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Chakraborty P, Couto RC, List NH. Deciphering Methylation Effects on S 2( ππ*) Internal Conversion in the Simplest Linear α,β-Unsaturated Carbonyl. J Phys Chem A 2023. [PMID: 37331016 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c02582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Chemical substituents can influence photodynamics by altering the location of critical points and the topography of the potential energy surfaces (electronic effect) and by selectively modifying the inertia of specific nuclear modes (inertial effects). Using nonadiabatic dynamics simulations, we investigate the impact of methylation on S2(ππ*) internal conversion in acrolein, the simplest linear α,β-unsaturated carbonyl. Consistent with time constants reported in a previous time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy study, S2 → S1 deactivation occurs on an ultrafast time scale (∼50 fs). However, our simulations do not corroborate the sequential decay model used to fit the experiment. Instead, upon reaching the S1 state, the wavepacket bifurcates: a portion undergoes ballistic S1 → S0 deactivation (∼90 fs) mediated by fast bond-length alternation motion, while the remaining decays on the picosecond time scale. Our analysis reveals that methyl substitution, generally assumed to mainly exert inertial influence, is also manifested in important electronic effects due to its weak electron-donating ability. While methylation at the β C atom gives rise to effects principally of an inertial nature, such as retarding the twisting motion of the terminal -CHCH3 group and increasing its coupling with pyramidalization, methylation at the α or carbonyl C atom modifies the potential energy surfaces in a way that also contributes to altering the late S1-decay behavior. Specifically, our results suggest that the observed slowing of the picosecond component upon α-methylation is a consequence of a tighter surface and reduced amplitude along the central pyramidalization, effectively restricting the access to the S1/S0-intersection seam. Our work offers new insight into the S2(ππ*) internal conversion mechanisms in acrolein and its methylated derivatives and highlights site-selective methylation as a tuning knob to manipulate photochemical reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pratip Chakraborty
- Department of Chemistry, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rafael C Couto
- Department of Chemistry, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nanna H List
- Department of Chemistry, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden
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Tapavicza E, Reutershan T, Thompson T. Ab Initio Simulation of the Ultrafast Circular Dichroism Spectrum of Provitamin D Ring-Opening. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:5061-5068. [PMID: 37227143 PMCID: PMC10240533 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
We present a method to simulate ultrafast pump-probe time-resolved circular dichroism (TRCD) spectra based on time-dependent density functional theory trajectory surface hopping. The method is applied to simulate the TRCD spectrum along the photoinduced ring-opening of provitamin D. Simulations reveal that the initial decay of the signal is due to excited state relaxation, forming the rotationally flexible previtamin D. We further show that oscillations in the experimental TRCD spectrum arise from isomerizations between previtamin D rotamers with different chirality, which are associated with the helical conformation of the triene unit. We give a detailed description of the formation dynamics of different rotamers, playing a key role in the natural regulation of vitamin D photosynthesis. Going beyond the sole extraction of decay rates, simulations greatly increase the amount of information that can be retrieved from ultrafast TRCD, making it a sensitive tool to unravel details in the subpicosecond dynamics of photoinduced chirality changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Tapavicza
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, California 90840, United States
| | - Trevor Reutershan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, California 90840, United States
| | - Travis Thompson
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, California 90840, United States
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Heim ZN, Neumark DM. Nonadiabatic Dynamics Studied by Liquid-Jet Time-Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy. Acc Chem Res 2022; 55:3652-3662. [PMID: 36480155 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.2c00609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The development of the liquid microjet technique by Faubel and co-workers has enabled the investigation of high vapor pressure liquids and solutions utilizing high-vacuum methods. One such method is photoelectron spectroscopy (PES), which allows one to probe the electronic properties of a sample through ionization in a state-specific manner. Liquid microjets consisting of pure solvents and solute-solvent systems have been studied with great success utilizing PES and, more recently, time-resolved PES (TRPES). Here, we discuss progress made over recent years in understanding the solvation and excited state dynamics of the solvated electron and nucleic acid constituents (NACs) using these methods, as well as the prospect for their future.The solvated electron is of particular interest in liquid microjet experiments as it represents the simplest solute system. Despite this simplicity, there were still many unresolved questions about its binding energy and excited state relaxation dynamics that are ideal problems for liquid microjet PES. In the work discussed in this Account, accurate binding energies were measured for the solvated electron in multiple high vapor pressure solvents. The advantages of liquid jet PES were further highlighted in the femtosecond excited state relaxation studies on the solvated electron in water where a 75 ± 20 fs lifetime attributable to internal conversion from the excited p-state to a hot ground state was measured, supporting a nonadiabatic relaxation mechanism.Nucleic acid constituents represent a class of important solutes with several unresolved questions that the liquid microjet PES method is uniquely suited to address. As TRPES is capable of tracking dynamics with state-specificity, it is ideal for instances where there are multiple excited states potentially involved in the dynamics. Time-resolved studies of NAC relaxation after excitation using ultraviolet light identified relaxation lifetimes from multiple excited states. The state-specific nature of the TRPES method allowed us to identify the lack of any signal attributable to the 1nπ* state in thymine derived NACs. The femtosecond time resolution of the technique also aided in identifying differences between the excited state lifetimes of thymidine and thymidine monophosphate. These have been interpreted, aided by molecular dynamics simulations, as an influence of conformational differences leading to a longer excited state lifetime in thymidine monophosphate.Finally, we discuss advances in tabletop light sources extending into the extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray regimes that allow expansion of liquid jet TRPES to full valence band and potentially core level studies of solutes and pure liquids in liquid microjets. As most solutes have ground state binding energies in the range of 10 eV, observation of both excited state decay and ground state recovery using ultraviolet pump-ultraviolet probe TRPES has been intractable. With high-harmonic generation light sources, it will be possible to not only observe complete relaxation pathways for valence level dynamics but to also track dynamics with element specificity by probing core levels of the solute of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary N Heim
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California94720, United States
| | - Daniel M Neumark
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California94720, United States.,Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California94720, United States
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Chakraborty P, Liu Y, McClung S, Weinacht T, Matsika S. Nonadiabatic Excited State Dynamics of Organic Chromophores: Take-Home Messages. J Phys Chem A 2022; 126:6021-6031. [PMID: 36069531 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c04671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Nonadiabatic excited state dynamics are important in a variety of processes. Theoretical and experimental developments have allowed for a great progress in this area, while combining the two is often necessary and the best approach to obtain insight into the photophysical behavior of molecules. In this Feature Article we use examples of our recent work combining time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy with theoretical nonadiabatic dynamics to highlight important lessons we learned. We compare the nonadiabatic excited state dynamics of three different organic molecules with the aim of elucidating connections between structure and dynamics. Calculations and measurements are compared for uracil, 1,3-cyclooctadiene, and 1,3-cyclohexadiene. The comparison highlights the role of rigidity in influencing the dynamics and the difficulty of capturing the dynamics accurately with calculations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pratip Chakraborty
- Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, United States.,Division of Theoretical Chemistry and Biology, Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Yusong Liu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States.,Stanford PULSE Institute, SLAC National Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
| | - Samuel McClung
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Thomas Weinacht
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Spiridoula Matsika
- Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, United States
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Schuurman MS, Blanchet V. Time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy: the continuing evolution of a mature technique. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:20012-20024. [PMID: 35297909 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp05885a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (TRPES) has become one of the most widespread techniques for probing nonadiabatic dynamics in the excited electronic states of molecules. Furthermore, the complementary development of ab initio approaches for the simulation of TRPES signals has enabled the interpretation of these transient spectra in terms of underlying coupled electronic-nuclear dynamics. In this perspective, we discuss the current state-of-the-art approaches, including efforts to push femtosecond pulses into vacuum ultraviolet and soft X-ray regimes as well as the utilization of novel polarizations to use time-resolved optical activity as a probe of nonadiabatic dynamics. We close this perspective with a forward-looking prospectus on the new areas of application for this technique.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Schuurman
- National Research Council of Canada, 100 Sussex Dr, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6B9, Canada.,Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Ottawa, 10 Marie Curie Dr, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
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Chakraborty P, Liu Y, McClung S, Weinacht T, Matsika S. Time Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy as a Test of Electronic Structure and Nonadiabatic Dynamics. J Phys Chem Lett 2021; 12:5099-5104. [PMID: 34028278 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c00926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We compare different levels of theory for simulating excited state molecular dynamics and use time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy measurements to benchmark the theory. We perform trajectory surface hopping simulations for uracil excited to the first bright state (ππ*) using three different levels of theory (CASSCF, MRCIS, and XMS-CASPT2) in order to understand the role of dynamical correlation in determining the excited state dynamics, with a focus on the coupling between different electronic states and internal conversion back to the ground state. These dynamics calculations are used to simulate the time-resolved photoelectron spectra. The comparison of the calculated and measured spectra allows us to draw conclusions regarding the relative insights and quantitative accuracy of the calculations at the three different levels of theory, demonstrating that detailed quantitative comparisons of time-resolved photoelectron spectra can be used to benchmark methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pratip Chakraborty
- Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, United States
| | - Yusong Liu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Samuel McClung
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Thomas Weinacht
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Spiridoula Matsika
- Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, United States
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Liu Y, Rozgonyi T, Marquetand P, Weinacht T. Excited-state dynamics of CH 2I 2 and CH 2IBr studied with UV-pump VUV-probe momentum-resolved photoion spectroscopy. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:184304. [PMID: 33187419 DOI: 10.1063/5.0026177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
We perform time-resolved ionization spectroscopy measurements of the excited state dynamics of CH2I2 and CH2IBr following photoexcitation in the deep UV. The fragment ions produced by ionization with a vacuum-ultraviolet probe pulse are measured with velocity map imaging, and the momentum resolved yields are compared with trajectory surface hopping calculations of the measurement observable. Together with recent time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy measurements of the same dynamics, these results provide a detailed picture of the coupled electronic and nuclear dynamics involved. Our measurements highlight the non-adiabatic coupling between electronic states, which leads to notable differences in the dissociation dynamics for the two molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusong Liu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA
| | - Tamás Rozgonyi
- Wigner Research Centre for Physics, P.O. Box 49, H-1525 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Philipp Marquetand
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Währinger Straße 17, 1090 Wien, Austria
| | - Thomas Weinacht
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA
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