Intra- and Intermolecular Charge-Transfer Dynamics of Carbene-Metal-Amide Photosensitizers.

A series of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies were performed on a set of eight carbene-metal-amide (cMa) complexes, where M = Cu and Au, that have been used as photosensitizers for photosensitized electrocatalytic reactions. Using ps-to-ns and ns-to-ms transient absorption spectroscopies (psTA and nsTA, respectively), the excited-state kinetics from light absorption, intersystem crossing (ISC), and eventually intermolecular charge transfer were thoroughly characterized. Using time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) and psTA with a thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) model, the variation in intersystem crossing (ISC), (S1 → T1) rates (∼3-120 × 109 s-1), and ΔEST values (73-115 meV) for these compounds were fully characterized, reflecting systematic changes to the carbene, carbazole, and metal. The psTA additionally revealed an early time relaxation (rate ∼0.2-0.8 × 1012 s-1) attributed to solvent relaxation and vibrational cooling. The nsTA experiments for a gold-based cMa complex demonstrated efficient intermolecular charge transfer from the excited cMa to an electron acceptor. Pulse radiolysis and bulk electrolysis experiments allowed us to identify the character of the transient excited states as ligand-ligand charge transfer as well as the spectroscopic signature of oxidized and reduced forms of the cMa photosensitizer.

Unraveling the Photoionization Dynamics of Indole in Aqueous and Ethanol Solutions.

The photoionization dynamics of indole, the ultraviolet-B chromophore of tryptophan, were explored in water and ethanol using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy with 292, 268, and 200 nm excitation. By studying the femtosecond-to-nanosecond dynamics of indole in two different solvents, a new photophysical model has been generated that explains many previously unsolved facets of indole's complex solution phase photochemistry. Photoionization is only an active pathway for indole in aqueous solution, leading to a reduction in the fluorescence quantum yield in water-rich environments, which is frequently used in biophysical experiments as a key signature of the protein-folded state. Photoionization of indole in aqueous solution was observed for all three pump wavelengths but via two different mechanisms. For 200 nm excitation, electrons are ballistically ejected directly into the bulk solvent. Conversely, 292 and 268 nm excitation populates an admixture of two 1ππ* states, which form a dynamic equilibrium with a tightly bound indole cation and electron-ion pair. The ion pair dissociates on a nanosecond time scale, generating separated solvated electrons and indole cations. The charged species serve as important precursors to triplet indole production and greatly enhance the overall intersystem crossing rate. Our proposed photophysical model for indole in aqueous solution is the most appropriate for describing photoinduced dynamics of tryptophan in polypeptide sequences; tryptophan in aqueous pH 7 solution is zwitterionic, unlike in peptides, and resultantly has a competitive excited state proton transfer pathway that quenches the tryptophan fluorescence.

Temperature dependence of radiative and non-radiative decay in the luminescence of one-dimensional pyridinium lead halide hybrids.

The photoluminescence properties of organic-inorganic pyridinium lead bromide [(pyH)PbBr3] and iodide [(pyH)PbI3] compounds were investigated as a function of temperature. The inorganic substructure consists of face-sharing chains of PbX6 octahedra. Diffuse reflectance spectra of the compounds show low energy absorption features consistent with charge transfer transitions from the PbX3 chains to the pyridinium cations. Both compounds display extremely weak luminescence at room temperature that becomes strongly enhanced upon cooling to 77 K. Broad, featureless low energy emission (λem > 600 nm) in both compounds have large Stokes shifts [1.1 eV for (pyH)PbBr3 and 0.46 eV for (pyH)PbI3] and are assigned to transitions from self-trapped excitons on the inorganic chains whereas emission at higher energy in (pyH)PbBr3 (λem = 450 nm) is assigned to luminescence from a free exciton state. Analysis of data from temperature-dependent luminescence intensity measurements gives activation energies (Ea) for non-radiative decay of the self-trapped excitons in (pyH)PbBr3 and (pyH)PbI3, (Ea = 0.077 eV and 0.103 eV, respectively) and for the free exciton in (pyH)PbBr3 (Ea = 0.010 eV). Analysis of temperature dependent luminescence lifetime data indicates another non-radiative decay process in (pyH)PbI3 at higher temperatures (Ea = 0.17 eV). A large increase in the luminescence lifetime of (pyH)PbI3 below 80 K is consistent with thermalization between triplet sublevels. Analysis of the luminescence power dependence for (pyH)PbI3 shows superlinear response suggestive of quenching by static traps.

Role of the Perfluoro Effect in the Selective Photochemical Isomerization of Hexafluorobenzene.

Hexafluorobenzene and many of its derivatives exhibit a chemoselective photochemical isomerization, resulting in highly strained, Dewar-type bicyclohexenes. While the changes in absorption and emission associated with benzene hexafluorination have been attributed to the so-called "perfluoro effect", the resulting electronic structure and photochemical reactivity of hexafluorobenzene is still unclear. We now use a combination of ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy, multiconfigurational computations, and non-adiabatic dynamics simulations to develop a holistic description of the absorption, emission, and photochemical dynamics of the 4π-electrocyclic ring-closing of hexafluorobenzene and the fluorination effect along the reaction coordinate. Our calculations suggest that the electron-withdrawing fluorine substituents induce a vibronic coupling between the lowest-energy 1B2u (ππ*) and 1E1g (πσ*) excited states by selectively stabilizing the σ-type states. The vibronic coupling occurs along vibrational modes of e2u symmetry which distorts the excited-state minimum geometry resulting in the experimentally broad, featureless absorption bands, and a ∼100 nm Stokes shift in fluorescence-in stark contrast to benzene. Finally, the vibronic coupling is shown to simultaneously destabilize the reaction pathway toward hexafluoro-benzvalene and promote molecular vibrations along the 4π ring-closing pathway, resulting in the chemoselectivity for hexafluoro-Dewar-benzene.

Symmetry breaking charge transfer as a means to study electron transfer with no driving force.

Symmetry breaking charge transfer (SBCT) is a process where a symmetrically disposed pair of identical chromophores forms a charge transfer excited state with the hole and electron on different chromophores, i.e. chr-chr + hν → chr+-chr-. Herein we explore this process in two dipyrrin-based bichromophoric systems. One of these bisdipyrrins involved a pair of BODIPY chromophores linked by a single bond at their meso-positions (compound 1) and the other involved two dipyrrin ligands coordinated in a tetrahedral geometry at the Zn2+ ion (compound 2). Both compounds show rapid SBCT in polar solvents and only dipyrrin based emission in nonpolar solvents, the latter arising from a dipyrrin localized excited sate (LE). By "tuning" the solvent polarity the equilibrium between the LE and SBCT states can be shifted to favor either state. Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy (TA) was used to probe the kinetics of the charge transfer for 2 in solvents where the electron transfer is endergonic, exergonic and has a ΔG close to zero. Our TA derived rates were used to predict fluorescence efficiencies in each of the different solvent systems and showed a good correspondence to measured values. Detailed density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent DFT were used to model the ground states as well as the LE and SBCT states of 1 and 2, in both polar and nonpolar media. The ground and LE excited states show small dipole moments, while the SBCT states show dipole moments of 16.4 and 20.3 D for 1 and 2, respectively.

Frequent detection of a human fecal indicator in the urban ocean: environmental drivers and covariation with enterococci.

Fecal pollution of surface waters presents a global human health threat. New molecular indicators of fecal pollution have been developed to address shortcomings of traditional culturable fecal indicators. However, there is still little information on their fate and transport in the environment. The present study uses spatially and temporally extensive data on traditional (culturable enterococci, cENT) and molecular (qPCR-enterococci, qENT and human-associated marker, HF183/BacR287) indicator concentrations in marine water surrounding highly-urbanized San Francisco, California, USA to investigate environmental and anthropogenic processes that impact fecal pollution. We constructed multivariable regression models for fecal indicator bacteria at 14 sampling stations. The human marker was detected more frequently in our study than in many other published studies, with detection frequency at some stations as high as 97%. The odds of cENT, qENT, and HF183/BacR287 exceeding health-relevant thresholds were statistically elevated immediately following discharges of partially treated combined sewage, and cENT levels dissipated after approximately 1 day. However, combined sewer discharges were not important predictors of indicator levels typically measured in weekly monitoring samples. Instead, precipitation and solar insolation were important predictors of cENT in weekly samples, while precipitation and water temperature were important predictors of HF183/BacR287 and qENT. The importance of precipitation highlights the significance of untreated storm water as a source of fecal pollution to the urban ocean, even for a city served by a combined sewage system. Sunlight and water temperature likely control persistence of the indicators via photoinactivation and dark decay processes, respectively.

Three new species of western California springsnails previously confused with Pyrgulopsis stearnsiana (Caenogastropoda, Hydrobiidae).

We describe three new, allopatric species of springsnails (genus Pyrgulopsis) from western California (Pyrgulopsis lindae, Pyrgulopsis ojaiensis, Pyrgulopsis torrida) that were previously identified as Pyrgulopsis stearnsiana. The new species are differentiated from Pyrgulopsis stearnsiana and each other both by mtCOI sequences (3.9-9.9%) and details of penial morphology. We also provide a phylogeny with increased sampling which confirms a previous finding that Pyrgulopsis stearnsiana sensu stricto is paraphyletic relative to two other California species (Pyrgulopsis diablensis, Pyrgulopsis giulianii). Our molecular and morphological evidence suggests that Pyrgulopsis stearnsiana paraphyly is an artifact of conservative taxonomy, however additional studies utilizing rapidly evolving genetic markers will be needed to confidently tease apart the cryptic diversity in this widely ranging springsnail. The new species described herein are narrowly distributed and vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors. The single known population of Pyrgulopsis torrida may have become extirpated between 2000 and 2015.

Mechanism of proton relaxation for enzyme-manipulated, multicomponent gold-magnetic nanoparticle chains.

Longitudinal and transverse relaxation times of multicomponent nanoparticle (NP) chains are investigated for their potential use as multifunctional imaging agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Gold NPs (ca. 5 nm) are arranged linearly along double-stranded DNA, creating gold NP chains. After cutting gold NP chains with restriction enzymes (EcoRI or BamHI), multicomponent NP chains are formed through a ligation reaction with enzyme-cut, superparamagnetic NP chains. We evaluate the changes in relaxation times for different constructs of gold-iron oxide NP chains and gold-cobalt iron oxide NP chains using 300 MHz (1)H NMR. In addition, the mechanism of proton relaxation for multicomponent NP chains is examined. The results indicate that relaxation times are dependent on the one-dimensional structure and the amount of superparamagnetic NP chains present in the multicomponent constructs. Multicomponent NP chains arranged on double-stranded DNA provide a feasible method for fabrication of multifunctional imaging agents that improve relaxation times effectively for MRI applications.