Coherent internal conversion from high lying electronic states to S1 in boron-dipyrromethene derivatives

Probing the electronic structure and photophysics of thiophene-diketopyrrolopyrrole derivatives in solution

Diketopyrrolopyrroles are a popular class of electron-withdrawing unit in optoelectronic materials. When combined with electron donating side-chain functional groups such as thiophenes, they form a very broad class of donor-acceptor molecules: thiophene-diketopyrrolopyrroles (TDPPs). Despite their widescale use in biosensors and photovoltaic materials, studies have yet to establish the important link between the electronic structure of the specific TDPP and the critical optical properties. To bridge this gap, ultrafast transient absorption with 22 fs time resolution has been used to explore the photophysics of three prototypical TDPP molecules: a monomer, dimer and polymer in solution. Interpretation of experimental data was assisted by a recent high-level theoretical study, and additional density functional theory calculations. These studies show that the photophysics of these molecular prototypes under visible photoexcitation are determined by just two excited electronic states, having very different electronic characters (one is optically bright, the other dark), their relative energetic ordering and the timescales for internal conversion from one to the other and/or to the ground state. The underlying difference in electronic structure alters the branching between these excited states and their associated dynamics. In turn, these factors dictate the fluorescence quantum yields, which are shown to vary by ∼1-2 orders of magnitude across the TDPP prototypes investigated here. The fast non-radiative transfer of molecules from the bright to dark states is mediated by conical intersections. Remarkably, wavepacket signals in the measured transient absorption data carry signatures of the nuclear motions that enable mixing of the electronic-nuclear wavefunction and facilitate non-adiabatic coupling between the bright and dark states.

Ultrafast proton transfer of the aqueous phenol radical cation

Proton transfer (PT) reactions are fundamental to numerous chemical and biological processes. While sub-picosecond PT involving electronically excited states has been extensively studied, little is known about ultrafast PT triggered by photoionization. Here, we employ femtosecond optical pump-probe spectroscopy and quantum dynamics calculations to investigate the ultrafast proton transfer dynamics of the aqueous phenol radical cation (PhOH˙⁺). Analysis of the vibrational wave packet dynamics reveals unusually short dephasing times of 0.18 ± 0.02 ps and 0.16 ± 0.02 ps for the PhOH˙⁺ O-H wag and bend frequencies, respectively, suggestive of ultrafast PT occurring on the ∼0.1 ps timescale. The reduced potential energy surface obtained from ab initio calculations shows that PT is barrierless when it is coupled to the intermolecular hindered translation between PhOH˙⁺ and the proton-acceptor water molecule. Quantum dynamics calculations yield a lifetime of 193 fs for PhOH˙⁺, in good agreement with the experimental results and consistent with the PT reaction being mediated by the intermolecular O⋯O stretch. These results suggest that photoionization can be harnessed to produce photoacids that undergo ultrafast PT. In addition, they also show that PT can serve as an ultrafast deactivation channel for limiting the oxidative damage potential of radical cations.

Spectroscopic observation and ultrafast coherent vibrational dynamics of the aqueous phenylalanine radical

The phenylalanine radical (Phe˙) has been proposed to mediate biological electron transport (ET) and exhibit long-lived electronic coherences following attosecond photoionization. However, the coupling of ultrafast structural reorganization to the oxidation/ionization of biomolecules such as phenylalanine remains unexplored. Moreover, studies of ET involving Phe˙ are hindered by its hitherto unobserved electronic spectrum. Here, we report the spectroscopic observation and coherent vibrational dynamics of aqueous Phe˙, prepared by sub-6 fs photodetachment of phenylalaninate anions. Sub-picosecond transient absorption spectroscopy reveals the ultraviolet absorption signature of Phe˙. Ultrafast structural reorganization drives coherent vibrational motion involving nine fundamental frequencies and one overtone. DFT calculations rationalize the absence of the decarboxylation reaction, a photodegradation pathway previously identified for Phe˙. Our findings guide the interpretation of future attosecond experiments aimed at elucidating coherent electron motion in photoionized aqueous biomolecules and pave way for the spectroscopic identification of Phe˙ in studies of biological ET.