Restricted photochemistry in the molecular solid state: structural changes on photoexcitation of Cu(I) phenanthroline metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) complexes by time-resolved diffraction.

ABSTRACT: The excited-state structure of [Cu(I)[(1,10-phenanthroline-N,N') bis(triphenylphosphine)] cations in their crystalline [BF(4)] salt has been determined at both 180 and 90 K by single-pulse time-resolved synchrotron experiments with the modified polychromatic Laue method. The two independent molecules in the crystal show distortions on MLCT excitation that differ in magnitude and direction, a difference attributed to a pronounced difference in the molecular environment of the two complexes. As the excited states differ, the decay of the emission is biexponential with two strongly different lifetimes, the longer lifetime, assigned to the more restricted molecule, becoming more prevalent as the temperature increases. Standard deviations in the current Laue study are very much lower than those

SUBMITTER: Makal A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3545449 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature