Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Photophysical Dynamics'

Within the last years, e.g. by investigating the fluorescence of single molecules in biological cells, remarkable progress has been made in cell biology extending conventional ensemble techniques concerning temporal / spatial resolution and the detection of particle subpopulations [82]. In addition to employing single fluorophores as "molecular beacons" to determine the position of biomolecules, single molecule fluorescence studies allow to access the photophysical dynamics of genetically encoded fluorescent proteins itself. However, in order to gain statistically consistent results, e.g. on the mobility behavior or the photophysical properties, the fluorescence image sequences have to be analyzed in a preferentially automated and calibrated (non-biased) way. In this thesis, a single molecule fluorescence optical setup was developed and calibrated and experimental biological in-vitro systems were adapted to the needs of single molecule imaging. Based on the fluorescence image sequences obtained, an automated analysis algorithm was developed, characterized and its limits for reliable quantitative data analysis were determined. For lipid marker molecules diffusing in an artifcial lipid membrane, the optimum way of the single molecule trajectory analysis of the image sequences was explored. Furthermore, effects of all relevant artifacts (specifically low signal-to-noise ratio, finite acquisition time and high spot density, in combination with photobleaching) on the recovered diffusion coefficients were carefully studied. The performance of the method was demonstrated in two series of experiments. In one series, the diffusion of a fluorescent lipid probe in artificial lipid bilayer membranes of giant unilamellar vesicles was investigated. In another series of experiments, the photoconversion and photobleaching behavior of the fluorescent protein Kaede-GFP was characterized and protein subpopulations were identified.

Within the last years, e.g. by investigating the fluorescence of single molecules in biological cells, remarkable progress has been made in cell biology extending conventional ensemble techniques concerning temporal / spatial resolution and the detection of particle subpopulations [82]. In addition to employing single fluorophores as "molecular beacons" to determine the position of biomolecules, single molecule fluorescence studies allow to access the photophysical dynamics of genetically encoded fluorescent proteins itself. However, in order to gain statistically consistent results, e.g. on the mobility behavior or the photophysical properties, the fluorescence image sequences have to be analyzed in a preferentially automated and calibrated (non-biased) way. In this thesis, a single molecule fluorescence optical setup was developed and calibrated and experimental biological in-vitro systems were adapted to the needs of single molecule imaging. Based on the fluorescence image sequences obtained, an automated analysis algorithm was developed, characterized and its limits for reliable quantitative data analysis were determined. For lipid marker molecules diffusing in an artifcial lipid membrane, the optimum way of the single molecule trajectory analysis of the image sequences was explored. Furthermore, effects of all relevant artifacts (specifically low signal-to-noise ratio, finite acquisition time and high spot density, in combination with photobleaching) on the recovered diffusion coefficients were carefully studied. The performance of the method was demonstrated in two series of experiments. In one series, the diffusion of a fluorescent lipid probe in artificial lipid bilayer membranes of giant unilamellar vesicles was investigated. In another series of experiments, the photoconversion and photobleaching behavior of the fluorescent protein Kaede-GFP was characterized and protein subpopulations were identified.

This work focusses on seeking to gain a deep understanding of the photophysical processes inherent to multi-functional and/or multi-component supermolecules in the condensed phase. To do this, a variety of molecular systems have been subjected to spectroscopic examination, most commonly using steady-state and time-resolved emission spectroscopy to interrogate the samples. A common feature of all the molecular architectures examined herein relates to the possibility for structural motion on timescales of concern to the photophysical event. Furthermore, to provide a spectroscopic signature, most of the target dynamic systems comprise a donor covalently attached to a complementary acceptor. These systems possess the potential to be used as solar-energy concentrators or for specific sensing applications. However, attention is given only to the fundamental properties. Chapter 1 provides a general introduction to the field of molecular rotors and to the concepts of energy and electron transfer in molecular systems. Key literature examples are used to illustrate the current state-of-the-art and to set the tone for later discussions. Each chapter includes a brief introduction to the specific topic under discussion while avoiding the generic details covered in the main introduction. The essential experimental details and underlying analytical protocols for all the studies described are provided in the final chapter. Chapter 2 describes a new series of molecular rotors based on the boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) structure. This series includes structurally-similar compounds that exhibit surprisingly disparate behaviours as putative probes for solvent viscosity. In fact, the results tend to challenge the conventional understanding of BODIPY-based molecular probes. In this chapter, we highlight the importance of asymmetry, question how it might be used to one’s advantage in the design of next generation probes, and raise ideas about porosity of the excited-state potential energy surface.

Thesis advisor: Torsten Fiebig
Thesis advisor: Mary Roberts
Understanding the electronic nature of DNA is profound and has been attempted for decades. Photoexcitation of DNA with UV light deposits electronic energy in the base stack and prepares highly reactive excited states. These states are precursors for photoinduced damage reactions which can lead to mutations and ultimately to cell death. While many DNA photo products have been isolated and characterized, the primary events immediately after photon absorption are not yet understood. Recent studies with ultrafast lasers have revealed that the majority of excess energy gained by DNA with light absorbance is dissipated on the femtosecond and picosecond time scales. In this study double-stranded oligonucleotides with different base sequences, content and lengths were systematically examined using femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. The results indicate that excitations in DNA are delocalized over more than two bases and the extent of the delocalization depends strongly on the structure of the investigated systems. Exciton delocalization domains in the longer duplexes are larger than in the shorter ones. Also, single-stranded oligonucleotides show smaller extent of exciton delocalization than duplexes with the same length. In addition to the fundamental studies on DNA photophysics, the properties and the structure of new molecular beacons based on thiazole orange dimers were studied. A full account of the optical and structural properties of the dimers in different base environments and orientations is presented here. Currently, the development of efficient ways to utilizing solar energy is at the forefront of the scientific community due to the ever rising demand for energy. Both, colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals and single-walled carbon nanotubes are potential alternatives to conventional inorganic and organic materials in photovoltaic devices Thorough understanding of the charge transfer and related photophysical phenomena in these systems will answer the question whether these nanomaterials can be applied in future generations of solar cells. The photoinduced electron transfer in donor-acceptor CdSe/CdTe heterostructured nanorods, in which CdTe is grown on top of CdSe in a single rod structure, was studied. The electron transfer between the two nanocrystals occurs on the subpicosecond time scale, competing with the ultrafast relaxation mechanisms in the quantum confined nanocrystals. Furthermore, investigations on how quantum confinement influences the phonon wavepackets in semiconductor nanocrystals were carried out. Quantum beats corresponding to longitudinal optical phonon modes were observed in the femtosecond pump-probe spectra of colloidal CdTe nanocrystals. Size-dependent experiments revealed that the optical phonon frequencies and the exciton-phonon coupling strength do not depend on the crystal's size. Only the wavepacket dephasing time was influenced by the diameter of the particles which was correlated with the hole relaxation to the exciton band edge. Electron donor-acceptor constructs, based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), can be attained by noncovalent functionalization of the nanotubes with pyrene derivatives. However, charge transfer does not take place in the simplest pyrene-SWNT constructs. For the first time the pure SWNT-pyrene construct was isolated and investigated. Our results revealed that the optical properties of pyrene are drastically altered due to strong electronic interactions with the SWNT surface. In other words, aromatic molecules lose their electronic (and chemical) signature when non-covalently attached to carbon nanotubes
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Chemistry

Chromophore is a molecule or a part of a molecule which is responsible for its appearance color. This definition has been evolving over time with the progress of science. Contemporary scientific advances have expanded its meaning: to an inclusive level, chromophore is an irreducible collective of fundamental particles, which can represent the photophysical (optical physical) properties of the macroscopic matter. Previous studies have already found that the same molecule can have different photophysical properties under different condensed states. Therefore, it is straight forward to conclude that the definition of chromophore should take such extrinsic influencing interactions of this given molecule into consideration, thus simply taking the smallest unit such as a molecule is not accurate. A good example is quantum dots. Same species of quantum dots possess the identical smallest chemical unit but can emit very differently due to quantum confinement effect, thus defining the smallest unit as the chromophore is apparently fallacious. In solid polymeric compositions, the chemical unit or building blocks may differ from the spectroscopic unit depending on how these chemical units interacts within their ensemble to evolve new properties such as a new transition dipole. As thus, understanding the evolution of photophysical behaviors between the targeted unit and neighbors is of much importance to determine whether they should be considered as one chromophore or many. This requires a thorough understanding towards the evolution of photophysical properties of a collective, and the construction of such collective will need to pay extra attention to, as any structural factor could have changed some photophysical interactions of the collective. The introductory chapter discusses the material platform and fundamental photophysics investigated in this dissertation. Chromophore assembly (CA) as a sylloge of several classes of self-assembled materials, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent-organic frameworks (COFs), porous organic polymers (POPs). Among them, MOF-based CAs (MOF-CAs) featuring with the ease of synthesis, demonstrate incomparable promises to construct such collective with several appealing characteristics, including component diversity, chemical stability, structural porosity, and post-synthetic versatility (Chapter 1.1). As for here, the main target to achieve using these assemblies is to understand the interaction between adjacent chemical monomeric units, therefore their spatial arrangements are of the paramount importance. As modern theory discovered, both ordered and random systems can be very important for novel quantum material developments. Both crystalline and amorphous arrangements of monomeric units can be achieved by adopting different classes of materials. MOF-CAs could achieve the precise control of spatial arrangement including distance, direction, and dihedral angle by its crystalline structures, whereas porous organic polymer-based CAs (POP-CAs) could feature a total randomness. Photophysics, as the research topic targeting the firsthand knowledge gained by interrogating the information provided by the propagating light after its interaction with matters, could provide crucial knowledge of the targeted matter. Hence, photophysical properties could provide fundamental understanding of the targeted matter (Chapter 1.2). State-of-the-art spectroscopic methods and instrumentation have made it possible to critically examine new structures to correlate photophysics with the chemical structure of their assemblies. By combining multiple spectroscopic techniques along with theoretical study, several correlations between the electronic properties of the matter, such as structural features, have been investigated. To illustrate, some unique topology-dependent photophysical behaviors found in chromophore assemblies are introduced (Chapter 1.3). In this dissertation, the feasibility of using specific types of MOF-CAs to conduct unique photophysical studies has been carefully chosen and verified (Chapter 2). Next, with the help of first principles computations, the nature of several electronic excited states as a function of different extent of Van der Waals or electronic interaction in MOF-CAs is unveiled, and experimentally studied with several environmental variates (Chapter 3). The knowledge was then articulated to devise a strategy to improve resonance energy transfer process in MOF-CAs. Here, low electronic symmetry of linker and directionally aligned transition dipoles of their collective ensembled are found beneficial to improve such photophysical process in a bottom-up manner (Chapter 4). Then, a series of MOFs were rationally designed to examine the feasibility and extent of a nonlinear excitonic process, singlet fission, to promote the generation of carriers usable for many applications including light-harvesting applications. The outcome demonstrated MOF-CA is a powerful tool to design such materials and is more capable in terms of its tunability (Chapter 5). At last, a set of randomly oriented CAs in POP were examined for underlying excited state dynamic process that highlights a thermal activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) involving S1 and low-lying T2 excited states (Chapter 6). This dissertation has highlighted unique yet tunable excited-state features and photophysical processes within the well-defined molecular ensemble realized via porous frameworks. These photophysical properties differ from those of their respective molecular system in their solubilized forms. Studies in this dissertation demonstrates a reliable platform to investigate multibody chromophore systems and suggested several valuable discoveries and lights the way for the study of novel chromophore assembly systems.

This thesis is concerned with measuring ultrafast electron dynamics taking place in dye-sensitized mesoporous semiconductor films employed as working electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). An understanding of these ultrafast charge transfer mechanisms is essential for designing efficient photovoltaic (PV) devices with high photon-to-current conversion efficiency. Optical-pump terahertz-probe (OPTP) spectroscopy is a sub-picosecond resolution, non-contact, photoconductivity measurement technique which can be used to directly measure charge carrier dynamics within nanostructured materials without the need for invoking complex modelling schemes. A combination of OPTP and photovoltaic measurements on mesoporous TiO2 films show an early-time intra-particle electron mobility of 0.1 cm2/(Vs). This value is an order of magnitude lower than that measured in bulk TiO2 and can be partly explained by the restricted electron movement because of geometrical constraints and increased trap sites in the nanostructured material. In addition, the mesoporous film behaves like a nanostructured composite material, with the TiO2 nanoparticles embedded in a low dielectric medium (air or vacuum), leading to lower apparent electron mobility. THz mobility measured in similar mesoporous ZnO and SnO2 films sensitized with the same dye is calculated to be 0.17 cm2/(Vs) for ZnO and 1.01 cm2/(Vs) for SnO2. Possible reasons for the deviation from mobilities reported in literature for the respective bulk materials have been discussed. The conclusion of this study is that while electron mobility values for nanoporous TiO2 films are approaching theoretical maximum values, both intra- and inter-particle electron mobility in mesoporous ZnO and SnO2 films offer considerable scope for improvement. OPTP has also been used to measure electron injection rates in dye-sensitized TiO2, ZnO and SnO2 nanostructured films. They are seen to proceed in the order TiO2 >SnO2 >ZnO. While the process is complete within a few picoseconds in TiO2/Z907, it is seen to extend beyond a nanosecond in case of ZnO. These measurements correlate well with injection efficiencies determined from DSCs fabricated from identical mesoporous films, suggesting that the slow injection components limit the overall solar cell photocurrent. The reasons for this observed difference in charge injection rates have been explored within. It is now fairly common practice in the photovoltaic community to apply a coating of a wide band-gap material over the metal-oxide nanoparticles in DSCs to improve device performance. However, the underlying reasons for the improvement are not fully understood. With this motivation, OPTP spectroscopy has been used to study how the conformal coating affects early-time mechanisms, such as electron injection, trapping or diffusion length. The electron injection process is unaffected in case of TiCl4-treated TiO2 and MgO-treated ZnO, while it becomes much slower in case of MgO-treated SnO2. Finally, a light-soaking effect observed in SnO2-based solid-state DSCs has been examined in detail using THz spectroscopy and transient PV measurement techniques. It is concluded that continued exposure to light results in a rearrangement of charged species at the metal-oxide surface. This leads to an increase in the density of acceptor states or a lowering of the SnO2 conduction band edge with respect to the dye excited state energy level, ultimately leading to faster electron transport and higher device photocurrents.

The design of dyes for NiO-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) has drawn attention owing to their potential applications in photocatalysis and because they are indispensable for the development of tandem dye-sensitized solar cells. The understanding of the electron transfer mechanisms and dynamics is beneficial to guide further dye design and further improve the performance of photocathode in solar cells and solar fuel devices. Time-resolved spectroscopy techniques, especially femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, supply sufficient resolution to get insights into the charge transfer processes in p-type dye sensitized solar cell and solar fuel devices. In paper I-V, several kinds of novel organic “push-pull” and inorganic charge transfer dyes for sensitization of p-type NiO, were systematically investigated by time-resolved spectroscopy, and photo-induced charge transfer dynamics of the organic/inorganic dyes were summarized. The excited state and reduced state intermediates were investigated in solution phase as references to confirm the charge injection and recombination on the NiO surface. The charge recombination kinetics is remarkably heterogeneous in some cases occurring on time scales spanning at least six orders of magnitude even for the same dye. In this thesis, we also proposed a novel concept of solid state p-type dye sensitized solar cells (p-ssDSSCs) for the first time (paper VI), using an organic dye P1 as sensitizer on mesoporous NiO and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as electron conductor. Femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy gave evidence for sub-ps hole injection from excited P1 to NiO, followed by electron transfer from P1●- to PCBM. The p-ssDSSCs device showed an impressive 620 mV open circuit photovoltage. Chapter 6 (paper VII) covers the study of electron transfer mechanisms in a covalently linked dye-catalyst (PB-2) sensitized NiO photocathode, towards hydrogen producing solar fuel devices. Hole injection from excited dye (PB-2*) into NiO VB takes place on dual time scales, and the reduced PB-2 (PB-2●-) formed then donates an electron to the catalyst unit.  The subsequent regeneration efficiency of PB-2 by the catalyst unit (the efficiency of catalyst reduction) is determined to ca. 70%.

A fotodinâmica de sistemas moleculares representa um dos principais tópicos atuais da físico-química molecular. O conhecimento das propriedades dos estados eletrônicos excitados tem permitido desenvolver áreas de vital importância como das energias renováveis, da fotomedicina, dos sensores fluorescentes, entre outras. O objetivo desta tese está orientado a estudar teoricamente a influência do meio (ou efeito de solvente) na fotofísica e nas propriedades dos estados eletrônicos excitados de sistemas moleculares. Nesta tese, primeiramente foi feito um estudo em fase gasosa da superfície de energia potencial do sistema molecular HSO2 e do efeito da energia rotacional na reação OH+SO. Na superfície de energia potencial foram caracterizadas um grande número de estruturas estacionárias e foi encontrado um estado de transição que liga a região mais energética da superfície com a menos energética. Em relação ao papel da energia rotacional na reação mencionada, foi realizado um estudo de trajetórias quase-clássicas, onde foi observado um decréscimo da reatividade com o aumento da energia rotacional total depositada nos reagentes. Posteriormente, foi estudado o efeito do solvente nas propriedades dos estados eletrônicos excitados e nos mecanismos de decaimento de três sistemas moleculares, acetona, 1-nitronaftaleno e daidzein. Na acetona, foi estudada a influência da polarização eletrônica do estado excitado n* provocada pelo solvente no deslocamento espectral da banda de fluorescência. A banda de emissão obtida em água mostra um deslocamento espectral muito pequeno em relação à fase gasosa, em concordância com as evidencias experimentais. Também foi observada pouca dependência do deslocamento espectral com o grau de polarização eletrônica desse estado excitado. O sistema molecular 1-nitronaftaleno foi estudado a fim de esclarecer a ultrarápida desativação eletrônica não fluorescente observada experimentalmente após a transição de absorção, assim como, caracterizar os espectros de absorção transitória também observados nos experimentos. Foi encontrado um intersystem crossing muito eficiente entre o primeiro estado excitado singleto e o segundo estado tripleto, que explica o decaimento não fluorescente deste sistema molecular. O modelo de decaimento proposto permite descrever corretamente os espectros de absorção transitória nos solventes metanol e etanol, através de transições de absorção dos estados eletrônicos tripletos. Finalmente, o sistema molecular daidzein foi estudado a fim de entender porque em solvente polar prótico, como a água, o sistema é fluorescente, mostrando um valor de Stokes shift consideravelmente grande e na presença de solvente polar aprótico, como a acetonitrila, não é observada fluorescência. Nesse sentido, foi estudada a evolução dos estados eletrônicos excitados, na presença dos solventes água e acetonitrila, após as transição de absorção. A topologia dos estados eletrônicos excitados é diferente para cada um dos solventes, em acetonitrila o sistema tem acesso a um intersystem crossing muito eficiente que permite o decaimento não fluorescente. Em água o panorama é diferente, neste caso, não é possível a ocorrência do intersystem crossing e o sistema decai por fluorescência para o estado fundamental. No estado eletrônico fluorescente é observada uma polarização eletrônica significativa que provoca o grande valor de Stokes shift observado experimentalmente.
The photodynamics of molecular systems represents one of the most important topics of the molecular physical chemistry today. The knowledge of the excited electronic states properties has allowed the development of several important areas, such as the renewable energies, the photomedicine, fluorescent sensors, etc. The aim of this thesis is oriented to the theoretical study of the solvent effect on the photophysics and on the excited electronic states properties of molecular systems. In this thesis, it was initially studied the potential energy surface of the HSO2 molecular system in gas phase and the rotational energy effect on the reactivity of the OH+SO reaction. In the potential energy surface a large number of stationary structures were characterized and it was found a transition state which connects the highest energetic region to the lowest one. Regarding the role of rotational energy on the mentioned reaction, a quasi-classical trajectories study was performed, indicating a decrease in the reactivity when the total rotational energy deposited in the reactants is increased. Subsequently, it was studied the solvent effect on the excited electronic states and on the deactivation mechanisms of three molecular systems, acetone, 1-nitronaphthalene and daidzein. In the acetone molecular system, it was studied the influence of the electronic polarization, caused by the solvent, in the fluorescence spectral shift of the n* excited state. The emission band obtained in water shows a small spectral shift compared to the gas phase, in agreement with the experimental evidences. It was also observed a little dependence of the spectral shift with the degree of the excited state polarization. The 1-nitronaphthalene molecular system was studied to clarify the ultrafast non-fluorescent deactivation mechanism experimentally observed after the absorption transitions, as well as to characterize the transient absorption spectra also observed in the experiments. A very efficient intersystem crossing was found between the first singlet excited state and the second triplet state, which explains the nonfluorescent decay of this molecular system. The proposed deactivation model allows properly describing the transient absorption spectra in methanol and ethanol solvents by absorption transitions from the triplet electronic states. Finally, the daidzein molecular system was studied to understand why in polar protic solvent, such as water, the system is fluorescent, showing a very large Stokes shift value and in polar aprotic solvent, such as acetonitrila, the fluorescence is not observed. In that sense, it was studied the evolution of the excited electronic states in water and in acetonitrile after the absorption transition. The topology of the excited electronic states is different for each solvent, in acetonitrile the system is accessible to a very efficient intersystem crossing that enables the non-fluorescent decay. In water the picture is different, the intersystem crossing is not possible to occur and the system decays by fluorescence to the ground electronic state. In the fluorescent state is observed a considerable electronic polarization that causes the so large Stokes shift value experimentally observed.

Conical Intersections (CI) are points in Potential Energy Surfaces (PES) of two or more states that have the same energy. They are fundamental to understand photo-chemical processes. These points are not isolated points, CI form seam between PES. One way to study they is to find the minimum energy CI (MECI). For this reason, in this thesis, a new algorithm for finding MECI has been proposed: Double Newton-Raphson (DNR). The algorithm has been implemented in Gaussian® program for fully-quantum calculations and ONIOM ones. It has been tested with other algorithms with a test set with correct results. Using studies of PES and MECI is possible to propose new strategies for control photo-processes. In this thesis, a new control strategy has been proposed for controlling the fulvene photo-rotation, using two different lasers, resonant and non-resonant, to obtain a Stark effect. This strategy has been simulated with quantum molecular dynamics. The simulations show that the control is achieved
Les Interseccions Conques (CI) són punt en la Superfícies d'Energia Potencial (PES) de dos o més estats amb la mateixa energia. Son essencials per entendre els processos fotoquímics. Aquest punts no estan aïllats, les CI formen interseccions entre les PES. Una manera d'estudiar-los és trobant els mínims d'energia (MECI). Per aquest motiu, en aquesta tesis, un nou algoritme ha estat proposat: Double Newton-Raphson (DNR). El DNR ha estat implementat en el programa Gaussian® per càlculs totalment quàntics i ONIOM. Aquest ha estat provat juntament amb altres algoritmes amb un test set amb correctes resultats. Utilitzant els estudis de la PES i els MECI és possible proposar noves estratègies per controlar foto-reaccions. En aquesta tesis, una nova estratègia de control ha estat proposada per tal de controlar la foto-rotació del fulvè, utilitzant dos làsers diferents, un ressonant i un altre no-ressonant per obtenir un efecte Stark. Aquesta estratega ha estat simulada amb dinàmiques moleculars quàntiques. Les simulacions mostres que s'aconsegueix el control

Les hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques (PAH) ont été proposés comme porteurs principaux de bandes interstellaires diffuses observées dans le milieu interstellaire, motivant des études approfondies de leur réponse photophysique et photochimique au rayonnement UV. Les mécanismes sous-jacents en compétition déterminent l'évolution du gaz dans le milieu interstellaire. L'objectif principal de cette thèse est de décrire et de comprendre les mécanismes de relaxation dans des PAHs de grande taille, par des simulations de dynamique moléculaire non-adiabatique, couplées à l'approche de la réponse linéaire "Time-Dependent Density Functional based Tight Binding" (TD-DFTB) des états excités. Des développements substantiels, prérequis ont été effectués dans le code DFTB deMon-Nano (http://demon-nano.ups-tlse.fr), d'abord avec le calcul des gradients analytiques des surfaces d'énergie potentielle (PES) et des couplages non-adiabatiques des états TD-DFTB. Puis, l'algorithme de trajectoire à sauts de surface minimaux (FSSH) de Tully a été adapté à l'approche TD-DFTB afin de prendre en compte les effets non-adiabatiques. Après comparaison avec des méthodes de structure électronique de référence, la première application est dédiée à la dynamique non-adiabatique de PAHs cata-condensés linéairement. La relaxation électronique de l'état excité le plus brillant a été simulée pour des polyacènes neutres constitués de 2 à 7 cycles aromatiques. Les résultats montrent une alternance marquée dans les temps de dépopulation de l'état initial pour les polyacènes contenant jusqu'à 6 cycles aromatiques, ce qui est corrélé avec une alternance des écarts d'énergie entre l'état initial et l'état situé juste dessous. Puis, l'influence de la géométrie sur la relaxation a été étudiée en comparant deux isomères, le chrysène de type "armchair-edge" et le tétracène de type "zigzag-edge". Après évaluation des paramétrages DFTB, la relaxation électronique à partir de l'état excité le plus brillant, situé autour de 270 nm pour les deux isomères, à été analysée. Les résultats montrent que la population électronique excitée du chrysène décroît un ordre de grandeur plus rapidement que celle du tétracène. Ceci est aussi corrélé à une différence significative des écarts d'énergie entre l'état initial et l'état situé juste dessous. Un dernier développement majeur concerne l'utilisation d'algorithmes "Machine Learning" (ML) proposés comme un moyen d'éviter la plupart des calculs de structure électronique, très coûteux en temps calcul. Les performances d'algorithmes de réseaux de neurones appliqués à la dynamique des états excités ont été évaluées. Le cas de la relaxation électronique dans le phénanthrène neutre a été choisi comme test en raison de divers résultats expérimentaux disponibles. L'apprentissage de plusieurs réseaux de neurones a été effectué et leurs précision et efficacité analysés. De plus, des approximations de trajectoires à sauts de surface ont été interfacées à l'approche ML, résultant en un coût négligeable des simulations de dynamique non-adiabatique. L'efficacité des diverses approches simplifiées a été comparée à FSSH. Dans l'ensemble, ML se révèle un outil très prometteur pour la dynamique dans les états excités à l'échelle de la nanoseconde. Ce travail de thèse ouvre de nouvelles voies pour étudier la photophysique théorique de complexes moléculaires de grande taille. Enfin, les outils développés et implémentés dans deMon-Nano, de manière modulaire, peuvent être combinés avec d'autres approches DFTB sophistiquées (tel que "Configuration Interaction") plus adaptées aux états à transfert de charge
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been proposed as main carriers of diffuse interstellar bands that are observed in the interstellar medium. This has motivated an extensive study of their photophysical and photochemical response to UV irradiation. Underlying competing mechanisms drive the evolution of gas in the interstellar medium. The main objective of this thesis is to describe and to get theoretical insight in the energy relaxation mechanisms in large PAH molecules via extensive non-adiabatic molecular dynamics simulations coupled to the linear response Time-Dependent Density Functional based Tight Binding (TD-DFTB) approach of the excited states. Prerequisite substantial development was made in the DFTB deMon-Nano package (http://demon-nano.ups-tlse.fr), firstly with the implementation of analytical gradients of potential energy surfaces (PESs) and of non-adiabatic couplings within the TD-DFTB scheme. Next, the Tully's fewest-switches trajectory surface hopping (FSSH) algorithm has been adapted and coupled to the TD-DFTB scheme in order to take into account non-adiabatic transitions. After detailed methodological considerations and comparison with higher-level electronic structure methods, the first full-scale application is dedicated to non-adiabatic molecular dynamics of linearly cata-condensed PAHs. Electronic relaxation from the brightest excited state has been simulated for neutral polyacenes with 2 to 7 aromatic cycles. The results display a striking alternation in decay times of the brightest singlet state computed for polyacenes with up to 6 aromatic cycles, which is correlated with a qualitatively similar alternation of energy gaps between the brightest state and the state lying just below in energy. Next, the influence of geometry on relaxation has been investigated through the comparison of two isomers: armchair-edge chrysene versus zigzag-edge tetracene. After assessing the performance of DFTB parameter sets, the main focus is given to the analysis of the electronic relaxation from the brightest excited state, which is located around 270 nm for both isomers. The results show that the electronic population of the brightest excited state in chrysene decays an order-of-magnitude faster than that in tetracene. This is correlated with a significant difference in energy gaps between the brightest state and the state lying just below in energy, which is consistent with the previous conclusions for polyacenes. A last major development concerns the use of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms that have been proposed as a way to avoid most of the computationally-demanding electronic structure calculations. It aims to assess the performance of neural networks algorithms applied to excited-state dynamics. Electronic relaxation in neutral phenanthrene has been chosen as a test case due to the diversity of available experimental results. Several neural networks have been trained with different parameters and their respective accuracy and efficiency analyzed. In addition, approximate trajectory surface hopping schemes have been interfaced to ML-based PESs and gradients, resulting in non-adiabatic dynamics simulations at a negligible cost. Various simplified hopping approaches have been compared with FSSH. Overall, ML is found to be a highly promising tool for nanosecond-long molecular dynamics in excited states. This PhD research opens new avenues to investigate theoretical photophysics of large molecular complexes. Last but not least, the theoretical tools developed and implemented in deMon-Nano in a modular way can be further combined with other advanced (such as Configuration Interaction) DFTB techniques better adapted to charge-transfer states

Une nouvelle famille de complexes de difluorure de bore photosensibles est développée. Elle est basée sur des structures moléculaires contenant une unité β-dicétone à conjugaison électronique π.La grande variété de groupements aromatiques et la nature donneur ou accepteur d'électrons des différents substituants permet l'élaboration de systèmes électroniques donneur-accepteur-donneur d'électrons (D1-A-D1) et donneur-accepteur (D2-A).L'absorption électronique de cette famille de molécule se situe dans la partie visible du spectre électromagnétique et une partie du spectre ultraviolet, et est caractérisée par une bande d'absorption π-π* intense avec des coefficients d'absorption molaire supérieurs à 50 000 M-1cm-1.L'émission de fluorescence couvre une plage spectrale qui va du visible au proche infrarouge avec des rendements quantiques de fluorescence en solution relativement élevés pouvant atteindre 62 %.En fin, cette famille de molécule est photochimiquement stable et est, contrairement à d'autres familles de complexes de difluorure de bore, chimiquement très stable en solution.Mots-clés : Difluorure de bore, β-dicétone, matériaux π-conjugués, luminescence, fluorescence stationnaire et résolue dans le temps (TRES), synthèse organique, RMN-19F dynamique, complexes & colorants fluorescents, curcumine & curcuminoide, complexe BF2, photophysique
A new photosensitive family of boron difluoride complex is developed. It is based on π-conjugated molecular structures containing β-diketonates unit.The wide variety of aromatic groups and the nature of donor or electron acceptor of the different substituents allow the development of electron donor-acceptor-donor (DAD) and donor-acceptor (DA) electronic systems.The electronic absorption of this family of molecules is in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum and a portion of the ultraviolet spectrum, and is characterized by an intense π-π* absorption band with molar absorption coefficient greater than 50 000 M-1.cm-1.The fluorescence emission covers a spectral range going from visible to near infrared, with relatively high fluorescence quantum yields of up to 62 % in solution.This new material family is photochemically stable and, unlike some other families of boron difluoride complexes, chemically very stable in solution

abstract: Fluorescence spectroscopy is a popular technique that has been particularly useful in probing biological systems, especially with the invention of single molecule fluorescence. For example, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is one tool that has been helpful in probing distances and conformational changes in biomolecules. In this work, important properties necessary in the quantification of FRET were investigated while FRET was also applied to gain insight into the dynamics of biological molecules. In particular, dynamics of damaged DNA was investigated. While damages in DNA are known to affect DNA structure, what remains unclear is how the presence of a lesion, or multiple lesions, affects the flexibility of DNA, especially in relation to damage recognition by repair enzymes. DNA conformational dynamics was probed by combining FRET and fluorescence anisotropy along with biochemical assays. The focus of this work was to investigate the relationship between dynamics and enzymatic repair. In addition, to properly quantify fluorescence and FRET data, photophysical phenomena of fluorophores, such as blinking, needs to be understood. The triplet formation of the single molecule dye TAMRA and the photoisomerization yield of two different modifications of the single molecule cyanine dye Cy3 were examined spectroscopically to aid in accurate data interpretation. The combination of the biophysical and physiochemical studies illustrates how fluorescence spectroscopy can be used to answer biological questions.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Chemistry 2015

博士
國立交通大學
應用化學系碩博士班
103
In this Thesis, the author presents unprecedentedly detailed studies on the structure and dynamics of ionic and neutral transient species that are of crucial importance in molecular photovoltaic devices, using nanosecond time-resolved near/mid-IR spectroscopy with the help of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and chemometrics techniques. The author has investigated (1) the back electron transfer (BET) dynamics in photoinduced intermolecular electron transfer reaction between pyrene (Py) and 1,4-dicyanobenzene (DCB) in acetonitrile and (2) the structure of the lowest excited triplet (T1) state of p-nitroaniline (PNA) in acetonitrile-d3. In the first work, the transient near/mid-IR spectra of Py radical dimer cation and DCB radical anion are observed in the nano- to microsecond (ns–μs) time regime after photoexcitation of Py. Global fitting analysis of the time-resolved IR data reveals a dual role of acetonitrile as solvent and “charge mediator” of the charge recombination between Py radical dimer cation and DCB radical anion in the BET reaction. This finding may have implications for dye-sensitized solar cells because acetonitrile is a commonly used solvent for redox couples in these types of devices. In the second work, the transient mid-IR spectra of PNA in the T1 state generated after photoexcitation of PNA and subsequent intersystem crossing are examined to characterize the structure of T1 PNA. Comparison of the experimental IR spectra with DFT calculated results on explicitly solvated PNA shows that T1 PNA has a partial quinoid structure, which sharply contrasts with the well-known zwitterionic charge-transfer structure of the lowest excited singlet state of PNA. The studies presented in this Thesis not only illustrate the applicability of the time-resolved near/mid-IR method to a wide variety of important photophysical and photochemical processes in the condensed phase, but they also provide otherwise hardly obtainable insights into the structure and dynamics of transient species (radicals and excited-state molecules) involved in charger transfer processes.

博士
國立臺灣大學
化學研究所
94
Part I: Detailed insights into the excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) reaction in 2-(2’-hydroxy-4’-dietheylaminophenyl) benzothiazole (HABT) have been investigated via steady state and femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion approaches. In cyclohexane, in contrast to the ultrafast rate of ESIPT for the parent 2-(2’-hydroxyphenyl) benzothiazole (> 35 fs-1), HABT undergoes a resolvable, relatively slow rate (~1.8 ps-1) of ESIPT. In polar, aprotic solvents competitive rate of proton transfer and rate of solvent relaxation was resolved in the early dynamics. After reaching the equilibrium polarization in the normal state (N*), ESIPT takes place, associated with a solvent induced barrier due to different polarization equilibrium between normal (N*) and tautomer (T*) states. Supplementary support was also rendered via the study of 2-(2’-methoxy-4’-dietheylaminophenyl) benzothiazole (MABT), in which ESIPT is prohibited due to the lack of hydroxyl proton. The results are rationalized by a similar dipolar character between N and T* species, whereas due to the charge transfer effect N* possesses an appreciable dipolar change with respect to both N and T*. ESIPT is thus energetically favorable at the Franck-Condon excited N*, and its rate is competitive with respect to the solvation relaxation process. In CH3CN, due to the strong solvent stabilization there exists an equilibrium between N* and T* states in e.g. CH2Cl2, and both forward and reversed ESIPT dynamics are associated with a solvent induced barrier due to different polarization equilibrium between N* and T*. The N* ↔ T* equilibrium constant was sdeduced to be 24.5, 4.71 and 0.57 in cyclohexane, CH2Cl2 and CH3CN, respectively. Temperature dependent relaxation dynamics further resolved a solvent induced barrier of 1.88 kcal/mol with a rate of 6.8 ps-1 at 298 K for the forward reaction in CH2Cl2. Part II: A Azulenylocyanine dye (AC) has been synthesized to investigate its associated photophysical properties. AC is essentially nonluminescent (Φf < 10-6) in any solvents despite its very high absorption extinction coefficient (760 nm, ε ~ 8.2×104 M-1cm-1 in methanol). Femtosecond fluorescence upconversion, anisotropy kinetics and transient absorption experiments, in combination with the theoretical TDDFT approach, lead us to conclude that the lowest S0 → S1 transition is partial optically forbidden in character, while the 760 nm absorption is ascribed to the fully allowed S0 → Sn (n ≥ 2) transition. The observed <130 fs decay component is attributed to the Sn → S1 internal conversion, while the S1 → S0, with a much slower radiative decay time (> 233 ns) undergoes a dominant radiationless deactivation 7 process (710 ± 70 fs) possibly governed by strong interaction between S1 and S0 potential energy surfaces. Part III: CdSe/ZnTe and CdTe/CdSe type-II quantum dots (QDs) are characterized in near-IR interband emission. Spectroscopic and femtosecond dynamic measurements reveal that the rate of photoinduced electron/hole spatial separation decreases with increases in the size of the core, and is independent of the thickness of the shell in the CdSe/ZnTe QDs. The results are consistent with the binding strength of the electron and hole confined at the center of CdSe. So far as CdTe/CdSe is concerned, the femtosecond fluorescence upconversion measurements on the relaxation dynamics of the CdTe core emission and CdTe/CdSe interband emission reveal that as the size of the core increases from 5.3, 6.1 to 6.9 nm, the rate of photoinduced electron separation decreases from 510, 690 to 930 fs. The finite rates of the initial charge separation are tentatively rationalized by the low electron-phonon coupling, causing small coupling between the initial and charge-separated states. The correlation between the core/shell size and the electron/hole spatial separation rate resolved in this study may provide valuable information for applications where rapid photoinduced carrier separation followed by charge transfer into a matrix or electrode is crucial, such as in photovoltaic devices. Tuning CdSe quantum dots (QDs) sizes and consequently their corresponding two-photon absorption (TPA) cross section have been systematically investigated. As increasing the size (diameter) of the quantum dots, the TPA cross section was found to be dependent on a 3.5 ± 0.5 and 5.6 ± 0.7 and 5.4 power of CdSe and CdTe QDs diameters, respectively. TPA cross section was measured to be as high as 1.0 × 10-46 cm4•s photon-1(104 GM) for CdSe QDs with a diameter of 4.8 nm. The results are rationalized on theoretical levels incorporating both one-photon and two-photon excitation properties on an exciton system.

The emerging field of nanotechnology, which spans diverse areas such as nanoelectronics, medicine, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, biotechnology and computation, focuses on the development of devices whose improved performance is based on the utilization of self-assembled nanoscale components exhibiting unique properties owing to their miniaturized dimensions. The first phase in the conception of such multifunctional devices based on integrated technologies requires the study of basic principles behind the functional mechanism of nanoscale components, which could originate from individual nanoobjects or result as a collective behaviour of miniaturized unit structures. The comprehensive studies presented in this thesis encompass the mechanical, dynamical and photophysical aspects of three nanoscale systems. A newly developed europium sulfide nanocrystalline material is introduced. Advances in synthetic methods allowed for shape control of surface-functionalized EuS nanocrystals and the fabrication of multifunctional EuS-CdSe hybrid particles, whose unique structural and optical properties hold promise as useful attributes of integrated materials in developing technologies. A comprehensive study based on a new class of multifunctional nanomaterials, derived from the basic unit of barcoded metal nanorods is presented. Their chemical composition affords them the ability to undergo autonomous motion in the presence of a suitable fuel. The nature of their chemically powered self-propulsion locomotion was investigated, and plausible mechanisms for various motility modes were presented. Furthermore functionalization of striped metallic nanorods has been realized through the incorporation of chemically controlled flexible hinges displaying bendable properties. The structural aspect of the light harvesting machinery of a photosynthetic cryptophyte alga, Rhodomonas CS24, and the mobility of the antenna protein, PE545, in vivo were investigated. Information obtained through a combination of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy in conjunction with quantum chemical calculations aided in the elucidation of the dynamics and the mechanism of light harvesting in the multichromophoric phycobiliprotein phycocyanin PC645 in vitro. Investigation of the light-harvesting efficiency and optimization of energy transfer with respect to the structural organization of light-harvesting chromophores on the nanoscale, can provide us with fundamental information necessary for the development of synthetic light-harvesting devices capable of mimicking the efficiency of the natural system.

This thesis is dedicated to studies of the excited-state dynamics in organic molecular systems for solar energy conversion by employing time-resolved experimental techniques. Organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices have received significant attention in the past decade and reaching record high power conversion efficiencies (PCE) above 17%. An essential step towards reaching the predicted PCE limit of 25.5% is to develop a comprehensive picture of the photophysical processes, specifically the loss processes, in OPV devices. It is the aim of this thesis to investigate and understand the fate of excited-states in organic electron donor/acceptor systems by ultrafast spectroscopic techniques, specifically, to reveal the interplay between energy and charge transfer processes. The first part deals with the identification of different polymorphs in a diketopyrrolopyrrole-based (DPP) polymer. Applying time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) measurements to the polymer dissolved in different solvent mixtures and using multivariate curve resolution (MCR) to deconvolute the ground-state absorption spectra reveals the co-existence of an amorphous (α) and two semi-crystalline (β1 and β2) polymer phases. The OPV device performance is shown to increase by the additional absorption of the β2 phase. The second part compares the efficiency of direct and energy transfer-mediated charge generation in prototypical donor-acceptor dyads that use as the electron donor triangulene derivatives chemically linked to the electron acceptor perylenediimide (PDI) block via oligophenylene spacers of different lengths. Charge generation efficiencies are found to be similar and increase with the donor-acceptor spatial separation. A combination of transient absorption (TA) measurements and computation of the dyad’s excited-state landscape revealed the presence of “optically-dark” excited-states that are populated by ultrafast donor-acceptor energy transfer prior to hole (back) transfer. The last part of the dissertation uses TRPL, TA, and time-delayed collection field (TDCF) measurements alongside MCR analysis to provide a comprehensive analysis of the yield of individual photophysical processes in OPV devices. A systematic methodology is proposed and tested on two all-polymer BHJ devices used as model systems. The experimental findings are supported by successful simulation of the solar cells’ JV characteristics using the spectroscopically-determined kinetic parameters. More generally, this approach can be used to quantify efficiency-limiting processes in other donor-acceptor BHJs.