S1(n, π∗), 1A2 fluorescence and T1(n, π∗), 3A2 phosphorescence spectra of xanthone vapor

Spectral and Photophysical Behavior of Cytisine in n-Hexane. Experimental Evidence for the S1(n,π*) → S0 Fluorescence

Spectral and photophysical properties of (-)-cytisine (the compound used as a smoking cessation aid and a potential drug in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases) were investigated. The two conformers of cytisine, whose presence in the S₀ state has been earlier proved by the NMR and IR methods as well as in theoretical calculation, in nonpolar n-hexane show a rarely observed prompt fluorescence from the S₁(n,π*) excited state. This observation is unambiguously evidenced by very small radiative rate constants of these two emitting conformers, k_F = 7.4 × 10⁵ and 3.0 × 10⁵ s^-1. Their lifetimes in the S₁(n,π*) state are relatively long, τ_S1 = 1.9 and 6.7 ns; therefore, their fluorescence quantum yield is relatively high ϕ_F ∼ 10^-3. The long-wavelength band in the cytisine absorption originates from the excitation to the S₂(π,π*) state, while the S₁(n,π*) state is not observed in this spectrum. Thus, the excited state S₂(π,π*) is manifested only in the absorption spectrum, while the excited state S₁(n,π*) is seen only in the fluorescence spectrum, so cytisine in n-hexane is characterized by close lying (n,π*) and (π,π*) excited singlet states.

Triplet excited electronic state switching induced by hydrogen bonding: A transient absorption spectroscopy and time-dependent DFT study

The solvent plays a decisive role in the photochemistry and photophysics of aromatic ketones. Xanthone (XT) is one such aromatic ketone and its triplet-triplet (T-T) absorption spectra show intriguing solvatochromic behavior. Also, the reactivity of XT towards H-atom abstraction shows an unprecedented decrease in protic solvents relative to aprotic solvents. Therefore, a comprehensive solvatochromic analysis of the triplet-triplet absorption spectra of XT was carried out in conjunction with time dependent density functional theory using the ad hoc explicit solvent model approach. A detailed solvatochromic analysis of the T-T absorption bands of XT suggests that the hydrogen bonding interactions are different in the corresponding triplet excited states. Furthermore, the contributions of non-specific and hydrogen bonding interactions towards differential solvation of the triplet states in protic solvents were found to be of equal magnitude. The frontier molecular orbital and electron density difference analysis of the T1 and T2 states of XT indicates that the charge redistribution in these states leads to intermolecular hydrogen bond strengthening and weakening, respectively, relative to the S0 state. This is further supported by the vertical excitation energy calculations of the XT-methanol supra-molecular complex. The intermolecular hydrogen bonding potential energy curves obtained for this complex in the S0, T1, and T2 states support the model. In summary, we propose that the different hydrogen bonding mechanisms exhibited by the two lowest triplet excited states of XT result in a decreasing role of the nπ(∗) triplet state, and are thus responsible for its reduced reactivity towards H-atom abstraction in protic solvents.

On the dual phosphorescence of xanthone and chromone in glassy hydrocarbon hosts

Trace quantities of hydrogen-bonding impurities in otherwise highly purified and dried glassy hydrocarbon matrices at 77 K can modify the relative triplet state energy levels, and hence the photophysical properties of two aromatic ketones, xanthone and chromone, to the extent that the intrinsic spectroscopic properties are obscured. The intrinsic spectroscopic properties of each are revealed in multicrystalline n-alkane Shpol'skii matrices, and also can be observed in rigorously purified and dried hydrocarbon glasses at 77 K. The extreme sensitivity to stoichiometric, and even substoichiometric quantities of hydrogen-bonding impurities arises from the near-degeneracy of the two lowest-lying triplet states, and the sensitive nature of the n→π* blueshift phenomena to specific hydrogen-bonding interactions.