State-Dependent Rotational Diffusion of Tetracene in n-Alkanes. Evidence for a Dominant Energy Relaxation Pathway

Abstract

We have investigated the rotational diffusion of tetracene in the n-alkanes octane through hexadecane. Emission from the S1 state was monitored following excitation to the S1 state or the S2 state. Our data show that fast, non-radiative relaxation from S2 to S1 gives rise to local heating in the immediate vicinity of the chromophore. This local heating effect exhibits a solvent aliphatic chain length dependence for solvents C11 and longer, where solvents with an even number of carbons behave differently than those with an odd number of carbons. These data shed light on the possible origin(s) of odd-even effects in n-alkanes and suggest that a dominant intermolecular relaxation pathway for excess vibrational energy involves the S1 chromophore ring breathing mode (ca. 1383 cm(-1)) and the solvent terminal methyl group rocking mode (1375 cm(-1)).