Ultrafast Twisting Dynamics in the Excited State of Auramine

Durable organic nonlinear optical membranes for thermotolerant lightings and in vivo bioimaging

Organic nonlinear optical materials have potential in applications such as lightings and bioimaging, but tend to have low photoluminescent quantum yields and are prone to lose the nonlinear optical activity. Herein, we demonstrate to weave large-area, flexible organic nonlinear optical membranes composed of 4-N,N-dimethylamino-4'-N'-methyl-stilbazolium tosylate@cyclodextrin host-guest supramolecular complex. These membranes exhibited a record high photoluminescence quantum yield of 73.5%, and could continuously emit orange luminescence even being heated at 300 °C, thus enabling the fabrication of thermotolerant light-emitting diodes. The nonlinear optical property of these membranes can be well-preserved even in polar environment. The supramolecular assemblies with multiphoton absorption characteristics were used for in vivo real-time imaging of Escherichia coli at 1000 nm excitation. These findings demonstrate to achieve scalable fabrication of organic nonlinear optical materials with high photoluminescence quantum yields, and good stability against thermal stress and polar environment for high-performance, durable optoelectronic devices and humanized multiphoton bio-probes.

Twisted intramolecular charge transfer of nitroaromatic push-pull chromophores

The structural changes during the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) of nitroaromatic chromophores, 4-dimethylamino-4′-nitrobiphenyl (DNBP) and 4-dimethylamino-4′-nitrostilbene (DNS) were investigated by femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) with both high spectral and temporal resolutions. The kinetically resolved Raman spectra of DNBP and DNS in the locally-excited and charge-transferred states of the S₁ state appear distinct, especially in the skeletal vibrational modes of biphenyl and stilbene including ν_8a and ν_C=C. The ν_8a of two phenyls and the ν_C=C of the central ethylene group (only for stilbene), which are strongly coupled in the planar geometries, are broken with the twist of nitrophenyl group with the ICT. Time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy measurements and the time-dependent density functional theory simulations support the ultrafast ICT dynamics of 220–480 fs with the twist of nitrophenyl group occurring in the S₁ state of the nitroaromatic chromophores. While the ICT of DNBP occurs via a barrier-less pathway, the ICT coordinates of DNS are strongly coupled to several low-frequency out-of-phase deformation modes relevant to the twist of the nitrophenyl group.

Altered relaxation dynamics of excited state reactions by confinement in reverse micelles probed by ultrafast fluorescence up-conversion

Chemical reactions in confined environments are important in areas as diverse as heterogenous catalysis, environmental chemistry and biochemistry, yet they are much less well understood than the equivalent reactions in either the gas phase or in free solution. The understanding of chemical reactions in solution was greatly enhanced by real time studies of model reactions, through ultrafast spectroscopy (especially when supported by molecular dynamics simulation). Here we review some of the efforts that have been made to adapt this approach to the investigation of reactions in confined media. Specifically, we review the application of ultrafast fluorescence spectroscopy to measure reaction dynamics in the nanoconfined water phase of reverse micelles, as a function of the droplet radius and the charge on the interface. Methods of measurement and modelling of the reactions are outlined. In all of the cases studied (which are focused on ultrafast intramolecular reactions) the effect of confinement was to suppress the reaction. Even in the largest micelles the result in the bulk aqueous phase was not usually recovered, suggesting an important role for specific interactions between reactant and environment, for example at the interface. There was no simple one-to-one correspondence with direct measures of the dynamics of the confined phase. Thus, understanding the effect of confinement on reaction rate appears to require not only knowledge of the dynamics of the reaction in solutions and the effect of confinement on the medium, but also of the interaction between reactant and confining medium.

Auramine O interaction with DNA: a combined spectroscopic and TD-DFT analysis

AuO fluorescent molecular rotor intercalation into DNA: calculations and experiments uncover binding details as absorbance/fluorescence features, energies involved and geometries.

Femtosecond Fluorescence Upconversion Study of a Naphthalimide-Bithiophene-Triphenylamine Push-Pull Dye in Solution

There is a high interest in the development of new push-pull dyes for the use in dye sensitized solar cells. The pronounced charge transfer character of the directly photoexcited state is in principle favorable for a charge injection. Here, we report a time-resolved fluorescence study of a triphenylamine-bithiophene-naphthalimide dye in four solvents of varying polarity using fluorescence upconversion. The recording of femtosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectra corrected for the group velocity dispersion allows for a detailed analysis discriminating between spectral shifts and total intensity decays. After photoexcitation, the directly populated state (S₁/FC) evolves toward a relaxed charge transfer state (S₁/CT). This S₁/CT state is characterized by a lower radiative transition moment and a higher nonradiative quenching. The fast dynamic shift of the fluorescence band is well described by solvation dynamics in polar solvents, but less so in nonpolar solvents, hinting that the excited-state relaxation process occurs on a free energy surface whose topology is strongly governed by the solvent polarity. This study underlines the influence of the environment on the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process, and the necessity to analyze time-resolved data in detail when solvation and ICT occur simultaneously.

Solvent-dependent dual fluorescence of the push-pull system 2-diethylamino-7-nitrofluorene

The solvent-dependent excited state behavior of the molecular push-pull system 2-diethylamino-7-nitrofluorene has been explored using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in combination with density functional theory calculations. Several excited state minima have been identified computationally, all possessing significant intramolecular charge transfer character. The experimentally observed dual fluorescence is suggested to arise from a planar excited state minimum and another minimum reached by twisting of the aryl-nitrogen bond of the amino group. The majority of the excited state population, however, undergo non-radiative transitions and potential excited state deactivation pathways are assessed in the computational investigation. A third excited state conformer, characterized by twisting around the aryl-nitrogen bond of the nitro group, is reasoned to be responsible for the majority of the non-radiative decays and a crossing between the excited state and ground state is localized. Additionally, ultrafast intersystem crossing is observed in the apolar solvent cyclohexane and rationalized to occur via an El-Sayed assisted transition from one of the identified excited state minima. The solvent thus determines more than just the fluorescence lifetime and shapes the potential energy landscape, thereby dictating the available excited state pathways.

Impact of kilobar pressures on ultrafast triazene and thiacyanine photodynamics

Application of high hydrostatic pressure leads to changes in (sub)picosecond emission dynamics, depending on the mechanism at work for the photoreaction.

Photophysical properties of betaxanthins: miraxanthin V – insight into the excited-state deactivation mechanism from experiment and computations

Fast radiationless S₁ → S₀ transition in photo-excited betaxanthins is due to conical intersection seam between S₁ and S₀ surfaces.

Color in Bridge-Substituted Cyanines

Theories of color in cyanine dyes have evolved around the idea of a "resonance" of structures with distinct bonding and charge localization. Understanding the emergence of resonance models from the underlying many-electron problem remains a central issue for these systems. Here, the issue is addressed using a maximum-entropy approach to valence-bond representations of state-averaged complete-active space self-consistent field models. The approach allows calculation of energies and couplings of high-energy valence-bond structures that mediate superexchange couplings and chemical bonding. A series of valence-bond Hamiltonians for a series of bridge-substituted derivatives of Michler's hydrol blue (a monomethine cyanine) is presented. The Hamiltonians are approximated with a simple linear model parametrized by the Brown-Okamoto σ_p⁺ parameter of the bridge substituent. A quantitative lower bound on σ_p⁺, beyond which a resonant cyanine-like ground state will not exist, is presented. The large effective coupling in two-state resonance models emerges from superexchange associated with either covalent bonding or charge-carrier delocalization, with the former contribution significantly the stronger. The results provide ab initio justification for empirical diabatic-state models of methine optical response. They are of general interest for understanding the optoelectronic response in cyanines.

Solvent sensitive intramolecular charge transfer dynamics in the excited states of 4-N,N-dimethylamino-4′-nitrobiphenyl

Solvent sensitive excited state dynamics of DNBP is explored. In polar solvents, the ultrafast barrierless TICT process is the major relaxation pathway, whereas, in nonpolar solvents the excited state undergoes the PICT process, followed by efficient intersystem crossing to the triplet state.

Photophysics of Auramine-O: electronic structure calculations and nonadiabatic dynamics simulations

Sequential vs. concerted S₁ relaxation pathways.

Photophysics of Ru(II) Dyads Derived from Pyrenyl-Substitued Imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline Ligands

The photophysics of a series of Ru(II) dyads based on the 2-(1-pyrenyl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]-phenanthroline ligand was investigated. The ability of these metal complexes to intercalate DNA and induce cell death upon photoactivation makes them attractive photosensitizers for a range of photobiological applications, including photodynamic therapy. In the present study, time-resolved transient absorption and emission spectroscopy were used to interrogate the photoinduced processes that follow metal-to-ligand charge transfer excitation of the complexes in solution. It was found that energy transfer to pyrene-localized intraligand triplet states, facilitated by torsional motion of the pyrene moiety relative to the imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline ligand, was an important relaxation pathway governing the photophysical dynamics in this class of compounds. Biphasic decay kinetics were assigned to spontaneous (pre-equilibrium) and delayed emission, arising from an equilibrium established between (3)MLCT and (3)IL states. TDDFT calculations supported these interpretations.

An ultrafast molecular rotor based ternary complex in a nanocavity: a potential “turn on” fluorescence sensor for the hydrocarbon chain

Formation of a ternary complex by an ultrafast molecular rotor (UMR) with a macrocyclic cavitand has been investigated for the sensitive detection of the alkyl chain of a surfactant.

Ultrafast twisting dynamics of thioflavin-T: spectroscopy of the twisted intramolecular charge-transfer state

Understanding the excited-state properties of thioflavin-T (ThT) has been of immense importance, because of its efficient amyloid-sensing ability related to neurodegenerative disorders. The excited-state dynamics of ThT is studied by using sub-pico- and nanosecond time-resolved transient absorption techniques as well as density functional theory (DFT)/time-dependent DFT calculations. Barrierless twisting around the central C-C bond between two aromatic moieties is the dominant process that contributes to the ultrafast dynamics of the S1 state. The spectroscopic properties of the intramolecular charge-transfer state are characterized for the first time. The energetics of the S0 and S1 states has also been correlated with the experimentally observed spectroscopic parameters and structural dynamics. A longer-lived transient state populated with a very low yield has been characterized as the triplet state.

Four-electron, three-orbital model for the low-energy electronic structure of cationic diarylmethanes: notes on a "Pauling Point"

We examine a four-electron, three-orbital complete active space self-consistent field (SA-CASSCF) and multistate multireference perturbation theory (MS-MRPT2) model of the electronic structure associated with the two lowest-lying electronic excitations of a series of cationic diarylmethanes related to Michler's Hydrol Blue. These dyes are of interest because of the sensitivity of their excited-state dynamics to environmental influence in biological and other condensed phases. We show that the model corresponds to an easily understandable physical approximation where the dye electronic structure is mapped onto the π-electron system of an allyl anion. We show that reported trends in solution-state absorbance bands and transition dipole moments associated with the first two electronic excitations can be described within reasonable accuracy by the model. We also show, for Michler's Hydrol Blue, that the four-electron, three-orbital model provides a more balanced description of the electronic difference densities associated with electronic excitation calculated with the full π-electron space than can be achieved with active space models intermediate between these limits. The valence excitation energies predicted by the model are not sensitive to the underlying basis set, so that considerable computational savings may be possible by using split-valence basis sets with a limited number of polarization functions. We conclude that the model meets the criteria for a "Pauling Point": a point where the cancellation of large errors leads to physically balanced model, and where further elaboration degrades, rather than improves, the quality of description. We advocate that this Pauling Point be exploited in condensed-phase dynamical models where the computational overhead associated with the electronic structure must kept to a minimum (for example, nonadiabatic dynamics simulations coupled to QM/MM environmental models).