Time-dependent approach to spin-vibronic coupling: Implementation and assessment

Abstract

In this work, we present the generalization of a time-dependent method for the calculation of intersystem crossing (ISC) rates in the Condon approximation. When ISC takes place between electronic states with the same orbital type, i.e., when the transition is forbidden according to the El-Sayed rules, it is necessary to go beyond the Condon approximation. Similar to the Herzberg-Teller expansion of the vibronic interaction, the electronic spin-orbit matrix elements are assumed to depend linearly on the nuclear coordinates. The ISC rate is then a sum of three contributions: a direct, mixed direct-vibronic, and vibronic term. The method, presented in this work, is based on the generating function formalism and the multi-mode harmonic oscillator approximation. In addition to the zero-temperature case, we implemented formulae for finite-temperature conditions assuming a Boltzmann population of vibrational levels in the initial state. Tests have been carried out for a variety of molecules for which literature data were available. We computed vibronic one-photon spectra of free-base porphyrin and free-base chlorin and calculated ISC rates for xanthone, thioxanthone, thionine, as well as free-base porphyrin and found excellent agreement with previous results. Quantitative rates for triplet formation in rhodamine A have been determined theoretically for the first time. We find the S1↝ T2 channel to be the major source of triplet rhodamine formation in the gas phase.