deactivation occurs on an ultrafast time scale (∼50 fs). However, our simulations do not corroborate the sequential decay model used to fit the experiment. Instead, upon reaching the S₁ state, the wavepacket bifurcates: a portion undergoes ballistic S₁ → S₀ deactivation (∼90 fs) mediated by fast bond-length alternation motion, while the remaining decays on the picosecond time scale. Our analysis reveals that methyl substitution, generally assumed to mainly exert inertial influence, is also manifested in important electronic effects due to its weak electron-donating ability. While methylation at the β C atom gives rise to effects principally of an inertial nature, such as retarding the twisting motion of the terminal -CHCH₃ group and increasing its coupling with pyramidalization, methylation at the α or carbonyl C atom modifies the potential energy surfaces in a way that also contributes to altering the late S₁-decay behavior. Specifically, our results suggest that the observed slowing of the picosecond component upon α-methylation is a consequence of a tighter surface and reduced amplitude along the central pyramidalization, effectively restricting the access to the S₁/S₀-intersection seam. Our work offers new insight into the S₂(ππ*) internal conversion mechanisms in acrolein and its methylated derivatives and highlights site-selective methylation as a tuning knob to manipulate photochemical reactions.

A Comparison of Partial Atomic Charges for Electronically Excited States

Partial atomic charges are a useful and intuitive concept for understanding molecular properties and chemical reaction mechanisms, showing how changes in molecular geometry can affect the flow of electronic charge within a molecule. However, the use of partial atomic charges remains relatively uncommon in the characterization of excited-state electronic structure. Here, we show how well-established partial atomic charge methods perform for interatomic, intermolecular, and interbond electron transfer in electronically excited states. Our results demonstrate the utility of real-space partial atomic charges for interpreting the electronic structures that arise in excited-state processes. Furthermore, we show how this analysis can be used to demonstrate that analogous electronic structures arise near photochemically relevant conical intersection regions for several conjugated polyenes. On the basis of our analysis, we find that charges computed using the iterative Hirshfeld approach provide results which are consistent with chemical intuition and are transferable between homologous molecular systems.

Resolving competing conical intersection pathways: time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy of trans-1,3-butadiene

Time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy is emerging as a uniquely powerful tool to probe coupled electronic-nuclear dynamics in photo-excited molecules. Theoretical studies to date have established that time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy is an atom-specific probe of excited-state wave packet passage through a seam of conical intersections (CIs). However, in many molecular systems, there are competing dynamical pathways involving CIs of different electronic and nuclear character. Discerning these pathways remains an important challenge. Here, we demonstrate that time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy (TRXAS) has the potential to resolve competing channels in excited-state non-adiabatic dynamics. Using the example of 1,3-butadiene, we show how TRXAS discerns the different electronic structures associated with passage through multiple conical intersections. trans-1,3-Butadiene exhibits a branching between polarized and radicaloid pathways associated with ethylenic "twisted-pyramidalized" and excited-state cis-trans isomerization dynamics, respectively. The differing electronic structures along these pathways give rise to different XAS signals, indicating the possibility of resolving them. Furthermore, this indicates that XAS, and other core-level spectroscopic techniques, offer the appealing prospect of directly probing the effects of selective chemical substitution and its ability to affect chemical control over excited-state molecular dynamics.

Directing excited state dynamics via chemical substitution: A systematic study of π-donors and π-acceptors at a carbon-carbon double bond

Functional group substituents are a ubiquitous tool in ground-state organic chemistry often employed to fine-tune chemical properties and obtain desired chemical reaction outcomes. Their effect on photoexcited electronic states, however, remains poorly understood. To help build an intuition for these effects, we have studied ethylene, substituted with electron acceptor (cyano) and/or electron donor (methoxy) substituents, both theoretically and experimentally: using ab initio quantum molecular dynamics and time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. Our results show the consistent trend that photo-induced ethylenic dynamics is primarily localized to the carbon with the greater electron density. For doubly substituted ethylenes, the trend is additive when both substituents are located on opposite carbons, whereas the methoxy group (in concert with steric effects) dominates when both substituents are located on a single carbon atom. These results point to the development of rules for structure-dynamics correlations; in this case, a novel mechanistic ultrafast photochemistry for conjugated carbon chains employing long-established chemical concepts.