Electronic and vibrational structure in the S0 and S1 states of corannulene.

Corannulene is a nonplanar aromatic hydrocarbon also known as a buckybowl. Its electronic and vibrational structure has been investigated by analyzing its fluorescence excitation spectrum and dispersed fluorescence spectrum in a supersonic jet. Its spectral features are in keeping with the expectation, confirmed by some previous results, that it has fivefold or C5v symmetry. The observed prominent vibronic bands in the S1 ← S0 transition have been assigned to e1 and e2 bands on the basis of theoretical calculations so that the S1 state was assigned to 1E2. The symmetry adapted cluster configuration interaction calculation supports this assignment of the S1 electronic state, although the time-dependent density functional theory calculation suggests that the S1 state is 1A2. It has also been shown that the normal coordinates for strong vibronic bands mainly include out-of-plane vibrational motion. The rotational envelopes are well explained by taking account of the Coriolis interaction between the degenerate vibrational and rotational levels. The mechanism of bowl-to-bowl inversion is also discussed with the results of theoretical calculations regarding the barrier to inversion and metastable conformation.

Electronic and vibrational structures in the S0 and S1 states of coronene.

We observed the fluorescence excitation spectra and dispersed fluorescence spectra of jet-cooled coronene-h12 and coronene-d12. We analyzed the vibronic structures, assuming a planar and sixfold symmetric molecular structure (D6h). The S1 state was identified to be B2u1. The S1B2u1←S0A1g1 transition is symmetry forbidden, so the 000 band is missing in the fluorescence excitation spectrum. We found a number of vibronic bands that were assigned to the e2g fundamental bands and their combination bands with totally symmetric a1g vibrations. This spectral feature is similar to that of benzene although several strong e2g bands are seen in coronene. The band shape (rotational envelope) was significantly different in each e2g mode. It was shown that degenerate rotational levels were shifted and split by the Coriolis interaction. We calculated the Coriolis parameter using the molecular structure in the S1 state and the normal coordinate of each e2g vibrational mode, which were obtained by theoretical calculations. The calculated band shapes well reproduced the observed ones, suggesting that the isolated coronene molecule has D6h symmetry.