Isomerisation dynamics of a thiacarbocyanine dye in different electronic states and in different classes of solvents

Abstract

A study of the isomerisation dynamics of 3,3′-diethylthiacarbocyanine in the excited state in alkanenitriles as well as in the ground state in both alkanenitriles and n-alcohols, using ps transient grating spectroscopy and flash photolysis is reported. The intrinsic activation energy for isomerisation has been determined from isoviscosity plots. In the ground state, the activation energy amounts to 12.9 kcal/mol in both nitriles and alcohols, while it is equal to 3.0 kcal/mol in the excited state. The reduced isomerisation rate constant shows a fractional dependence on the solvent viscosity, with a fractional exponent α of 0.20 and 0.38 for the ground state isomerisation in alcohols and nitriles and of 0.65 for the excited state isomerisation. The data have been analysed within the framework of the Kramers theory using different models for friction. The best agreement was obtained with the Grote-Hynes model, which takes into account the frequency dependence of the friction. The solvent dependence of α for the ground state isomerisation is accounted for by a different average value of the infinite frequency shear modulus in alcohols and nitriles. The barrier height dependence of α is explained by a decrease of the barrier's top frequency by going from the ground to the excited state.