Dual fluorescence and ultrafast intramolecular charge transfer with 6-N,N-dialkylaminopurines. A two-state model.

6-N,N-Dimethyl-9-methyladenine (DMPURM) and 6-N,N-dimethyladenine (DMPURH) show dual fluorescence from a locally excited (LE) and an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state in solvents of different polarity over extended temperature ranges. The fluorescence quantum yields are very small, in particular those of LE. For DMPURM in acetonitrile (MeCN) at 25 °C, for example, Φ'(ICT) = 3.2 × 10(-3) and Φ(LE) = 1.6 × 10(-4). The large value of Φ'(ICT)/Φ(LE) indicates that the forward LE → ICT reaction is much faster than the back reaction. The data obtained for the intersystem crossing yield Φ(ISC) show that internal conversion (IC) is the dominant deactivation channel from LE directly to the ground state S(0). For DMPURM in MeCN with Φ(ISC) = 0.22, Φ(IC) = 1 - Φ(ISC) - Φ'(ICT) - Φ(LE) = 0.78, whereas in cyclohexane an even larger Φ(IC) of 0.97 is found. The dipole moment gradually increases upon excitation, from 2.5 D (S(0)), via 6 D (LE) to 9 D (ICT) for DMPURM and from 2.3 D (S(0)), via 7 D (LE) to 8 D (ICT) for DMPURH. From the temperature dependence of Φ'(ICT)/Φ(LE), a reaction enthalpy -ΔH of 11 kJ/mol is obtained for DMPURM in n-hexane (ε(25) = 1.88), increasing to 17 kJ/mol in the more polar solvent di-n-butyl ether (ε(25) = 3.05). With DMPURM in diethyl ether, an activation energy of 8.3 kJ/mol is determined for the LE → ICT reaction (k(a)). The femtosecond excited state absorption spectra at 22 °C undergo an ultrafast decay: 1.0 ps in CHX and 0.63 ps in MeCN for DMPURM, still shorter (0.46 ps) for DMPURH in MeCN. With DMPURM in n-hexane, the LE fluorescence decay time τ(2) increases upon cooling from 2.6 ps at -45 °C to 6.9 ps at -95 °C. The decay involves ICT and IC as the two main pathways: 1/τ(2) ≅ k(a) + k(IC). As a model compound (no ICT) is not available, its lifetime τ(0)(LE) ∼ 1/k(IC) is not known, which prevents a separate determination of k(a). The excited state reactions of DMPURM and DMPURH are treated with a two-state model: S(0) → LE ⇄ ICT. With 6-N-methyl-9-methyladenine (MPURM) and 9-methyladenine (PURM), the fluorescence quantum yield is very low (<5 × 10(-5)) and dominated by impurities, due to enhanced IC from LE to S(0).

Ultrafast intramolecular charge transfer with N-(4-cyanophenyl)carbazole. Evidence for a LE precursor and dual LE + ICT fluorescence.

The photophysics of N-(4-cyanophenyl)carbazole (NP4CN) was investigated by using absorption and fluorescence spectra, picosecond fluorescence decays, and femtosecond transient absorption. In the nonpolar n-hexane as well as in the polar solvent acetonitrile (MeCN), a locally excited (LE) state is detected, as a precursor for the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state. A LE → ICT reaction time τ(2) at 22 °C of 0.95 ps in ethyl cyanide (EtCN) and 0.32 ps in MeCN is determined from the decay of the LE excited state absorption (ESA) maximum around 620 nm. In the ESA spectrum of NP4CN in n-hexane at a pump-probe delay time of 100 ps, an important contribution of the LE band remains alongside the ICT band, in contrast to what is observed in EtCN and MeCN. This shows that a LE ⇄ ICT equilibrium is established in this solvent and the ICT reaction time of 0.5 ps is equal to the reciprocal of the sum of the forward and backward ICT rate constants 1/(k(a) + k(d)). In the photostationary S(0) → S(n) absorption spectrum of NP4CN in n-hexane and MeCN, an additional CT absorption band appears, absent in the sum of the spectra of its electron donor (D) and acceptor (A) subgroups carbazole and benzonitrile. This CT band is located at an energy of ∼4000 cm(-1) lower than for N-phenylcarbazole (NPC), due to the larger electron affinity of the benzonitrile moiety of NP4CN than the phenyl subunit of NPC. The fluorescence spectrum of NP4CN in n-hexane at 25 °C mainly consists of a structured LE emission, with a small ICT admixture, indicating that a LE → ICT reaction just starts to occur under these conditions. In di-n-pentyl ether (DPeE) and di-n-butyl ether (DBE), a LE emission is found upon cooling at the high-energy edge of the ICT fluorescence band, caused by the onset of dielectric solvent relaxation. This is not the case in more polar solvents, such as diethyl ether (DEE) and MeCN, in which a structureless ICT emission band fully overlaps the strongly quenched LE fluorescence. For the series of D/A molecules NPC, N-(4-fluorophenyl)carbazole (NP4F), N-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]carbazole (NP4CF), and NP4CN, with increasing electron affinity of their phenyl subgroup, an ICT emission in n-hexane 25 °C only is present for NP4CN, whereas in MeCN an ICT fluorescence is observed with NP4CF and NP4CN. The ICT fluorescence appears when for the energies E(ICT) of the ICT state and E(S(1)) of the lowest excited singlet state the condition E(ICT) ≤ E(S(1)) holds. E(ICT) is calculated from the difference E(D/D(+)) - E(A(-)/A) of the redox potentials of the D and A subgroups of the N-phenylcarbazoles. From solvatochromic measurements with NP4CN an ICT dipole moment µ(e)(ICT) = 19 D is obtained, somewhat larger than the literature values of 10-16 D, because of a different Onsager radius ρ. The carbazole/phenyl twist angle θ = 45° of NP4CN in the S(0) ground state, determined from X-ray crystal analysis, has become smaller for its ICT state, in analogy with similar conclusions for related N-phenylcarbazoles and other D/A molecules in the literature.

Pentacyano-N,N-dimethylaniline in the excited state. Only locally excited state emission, in spite of the large electron affinity of the pentacyanobenzene subgroup.

Pentacyano-N,N-dimethylaniline (PCDMA) does not undergo an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) reaction, even in the strongly polar solvent acetonitrile (MeCN), in clear contrast to 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile (DMABN). Within the twisted ICT (TICT) model, this is unexpected, as the electron affinity of the pentacyanobenzene moiety of PCDMA is much larger than that of the benzonitrile subgroup in DMABN. According to the TICT model, the energy of the ICT state of PCDMA would be 2.05 eV (∼16550 cm(-1)) lower than that of DMABN, on the basis of the reduction potentials E(A(-)/A) of pentacyanobenzene (-0.29 V vs saturated calomel electrode (SCE)) and benzonitrile (-2.36 V vs SCE), more than enough to compensate for the decrease in energy of the locally excited (LE) state of PCDMA (E(S(1)) = 19990 cm(-1)) relative to that of DMABN (E(S(1)) = 29990 cm(-1)). This absence of a LE → ICT reaction shows that the TICT hypothesis does not hold for PCDMA in the singlet excited state, similar to what was found for DMABN, N-phenylpyrrole, and their derivatives. In this connection, the six dicyano-substituted dimethylanilines are also discussed. The energy gap ΔE(S(1),S(2)) between the two lowest singlet excited states is, at 7170 cm(-1) for PCDMA in MeCN, considerably larger than that for DMABN (2700 cm(-1) in n-hexane, smaller in MeCN). The absence of ICT is therefore in accord with the planar ICT (PICT) model, which considers a sufficiently small ΔE(S(1),S(2)) to be an important condition determining whether an ICT reaction will take place. The fluorescence quantum yield of PCDMA is very small: Φ(LE) = 0.0006 in MeCN at 25 °C, predominantly due to LE → S(0) internal conversion (IC), as the intersystem crossing yield Φ(ISC) is practically zero (<0.01). From the LE fluorescence decay time of 27 ps for PCDMA in MeCN at 25 °C, a radiative rate constant k(f)(LE) = 2 × 10(7) s(-1) results, comparable to the k(f)(LE) of DMABN (6.5 × 10(7) s(-1)) and 2,4,6-tricyano-N,N-dimethylaniline (TCDMA) (1.2 × 10(7) s(-1)) in this solvent, but clearly larger than the k'(f)(ICT) = 0.79 × 10(7) s(-1) of DMABN in MeCN. The IC reaction with PCDMA in MeCN at room temperature, with a rate constant k(IC) of 3.6 × 10(10) s(-1), is much faster than with TCDMA (25 × 10(7) s(-1)) and DMABN (1.3 × 10(7) s(-1), in n-hexane). This is connected with the nonzero (37°) amino twist angle of PCDMA, which leads to a decrease of the effective LE-S(0) energy gap. The femtosecond excited state absorption (ESA) spectra of PCDMA in MeCN at 22 °C are similar to the LE ESA spectra of TCDMA and DMABN and are therefore attributed to the LE state, confirming that an ICT reaction does not occur. The decay of the LE ESA spectra of PCDMA is single exponential, with a decay time of 22 ps, in reasonable agreement with the LE fluorescence decay time of 27 ps at 25 °C. The spectra decay to zero, showing that there is no triplet or other intermediate.

Intramolecular charge transfer with fluorazene and N-phenylpyrrole.

The reaction from the initially prepared locally excited (LE) precursor to the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state of the planarized fluorazene (FPP) is investigated and compared with its flexible counterpart N-phenylpyrrole (PP). The fluorescence spectra of FPP and PP at 25 degrees C in solvents of different polarity reveal that the onset of a LE --> ICT reaction occurs at lower polarity (tetrahydrofuran, epsilon = 7.39) for FPP than for PP (1,2-dichloroethane, epsilon = 10.4). In accordance with this observation, the ICT reaction enthalpy -DeltaH is larger for FPP than for PP, 16.7 versus 6.7 kJ/mol in ethyl cyanide (EtCN). The larger ICT efficiency of FPP is related to the smaller energy gap between the two lowest excited singlet states DeltaE(S(1),S(2)): 3680 cm(-1) for FPP and 4070 cm(-1) for PP in n-hexane, as would be expected in the context of the PICT model. From picosecond fluorescence decays in EtCN at -45 degrees C it is found that the LE --> ICT reaction rate constant k(a) of FPP is with 9.8 x 10(10) s(-1) considerably larger than that of PP with 3.9 x 10(10) s(-1). From femtosecond transient absorption spectra in acetonitrile (MeCN) at 22 degrees C, an ICT reaction time of 1.6 ps is obtained for FPP, shorter than the 4.0 ps determined for PP. The results show that a perpendicular twist of the pyrrole and phenyl subgroups is not required for an efficient ICT reaction with PP, the planarization of FPP even making this reaction faster. The similarity of the ESA spectra of FPP with those of PP in MeCN, with ICT absorption maxima at 365 nm (FPP) and 370 nm (PP), leads to the conclusion that both ICT states have a planar structure.

Intramolecular charge transfer with 4-fluorofluorazene and the flexible 4-fluoro-N-phenylpyrrole.

With 4-fluorofluorazene (FPP4F) and its flexible counterpart 4-fluoro-N-phenylpyrrole (PP4F) an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) reaction occurs in the singlet excited state in sufficiently polar solvents. The ICT reaction begins to appear in tetrahydrofuran (epsilon = 7.4) for FPP4F and in the more polar 1,2-dichloroethane (epsilon = 10.4) with PP4F, showing its presence by dual fluorescence from a locally excited (LE) and an ICT state. Only LE fluorescence is observed in less polar solvents such as n-hexane. The ICT reaction is more pronounced with FPP4F than for PP4F, due to the smaller energy gap DeltaE(S1,S2) of the former molecule, in accordance with the PICT model. The occurrence of an ICT reaction is confirmed by the ICT dipole moments mu(e)(ICT) of 12 D (FPP4F) and 10 D (PP4F), clearly larger than mu(e)(LE) of approximately 4 D for FPP4F and PP4F. Isoemissive points are found in the fluorescence spectra of FPP4F and PP4F in acetonitrile (MeCN), ethyl cyanide (EtCN), and n-propyl cyanide (PrCN) as a function of temperature, confirming the two-state (LE and ICT) reaction mechanism. From plots of the logarithm of the ICT/LE fluorescence quantum yield ratio versus the reciprocal absolute temperature in these solvents, the ICT reaction enthalpies DeltaH are determined, with larger -DeltaH values for FPP4F than for PP4F: 19.2 as compared with 14.9 kJ/mol in MeCN, as an example. The picosecond fluorescence decay of PP4F at -45 degrees C becomes slower with decreasing solvent polarity, 5.1 ps (MeCN), 14 ps (EtCN), and 35 ps (PrCN), from which the LE --> ICT reaction rate constant is calculated, decreasing from 19 x 10(10) to 2.1 x 10(10) s(-1) between MeCN and PrCN. The femtosecond LE excited-state absorption spectra of FPP4F and PP4F do not undergo any time development in n-hexane (no ICT reaction), but show a fast ICT reaction in MeCN at 22 degrees C, with decay times of 1.1 ps (FPP4F) and 3.3 ps (PP4F). It is concluded that FPP4F and PP4F have a planar ICT state (PICT model), indicating that a perpendicular twist of the donor and acceptor subgroups in a donor/acceptor molecule is not a requirement for fast and efficient ICT. The molecular structures of FPP4F and PP4F obtained from X-ray crystal analysis reveal that the pyrrole group of PP4F is twisted over an angle theta = 25 degrees relative to the fluorophenyl moiety in the ground state, whereas as expected FPP4F is practically planar (theta = 2 degrees). The pyrrole-phenyl bond length of FPP4F (140.7 pm) is shorter than that for PP4F (141.8 pm).

Counterintuitive absence of an excited-state intramolecular charge transfer reaction with 2,4,6-tricyanoanilines. Experimental and computational results.

The fluorescence spectra of 2,4,6-tricyano-N,N-dimethylaniline (TCDMA), 2,4,6-tricyano-N-methylaniline (TCMA), and 2,4,6-tricyanoaniline (TCA) consist of a single emission band, even in the polar solvent acetonitrile (MeCN). This indicates that an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) reaction from the initially prepared locally excited (LE) state does not take place with these molecules, in contrast to 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile (DMABN), although the electron accepting capability of the tricyanobenzene moiety in TCDMA, TCMA, and TCA is substantially larger than that of the benzonitrile group in DMABN. In support of this conclusion, the picosecond fluorescence decays of the tricyanoanilines are single-exponential. Only with TCDMA in MeCN at the highest time resolution, double-exponential decays are observed. On the basis of a similar temporal evolution of around 2 ps in the femtosecond excited-state absorption (ESA) spectra of TCDMA in this solvent, the time development is attributed to the presence of two rapidly interconverting S(1) conformers. The same conclusion is reached from CASPT2/CASSCF computations on TCDMA, in which two S(1) minima are identified. The ESA spectra of TCDMA, TCMA, and TCA resemble that of the LE state of DMABN, but are different from its ICT ESA spectrum, likewise showing that an ICT reaction does not occur with the tricyanoanilines. From the luminescence spectrum of TCDMA in n-propyl cyanide at -160 degrees C, it follows that intersystem crossing and not internal conversion is the main S(1) deactivation channel. The radiative rate constant of TCDMA in MeCN is smaller than that of TCMA and TCA, which indicates that the S(1) state of TCDMA has a larger ICT contribution than in the case of TCMA and TCA, in accordance with the results of the calculations, which show that the S(1) state displays ICT valence bond character. Extrapolated gas-phase data for TCDMA and TCA are compared with the results of the computations, revealing a good agreement. The calculations on TCDMA and TCA also lead to the conclusion that the lowest excited singlet state S(1) determines its photophysical behavior, without the occurrence of an LE --> ICT reaction, in the sense that the initially excited LE state has already a strong ICT character and there is no equilibrium between two electronic states with strongly different electronic structures (i.e., LE and ICT with very different dipole moments) leading to dual (LE + ICT) fluorescence.

Intramolecular charge transfer with the planarized 4-cyanofluorazene and its flexible counterpart 4-cyano-N-phenylpyrrole. Picosecond fluorescence decays and femtosecond excited-state absorption.

The fluorescence spectrum of the rigidified 4-cyanofluorazene (FPP4C) in n-hexane consists of a dual emission from a locally excited (LE) and an intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) state, with an ICT/LE fluorescence quantum yield ratio of Phi'(ICT)/Phi(LE) = 3.3 at 25 degrees C. With the flexible 4-cyano- N-phenylpyrrole (PP4C) in n-hexane, such an ICT reaction also takes place, with Phi'(ICT)/Phi(LE) = 1.5, indicating that for this reaction, a perpendicular twist of the pyrrole and benzonitrile moieties is not required. The ICT emission band of FPP4C and PP4C in n-hexane has vibrational structure, but a structureless band is observed in all other solvents more polar than the alkanes. The enthalpy difference Delta H of the LE --> ICT reaction in n-hexane, -11 kJ/mol for FPP4C and -7 kJ/mol for PP4C, is determined by analyzing the temperature dependence of Phi'(ICT)/Phi(LE). Using these data, the energy E(FC,ICT) of the Franck-Condon ground state populated by the ICT emission is calculated, 41 (FPP4C) and 40 kJ/mol (PP4C). These large values for E(FC,ICT) lead to the conclusion that with FPP4C and PP4C, direct ICT excitation, bypassing LE, does not take place. FPP4C has an ICT dipole moment of 15 D, similar to that of PP4C (16 D). Picosecond fluorescence decays allow the determination of the ICT lifetime, from which the radiative rate constant k'(f)(ICT) is derived, with comparable values for FPP4C and PP4C. This shows that an argument for a twisted ICT state of PP4C cannot come from k'(f)(ICT). After correction for the solvent refractive index and the energy of the emission maximum nu(max)(ICT), it appears that k'(f)(ICT) is solvent-polarity-independent. Femtosecond transient absorption with FPP4C and PP4C in n-hexane reveals that the ICT state is already nearly fully present at 100 fs after excitation, in rapid equilibrium with LE. In MeCN, the ICT state of FPP4C and PP4C is likewise largely developed at this delay time, and the reaction is limited by dielectric solvent relaxation, which shows that the ICT reaction is ultrafast, at the experimental time limit of 50 fs. PP4C and FPP4C have a similar planar ICT structure, without an appreciable twist of the pyrrole and benzonitrile subgroups. Their crystal structure is compared with calculations for the S0 ground state.

Dynamics of ultrafast intramolecular charge transfer with 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile in acetonitrile.

The kinetics of the intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) reaction of 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile (DMABN) in the polar solvent acetonitrile (MeCN) is investigated by fluorescence quantum yield and picosecond time-correlated single photon counting (SPC) experiments over the temperature range from -45 to +75 degrees C, together with femtosecond Sn <-- S1 transient absorption measurements at room temperature. For DMABN in MeCN, the fluorescence from the locally excited (LE) state is strongly quenched, with an unquenched to quenched fluorescence quantum yield ratio of 290 at 25 degrees C. Under these conditions, even very small amounts of the photoproduct 4-(methylamino)benzonitrile (MABN) severely interfere, as the LE fluorescence of MABN is in the same spectral range as that of DMABN. The influence of photoproduct formation could be overcome by a simultaneous analysis of the picosecond and photostationary measurements, resulting in data for the activation barriers Ea (5 kJ/mol) and Ed (32 kJ/mol) of the forward and backward ICT reaction as well as the ICT reaction enthalpy and entropy: DeltaH (-27 kJ/mol) and DeltaS [-38 J/(mol K)]. The reaction hence takes place over a barrier, with double-exponential fluorescence decays, as to be expected in a two-state reaction. From femtosecond transient absorption down to 200 fs, the LE and ICT excited state absorption (ESA) spectra of DMABN in n-hexane (LE) and in MeCN (LE and ICT) and also of 4-aminobenzonitrile in MeCN (LE) are obtained. For DMABN in MeCN, the quenching of the LE and the rise of the ICT ESA bands occurs with a single characteristic time of 4.1 ps, the same as the ICT reaction time found from the picosecond SPC experiments at 25 degrees C. The sharp ICT peak at 320 nm does not change its spectral position after a pump-probe delay time of 200 fs, which suggests that large amplitude motions do not take place after this time. The increase with time in signal intensity observed for the LE spectrum of DMABN in n-hexane between 730 and 770 nm, is attributed to solvent cooling of the excess excitation energy and not to an inverse ICT --> LE reaction, as reported in the literature.