Intramolecular Vibrational Modes Research Articles

Theoretical evidence of low-threshold amplified spontaneous emission in organic emitters: transition density and intramolecular vibrational mode analysis.

Organic gain materials are highly attractive for lasing due to their chemical tunability and large stimulated emission cross sections. In previous reports, the radiative decay rate kr was considered as an important factor to determine outstanding amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) performance of organic molecules. In this study, we use quantum mechanics to reveal the influential factors on photophysical properties of organic emitters, and give insight into the effect of kr on ASE performance. Based on the theoretical analysis of three molecules with similar structure, calculated results show that large kr derives from enhanced transition density ρ between the electronic wave functions of the ground-state and the lowest excited singlet state as well as a handful of low-frequency torsional modes with small Huang-Rhys factor S, further, kr values are calculated depending on molecular vibration terms. In addition, through the analysis of non-radiative decay rate knr considering vibration terms (vibronic coupling constants), the comparison of kr and knr shows that the radiative decay process is promoted in the three molecules. The two aspects are desired for outstanding ASE performance. Our work shows that the roles of transition density and vibrational modes are crucial to clarify the photophysical properties, which govern the ASE performance in organic light emitters.

Two-Dimensional Electronic Spectroscopy Reveals the Spectral Dynamics of Förster Resonance Energy Transfer

Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2D ES) probes the energies of chromophores and their coupling, and therefore the technique is now widely used for studying excitation energy-transfer mechanisms. The ubiquity and importance ofForster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) demand a thorough study of its signatures in 2D ES. Here, using principles from noisy-light spectroscopy to account for the spontaneous transfer event, we describe a model that explicitly includes the intramolecular vibrational modes necessary to activate FRET. Our laboratory measurements of carbocyanine dyes are consistent with three theoretical results regarding the location, shape, and spectral dynamics of the energy-transfer peak. The signatures derived from the vibronic FRET model serve as a benchmark for ongoing work on energy-transfer mechanisms.

Temperature- and pressure-dependent infrared spectroscopy of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate: A dipolar coupling theory analysis

Continued growth and development of ionic liquids requires a thorough understanding of how cation and anion molecular structure defines the liquid structure of the materials as well as the various properties that make them technologically useful. Infrared spectroscopy is frequently used to assess molecular-level interactions among the cations and anions of ionic liquids because the intramolecular vibrational modes of the ions are sensitive to the local potential energy environments in which they reside. Thus, different interaction modes among the ions may lead to different spectroscopic signatures in the vibrational spectra. Charge organization present in ionic liquids, such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate ([C4mim]CF3SO3), is frequently modeled in terms of a quasicrystalline structure. Highly structured quasilattices enable the dynamic coupling of vibrationally-induced dipole moments to produce optical dispersion and transverse optical-longitudinal optical (TO-LO) splitting of vibrational modes of the ionic liquid. According to dipolar coupling theory, the degree of TO-LO splitting is predicted to have a linear dependence on the number density of the ionic liquid. Both temperature and pressure will affect the number density of the ionic liquid and, therefore, the amount of TO-LO splitting for this mode. Therefore, we test these relationships through temperature- and pressure-dependent FT-IR spectroscopic studies of [C4mim]CF3SO3, focusing on the totally symmetric SO stretching mode for the anion, νs(SO3). Increased temperature decreases the amount of TO-LO splitting for νs(SO3), whereas elevated pressure is found to increase the amount of band splitting. In both cases, the experimental observations follow the general predictions of dipolar coupling theory, thereby supporting the quasilattice model for this ionic liquid.

Raman Spectroscopic Studies on Microscopic Mechanism of CP - CH4 Mixture Hydrate

The formation of methane hydrates which occur in extreme thermodynamic conditions can be considerably reduced by addition of cyclopentane (CP). To elucidate the structure, composition, cage occupancy and analyze the crystal filling process of the hydrate, Raman spectroscopy of intramolecular vibration mode for each guest species in CP- CH4 mixed-gas hydrates have been measured. The Raman spectra reveal that CP molecules occupy the large cavities (51264) and CH4 molecules only occupy the small cavities (512) sII hydrates. The hydrogen-bonded water molecules arrange around CP molecules in the same way as in clathrate hydrate, which enhances the intrinsic enclathrate rate. The cavity occupancy and hydration number are calculated based on Raman bands area ratio. The cage occupancies of CP and CH4 reach 0.9976 and 0.2044 at 3.5 MPa, respectively. At 12 MPa, they are 0.9958 and 0.4098, respectively.

Local Structure of Li+ in Concentrated Ethylene Carbonate Solutions Studied by Low-Frequency Raman Scattering and Neutron Diffraction with 6Li/7Li Isotopic Substitution Methods.

Isotropic Raman scattering and time-of-flight neutron diffraction measurements were carried out for concentrated LiTFSA-EC solutions to obtain structural insight on solvated Li+ as well as the structure of contact ion pair, Li+···TFSA-, formed in highly concentrated EC solutions. Symmetrical stretching vibrational mode of solvated Li+ and solvated Li+···TFSA- ion pair were observed at ν = 168-177 and 202-224 cm-1, respectively. Detailed structural properties of solvated Li+ and Li+···TFSA- contact ion pair were derived from the least-squares fitting analysis of first-order difference function, ΔLi(Q), between neutron scattering cross sections observed for 6Li/7Li isotopically substituted 10 and 25 mol % *LiTFSA-ECd4 solutions. It has been revealed that Li+ in the 10 mol % LiTFSA solution is fully solvated by ca. 4 EC molecules. The nearest neighbor Li+···O(EC) distance and Li+···O(EC)═C(EC) bond angle are determined to be 1.90 ± 0.01 Å and 141 ± 1°, respectively. In highly concentrated 25 mol % LiTFSA-EC solution, the average solvation number of Li+ decreases to ca. 3 and ca. 1.5. TFSA- are directly contacted to Li+. These results agree well with the results of band decomposition analyses of isotropic Raman spectra for intramolecular vibrational modes of both EC and TFSA-.

Effects of Free Energy and Solvent on Rates of Intramolecular Electron Transfer in Organic Radical Anions.

Rates of intramolecular electron transfer from a 1,1'-biphenylyl radical anion to six different acceptors on an androstane scaffold are examined with the aid of a theory that was developed recently to include effects of vibrational relaxations and dephasing. The electronic-interaction matrix element and other parameters needed for the theory are obtained by quantum-mechanical/molecular-mechanical simulations of the reactions in five solvents ranging from iso-octane to methyltetrahydrofuran. Intramolecular vibrational modes that are coupled to electron transfer are resolved in simulations in iso-octane and cyclohexane. The energies and coupling factors for these modes allow extension of the theory to incorporate transitions to and from excited vibrational levels. The calculated rates of electron transfer agree well with experimental measurements from the literature, except for reactions in which excited electronic states of the products become important.

Atomic and molecular adsorption on Fe(110)

Iron is the principal catalyst for the ammonia synthesis process and the Fischer–Tropsch process, as well as many other heterogeneously catalyzed reactions. It is thus of fundamental importance to understand the interactions between the iron surface and various reaction intermediates. Here, we present a systematic study of atomic and molecular adsorption behavior over Fe(110) using periodic, self-consistent density functional theory (DFT-GGA) calculations. The preferred binding sites, binding energies, and the corresponding surface deformation energies of five atomic species (H, C, N, O, and S), six molecular species (NH3, CH4, N2, CO, HCN, and NO), and eleven molecular fragments (CH, CH2, CH3, NH, NH2, OH, CN, COH, HCO, NOH, and HNO) were determined on the Fe(110) surface at a coverage of 0.25 monolayer. The binding strengths calculated using the PW91 functional decreased in the following order: C > CH >N > O > S > NH > COH > CN > CH2 > NOH > OH > HNO > HCO > NH2 > H > NO > HCN > CH3 > CO > N2 > NH3. No stable binding structures were observed for CH4. The estimated diffusion barriers and pathways, as well as the adsorbate-surface and intramolecular vibrational modes of all the adsorbates at their preferred binding sites, were identified. Using the calculated adsorption energetics, we constructed the potential energy surfaces for a few surface reactions including the decomposition of methane, ammonia, dinitrogen, carbon monoxide, and nitric oxide. These potential energy surfaces provide valuable insight into the ability of Fe(110) to catalyze common elementary steps.

Multilayer-MCTDH approach to the energy transfer dynamics in the LH2 antenna complex

The multilayer multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree method is used to study the coupled exciton–vibrational dynamics in a high-dimensional nonameric model of the LH2 antenna complex of purple bacteria. The exciton–vibrational coupling is parametrized within the Huang–Rhys model according to phonon and intramolecular vibrational modes derived from an experimental bacteriochlorophyll spectral density. In contrast to reduced density matrix approaches, the Schrödinger equation is solved explicitly, giving access to the full wave function. This facilitates an unbiased analysis in terms of the coupled dynamics of excitonic and vibrational degrees of freedom. For the present system, we identify spectator modes for the B800 to B800 transfer and we find a non-additive effect of phonon and intramolecular vibrational modes on the B800 to B850 exciton transfer.

Phonon-like Hydrogen-Bond Modes in Protic Ionic Liquids

Gigahertz- to terahertz-frequency infrared and Raman spectra contain a wealth of information concerning the structure, intermolecular forces, and dynamics of ionic liquids. However, these spectra generally have a large number of contributions ranging from slow diffusional modes to underdamped librations and intramolecular vibrational modes. This makes it difficult to isolate effects such as the role of Coulombic and hydrogen-bonding interactions. We have applied far-infrared and ultrafast optical Kerr effect spectroscopies on carefully selected ions with a greater or lesser degree of symmetry in order to isolate spectral signals of interest. This has allowed us to demonstrate the presence of longitudinal and transverse optical phonon modes and a great similarity of alkylammonium-based protic ionic liquids to liquid water. The data show that such phonon modes will be present in all ionic liquids, requiring a reinterpretation of their spectra.

Electronic spectra and excited-state dynamics of acridine and its hydrated clusters.

We combine results from several different experiments to investigate the photophysics of acridine (Ac) and its hydrated clusters in the gas phase. Our findings are also compared with results from condensed phase studies. Similar to measurements of Ac dissolved in hydrocarbons, the lifetime of the first electronically excited state of isolated Ac in vacuum is too short for typical resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and laser induced fluorescence (LIF) experiments, hence no signal from REMPI and LIF can be attributed to monomeric Ac. Instead, sensitized phosphorescence emission spectroscopy is more successful in revealing the electronic states of Ac. Upon clustering with water, on the other hand, the lifetimes of the excited states are substantially increased to the nanosecond scale, and with two water molecules attached to Ac, the lifetime of the hydrated cluster is essentially the same as that of Ac in aqueous solutions. Detailed REMPI and ultraviolet-ultraviolet hole-burning experiments are then performed to reveal the structural information of the hydrated clusters. Although the formation of hydrogen bonds results in energy level reversal and energy separation between the first two excited states of Ac, its effect on the internal geometry of Ac is minimal, and all clusters with 1-3 water molecules demonstrate consistent intramolecular vibrational modes. Theoretical calculations reveal just one stable structure for each cluster under supersonic molecular beam conditions. Furthermore, different from mono- and di-water clusters, tri-water clusters consist of a linear chain of three water molecules attached to Ac. Consequently, the fragmentation pattern in the REMPI spectrum of tri-water clusters seems to be dominated by water trimer elimination, since the REMPI spectrum of Ac+·W3 is largely reproduced in the Ac+ mass channel, but not in the Ac+·W1 or Ac+·W2 channel.

Liquid Structure of Bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide-Based Ionic Liquids Assessed by FT-IR Spectroscopy.

Ionic liquids are a fertile and active area of research, in part, due to the unique properties these solvents offer over traditional molecular solvents. Because these properties are rooted in the fundamental ion-ion interactions that govern their liquid structure, there is a strong motivation to characterize the liquid structure of ionic liquids. Infrared spectroscopy is a standard analytical tool for assessing liquid structures, for the intramolecular vibrational modes of the ions composing the materials are often quite sensitive to their local potential energy environment. In this work, we demonstrate that the band asymmetry for the νa(SNS) anion mode of N(Tf)2--based ionic liquids originates from the dynamic coupling of vibrationally induced dipole moments of anions across a quasilattice. The magnitude of TO-LO splitting is linearly correlated with the number densities of the ionic liquids; an observation that is in accord with the predictions of dipolar coupling theory. Dipole moment derivatives of νa(SNS) calculated from dipolar coupling theory, (∂μ/∂q)DCT, are lower than those obtained from independent measurements of (∂μ/∂q). The most likely explanation for this disparity is that although ionic liquids possess sufficient long-range structure to support TO-LO splitting of infrared-active modes, there is enough orientational and translational disorder in the quasilattice to partially disrupt the coupling of vibrationally induced dipole moments across the quasilattice. This will result in diminished amounts of TO-LO splitting than would be expected if the ionic liquid were a perfect crystal at 0 K. Impacts of cation molecular structure and the formation of a binary solution on the liquid structure are also explored.

Effectiveness of charge separation from the long-lived second excited state of donors

In molecular zinc-porphyrin-based donor–acceptor systems, the electron transfer from the second singlet excited state S2 is accompanied by ultrafast recombination into the first excited state, resulting in a low quantum yield of the thermalized charge-separated state (20%). It is demonstrated that the quantum yield of ultrafast charge separation in donor–acceptor triads D–A1–A2 can be close to 100% in molecular systems with lifetimes of the S2 state longer than 150 ps. As prototypes of such systems, donor–acceptor diads D–A1 and triads D–A1–A2 are considered, wherein the xanthione molecule plays the role of a donor. The ranges of the model parameters are determined in which the efficiency of charge separation is high. The twostage photoinduced charge transfer is studied within the framework of a multichannel stochastic model that takes into account the reorganization of a polar solvent and a high-frequency intramolecular vibrational mode.

Effect of high-frequency modes on singlet fission dynamics

Singlet fission is a spin-allowed energy conversion process whereby a singlet excitation splits into two spin-correlated triplet excitations residing on adjacent molecules and has a potential to dramatically increase the efficiency of organic photovoltaics. Recent time-resolved nonlinear spectra of pentacene derivatives have shown the importance of high frequency vibrational modes in efficient fission. In this work, we explore impacts of vibration-induced fluctuations on fission dynamics through quantum dynamics calculations with parameters from fitting measured linear and nonlinear spectra. We demonstrate that fission dynamics strongly depends on the frequency of the intramolecular vibrational mode. Furthermore, we examine the effect of two vibrational modes on fission dynamics. Inclusion of a second vibrational mode creates an additional fission channel even when its Huang-Rhys factor is relatively small. Addition of more vibrational modes may not enhance the fission per se, but can dramatically affect the interplay between fission dynamics and the dominant vibrational mode.

Vibration-assisted coherent excitation energy transfer in a detuned dimer**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11174233).

The important role of high-energy intramolecular vibrational modes for excitation energy transfer in the detuned photosynthetic systems is studied. Based on a basic dimer model which consists of two two-level systems (pigments) coupled to high-energy vibrational modes, we find that the high-energy intramolecular vibrational modes can enhance the energy transfer with new coherent transfer channels being opened when the phonon energy matches the detuning between the two pigments. As a result, the energy can be effectively transferred into the acceptor. The effective Hamiltonian is obtained to reveal the strong coherent energy exchange among the donor, the acceptor, and the high-energy intramolecular. A semi-classical explanation of the phonon-assisted mechanism is also shown.

Phonon-assisted excitation energy transfer in photosynthetic systems**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11174233).

The phonon-assisted process of energy transfer aiming at exploring the newly emerging frontier between biology and physics is an issue of central interest. This article shows the important role of the intramolecular vibrational modes for excitation energy transfer in the photosynthetic systems. Based on a dimer system consisting of a donor and an acceptor modeled by two two-level systems, in which one of them is coupled to a high-energy vibrational mode, we derive an effective Hamiltonian describing the vibration-assisted coherent energy transfer process in the polaron frame. The effective Hamiltonian reveals in the case that the vibrational mode dynamically matches the energy detuning between the donor and the acceptor, the original detuned energy transfer becomes resonant energy transfer. In addition, the population dynamics and coherence dynamics of the dimer system with and without vibration-assistance are investigated numerically. It is found that, the energy transfer efficiency and the transfer time depend heavily on the interaction strength of the donor and the high-energy vibrational mode, as well as the vibrational frequency. The numerical results also indicate that the initial state and dissipation rate of the vibrational mode have little influence on the dynamics of the dimer system. Results obtained in this article are not only helpful to understand the natural photosynthesis, but also offer an optimal design principle for artificial photosynthesis.

C60 AS A PROBE FOR ASTROPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS

ABSTRACT The C60 molecule has been recently detected in a wide range of astrophysical environments through its four active intramolecular vibrational modes (T 1u) near 18.9, 17.4, 8.5, and 7.0 μm. The strengths of the mid-infrared emission bands have been used to infer astrophysical conditions in the fullerene-rich regions. Widely varying values of the relative intrinsic strengths (RIS) of these four bands are reported in laboratory and theoretical papers, which impedes the derivation of the excitation mechanism of C60 in the astrophysical sources. The spectroscopic analysis of the C60 samples produced with our method delivers highly reproducible RIS values of 100, 25 ± 1, 26 ± 1 and 40 ± 4. A comparison of the inferred C60 emission band strengths with the astrophysical data shows that the observed strengths cannot be explained in terms of fluorescent or thermal emission alone. The large range in the observed 17.4 μm/18.9 μm emission ratios indicates that either the emission bands contain significant contributions from emitters other than C60, or that the population distribution among the C60 vibrational modes is affected by physical processes other than thermal or UV excitation, such as chemo-luminescence from nascent C60 or possibly Poincaré fluorescence resulting from an inverse internal energy conversion. We have carefully analyzed the effect of the weakly active fundamental modes and second order modes in the mid-infrared spectrum of C60, and propose that neutral C60 is the carrier of the unidentified emission band at 6.49 μm which has been observed in fullerene-rich environments.

Full molecular dynamics simulations of liquid water and carbon tetrachloride for two-dimensional Raman spectroscopy in the frequency domain

Frequency-domain two-dimensional (2D) Raman signals, which are equivalent to coherent two-dimensional Raman scattering (COTRAS) signals, for liquid water and carbon tetrachloride were calculated using an equilibrium–nonequilibrium hybrid molecular dynamics (MD) simulation algorithm. An appropriate representation of the 2D Raman spectrum obtained from MD simulations provides an easy-to-understand depiction of structural and dynamical properties. We elucidate mechanisms governing the 2D signal profiles involving anharmonic mode–mode coupling and the nonlinearities of the polarizability for the intermolecular and intramolecular vibrational modes. The predicted signal profiles and intensities can be utilized to analyze recently developed single-beam 2D spectra, whose signals are generated from a coherently controlled pulse, allowing the single-beam measurement to be carried out more efficiently. Moreover, the MD simulation results allow us to visualize the molecular structure and dynamics by comparing the accurately calculated spectrum with experimental result.

Ultrasensitive Detection of Residual Pesticides Using THz Near-Field Enhancement

We present a novel type of highly sensitive and selective detection method for residual pesticide molecules including, e.g., methomyl using nanoscale metamaterials based terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) system. Nanoscale slot-antenna-based metamaterials were designed for the strong THz resonance at a certain frequency, where the specific molecule has intramolecular or intermolecular collective vibrational mode. Enhanced THz near-field via a nano-antenna metamaterial strongly increases absorption cross section, and this leads to the detection sensitivity up to parts-per-billion level even in a solution state of pesticide sample. Measured transmittance and reflectance spectrum results show excellent performances in both sensitivity and selectivity. We also imaged reflected THz signals though our THz nano-metamaterials in a nondestructive manner to simply detect the contained residual pesticide at the surface of an apple as it is, without any treatment. This observation can offer the possibility for further various applications as prompt and accurate molecule sensing tools in real time.

The appearance of reorganization of intramolecular low-frequency modes in the kinetics of electron transfer from the second excited state in zinc-porphyrin derivatives

An analysis of theoretical modeling results of ultrafast kinetics of photoinduced intramolecular charge separation from the second excited singlet state in the dyad Zn-tetraphenylporphyrin-aminonaphthalenediimide (Zn-TPP-ANDI) in a solution of toluene is presented. The calculations are performed within the framework of the stochastic multi-channel model, which includes four electron states (the ground, first and second excited singlet states, the state with charge separation), as well as their vibration sublevels corresponding to the excitation of highfrequency intramolecular vibration modes. A bimodal kinetic curve of population of the state with charge separation observed in experiments is quantitatively reproduced. The absolute yield values of the state with charge separation are determined. The results of the modeling show that intramolecular modes make a significant contribution to the reorganization of low-frequency modes. Quantum chemical calculations were performed, determining the degrees of freedom related to the intramolecular slow motion of nuclei of high amplitude in the dyad Zn-TPPANDI on going from the ground state to the state with charge separation.

Effect of Intramolecular High-Frequency Vibrational Mode Excitation on Ultrafast Photoinduced Charge Transfer and Charge Recombination Kinetics.

A model of photoinduced ultrafast charge separation and ensuing charge recombination into the ground state has been developed. The model includes explicit description of the formation and evolution of nonequilibrium state of both the intramolecular vibrations and the surrounding medium. An effect of the high-frequency intramolecular vibrational mode excitation by a pumping pulse on ultrafast charge separation and charge recombination kinetics has been investigated. Simulations, in accord with experiment, have shown that the effect may be both positive (the vibrational mode excitation increases the charge-transfer rate constant) and negative (opposite trend). The effect on charge separation kinetics is predicted to be bigger than that on the charge recombination rate but nevertheless the last is large enough to be observable. The amplitude of both effects falls with decreasing vibrational relaxation time constant, but the effects are expected to be observable up to the time constants as short as 200 fs. Physical interpretation of the effects has been presented. Comparisons with the experimental data have shown that the simulations, in whole, provide results close to that obtained in the experiment. The reasons of the deviations have been discussed.