Measurement of internal strain in polymers by means of optical hole burning

Pigment spectra and intermolecular interaction potentials in glasses and proteins

A model is proposed for chromophore optical spectra in solids over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. Inhomogeneous band shapes and their pressure dependence, as well as baric shift coefficients of spectral lines, selected by the frequency, were derived using Lennard-Jones potentials of the ground and excited states. Quadratic electron-phonon coupling constants, describing the thermal shift and broadening of zero-phonon lines, were also calculated. Experimentally, thermal shift and broadening of spectral holes were studied between 5 and 40 K for a synthetic pigment, chlorin, embedded in polymer hosts. The baric effects on holes were determined by applying hydrostatic He gas pressure up to 200 bar, at 6 K. Absorption spectra of pheophytin a, chlorophyll a, and beta-carotene in polymers and plant photosystem II CP47 complex were measured between 5 (or 77) and 300 K, and subject to Voigtian deconvolution. A narrowing of inhomogeneous bandwidth with increasing temperature, predicted on the basis of hole behavior, was observed as the shrinking of Gaussian spectral component. The Lorentzian broadening was ascribed to optical dephasing up to 300 K in transitions with weak to moderate linear electron-phonon coupling strength. The thermal broadening is purely Gaussian in multiphonon transitions (S(2) band of beta-carotene, Soret bands of tetrapyrrolic pigments), and the Lorentz process appears to be suppressed, indicating a lack of exponential dephasing. Density, polarity, polarizability, compressibility, and other local parameters of the pigment binding sites in biologically relevant systems can be deduced from spectroscopic data, provided that sufficient background information is available.

Influence of Temperature and Pressure on Shape and Shift of Impurity Optical Bands in Polymer Glasses

The shape, broadening, and shift of optical absorption spectra of molecular impurity centers in polymer glasses are considered in terms of inhomogeneous energy distributions and coupling of electronic transitions to vibrations. Persistent spectral hole burning was applied for frequency-selective probing of zero-phonon lines. The shift and broadening of spectral holes were studied between 5 and 50 K and by applying a hydrostatic He gas pressure up to 200 bar. Broadband absorption spectra were recorded between 5 and 300 K in poly(methyl methacrylate) and polyethylene. In addition to "normal" thermal broadening, due to the first- and second-order electron phonon coupling, several narrowing components were predicted on the basis of frequency dependent hole behavior. Thermal expansion of the matrix and the relaxation of local strains, previously accumulated on cooling below the glass temperature can lead to shrinking of the inhomogeneous width. A Voigt treatment of absorption band shapes reveals that the Gaussian component can indeed suffer remarkable narrowing. Inhomogeneous band shapes and the frequency-dependent thermal and baric line shifts were rationalized with the aid of a pair of two-body Lennard-Jones potentials. The shift of potential well minima is a crucial factor influencing solvent shifts, inhomogeneous band shapes, pressure shift coefficients, and quadratic electron phonon coupling constants.