Intrinsic Triplet Lifetimes Research Articles

Distance-Independent Efficiency of Triplet Energy Transfer from π-Conjugated Organic Ligands to Lanthanide-Doped Nanoparticles.

Lanthanide-doped nanoparticles (LnNPs) possess unique optical properties and are employed in various optoelectronic and bioimaging applications. One fundamental limitation of LnNPs is their low absorption cross-section. This hurdle can be overcome through surface modification with organic chromophores with large absorption cross-sections. Controlling energy transfer from organic molecules to LnNPs is crucial for creating optically bright systems, yet the mechanisms are not well understood. Using pump-probe spectroscopy, we follow singlet energy transfer (SET) and triplet energy transfer (TET) in systems comprising different length 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene (BPEA) derivatives coordinated onto ytterbium and neodymium-doped nanoparticles. Photoexcitation of the ligands forms singlet excitons, some of which convert to triplet excitons via intersystem crossing when coordinated to the LnNPs. The triplet generation rate and yield are strongly distance-dependent. Following their generation, TET occurs from the ligands to the LnNPs, exhibiting an exponential distance dependence, independent of solvent polarity, suggesting a concerted Dexter-type process with a damping coefficient of 0.60 Å-1. Nevertheless, TET occurs with near-unity efficiency for all BPEA derivatives due to the lack of other triplet deactivation pathways and long intrinsic triplet lifetimes. Thus, we find that close coupling is primarily important to ensure efficient triplet generation rather than efficient TET. Although SET is faster, we find its efficiency to be lower and more strongly distance-dependent than the TET efficiency. Our results present the first direct distance-dependent energy transfer measurements in LnNP@organic nanohybrids and establish the advantage of using the triplet manifold to achieve the most efficient energy transfer and best sensitization of LnNPs with π-conjugated ligands.

Excited state properties of 5-fluoro-4-thiouridine derivative†.

The excited state properties of thionated 5-fluorouridine (2',3',5'-tri-O-acetyl-5-fluoro-4-thiouridine; ta5F4TUrd), synthesized with Lawesson's reagent, have been intensively investigated with nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, time-resolved thermal lensing, near-infrared emission, and quantum chemical calculation. The intrinsic triplet lifetime of ta5F4TUrd was determined to be μs in acetonitrile, and the formation quantum yield of the excited triplet state was as large as . The quenching rate constants of the triplet ta5F4TUrd by the dissolved oxygen molecule and by the self-quenching process were found to be nearly equal to the diffusion-controlled rate of acetonitrile. The quantum yield of the singlet molecular oxygen produced through energy transfer between the triplet ta5F4TUrd and the dissolved oxygen, , was successfully determined to be under the oxygen-saturated condition. From the oxygen concentration dependence of the value, the fraction of triplet ta5F4TUrd quenched by dissolved oxygen which gives rise to the 1 O2 * formation, , was successfully obtained to be , which was the largest among the thionucleobases and the thionucleosides reported so far. This could be due to the lower energy and/or the ππ* character of the triplet state.

Weakened Triplet-Triplet Annihilation of Diiodo-BODIPY Moieties without Influence on Their Intrinsic Triplet Lifetimes in Diiodo-BODIPY-Functionalized Pillar[5]arenes.

The triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) effect of sensitizers themselves can lead to the additional quenching of lifetimes of triplet states; therefore, how to weaken the TTA effect of sensitizers is an urgent issue to be resolved for their further applications. Besides, it remains a tremendous challenge for constructing supramolecular systems of photosensitizers based on photosensitizer-functionalized pillararenes because there have been very few investigations on them. Thus, 2,6-diiodo-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-8-phenyl-4,4-difluoroboradiazaindacene (DIBDP) and ethoxy pillar[5]arene (EtP5) were utilized to synthesize a DIBDP-functionalized pillar[5]arene (EtP5-DIBDP), a cyano-containing DIBDP (G) used as a guest molecule was also prepared, and they were used to investigate the electron-transfer mechanism between EtP5 and DIBDP moieties and weaken the TTA effect of DIBDP moieties. The theoretical computational results of frontier molecular orbitals and isosurfaces of spin density preliminarily predicted that the cavities of the EtP5 moiety had influence on the fluorescence emission of DIBDP units but not on their triplet states in EtP5-DIBDP. The fluorescence emission intensities in a variety of solvents with different polarities and electrochemical studies revealed that there was electron transfer from EtP5 to the DIBDP units, and the electron-transfer process had influence on the fluorescence emission but not on the triplet states of DIBDP moieties in EtP5-DIBDP, which verified the results of density functional theory calculations. The triplet state lifetimes of EtP5-DIBDP were longer than those of DIBDP and G and the photooxidation abilities of EtP5-DIBDP were better than those of DIBDP and G at a high concentration (1.0 × 10-5 M) in various solvents; in contrast, the intrinsic triplet state lifetimes and singlet oxygen quantum yields (ΦΔ) of DIBDP, G, and EtP5-DIBDP were very similar. This was because the steric hindrance of EtP5 moieties could weaken the TTA effect of DIBDP moieties without influencing their intrinsic triplet state lifetimes in EtP5-DIBDP.

Influence of Structural Isomerism on the Photophysical Properties of a Series of Donor-Acceptor 1-Naphthalenecarbonitrile Derivatives Possessing Amine Substituents.

In an effort to probe the influence of structural isomerism on the excited-state properties of a naphthalene-based donor-acceptor (D-A) system, four 1-naphthalenecarbonitrile compounds with amine substituents in the 2-, 3-, and 4-positions were synthesized and their photophysical properties were examined. Specifically, the molecules 2-dimethylamino-1-naphthalenecarbonitrile (2DA), 2-(1-piperidinyl)-1-naphthalenecarbonitrile (2P), 3-dimethylamino-1-naphthalenecarbonitrile (3DA), and 4-(1-piperidinyl)-1-naphthalenecarbonitrile (4P) were studied. The substitution position of the amine donor has a significant impact on both the ground-state absorption and excited-state properties of the complexes in toluene solution. The energy, band shape, and extinction coefficient of the ground-state absorption spectra are highly dependent on the substitution position of the amine donor. All of the derivatives exhibit fluorescence at room temperature. The fluorescence observed from 2DA, 2P, and 3DA demonstrates a vibronic structure with all three molecules possessing Stokes shifts on the order of 40 nm, whereas the fluorescence observed from 4P is broad and has a Stokes shift 2 times greater than the other derivatives. The fluorescence lifetimes, fluorescence quantum yields, and intersystem crossing quantum yields vary greatly with the substitution position of the amine donor. 2DA and 2P display intermediate fluorescence lifetimes (2.7 ns) and fluorescence quantum yields (0.20) while possessing the greatest intersystem quantum yield (0.80). 3DA has a much greater fluorescence lifetime (16.9 ns) and fluorescence quantum yield (0.82) at the expense of the intersystem crossing quantum yield (0.12). 4P has the shortest lifetime (0.53 ns), with the lowest fluorescence and intersystem crossing quantum yields (<0.05). The singlet-triplet energy gaps are nearly identical for 2DA, 2P, and 3DA with values on the order of 0.70 eV. This singlet-triplet gap is larger in 4P, with a calculated value of 0.94 eV. The triplet-triplet absorption spectra of 2DA, 2P, and 3DA are similar. Broad peaks in the UV and visible regions with maxima around 330 and 500 nm characterize all three spectra. The triplet excited-state extinction coefficient values for 3DA were found to be 1.5 times larger than those in 2DA and 2P. The triplet-triplet absorption spectrum of 4P is markedly different from the triplet-triplet absorption spectra of the other derivatives. The spectrum is broad, with the four local maxima observed at 374, 445, 624, and 774 nm. All four molecules display delayed fluorescence and laser-power-dependent triplet excited-state decay kinetics, indicating the involvement of triplet-triplet annihilation in the deactivation of the triplet excited states. Both the intrinsic triplet lifetimes and triplet-triplet annihilation rate constants were determined. These values are similar for all of the derivatives with triplet lifetimes on the order of 100 μs and diffusion-controlled rates of triplet-triplet annihilation.

π-Expansive Heteroleptic Ruthenium(II) Complexes as Reverse Saturable Absorbers and Photosensitizers for Photodynamic Therapy.

Five heteroleptic tris-diimine ruthenium(II) complexes [RuL(N^N)2](PF6)2 (where L is 3,8-di(benzothiazolylfluorenyl)-1,10-phenanthroline and N^N is 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) (1), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) (2), 1,4,8,9-tetraazatriphenylene (tatp) (3), dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine (dppz) (4), or benzo[i]dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine (dppn) (5), respectively) were synthesized. The influence of π-conjugation of the ancillary ligands (N^N) on the photophysical properties of the complexes was investigated by spectroscopic methods and simulated by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT. Their ground-state absorption spectra were characterized by intense absorption bands below 350 nm (ligand L localized 1π,π* transitions) and a featureless band centered at ∼410 nm (intraligand charge transfer (1ILCT)/1π,π* transitions with minor contribution from metal-to-ligand charge transfer (1MLCT) transition). For complexes 4 and 5 with dppz and dppn ligands, respectively, broad but very weak absorption (ε < 800 M-1 cm-1) was present from 600 to 850 nm, likely emanating from the spin-forbidden transitions to the triplet excited states. All five complexes showed red-orange phosphorescence at room temperature in CH2Cl2 solution with decreased lifetimes and emission quantum yields, as the π-conjugation of the ancillary ligands increased. Transient absorption (TA) profiles were probed in acetonitrile solutions at room temperature for all of the complexes. Except for complex 5 (which showed dppn-localized 3π,π* absorption with a long lifetime of 41.2 μs), complexes 1-4 displayed similar TA spectral features but with much shorter triplet lifetimes (1-2 μs). Reverse saturable absorption (RSA) was demonstrated for the complexes at 532 nm using 4.1 ns laser pulses, and the strength of RSA decreased in the order: 2 ≥ 1 ≈ 5 > 3 > 4. Complex 5 is particularly attractive as a broadband reverse saturable absorber due to its wide optical window (430-850 nm) and long-lived triplet lifetime in addition to its strong RSA at 532 nm. Complexes 1-5 were also probed as photosensitizing agents for in vitro photodynamic therapy (PDT). Most of them showed a PDT effect, and 5 emerged as the most potent complex with red light (EC50 = 10 μM) and was highly photoselective for melanoma cells (selectivity factor, SF = 13). Complexes 1-5 were readily taken up by cells and tracked by their intracellular luminescence before and after a light treatment. Diagnostic intracellular luminescence increased with increased π-conjugation of the ancillary N^N ligands despite diminishing cell-free phosphorescence in that order. All of the complexes penetrated the nucleus and caused DNA condensation in cell-free conditions in a concentration-dependent manner, which was not influenced by the identity of N^N ligands. Although the mechanism for photobiological activity was not established, complexes 1-5 were shown to exhibit potential as theranostic agents. Together the RSA and PDT studies indicate that developing new agents with long intrinsic triplet lifetimes, high yields for triplet formation, and broad ground-state absorption to near-infrared (NIR) in tandem is a viable approach to identifying promising agents for these applications.

Higher triplet state of fullerene C70 revealed by electron spin relaxation.

Spin-lattice relaxation times T1 of photoexcited triplets (3)C70 in glassy decalin were obtained from electron spin echo inversion recovery dependences. In the range 30-100 K, the temperature dependence of T1 was fitted by the Arrhenius law with an activation energy of 172 cm(-1). This indicates that the dominant relaxation process of (3)C70 is described by an Orbach-Aminov mechanism involving the higher triplet state t2 which lies 172 cm(-1) above the lowest triplet state t1. Chemical modification of C70 fullerene not only decreases the intrinsic triplet lifetime by about ten times but also increases T1 by several orders of magnitude. The reason for this is the presence of a low-lying excited triplet state in (3)C70 and its absence in triplet C70 derivatives. The presence of the higher triplet state in C70 is in good agreement with the previous results from phosphorescence spectroscopy.

Photophysical properties of 2,5-diphenyl-1,6,6a-trithiapentalene revealed by time-resolved spectroscopy

The fluorescence decay from S 2(π, π*) state of 2,5-diphenyl-1,6,6a-trithiapentalene (DP-TTP) in cyclohexane, tetrahydrofuran and acetonitrile solutions of a quantum yield of ∼0.02–0.04 were measured. The results indicate that, the dominant process of radiationless deactivation of the S 2 state, is internal conversion to the S 1 state. Upon laser pulse excitation ( λ ex=532 nm) from the S 1(n, π*) state, DP-TTP in deoxygenated benzonitrile, acetonitrile, ethanol and tetrahydrofuran solutions give rise to transient triplet–triplet absorption ( λ max T=700–720 nm). Kinetic data are presented for intrinsic triplet lifetimes, self-quenching and quenching by oxygen.

Time-Resolved Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence in C70 and 1,2-C70H2

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TDF) emission from C70 and 1,2-C70H2 has been time-resolved to provide thermodynamic and kinetic information on excited electronic states. The energy gap between S1 and T1 states was deduced from the temperature dependence of initial TDF intensities and independently from the ratio of TDF intensity to time-integrated prompt fluorescence. S1−T1 gaps were found to be approximately 2470 cm-1 for C70 and 2180 cm-1 for 1,2-C70H2, with relative uncertainties of 2−3%. Time-resolved TDF measurements from fullerene samples immobilized in PMMA films revealed lifetimes for triplet state decay unaffected by bimolecular deactivation processes. The intrinsic triplet lifetimes at 298 K were found from both TDF and transient absorption measurements to be 24.5 ± 1.5 ms for C70 and 1.95 ± 0.1 ms for 1,2-C70H2.

Photophysical Studies of 1,2-C70H2

Photophysical measurements have been made on 1,2-C70H2, the most stable isomer of the simplest C70 derivative. This dihydride's electronic absorption spectrum is more diffuse than that of C70. Red shifts in the fluorescence and phosphorescence emission spectra show that excitations to the lowest singlet and triplet electronic states require approximately 8% less energy in 1,2-C70H2 than in C70 and that the S1−T1 gap of 1,2-C70H2 is ca. 310 cm-1 smaller than that of the parent fullerene. The dominant peak in the dihydride's Tn ← T1 near-infrared absorption spectrum falls at 1050 nm. Compared to the corresponding transition of C70, this absorption feature is broadened, red-shifted by 75 nm, and reduced in peak molar absorptivity by a factor of 2. Derivatization of C70 to form 1,2-C70H2 accelerates T1 decay by more than an order of magnitude, giving an intrinsic triplet lifetime of 2.0 ms at room temperature. The rate constant for triplet deactivation through ground state self-quenching is near 7.6 × 107 M-1...

Energy Transfer, Electron Transfer, and Addition Reactions of Triplet State of 1,3-Dihydroimidazole-2-thiones Investigated by Laser Flash Photolysis

Abstract The transient absorption bands observed at ca. 400 and 550 nm for 1,3-dihydro-2H-imidazole-2-thione (IT), 1,3-dihydro-1-methyl-2H-imidazole-2-thione (MIT), and 1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazole-2-thione (BIT) have been assigned to their triplet states (3IT* ’s) by the quenching and sensitizing experiments using laser flash photolysis technique. Short intrinsic triplet lifetimes and relatively high triplet energies have been evaluated as characteristics of 3IT* ’s. For electron acceptors, photoinduced electron-transfer reaction occurs via 3IT* ’s in the diffusion controlled limit. The nucleophilic character of 3IT* ’s was confirmed by changing the substituents of alkenes on the addition reactions. MO calculations indicate that the lowest electronic configurations of both 3IT* and 3MIT* have 3(n,π*) character, while 3BIT* has 3(π,π*) character. The addition reactivity of 3BIT* is slightly higher than those of 3IT* and 3MIT*, which is opposite to the general tendency.

Photochemical reactions of triplet state of N-hydroxyacridine-9-thione studied by laser-flash photolysis

By laser-flash photolysis of N-hydroxyacridine-9-thione (HOAT) in organic solvents, the transient absorption bands observed at 410 and 530 nm, are assigned to the triplet–triplet absorption of 3(HOAT)*. The lowest triplet energy (ET1), the intrinsic triplet lifetime (τT°) and the quantum yield (ΦT) of intersystem crossing have been determined. A rather large self-quenching rate constant (ksq=1.6±0.1×109 mol-1 d s-1 in THF) was observed. In the photoinduced electron-transfer reactions, 3(HOAT)* acts as electron acceptor for tetramethylbenzidine and triphenylamine, while for dinitrobenzene and the methylviologen dication it acts as electron donor in polar solvents. In the addition reactions of 3(HOAT)* with various alkenes, the electrophilic character of 3(HOAT)* has been established. By comparison of the experimental results with MO calculations, the lowest triplet electronic-configuration of 3(HOAT)* is revealed.

A laser flash photolysis study of pivalothiophenone triplets: steric and electronic effects in thione photoreaction kinetics

Upon laser pulse excitation (Aex = 532 nm) into the lowest-lying '(n,a*) band system, pivalothiophenones in benzene solutions give rise to short-lived triplets (Ama: = 325-335 nm, em: = (1 1-15) X lo3 M-' cm-I) with quantitative intersystem crossing efficiencies. The triplet yields decrease slightly (by 10-30%) upon changing A, to 308 nm (Le., upon excitation into S2). Kinetic data are presented for intrinsic triplet lifetimes, self-quenching, and quenching by oxygen, di-tert-butylnitroxy radical, and various reagents capable of interacting with the triplets via energy, electron, or hydrogen-atom transfer and by biradical formation (possibly leading to cycloaddition). The mechanisms of the quenching processes are discussed. Relative to rigid aromatic thiones, namely, xanthione and thiocoumarin, the interaction of pivalothiophenone triplets with most of the quenchers are kinetically inefficient. This is interpreted primarily as a manifestation of the steric crowding at positions a to the thiocarbonyl group.

Aromatic thioketone triplets and their quenching behaviour towards oxygen and di-t-butylnitroxy radical. A laser-flash-photolysis study

Results obtained using nanosecond laser flash photolysis with various exitation wavelengths (337.1–600 nm) are reported for triplet-related properties of five aromatic thioketones, namely xanthione, thioxanthione, thiobenzophenone and p,p′-dimethoxy and p,p′-bis(N,N-dimethylamino) derivatives of thiobenzophenone. The triplet yields (ϕT) of these thioketones in benzene are high (0.5–1.0) and show a dependence on excitation wavelengths. The intersystem-crossing efficiency is less than unity (0.5–0.6) when laser excitation is carried out into the second excited singlet state, S2(λex= 355 and 425 nm), but approaches unity when the excitation leads to absorption into the lowest excited singlet, S1(532 and 600 nm). The intrinsic triplet lifetimes are short (0.8–1.8 µs) and the self-quenching rate constants are in the range (2.6–7.1) 109 dm3 mol–1 s–1. Quantitative data concerning triplet–triplet absorption spectra and triplet quenching by azulene, ferrocene, β-carotene and 2,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexadiene are presented. The oxygen quenching rate constants [(2.8–9.7)× 109 dm3 mol–1 s–1] increase when electron-donating groups (methoxy and N,N-dimethyl-amino) are present in the thiobenzophenones, suggesting that charge-transfer interaction is important. The efficiency of singlet-oxygen generation in the course of the oxygen quenching of the p,p′-dimethoxythiobenzophenone triplet is unity. The stable free radical, di-t-butyl-nitroxide, quenches the thioketone triplets with unusually high rate constants [(1.4–3.3)× 109 dm3 mol–1 s–1]; this behaviour appears to be a manifestation of electron-exchange-mediated intersystem crossing (S0 [graphic omitted] T1), enhanced by strong spin–orbit coupling or spin–spin interaction associated with the thiocarbonyl sulphur atom.