Nonlinear Absorption Spectroscopy of Porphyrin J-aggregates in Aqueous Solution: Evidence for Control of Degree of Association by Light-Induced Force

Abstract

Spectroscopic evidence was obtained for molecular aggregation states to be controlled by the irradiation of light, which is off-resonant below the peak absorption energies of both monomers and well-grown J-aggregates. In low (undersaturated)-concentration aqueous solutions of porphyrin molecules (tetraphenyl porphyrin tetrasulfonic acid; TPPS) where the monomer absorbance dominates, irradiation with a 532 nm laser induces a decrease in the monomer absorbance and an increase in the aggregate absorbance. The increase in the absorbance of J-aggregates occurs in a broad spectral range associated with the increase in the number of not only variously sized oligomer aggregates but also aggregates structurally different from well-grown stable J-aggregates. In high-concentration solutions where the J-aggregate absorbance dominates, a blue shift of the absorption peak of J-aggregates is induced at the same 532 nm irradiation, corresponding to a decrease in the aggregation number or in the association energy. By con...