Intramolecular Processes Revealed Using UV-Laser-Induced IR-Fluorescence: A New Perspective on the "Channel Three" of Benzene

Aromatic and Acetylenic C-H or C-D Stretching Bands Anharmonicity Detection of Phenylacetylene by UV Laser-Induced Vibrational Emission

The anharmonic infrared (IR) emission spectra of phenylacetylene C₆H₅CCH and an isotopologue C₆H₅CCD induced by 193 nm UV excitation have been investigated in the gas phase. The study has been operated with a homemade IR spectrometer enabling to record time- and wavelength-resolved spectra between 2.5 and 4.5 μm, emitted all along the collisional cooling. The analysis is supported by a kinetic Monte Carlo simulation in the vibrational harmonic approximation. For both species, the anharmonic shifts of the acetylenic C-H or C-D stretching modes and the aromatic C-H stretching modes are studied for band positions and bandwidths in terms of the internal energy. For C₆H₅CCD, the internal energy dependence of the emission intensity band ratio is investigated and rationalized. This work demonstrates the potential of time-resolved IR emission spectroscopy to explore anharmonicity of astrophysically relevant molecules.

Principles of Aggregation-Induced Emission: Design of Deactivation Pathways for Advanced AIEgens and Applications

Twenty years ago, the concept of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) was proposed, and this unique luminescent property has attracted scientific interest ever since. However, AIE denominates only the phenomenon, while the details of its underlying guiding principles remain to be elucidated. This minireview discusses the basic principles of AIE based on our previous mechanistic study of the photophysical behavior of 9,10-bis(N,N-dialkylamino)anthracene (BDAA) and the corresponding mechanistic analysis by quantum chemical calculations. BDAA comprises an anthracene core and small electron donors, which allows the quantum chemical aspects of AIE to be discussed. The key factor for AIE is the control over the non-radiative decay (deactivation) pathway, which can be visualized by considering the conical intersection (CI) on a potential energy surface. Controlling the conical intersection (CI) on the potential energy surface enables the separate formation of fluorescent (CI:high) and non-fluorescent (CI:low) molecules [control of conical intersection accessibility (CCIA)]. The novelty and originality of AIE in the field of photochemistry lies in the creation of functionality by design and in the active control over deactivation pathways. Moreover, we provide a new design strategy for AIE luminogens (AIEgens) and discuss selected examples.

Anharmonic vibrational spectroscopy of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

While powerful techniques exist to accurately account for anharmonicity in vibrational molecular spectroscopy, they are computationally very expensive and cannot be routinely employed for large species and/or at non-zero vibrational temperatures. Motivated by the study of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) emission in space, we developed a new code, which takes into account all modes and can describe all infrared transitions including bands becoming active due to resonances as well as overtone, combination, and difference bands. In this article, we describe the methodology that was implemented and discuss how the main difficulties were overcome, so as to keep the problem tractable. Benchmarking with high-level calculations was performed on a small molecule. We carried out specific convergence tests on two prototypical PAHs, pyrene (C₁₆H₁₀) and coronene (C₂₄H₁₂), aiming at optimising tunable parameters to achieve both acceptable accuracy and computational costs for this class of molecules. We then report the results obtained at 0 K for pyrene and coronene, comparing the calculated spectra with available experimental data. The theoretical band positions were found to be significantly improved compared to harmonic density functional theory calculations. The band intensities are in reasonable agreement with experiments, the main limitation being the accuracy of the underlying calculations of the quartic force field. This is a first step toward calculating moderately high-temperature spectra of PAHs and other similarly rigid molecules using Monte Carlo sampling.

Theory and Calculation of the Phosphorescence Phenomenon

Phosphorescence is a phenomenon of delayed luminescence that corresponds to the radiative decay of the molecular triplet state. As a general property of molecules, phosphorescence represents a cornerstone problem of chemical physics due to the spin prohibition of the underlying triplet-singlet emission and because its analysis embraces a deep knowledge of electronic molecular structure. Phosphorescence is the simplest physical process which provides an example of spin-forbidden transformation with a characteristic spin selectivity and magnetic field dependence, being the model also for more complicated chemical reactions and for spin catalysis applications. The bridging of the spin prohibition in phosphorescence is commonly analyzed by perturbation theory, which considers the intensity borrowing from spin-allowed electronic transitions. In this review, we highlight the basic theoretical principles and computational aspects for the estimation of various phosphorescence parameters, like intensity, radiative rate constant, lifetime, polarization, zero-field splitting, and spin sublevel population. Qualitative aspects of the phosphorescence phenomenon are discussed in terms of concepts like structure-activity relationships, donor-acceptor interactions, vibronic activity, and the role of spin-orbit coupling under charge-transfer perturbations. We illustrate the theory and principles of computational phosphorescence by highlighting studies of classical examples like molecular nitrogen and oxygen, benzene, naphthalene and their azaderivatives, porphyrins, as well as by reviewing current research on systems like electrophosphorescent transition metal complexes, nucleobases, and amino acids. We furthermore discuss modern studies of phosphorescence that cover topics of applied relevance, like the design of novel photofunctional materials for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), photovoltaic cells, chemical sensors, and bioimaging.

Ultrafast Intersystem-Crossing Dynamics and Breakdown of the Kasha-Vavilov's Rule of Naphthalenediimides

The fluorescence quantum yield of a red naphthalenediimide dye (rNDI) with amino and Br core substituents has been found to decrease by a factor of almost 2 by going from S1 ← S0 to S2 ← S0 excitation. Time-resolved spectroscopic measurements reveal that this deviation from the Kasha-Vavilov's rule is due to an ultrafast, < 200 fs, intersystem-crossing (ISC) from the S2 state to the triplet manifold, due to the ππ* → nπ* character of the transition and to the presence of the heavy Br atom. In non-core substituted naphthalenediimide (pNDI), ISC is slower, ∼2 ps, and was found to be reversible on a time scale shorter than that of vibrational cooling. The fluorescence and triplet quantum yields of rNDI, thus, can be substantially changed by a simple variation of the excitation wavelength.

The excited state antiaromatic benzene ring: a molecular Mr Hyde?

The antiaromatic character of benzene in its first ππ* excited triplet state (T1) was deduced more than four decades ago by Baird using perturbation molecular orbital (PMO) theory [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1972, 94, 4941], and since then it has been confirmed through a range of high-level quantum chemical calculations. With focus on benzene we now first review theoretical and computational studies that examine and confirm Baird's rule on reversal in the electron count for aromaticity and antiaromaticity of annulenes in their lowest triplet states as compared to Hückel's rule for the ground state (S0). We also note that the rule according to quantum chemical calculations can be extended to the lowest singlet excited state (S1) of benzene. Importantly, Baird, as well as Aihara [Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. 1978, 51, 1788], early put forth that the destabilization and excited state antiaromaticity of the benzene ring should be reflected in its photochemical reactivity, yet, today these conclusions are often overlooked. Thus, in the second part of the article we review photochemical reactions of a series of benzene derivatives that to various extents should stem from the excited state antiaromatic character of the benzene ring. We argue that benzene can be viewed as a molecular "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" with its largely unknown excited state antiaromaticity representing its "Mr Hyde" character. The recognition of the "Jekyll and Hyde" split personality feature of the benzene ring can likely be useful in a range of different areas.