Photoexcited state dynamics and singlet fission in carotenoids

<p>We describe our simulations of the excited&nbsp;state&nbsp;dynamics&nbsp;of the carotenoid neurosporene, following its photoexcitation into the &ldquo;bright&rdquo; (nominally 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>)&nbsp;state. To...

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Main Authors: Manawadu, D, Georges, TN, Barford, W
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: American Chemical Society 2023
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author Manawadu, D
Georges, TN
Barford, W
author_facet Manawadu, D
Georges, TN
Barford, W
author_sort Manawadu, D
collection OXFORD
description <p>We describe our simulations of the excited&nbsp;state&nbsp;dynamics&nbsp;of the carotenoid neurosporene, following its photoexcitation into the &ldquo;bright&rdquo; (nominally 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>)&nbsp;state. To account for the experimental and theoretical uncertainty in the relative energetic ordering of the nominal 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;and 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;states&nbsp;at the Franck&ndash;Condon point, we consider two parameter sets. In both cases, there is ultrafast internal conversion from the &ldquo;bright&rdquo;&nbsp;state&nbsp;to a &ldquo;dark&rdquo;&nbsp;singlet&nbsp;triplet-pair&nbsp;state, i.e., to one member of the &ldquo;2A<sub>g</sub>&rdquo; family of&nbsp;states. For one parameter set, internal conversion from the 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;to 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;states&nbsp;occurs via the dark, intermediate 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;state. In this case, there is a cross over of the 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;and 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;diabatic energies within 5 fs and an associated avoided crossing of the S<sub>2</sub>&nbsp;and S<sub>3</sub>&nbsp;adiabatic energies. After the adiabatic evolution of the S<sub>2</sub>&nbsp;state&nbsp;from predominately 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;character to predominately 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;character, there is a slower nonadiabatic transition from S<sub>2</sub>&nbsp;to S<sub>1</sub>, accompanied by an increase in the population of the 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;state. For the other parameter set, the 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;energy lies higher than the 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;energy at the Franck&ndash;Condon point. In this case, there is cross over of the 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;and 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;energies and an avoided crossing of the S<sub>1</sub>&nbsp;and S<sub>2</sub>&nbsp;energies, as the S<sub>1</sub>&nbsp;state&nbsp;evolves adiabatically from being of 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;character to 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;character. We make a direct connection from our predictions to experimental observables by calculating the time-resolved excited&nbsp;state&nbsp;absorption. For the case of direct 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;to 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;internal conversion, we show that the dominant transition at ca. 2 eV, being close to but lower in energy than the T<sub>1</sub>&nbsp;to T<sub>1</sub><sup>*</sup>&nbsp;transition, can be attributed to the 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;component of S<sub>1</sub>. Moreover, we show that it is the charge-transfer exciton component of the 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;state&nbsp;that is responsible for this transition (to a higher-lying exciton&nbsp;state), and not its triplet-pair component. These simulations are performed using the adaptive tDMRG method on the extended Hubbard model of &pi;-conjugated electrons. The Ehrenfest equations of motion are used to simulate the coupled nuclei&nbsp;dynamics. We next discuss the microscopic mechanism of &ldquo;bright&rdquo; to &ldquo;dark&rdquo;&nbsp;state&nbsp;internal conversion and emphasize that this occurs via the exciton components of both&nbsp;states. Finally, we describe a mechanism relying on torsional relaxation whereby the strongly bound intrachain triplet-pairs of the &ldquo;dark&rdquo;&nbsp;state&nbsp;may undergo interchain exothermic dissociation.</p>
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spelling oxford-uuid:bdf7bba2-4e4e-4ad1-94ad-5a6cce6634652023-03-09T07:17:18ZPhotoexcited state dynamics and singlet fission in carotenoidsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:bdf7bba2-4e4e-4ad1-94ad-5a6cce663465EnglishSymplectic ElementsAmerican Chemical Society2023Manawadu, DGeorges, TNBarford, W<p>We describe our simulations of the excited&nbsp;state&nbsp;dynamics&nbsp;of the carotenoid neurosporene, following its photoexcitation into the &ldquo;bright&rdquo; (nominally 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>)&nbsp;state. To account for the experimental and theoretical uncertainty in the relative energetic ordering of the nominal 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;and 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;states&nbsp;at the Franck&ndash;Condon point, we consider two parameter sets. In both cases, there is ultrafast internal conversion from the &ldquo;bright&rdquo;&nbsp;state&nbsp;to a &ldquo;dark&rdquo;&nbsp;singlet&nbsp;triplet-pair&nbsp;state, i.e., to one member of the &ldquo;2A<sub>g</sub>&rdquo; family of&nbsp;states. For one parameter set, internal conversion from the 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;to 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;states&nbsp;occurs via the dark, intermediate 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;state. In this case, there is a cross over of the 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;and 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;diabatic energies within 5 fs and an associated avoided crossing of the S<sub>2</sub>&nbsp;and S<sub>3</sub>&nbsp;adiabatic energies. After the adiabatic evolution of the S<sub>2</sub>&nbsp;state&nbsp;from predominately 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;character to predominately 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;character, there is a slower nonadiabatic transition from S<sub>2</sub>&nbsp;to S<sub>1</sub>, accompanied by an increase in the population of the 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;state. For the other parameter set, the 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;energy lies higher than the 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;energy at the Franck&ndash;Condon point. In this case, there is cross over of the 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;and 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;energies and an avoided crossing of the S<sub>1</sub>&nbsp;and S<sub>2</sub>&nbsp;energies, as the S<sub>1</sub>&nbsp;state&nbsp;evolves adiabatically from being of 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;character to 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;character. We make a direct connection from our predictions to experimental observables by calculating the time-resolved excited&nbsp;state&nbsp;absorption. For the case of direct 1<sup>1</sup>B<sub>u</sub><sup>+</sup>&nbsp;to 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;internal conversion, we show that the dominant transition at ca. 2 eV, being close to but lower in energy than the T<sub>1</sub>&nbsp;to T<sub>1</sub><sup>*</sup>&nbsp;transition, can be attributed to the 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;component of S<sub>1</sub>. Moreover, we show that it is the charge-transfer exciton component of the 2<sup>1</sup>A<sub>g</sub><sup>&ndash;</sup>&nbsp;state&nbsp;that is responsible for this transition (to a higher-lying exciton&nbsp;state), and not its triplet-pair component. These simulations are performed using the adaptive tDMRG method on the extended Hubbard model of &pi;-conjugated electrons. The Ehrenfest equations of motion are used to simulate the coupled nuclei&nbsp;dynamics. We next discuss the microscopic mechanism of &ldquo;bright&rdquo; to &ldquo;dark&rdquo;&nbsp;state&nbsp;internal conversion and emphasize that this occurs via the exciton components of both&nbsp;states. Finally, we describe a mechanism relying on torsional relaxation whereby the strongly bound intrachain triplet-pairs of the &ldquo;dark&rdquo;&nbsp;state&nbsp;may undergo interchain exothermic dissociation.</p>
spellingShingle Manawadu, D
Georges, TN
Barford, W
Photoexcited state dynamics and singlet fission in carotenoids
title Photoexcited state dynamics and singlet fission in carotenoids
title_full Photoexcited state dynamics and singlet fission in carotenoids
title_fullStr Photoexcited state dynamics and singlet fission in carotenoids
title_full_unstemmed Photoexcited state dynamics and singlet fission in carotenoids
title_short Photoexcited state dynamics and singlet fission in carotenoids
title_sort photoexcited state dynamics and singlet fission in carotenoids
work_keys_str_mv AT manawadud photoexcitedstatedynamicsandsingletfissionincarotenoids
AT georgestn photoexcitedstatedynamicsandsingletfissionincarotenoids
AT barfordw photoexcitedstatedynamicsandsingletfissionincarotenoids