Modulation of the Excited State Intramolecular Electron Transfer Reaction and Dual Fluorescence of Crystal Violet Lactone in Room Temperature Ionic Liquids

Solvent Role of Ionic Liquids in Fundamental Chemical Reaction Dynamics Analyzed by Time-Resolved Spectroscopy

Ionic liquids (ILs), which are used as solvents for chemical reactions, are different from conventional organic solvents owing to their designability. Physicochemical parameters of the ILs, such as polarity and viscosity, that affect chemical equilibria and reaction kinetics can be tuned by changing the combination of anions and cations or by varying the lengths of the alkyl chains present in the cations. We were interested in knowing how these physicochemical parameters affect fundamental chemical reactions in ILs. Therefore, in this personal account, we investigate our recent work on two different photochemical reactions in ILs, namely excited-state intramolecular proton transfer of hydroxyflavone and photodissociation of aminodisulfide, using time-resolved spectroscopic techniques. Interestingly, the roles of the ILs in these chemical reactions are quite different. The effect of the cationic species of the ILs (i. e., the head groups and number of alkyl carbons) on the solvation environment upon photoexcitation and reaction rate are discussed.

Characterization of a New Electron Donor-Acceptor Dyad in Conventional Solvents and Ionic Liquids

Ionic liquids are being tested as potential replacements for current electrolytes in energy-related applications. Electron transfer (ET) plays a central role in these applications, making it essential to understand how ET in ionic liquids differs from ET in conventional organic solvents and how these differences affect reaction kinetics. A new intramolecular electron donor-acceptor probe was synthesized by covalently linking the popular photoacceptor coumarin 152 with the donor dimethylaniline to create the dyad "C152-DMA" for potential use in probing dynamical solvent effects in ionic liquids. Molecular dynamics simulations of this dyad show the considerable conformational flexibility of the linker group but over a range of geometries in which the ET rate parameters vary little and should have minimal effect on reaction times >100 ps. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence methods show the spectra of C152-DMA to be highly responsive to solvent polarity, with ET rates varying over the range of 10⁸ to 10¹² s^-1 between nonpolar and high-polarity conventional solvents. The sensitivity to hydrolysis in the presence of acidic impurities limits the dyad's use to ionic liquids of high purity. The results in the few ionic liquids examined here suggest that in addition to solvent polarity, electron transfer in C152-DMA also depends on solvent fluidity or solvation times.

Bimolecular Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Static Quenching Regime: Illustration of Marcus Inversion in Micelle

Ultrafast bimolecular photoinduced electron transfer (PET) between six coumarin dyes and four viologen molecules in the stern layer of sodium dodecyl sulfate micelle have been studied using femtosecond broadband transient absorption spectroscopy and femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion spectroscopy over a broad reaction exergonicity (ΔG⁰). Emanating the formation of radical cation intermediates of viologen molecules using the transient absorption and the fast decay component of coumarins using the fluorescence up-conversion studies the forward bimolecular electron transfer rate (k_et) have been measured with high accuracy. The relationship of k_et with ΔG⁰ found to follow a Marcus type bell-shaped dependence with an inversion at -1.10 eV. In this report, we have studied PET reaction using ultrafast spectroscopy at the quencher concentration where static quenching regime prevails. Moreover, the incompetency of Stern-Volmer experiments in studying ultrafast PET has been revealed. In contrary to previous claims, here we found that the k_et is lower for lower lifetime coumarins, indicating that static, nonstationary and stationary regime of quenching have the minimal role to play to in the bimolecular electron transfer process. By far, this report is believed to be the most efficient and immaculate way of approaching Marcus inverted region problem in the case of bimolecular PET and settles the long-lasting debate of whether the same can be observed in micellar systems.

Photophysics and Rotational Dynamics of a Hydrophilic Molecule in a Room Temperature Ionic Liquid

We have studied the photophysics and rotational diffusion of hydrophilic solute 7-(N, N'-diethylamino)coumarin-3-carboxylic acid (7-DCCA) in a room temperature ionic liquid methyltrioctylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide ([N1888 ][NTf2 ]). Comparison of activation energies of viscous flow and nonradiative decay shows that the photophysical properties of 7-DCCA are not guided by the bulk viscosity of the medium but are dependent on the specific solute solvent interaction and structural heterogeneity of the medium. The rotational relaxation behaviour of 7-DCCA in [N1888 ][NTf2] shows significant deviation from the Stokes Einstein Debye hydrodynamic model of rotational diffusion. This is indicative of the influence of specific solute solvent interaction on the rotational relaxation behaviour of 7-DCCA. Comparison of activation energy of rotational relaxation with activation energy of viscous flow clearly reinforces our assumption that the structural heterogeneity of the medium and specific solute solvent interaction plays a dominant role on the rotational diffusion instead of bulk viscosity.

Photophysics of crystal violet lactone in reverse micelles and its dual behaviour

The photophysics of Crystal Violet Lactone (CVL) in aqueous and non aqueous reverse micelles (RMs) have been studied. It was observed that in RMs, the CT_A → CT_B transformation is retarded.

Intramolecular charge transfer with crystal violet lactone in acetonitrile as a function of temperature: reaction is not solvent-controlled

Intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) with crystal violet lactone (CVL) in the excited singlet state takes place in solvents more polar than n-hexane, such as ethyl acetate, tetrahydrofuran, and acetonitrile (MeCN). In these solvents, the fluorescence spectrum of CVL consists of two emission bands, from a locally excited (LE) and an ICT state. The dominant deactivation channel of the lowest excited singlet state is internal conversion, as the quantum yields of fluorescence (0.007) and intersystem crossing (0.015) in MeCN at 25 °C are very small. CVL is a weakly coupled electron donor/acceptor (D/A) molecule, similar to an exciplex (1)(A(-)D(+)). A solvatochromic treatment of the LE and ICT emission maxima results in the dipole moments μe(LE) = 17 D and μe(ICT) = 33 D, much larger than those previously reported. This discrepancy is attributed to different Onsager radii and spectral fluorimeter calibration. The LE and ICT fluorescence decays of CVL in MeCN are double exponential. As determined by global analysis, the LE and ICT decays at 25 °C have the times τ2 = 9.2 ps and τ1 = 1180 ps, with an amplitude ratio of 35.3 for LE. From these parameters, the rate constants ka = 106 × 10(9) s(-1) and kd = 3.0 × 10(9) s(-1) of the forward and backward reaction in the LE ⇄ ICT equilibrium are calculated, resulting in a free enthalpy difference ΔG of -8.9 kJ/mol. The amplitude ratio of the ICT fluorescence decay equals -1.0, which signifies that the ICT state is not prepared by light absorption in the S0 ground state, but originates exclusively from the directly excited LE precursor. From the temperature dependence of the fluorescence decays of CVL in MeCN (-45 to 75 °C), activation energies E(a) = 3.9 kJ/mol (LE → ICT) and E(d) = 23.6 kJ/mol (ICT → LE) are obtained, giving an enthalpy difference ΔH (= E(a) - E(d)) of -19.7 kJ/mol, and an entropy difference ΔS = -35.5 J mol(-1) K(-1). These data show that the ICT reaction of CVL in MeCN is not barrierless. The ICT reaction time of 9.2 ps is much longer than the mean solvent relaxation time of MeCN (0.26 ps), indicating, in contrast with earlier reports in the literature, that the reaction is not solvent controlled. This conclusion is supported by the observation of double exponential LE and ICT fluorescence with the same decay times.

Fluorescence, Phosphorescence, and Delayed Fluorescence of Benzil in Imidazolium Ionic Liquids

Temperature dependence of the emission behaviour of benzil has been studied in three imidazolium ionic liquids differing in their polarity and viscosity. Room temperature absorption and steady-state emission spectra suggest that the ground and excited state conformers of benzil in ionic liquids are similar to those in conventional organic solvents. The non-degassed solutions of benzil in ionic liquids show phosphorescence at room temperature in contrast to conventional solvents where phosphorescence is commonly observed in degassed conditions. This study reveals that a thermally activated reverse intersystem crossing (T1↝S1) process is responsible for the drastic change in phosphorescence intensity with temperature in ionic liquids. The rate constant () of this process is found to be dependent on the polarity of the media and is 5 times higher in most polar ionic liquids. The evidence of the presence of multiple conformers of benzil in frozen conditions is obtained from the excitation wavelength dependence of the phosphorescence spectra.

A comparative study on the ionic liquid [bmim][BF4] and its solution with transient absorption spectroscopy

A detailed study was explored to compare the transient absorption spectra of the neat 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF(4)]) with its solution in water or acetonitrile. It was concluded that the excited triplet state (3)[bmim](+*) was produced after 266 nm laser irradiation, and then the neutral radical [bmim] and the cation radical [bmim] (2+) were formed through two possible paths. The transient absorption spectra of the neat [bmim][BF(4)] and its solution were similar but the reaction kinetics were different due to their different local structures such as dimeric or cluster. The energy transfer between excited [bmim][BF(4)] and β-carotene further affirmed the existence of (3)[bmim](+*). And the reaction that the hydrated electron captured by [bmim](+) to produce [bmim] in solution was observed.

Ionic liquids: structure and photochemical reactions

Ionic liquids are subjects of intense current interest within the physical chemistry community. A great deal of progress has been made in just the past five years toward identifying the factors that cause these salts to have low melting points and other useful properties. Supramolecular structure and organization have emerged as important and complicated topics that may be key to understanding how chemical reactions and other processes are affected by ionic liquids. New questions are posed, and an active debate is ongoing regarding the nature of nanoscale ordering in ionic liquids. The topic of reactivity in ionic liquids is still relatively unexplored; however, the results that have been obtained indicate that distributed kinetics and dynamical heterogeneity may sometimes, but not always, be influencing factors.