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Petropoulos V, Rukin PS, Quintela F, Russo M, Moretti L, Moore A, Moore T, Gust D, Prezzi D, Scholes GD, Molinari E, Cerullo G, Troiani F, Rozzi CA, Maiuri M. Vibronic Coupling Drives the Ultrafast Internal Conversion in a Functionalized Free-Base Porphyrin. J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:4461-4467. [PMID: 38630018 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c00372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Internal conversion (IC) is a common radiationless transition in polyatomic molecules. Theory predicts that molecular vibrations assist IC between excited states, and ultrafast experiments can provide insight into their structure-function relationship. Here we elucidate the dynamics of the vibrational modes driving the IC process within the Q band of a functionalized porphyrin molecule. Through a combination of ultrafast multidimensional spectroscopies and theoretical modeling, we observe a 60 fs Qy-Qx IC and demonstrate that it is driven by the interplay among multiple high-frequency modes. Notably, we identify 1510 cm-1 as the leading tuning mode that brings the porphyrin to an optimal geometry for energy surface crossing. By employing coherent wave packet analysis, we highlight a set of short-lived vibrations (1200-1400 cm-1), promoting the IC within ≈60 fs. Furthermore, we identify one coupling mode (1350 cm-1) that is responsible for vibronic mixing within the Q states. Our findings indicate that porphyrin-core functionalization modulates IC effectively, offering new opportunities in photocatalysis and optoelectronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasilis Petropoulos
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Pavel S Rukin
- CNR - Istituto Nanoscienze, Via Campi 213A, I-41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Frank Quintela
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Informatiche e Matematiche, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, via G. Campi 213A, I-41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Mattia Russo
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Luca Moretti
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Ana Moore
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Thomas Moore
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Devens Gust
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Deborah Prezzi
- CNR - Istituto Nanoscienze, Via Campi 213A, I-41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Gregory D Scholes
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, United States
| | - Elisa Molinari
- CNR - Istituto Nanoscienze, Via Campi 213A, I-41125 Modena, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Informatiche e Matematiche, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, via G. Campi 213A, I-41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Giulio Cerullo
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Filippo Troiani
- CNR - Istituto Nanoscienze, Via Campi 213A, I-41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Carlo A Rozzi
- CNR - Istituto Nanoscienze, Via Campi 213A, I-41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Margherita Maiuri
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
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From antenna to reaction center: Pathways of ultrafast energy and charge transfer in photosystem II. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2208033119. [PMID: 36215463 PMCID: PMC9586314 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2208033119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The photosystem II core complex (PSII-CC) is a photosynthetic complex that contains antenna proteins, which collect energy from sunlight, and a reaction center, which converts the collected energy to redox potential. Understanding the interplay between the antenna proteins and the reaction center will facilitate the development of more efficient solar energy conversion technologies. Here, we study the sub-100-ps dynamics of PSII-CC with two-dimensional electronic-vibrational spectroscopy, which connects energy flows with physical space, allowing a direct mapping of energy transfer pathways. Our results reveal a complex dynamical scheme which includes a specific pathway that connects CP43 to the reaction center. Resolving this pathway experimentally provides insights into the energy conversion processes in natural photosynthesis. The photosystem II core complex (PSII-CC) is the smallest subunit of the oxygenic photosynthetic apparatus that contains core antennas and a reaction center, which together allow for rapid energy transfer and charge separation, ultimately leading to efficient solar energy conversion. However, there is a lack of consensus on the interplay between the energy transfer and charge separation dynamics of the core complex. Here, we report the application of two-dimensional electronic-vibrational (2DEV) spectroscopy to the spinach PSII-CC at 77 K. The simultaneous temporal and spectral resolution afforded by 2DEV spectroscopy facilitates the separation and direct assignment of coexisting dynamical processes. Our results show that the dominant dynamics of the PSII-CC are distinct in different excitation energy regions. By separating the excitation regions, we are able to distinguish the intraprotein dynamics and interprotein energy transfer. Additionally, with the improved resolution, we are able to identify the key pigments involved in the pathways, allowing for a direct connection between dynamical and structural information. Specifically, we show that C505 in CP43 and the peripheral chlorophyll ChlzD1 in the reaction center are most likely responsible for energy transfer from CP43 to the reaction center.
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Ko L, Cook RL, Whaley KB. Dynamics of photosynthetic light harvesting systems interacting with N-photon Fock states. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:244108. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0082822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
We develop a method to simulate the excitonic dynamics of realistic photosynthetic light harvesting systems, including non-Markovian coupling to phonon degrees of freedom, under excitation by N-photon Fock state pulses. This method combines the input–output and the hierarchical equations of motion formalisms into a double hierarchy of density matrix equations. We show analytically that under weak field excitation relevant to natural photosynthesis conditions, an N-photon Fock state input and a corresponding coherent state input give rise to equal density matrices in the excited manifold. However, an N-photon Fock state input induces no off-diagonal coherence between the ground and excited subspaces, in contrast with the coherences created by a coherent state input. We derive expressions for the probability to absorb a single Fock state photon with or without the influence of phonons. For short pulses (or, equivalently, wide bandwidth pulses), we show that the absorption probability has a universal behavior that depends only upon a system-dependent effective energy spread parameter Δ and an exciton–light coupling constant Γ. This holds for a broad range of chromophore systems and for a variety of pulse shapes. We also analyze the absorption probability in the opposite long pulse (narrow bandwidth) regime. We then derive an expression for the long time emission rate in the presence of phonons and use it to study the difference between collective vs independent emission. Finally, we present a numerical simulation for the LHCII monomer (14-mer) system under single photon excitation that illustrates the use of the double hierarchy equations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liwen Ko
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Robert L. Cook
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - K. Birgitta Whaley
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
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