Reassessing the Quantum Yield and Reactivity of Triplet-State Dissolved Organic Matter via Global Kinetic Modeling

Measuring the quantum yield and reactivity of triplet-state dissolved organic matter (3DOM*) is essential for assessing the impact of DOM on aquatic photochemical processes. However, current 3DOM* quantification methods require multiple fitting steps and rely on steady-state approximations under stringent application criteria, which may introduce certain inaccuracies in the estimation of DOM photoreactivity parameters. Here, we developed a global kinetic model to simulate the reaction kinetics of the hv/DOM system using four DOM types and 2,4,6-trimethylphenol as the probe for 3DOM*. Analyses of residuals and the root-mean-square error validated the exceptional precision of the new model compared to conventional methods. 3DOM* in the global kinetic model consistently displayed a lower quantum yield and higher reactivity than those in local regression models, indicating that the generation and reactivity of 3DOM* have often been overestimated and underestimated, respectively. The global kinetic model derives parameters by simultaneously fitting probe degradation kinetics under different conditions and considers the temporally increasing concentrations of the involved reactive species. It minimizes error propagation and offers insights into the interactions of different species, thereby providing advantages in accuracy, robustness, and interpretability. This study significantly advances the understanding of 3DOM* behavior and provides a valuable kinetic model for aquatic photochemistry research.

Reaction amplification with a gain: Triplet exciton-mediated quantum chain using mixed crystals with a tailor-made triplet sensitizer

Photochemical valence bond isomerization of a crystalline Dewar benzene (DB) diacid monoanion salt with an acetophenone-linked piperazinium cation that serves as an intramolecular triplet energy sensitizer (DB-AcPh-Pz) exhibits a quantum chain reaction with as many as 450 product molecules per photon absorbed (Φ ≈ 450). By contrast, isomorphous crystals of the DB diacid monosalt of an ethylbenzene-linked piperazinium (DB-EtPh-Pz) lacking a triplet sensitizer showed a less impressive quantum yield of ca. Φ ≈ 22. To establish the critical importance of a triplet excited state carrier in the adiabatic photochemical reaction we prepared mixed crystals with DB-AcPh-Pz as a dilute triplet sensitizer guest in crystals of DB-EtPh-Pz. As expected from their high structural similarities, solid solutions were easily formed with the triplet sensitizer salt in the range of 0.1 to 10%. Experiments carried out under conditions where light is absorbed by the triplet sensitizer-linked DB-AcPh-Pz can be used to initiate a triplet state adiabatic reaction from 3DB-AcPh-Pz to 3HB*-AcPh-Pz, which can serve as a chain carrier and transfer energy to an unreacted DB-EtPh-Pz where exciton delocalization in the crystalline solid solution can help carry out an efficient energy transfer and enable a quantum chain employing the photoproduct as a triplet chain carrier. Excitation of mixed crystals with as little as 0.1% triplet sensitizer resulted in an extraordinarily high quantum yield Φ ≈ 517.

Synthesis of Bis(amino acids) Containing the Styryl-cyclobutane Core by Photosensitized [2+2]-Cross-cycloaddition of Allylidene-5(4H)-oxazolones

The irradiation of 2-aryl-4-(E-3'-aryl-allylidene)-5(4H)-oxazolones 1 with blue light (456 nm) in the presence of [Ru(bpy)₃](BF₄)₂ (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, 5% mol) gives the unstable cyclobutane-bis(oxazolones) 2 by [2+2]-photocycloaddition of two oxazolones 1. Each oxazolone contributes to the formation of 2 with a different C=C bond, one of them reacting through the exocyclic C=C bond, while the other does so through the styryl group. Treatment of unstable cyclobutanes 2 with NaOMe/MeOH produces the oxazolone ring opening reaction, affording stable styryl-cyclobutane bis(amino acids) 3. The reaction starts with formation of the T₁ excited state of the photosensitizer ³[Ru*(bpy)₃]²⁺, which reacts with S₀ of oxazolones 1 through energy transfer to give the oxazolone T₁ state ³(oxa*)-1, which is the reactive species and was characterized by transient absorption spectroscopy. Measurement of the half-life of ³(oxa*)-1 for 1a, 1b and 1d shows large values for 1a and 1b (10-12 μs), while that of 1d is shorter (726 ns). Density functional theory (DFT) modeling displays strong structural differences in the T₁ states of the three oxazolones. Moreover, study of the spin density of T₁ state ³(oxa*)-1 provides clues to understanding the different reactivity of 4-allylidene-oxazolones described here with respect to the previously reported 4-arylidene-oxazolones.

Aromatic Amides: A Smart Backbone toward Isolated Ultralong Bright Blue-Phosphorescence in Confined Polymeric Films

Represented herein is heavy-atom-free aromatic amides enabling population of 3(п,п*) configuration for bright long-lived blue phosphorescence. Isolated inherent deep-blue (0.155, 0.056) to sky-blue (0.175, 0.232) phosphorescence with high quantum yield (up to 34.7%) in confined films are achieved. Spectroscopic study and theoretical calculation demonstrated the strong spin-orbit coupling of 1(п,п*)/3(n,п*) and 1(n,п*)/3(п,п*) states within the aromatic amides (4-ethoxy-N-(pyridin-4-yl)benzamide (P1), 3,4-dimethoxy-N-(yridine-4-yl)benzamide (P2), 4-(dimethylamino)-N-(pyridin-4-yl)benzamide (P3)), as well as the robust hydrogen bonding with polyvinyl alcohol to suppress vibrational relaxation and stacking-induced quenching. The blue afterglow films can last for several seconds showcasing in information display, anti-counterfeiting and white light afterglow. The high population of emissive 3(п,п*) states and facile accessibility of aromatic amide skeleton provide an important molecular design prototype to manipulate triplet excited states for ultralong phosphorescence at blue and other regions.

Kinetics and Energetics of Intramolecular Electron Transfer in Single-Point Labeled TUPS-Cytochrome c Derivatives

Electron transfer within and between proteins is a fundamental biological phenomenon, in which efficiency depends on several physical parameters. We have engineered a number of horse heart cytochrome c single-point mutants with cysteine substitutions at various positions of the protein surface. To these cysteines, as well as to several native lysine side chains, the photoinduced redox label 8-thiouredopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonate (TUPS) was covalently attached. The long-lived, low potential triplet excited state of TUPS, generated with high quantum efficiency, serves as an electron donor to the oxidized heme c. The rates of the forward (from the label to the heme) and the reverse (from the reduced heme back to the oxidized label) electron transfer reactions were obtained from multichannel and single wavelength flash photolysis absorption kinetic experiments. The electronic coupling term and the reorganization energy for electron transfer in this system were estimated from temperature-dependent experiments and compared with calculated parameters using the crystal and the solution NMR structure of the protein. These results together with the observation of multiexponential kinetics strongly support earlier conclusions that the flexible arm connecting TUPS to the protein allows several shortcut routes for the electron involving through space jumps between the label and the protein surface.

Prolonging the Triplet State Lifetimes of Rhenium Complexes with Imidazole-Pyridine Framework for Efficient CO2 Photoreduction

The photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ into fuels offers the prospect for creating a new CO₂ economy. Harnessing visible light-driven CO₂ -to-CO reduction mediated by the long-lived triplet excited state of rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes is a challenging approach. We here develop a series of new mononuclear rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes (Re-1-Re-4) based on the imidazole-pyridine skeleton for photo-driven CO₂ reduction. These catalysts are featured by combining pyridyl-imidazole with the aromatic ring and different pendant organic groups onto the N1 position of 1,3-imidazole unit, which display phosphorescence under Ar-saturated solution even at ambient conditions. By contrast, {Re[9-(pyren-1-yl)-10-(pyridin-2-yl)-9H-pyreno[4,5-d]imidazole)](CO)₃ Cl} (Re-4) by introducing pyrene ring at the N1 position of pyrene-fused imidazole unit exhibits superior catalytic performance with a higher turnover number for CO (TON_CO =124) and >99.9 % selectivity, primarily ascribed to the strong visible light-harvesting ability, long-lived triplet lifetimes (164.2 μs) and large reductive quenching constant. Moreover, the rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes derived from π-extended pyrene chromophore exhibit a long lifetime corresponding to its ligand-localized triplet state (³ IL) evidenced from spectroscopic investigations and DFT calculations.

TADF-Type Organic Afterglow

We report a highly efficient dopant-matrix afterglow system enabled by TADF mechanism to realize afterglow quantum yields of 60-70 %, which features a moderate rate constant for reverse intersystem crossing (k_RISC ) to simultaneously improve afterglow quantum yields and maintain afterglow emission lifetime. Difluoroboron β-diketonate (BF₂ bdk) compounds are designed with multiple electron-donating groups to possess moderate k_RISC values and are selected as luminescent dopants. The matrices with carbonyl functional groups such as phenyl benzoate (PhB) have been found to interact with and perturb BF₂ bdk excited states by dipole-dipole interactions and thus enhance the intersystem crossing of BF₂ bdk excited states. Through dopant-matrix collaboration, the efficient TADF-type afterglow materials have been achieved to exhibit excellent processability into desired shapes and large-area films by melt casting, as well as aqueous afterglow dispersions for potential bioimaging applications.

Direct Activation of a Remote C(sp3 )-H Bond Enabled by a Visible-Light Photosensitized Allene Moiety

Despite allene derivatives have been always regarded as a radical accepter in traditional radical chemistry for decades, the reactivity of allene derivatives under excited state in radical chemistry was rarely explored. Herein, we wish to report an example to engage triplet-excited state of allene moiety as hydrogen-atom-transfer (HAT) partner in the activation of remote sp³ C-H bond via visible-light irradiation under mild reaction conditions with broad substrate scope and good functional-group tolerance. The reaction mechanism involving the generation of triplet excited state of allene derivative and the subsequent HAT process was supported by deuterium labeling, kinetic analysis experiments and DFT calculations.

Supramolecular Photocatalysis by Utilizing the Host-Guest Charge-Transfer Interaction: Visible-Light-Induced Generation of Triplet Anthracenes for [4+2] Cycloaddition Reactions

Supramolecular photocatalysis via charge-transfer excitation of a host-guest complex was developed by use of the macrocyclic boronic ester [2+2]_BTH-F containing highly electron-deficient difluorobenzothiadiazole moieties. In the presence of a catalytic amount of [2+2]_BTH-F , the triplet excited state of anthracene was generated from the charge-transfer excited state of anthracene@[2+2]_BTH-F by visible-light irradiation, and cycloaddition of the excited anthracene with several dienes and alkenes proceeded in a [4+2] manner in high yields.

Accessing the Triplet State in Heavy-Atom-Free Perylene Diimides

Previous studies of perylenediimides (PDIs) mostly utilized the lowest singlet excited state S1 . Generation of a triplet excited state (T1 ) in PDIs is important for applications ranging from photodynamic therapy to photovoltaics; however, it remains a formidable task. Herein, we developed a heavy-atom-free strategy to prompt the T1 ←S1 intersystem crossing (ISC) by introducing electron-donating aryl (Ar) groups at the head positions of an electron-deficient perylenediimide (PDI) core. We found that the ISC efficiency increases from 8 to 54 % and then to 86 % by increasing the electron-donating ability of head-substituted aryl groups from phenyl (p-PDI) to methoxyphenyl (MeO-PDI) and then to methylthioxyphenyl (MeS-PDI). By enhancing the intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) interaction from p-PDI to MeO-PDI, and then to MeS-PDI, singlet oxygen generation via energy-transfer reactions from T1 of PDIs to (3)O2 was demonstrated with the highest yield of up to 80 %. These results provide guidelines for developing new triplet-generating PDIs and related rylene diimides for optoelectronic applications.

Dye Encapsulation in Polynorbornene Micelles

The encapsulation efficiency of high-Tg polynorbornene micelles was probed with a hydrophobic dye 2,6-diiodoboron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY). Changes in the visible absorption spectra of aggregated versus monomeric dye molecules provided a probe for assessing encapsulation. Polynorbornene micelles are found to be capable of loading up to one BODIPY dye per ten polymers. As the hydrophilic block size increased in the polymeric amphiphiles, more of the dye was incorporated within the micelles. This result is consistent with the dye associating with the polymer backbone in the shell of the micelles. The encapsulation rate varied significantly with temperature, and a slight dependence on micellar morphology was also noted. Additionally, we report a 740 μs triplet lifetime for the encapsulated BODIPY dye. The lifetime is the longest ever recorded for a BODIPY triplet excited state at room temperature and is attributed to hindered triplet-triplet annihilation in the high-viscosity micellar shell.

Is Nitrate Anion Photodissociation Mediated by Singlet-Triplet Absorption?

Photolysis of the nitrate anion is involved in the oxidation processes in the hydrosphere, cryosphere, and stratosphere. While it is known that the nitrate photolysis in the long-wavelength region proceeds with a very low quantum yield, the mechanism of the photodissociation remains elusive. Here, we present the quantitative modeling of singlet-singlet and singlet-triplet absorption spectra in the atmospherically relevant region around 300 nm, and we argue that a spin-forbidden transition between the singlet ground state and the first triplet state contributes non-negligibly to the nitrate anion photolysis. We further propose that the nitrate anion excited into the first singlet excited state relaxes nonradiatively into its ground state. The full understanding of the nitrate anion photolysis can improve modeling of the asymmetric solvation in the atmospheric processes, e.g., photolysis on the surfaces of ice or snow.

Drug-Drug Interactions within Protein Cavities Probed by Triplet-Triplet Energy Transfer

A new direct and noninvasive methodology based on transient absorption spectroscopy has been developed to probe the feasibility of drug-drug interactions within a common protein binding site. The simultaneous presence of (R)-cinacalcet (CIN) and (S)-propranolol (PPN) within human or bovine α1-acid glycoproteins (AAGs) is revealed by detection of (3)CIN* as the only transient species after laser flash photolysis of CIN/PPN/AAG mixtures at 308 nm. This is the result of triplet-triplet energy transfer from (3)PPN* to CIN, which requires close contact between the two drugs within the same biological compartment. Similar results are obtained with nabumetone and CIN as donor/acceptor partners. This new methodology can, in principle, be extended to a variety of drug/drug/biomolecule combinations.

Theoretical study on reactions of triplet excited state thioxanthone with indole

In the present work, a theoretical study on the deactivation of triplet excited (T₁) state thioxanthone (TX) by indole (INH) was performed, based on density functional theory calculations. Three feasible pathways, namely direct electron transfer from INH to T₁ state TX, electron transfer followed by proton transfer from INH^.+ to TX^.−, and H-atom transfer from nitrogen of INH to keto oxygen of T₁ state TX, were proposed theoretically to be involved in T₁ state TX deactivation by INH.

A DFT study on deactivation of triplet excited state riboflavin by polyphenols

The deactivation of triplet excited state riboflavin by polyphenols, e.g. rutin and catechin, was studied on the basis of density functional theory calculations. The results show that the H-atom transfer pathway is more feasible on thermodynamic grounds in comparison with the direct energy transfer or direct electron transfer pathways involved in the triplet excited state riboflavin deactivation by rutin/catechin. The findings are helpful to understand the protective effect of polyphenols against the riboflavin induced photosensitizing damage.