Photosensitized aquation reactions of Cr(NH3 5(NCS)2+

Abstract

Biacetyl and acridinium ion but not Michler's ketone sensitize the aquation of Cr(NH3 5(NCS)2+ in 0.1 N sulfuric acid solution. Phosphorescence quenching occurs in first system, and the kinetics of this and of the sensitized reaction in the presence and absence of oxygen indicate that transfer of excitation energy occurs from the biacetyl first triplet state. The reaction is entirely one of ammonia aquation, indicating that the first quartet excited state of the complex is populated. Acridinium ion sensitizes both ammonia and thiocyanate aquation, the presence of oxygen affecting the latter but not the former mode. The kinetics of the fluorescence quenching by the complex and that of the sensitized ammonia aquation indicate that the latter process is induced by the first singlet excited state of acridinium ion, along with a small component of thiocyanate aquation. The oxygen dependence results indicate that the remainder of the thiocyanate aquation is induced by the first triplet excited state of the donor. It is concluded that, in this system, the singlet excited state of acridinium ion populates the first quartet excited state of the complex ion while the triplet state populates the doublet excited state of the complex. Some of the complexities of excited state processes of Cr(III) complexes are discussed.