Photoelimination of Nitrogen from Diazoalkanes: Involvement of Higher Excited Singlet States in the Carbene Formation

Ultrafast Photoelimination of Nitrogen from Upper Excited States of Diazoalkanes and the Fate of Carbenes Formed in the Reaction

The photochemical reactivity of diphenyldiazomethane 1 and phenyl 1- and 2-adamantyl diazomethanes 2 and 3, respectively, was investigated by transient absorption spectroscopy (TA). Photoelimination of N₂ upon UV excitation takes place in the anti-Kasha ultrafast photochemical reaction from the upper excited singlet states to deliver singlet carbenes, which were, in the case of 1 and 2, detected by fs-TA. The reactivity of the carbenes differs with respect to the substituent at the carbene center. The singlet car-1 in a nonpolar solvent delivers the triplet carbene by intersystem crossing (ISC). Singlet car-2 does not undergo ISC but reacts in the intermolecular insertion reactions into C-H bonds. Car-3 has an α-C-H bond next to the carbene center and reacts rapidly in the intramolecular C-H insertion reaction to deliver alkene, precluding its detection by fs-TA. However, the isolation of ketone photoproducts from 3 is highly indicative of triplet car-3's intermediate formation. The TA spectra from the S₁-S₃ states of 1-3 were computed using time-dependent density functional theory, while the multiconfigurational perturbation theory to the second order was used for the absorption spectra of the corresponding singlet and triplet carbenes. The modeled and measured spectra are in good agreement, and the computations corroborate the assignments of the key short-lived intermediates.

Femtosecond dynamics of diphenylpropynylidene in ethanol and dichloromethane

Carbon chains with an odd number of C atoms are reactive intermediates with a high biradical character. Here we report a joint experimental and computational investigation of the dynamics of diphenylpropynylidene, C₆H₅-C₃-C₆H₅, in dichloromethane and ethanol. The biradical is generated by ultraviolet light from 1,3-diphenyldiazopropyne. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra are recorded to elucidate the spin multiplicity and geometry of the biradical. In both solvents a triplet ground state at 4 K is verified. Transient absorption spectra provide insight into the fate of the biradical. A study in deaerated dichloromethane permits us to follow the photophysics of diphenylpropynylidene and to extract time constants for its vibrational as well as electronic relaxation. In the presence of oxygen, a more complex photochemistry is observed that permits us to derive a model for the reaction of the biradical with O₂. In ethanol, the spectra recorded in the presence and absence of O₂ are very similar, which can be explained by the similarity of the chromophores of the reaction products.

Insights into the Excited-State Processes in 1-Hydroxy-2-acetonaphthone at ADC(2) and CASSCF Levels

1-Hydroxy-2-acetonaphthone (HAN) has been extensively studied both experimentally and computationally to ascertain the existence of the excited-state proton transfer process. However, the process of full photocycle including the nonradiative relaxation pathways is yet to be proposed. Therefore, in the present study, we aim at providing a comprehensive picture of the excited-state processes in HAN including the proton transfer and relaxation processes through electronic structure calculations at second-order algebraic diagrammatic construction (ADC(2)) and complete active space second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2)//complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and dynamics simulations at ADC(2) levels. Our studies show that the proton transfer process in the S₁ state is barrierless and produces a stable keto form, which is in accordance with previous experimental and computational studies. Adiabatic dynamics simulations at the ADC(2) level confirmed the ultrafast process with an average proton transfer time of 43 fs. The resultant keto conformer then undergoes torsional rotation, leading to a conical intersection that mediates the internal conversion process to the ground state. Our dynamics simulation predicted that this deactivation process occurs at a time scale beyond 600 fs of simulation time. We also explored nonradiative relaxation from the enol Franck-Condon region, and this process was found to be improbable from the static point of view at both the ADC(2) and CASPT2 levels of theory due to a high energy barrier along the torsional coordinate.