Optical Spin Polarization of a Narrow-Linewidth Electron-Spin Qubit in a Chromophore/Stable-Radical System

Correlation between Radical and Quartet State Coherence Times in Photogenerated Triplet-Radical Conjugates

Molecular quartet states, generated by photoexcitation of chromophore-radical conjugates, have been shown to exhibit attractive properties for applications in the field of molecular spintronics. Many of these applications, such as quantum sensing, require a coherent manipulation of the spin system, implying the need to control the quartet state spin coherence properties. By examining the influence of structural and matrix-related factors, we demonstrate a correlation between the coherence decay of the photogenerated quartet state and that of the tethered stable radical, paving the way for a rational design of photogenerated molecular three-spin systems with optimized coherence properties.

Magic Angle Spinning Solid-State 13C Photochemically Induced Dynamic Nuclear Polarization by a Synthetic Donor-Chromophore-Acceptor System at 9.4 T

Solid-state photochemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (photo-CIDNP) is a nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy technique in which nuclear spin hyperpolarization is generated upon optical irradiation of an appropriate donor-acceptor system. Until now, solid-state photo-CIDNP at high magnetic fields has been observed only in photosynthetic reaction centers and flavoproteins. In the present work, we show that the effect is not limited to such biomolecular samples, and solid-state 13C photo-CIDNP can be observed at 9.4 T under magic angle spinning using a frozen solution of a synthetic molecular system dissolved in an organic solvent. Signal enhancements for the source molecule larger than a factor of 2300 are obtained. In addition, we show that bulk 13C hyperpolarization of the solvent can be generated via spontaneous 13C-13C spin diffusion at natural abundance.

Influence of the substitution position on spin communication in photoexcited perylene-nitroxide dyads

By virtue of the modularity of their structures, their tunable optical and magnetic properties, and versatile applications, photogenerated triplet-radical systems provide an ideal platform for the study of the factors controlling spin communication in molecular frameworks. Typically, these compounds consist of an organic chromophore covalently attached to a stable radical. After formation of the chromophore triplet state by photoexcitation, two spin centres are present in the molecule that will interact. The nature of their interaction is governed by the magnitude of the exchange interaction between them and can be studied by making use of transient electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques. Here, we investigate three perylene-nitroxide dyads that only differ with respect to the position where the nitroxide radical is attached to the perylene core. The comparison of the results from transient UV-vis and EPR experiments reveals major differences in the excited state properties of the three dyads, notably their triplet state formation yield, excited state deactivation kinetics, and spin coherence times. Spectral simulations and quantum chemical calculations are used to rationalise these findings and demonstrate the importance of considering the structural flexibility and the contribution of rotational conformers for an accurate interpretation of the data.

Radical Spin Polarization and Magnetosensitivity from Reversible Energy Transfer

Molecular spins provide potential building units for future quantum information science and spintronic technologies. In particular, doublet (S = 1/2) and triplet (S = 1) molecular spin states have the potential for excellent optical and spin properties for these applications if useful photon-spin mechanisms at room temperature can be devised. Here we explore the potential of exploiting reversible energy transfer between triplet and doublet states to establish magnetosensitive luminescence and spin polarization. We investigate the dependence of the photon-spin mechanism on the magnitude and sign of the exchange interaction between the doublet and triplet spin components in amorphous and crystalline model systems. The design of a magnetic field inclination sensor is proposed from understanding the required "structure" (spin interactions) to "function" (magnetosensitivity).

Photoinduced Magnetic Exchange-Jump Promotes Ground State Biradical Electron Spin Polarization

Photoinduced electron spin polarization (ESP) is reported in the electronic ground states of three Pt(II) complexes comprised of two S = 1/2 nitronyl nitroxide (NN) radicals attached through different length para-phenylethynyl bridges to the 3,6 positions of a catecholate (CAT, donor) and 4,4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine (bpy, acceptor). Complexes 1-3 have from 17 to 41 bonds separating NN radicals and display cw-EPR spectra consistent with |JNN-NN| ≫ |aN|, |JNN-NN| ≥ |aN|, and |JNN-NN| < |aN|, respectively, where JNN-NN is the magnetic exchange coupling between NN radicals in the electronic ground state, and aN is the isotropic 14N hyperfine coupling constant. Light-induced transient EPR spectra characterized as enhanced ground-state absorption were observed for all three complexes using 532 nm pulsed laser excitation into the ligand-to-ligand charge transfer (LL'CT) band of the (CAT)Pt(bpy) chromophore. The magnitude of the observed ESP increases in the order 1 < 2 < 3 and is inversely correlated with the magnitude of ground-state JNN-NN. In addition to the experimental observation of net absorptive polarization in 1-3, light excitation also produces multiplet polarization in 2. Since the weak dipolar coupling leads to a strong spectral overlap of the absorptive and emissive components, the multiplet polarization is not observed in 1 and 3 and is very weak in 2. The ability to spin-polarize multiple radical spins with a single photon is anticipated to advance new photoinduced multi qubit/qudit ESP protocols for quantum information science applications.

Theoretical investigation of multi-spin excited states of anthracene radical-linked π-conjugated spin systems by computational chemistry

Multi-spin excited states of chromophore radical-linked π-conjugated spin systems are investigated by molecular orbital calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). The investigated systems consist of an anthracene photosensitive unit leading to a triplet-excited-state (S = 1), π-conjugated linker to propagate spin exchange-coupling, and stable organic radical with a doublet-ground-state (S = 1/2). The intramolecular exchange coupling (JDQ), g value, and fine-structure interaction of their excited states depended on the π-conjugation network (π-topology), type of radical, and molecular structure of the π-linker (length and dihedral angle). The exchange interaction was dependent on the π-topology and the type of radical species. A decrease in the dihedral angle between the anthracene moiety and phenyl linker in the photo-excited state led to larger exchange coupling. With an increase in the π-linker length (r), the magnitude of the exchange coupling gradually decreased in the photoexcited states according to JDQ = JEx0 exp(-βr), similar to the ground-state exchange. The g values of the quartet (Q) state depended only on the radical type (independent of the linker). Conversely, the fine-structure interaction of the Q state was independent of the radical type and depended on both the linker length and the dihedral angle.

Synthesis and dark state EPR properties of PDI-trityl dyads and triads

Covalently-linked chromophore-radical systems with their unique optical and magnetic properties are useful for applications in, e. g., quantum information science. To expand the catalog of molecular systems, we synthesized and characterized six novel chromophore-radical and radical-chromophore-radical systems employing derivatives of perylene diimide (PDI) as the chromophore and trityl as the radical. The EPR properties of these compounds were evaluated in solution at cryogenic and room temperatures. In addition, the electron spin-spin coupling in the two bistrityl systems was investigated using DQC measurements. The presented results serve as a basis for further spectroscopic investigations under photoexcitation of the PDI core.

Estimation of Heisenberg exchange interaction in rigid photoexcited chromophore-radical compound by transient EPR

The magnetic field dependence of the spin polarization in a photoexcited rigid chromophore-radical conjugate is theoretically investigated. The excitation of the chromophore-radical conjugate often populates the metastable doublet and quartet states formed by the interactions of the unpaired electrons of the triplet chromophore and the radical. The intensities of the +1/2 ↔ - 1/2 transitions of the doublet and quartet manifolds are sensitive to the ratio jω = 3J/ω0 between the triplet-doublet exchange interaction J and the Zeeman energy ω0. It is shown that the analytical expressions of these intensities previously found for the triplet mechanism of the initial spin polarization can be expanded and applied to a broader class of compounds that may have other intersystem crossing pathways of the depopulation of the excited singlet state of the chromophore. It is also shown that the exchange interaction can be evaluated not only by comparing the electron paramagnetic resonance spectra obtained in different microwave frequency bands but also by comparing the data obtained in the same microwave band but with a shift of the frequency of the resonator. The results obtained broaden the potential applications of the previously proposed approach for analyzing the correlation between the exchange coupling and the distance separating the radical and the chromophore spins, as well as the structure of the bridge connecting their fragments.

Room-temperature quantum coherence of entangled multiexcitons in a metal-organic framework

Singlet fission can generate an exchange-coupled quintet triplet pair state 5TT, which could lead to the realization of quantum computing and quantum sensing using entangled multiple qubits even at room temperature. However, the observation of the quantum coherence of 5TT has been limited to cryogenic temperatures, and the fundamental question is what kind of material design will enable its room-temperature quantum coherence. Here, we show that the quantum coherence of singlet fission-derived 5TT in a chromophore-integrated metal-organic framework can be over hundred nanoseconds at room temperature. The suppressed motion of the chromophores in ordered domains within the metal-organic framework leads to the enough fluctuation of the exchange interaction necessary for 5TT generation but, at the same time, does not cause severe 5TT decoherence. Furthermore, the phase and amplitude of quantum beating depend on the molecular motion, opening the way to room-temperature molecular quantum computing based on multiple quantum gate control.

Rational Design of an Air-Stable, High-Spin Diradical with Diazapyrene

Stable carbon-based polyradicals exhibiting strong spin-spin coupling and slow depolarization processes are particularly attractive functional materials. A new molecular motif synthesized by a convenient method that allows the integration of stable, high-spin radicals to (hetero)aromatic polycycles has been developed, as illustrated by a non-Kekulé diradical showing a triplet ground state with long persistency (τ1/2 ≈31 h) in air. Compared to the widely used 1,3-phenylene, the newly designed (diaza)pyrene-4,10-diyl moiety is for the first time demonstrated to confer ferromagnetic (FM) spin coupling, allowing delocalized non-disjoint SOMOs. With the X-ray crystallography unambiguously proving the diradical structure, the triplet ground state was thoroughly characterized. A large ΔES-T of 1.1 kcal/mol, proving the strong FM coupling effect, was revealed consistently by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) measurements and variable-temperature electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, while the zero-field splitting and triplet nutation characters were examined by continuous-wave and pulsed EPR spectroscopy. A millisecond spin-lattice relaxation time was also detected. The current study not only offers a new molecular motif enabling FM coupling between carbon-based spins, but more importantly presents a general method for installing stable polyradicals into functional π-systems.

Conjugation-Induced Spin Delocalization in Helical Chiral Carbon Radicals via Through-Bond and Through-Space Effects

A class of highly stable hydrocarbon radicals with helical chirality are synthesized, which can be isolated and purified by routine column chromatography on silica gel. These carbon-centered radicals are stabilized by through-bond delocalization and intramolecular through-space conjugation, which is evidenced by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculation. The high stability enables to directly modify the carbon radical via palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling with the radical being untapped. The structures and optoelectronic properties are investigated with a variety of experimental methods, including Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR), Ultraviolet Visisble Near Infrared (UV-vis-NIR) measurements, Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Thermogravimetry Analysis (TGA), Circular Dichroism (CD) spectra, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and X-ray crystallographic analysis. DFT calculations indicated that the 9-anthryl helical radical is more stable than its tail-to-tail σ-dimer over 13.2 kJ mol-1 , which is consistent with experimental observations.

PDI-trityl dyads as photogenerated molecular spin qubit candidates

Owing to their potential applications in the field of quantum information science, photogenerated organic triplet-radical conjugates have attracted an increasing amount of attention recently. Typically, these compounds are composed of a chromophore appended to a stable radical. After initialisation of the system by photoexcitation, a highly spin-polarised quartet state may be generated, which serves as a molecular spin qubit candidate. Here, we investigate three perylene diimide (PDI)-based chromophore-radical systems with different phenylene linkers and radical counterparts by both optical spectroscopy and transient electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques. Femtosecond transient absorption measurements demonstrate chromophore triplet state formation on a picosecond time scale for PDI-trityl dyads, while excited state deactivation is found to be slowed down considerably in a PDI-nitroxide analogue. The subsequent investigation of the coherent spin properties by transient EPR confirms quartet state formation by triplet-doublet spin mixing for all investigated dyads and the suitability of the two studied PDI-trityl dyads as spin qubit candidates. In particular, we show that using tetrathiaryl trityl as the radical counterpart, an intense spin polarisation is observed even at room temperature and quartet state coherence times of 3.0 μs can be achieved at 80 K, which represents a considerable improvement compared to previously studied systems.

Competitive reversed quartet mechanisms for photogenerated ground state electron spin polarization

Photoinduced electron spin polarization (ESP) of a spin-½ organic radical (nitronyl nitroxide, NN) in a series of Pt(ii) complexes comprised of 4,4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) and 3-tert-butylcatecholate (CAT) ligands, where the CAT ligand is substituted with (CH3)n-meta-phenyl-NN (bridge-NN) groups, is presented and discussed. We show the importance of attenuating the energy gap between localized NN radical and chromophoric excited states to control both the magnitude and sign of the optically-generated ESP, and to provide deeper insight into the details of the ESP mechanism. Understanding electronic structure contributions to optically generated ESP will enhance our ability to control the nature of prepared states for a variety of quantum information science applications, where strong ESP facilitates enhanced sensitivity and readout capabilities at low applied magnetic fields and higher temperatures.

Optically Enhanced Solid-State 1H NMR Spectroscopy

Low sensitivity is the primary limitation to extending nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques to more advanced chemical and structural studies. Photochemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (photo-CIDNP) is an NMR hyperpolarization technique where light is used to excite a suitable donor-acceptor system, creating a spin-correlated radical pair whose evolution drives nuclear hyperpolarization. Systems that exhibit photo-CIDNP in solids are not common, and this effect has, up to now, only been observed for ¹³C and ¹⁵N nuclei. However, the low gyromagnetic ratio and natural abundance of these nuclei trap the local hyperpolarization in the vicinity of the chromophore and limit the utility for bulk hyperpolarization. Here, we report the first example of optically enhanced solid-state ¹H NMR spectroscopy in the high-field regime. This is achieved via photo-CIDNP of a donor-chromophore-acceptor molecule in a frozen solution at 0.3 T and 85 K, where spontaneous spin diffusion among the abundant strongly coupled ¹H nuclei relays polarization through the whole sample, yielding a 16-fold bulk ¹H signal enhancement under continuous laser irradiation at 450 nm. These findings enable a new strategy for hyperpolarized NMR beyond the current limits of conventional microwave-driven DNP.

Room Temperature Electron Spin Coherence in Photogenerated Molecular Spin Qubit Candidates

One of the main challenges in the emerging field of molecular spintronics is the identification of new spin qubit materials for quantum information applications. In this regard, recent work has shown that photoexcited chromophore-radical systems are promising candidates to expand our repertoire of suitable candidate molecules. Here, we investigate a series of three chromophore-radical compounds composed of a perylene diimide (PDI) chromophore and a stable 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl (TEMPO) radical by transient electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques. We explore the influence of isotope labeling of the TEMPO moiety on the EPR spectra and electron spin coherence times of the molecular quartet states generated upon photoexcitation and illustrate that (i) a coherent manipulation of the spin state is possible in these systems even at room temperature and that (ii) a spin coherence time of 0.7 μs can be achieved under these conditions. This demonstration of electron spin coherence at ambient temperatures paves the way for practical applications of such systems in functional molecular devices.

Generation and Transfer of Triplet Electron Spin Polarization at the Solid-Liquid Interface

The photoexcited triplet state of dyes can generate highly polarized electron spins for sensing and dynamic nuclear polarization. However, while triplets exhibit long spin-lattice relaxation times (T₁) on the microsecond scale in solids, the polarization quickly relaxes on the nanosecond scale in solution due to the rotational motion of chromophores. Here, we report that the immobilization of dye molecules on a solid surface allows molecular contact with a liquid while maintaining high polarization and long T₁ as in a solid. By adsorbing anionic porphyrins on cationic mesoporous silica gel, porphyrin triplets exhibit high polarization and long T₁ at the solid-liquid interface of silica and toluene. Furthermore, porphyrin triplets on the solid surface can exchange spin polarization with TEMPO radicals in solution. This simple and versatile method using the solid-liquid interface will open the door for utilizing the photoinduced triplet spin polarization in solution, which has been mainly limited to the solid-state.