Excited states conical intersections

One important point about photochemical reactions is that state switches between excited states occur in the region of topographies such as the peaked intersection region sketched above (Figure 2.4b). To understand the role of conical intersections in state switches, it is useful to compare the two-dimensional picture of Figure 2.6 with the simple one-dimensional model that is normally used to describe this phenomenon, with the help of an avoided crossing. (One dimensional means here that only one nuclear coordinate, the reaction coordinate, is considered.)... 

Without the control pulse [Fig. 5.29(a)], there is no transfer between diabatic states at the center of the wavepacket (ri = T2) and the center of the wavepacket goes through the conical intersection, where the interaction potential between diabatic states is zero (V12 = 0 at the conical intersection). Thus, population transfer from the initially excited state 2 to state 1 occurs away from the position of the conical intersection and symmetrically for ri < T2 and ri > r2- There are thus two regions of state 1 population at 8 fs. After passage through the region of conical intersection, the state 2... 

In this chapter, we discussed the significance of the GP effect in chemical reactions, that is, the influence of the upper electronic state(s) on the reactive and nonreactive transition probabilities of the ground adiabatic state. In order to include this effect, the ordinary BO equations are extended either by using a HLH phase or by deriving them from first principles. Considering the HLH phase due to the presence of a conical intersection between the ground and the first excited state, the general fomi of the vector potential, hence the effective... 

The first study was made on the benzene molecule [79], The S ISi photochemistry of benzene involves a conical intersection, as the fluorescence vanishes if the molecule is excited with an excess of 3000 crn of energy over the excitation energy, indicating that a pathway is opened with efficient nonradiative decay to the ground state. After irradiation, most of the molecules return to benzene. A low yield of benzvalene, which can lead further to fulvene, is, however, also obtained. 

Conical intersections, introduced over 60 years ago as possible efficient funnels connecting different elecbonically excited states [1], are now generally believed to be involved in many photochemical reactions. Direct laboratory observation of these subsurfaces on the potential surfaces of polyatomic molecules is difficult, since they are not stationary points . The system is expected to pass through them veiy rapidly, as the transition from one electronic state to another at the conical intersection is very rapid. Their presence is sunnised from the following data [2-5] ... 

The method discussed in this chapter allows, in principle, the detection of all conical intersections connecting the ground with the excited state. Assuming that photochemical products are mainly formed through conical intersections, it therefore provides a means to design selection rules for photochemisby. 

The two coordinates defined for H4 apply also for the H3 system, and the conical intersection in both is the most symmetric structure possible by the combination of the three equivalent structures An equilateral triangle for H3 and a perfect tetrahedron for H4. These sbnctures lie on the ground-state potential surface, at the point connecting it with the excited state. This result is generalized in the Section. IV. 

In a similar way Table II summarizes how the phase changes upon interconversion among the isomers. Inspection of the two tables shows that for any loop containing three of the possible isomers (open chain and cyclobutene ones), the phase either does not change, or changes twice. Thus, there cannot be a conical intersection inside any of these loops in other words, photochemical transformations between these species only cannot occur via a conical intersection, regardless of the nature of the excited state. 

If A transforms to B by an antara-type process (a Mdbius four electron reaction), the phase would be preserved in the reaction and in the complete loop (An i p loop), and no conical intersection is possible for this case. In that case, the only way to equalize the energies of the ground and excited states, is along a trajectory that increases the separation between atoms in the molecule. Indeed, the two are computed to meet only at infinite interatomic distances, that is, upon dissociation [89]. 

INORGANIC COMPLEXES. The cis-trans isomerization of a planar square form of a rt transition metal complex (e.g., of Pt " ) is known to be photochemically allowed and themrally forbidden [94]. It was found experimentally [95] to be an inhamolecular process, namely, to proceed without any bond-breaking step. Calculations show that the ground and the excited state touch along the reaction coordinate (see Fig. 12 in [96]). Although conical intersections were not mentioned in these papers, the present model appears to apply to these systems. 

The energies of this Cl and of the other ones calculated in this work are listed in Table III. The calculated CASSCF values of the energies of the two lowest electronically states are 9.0 eV (5i, vertical) and 10.3 eV ( 2, vertical) [99]. They are considerably higher than the expenmental ones, as noted for this method by other workers [65]. In all cases, the computed conical intersections lie at much lower energies than the excited state, and are easily accessible upon excitation to Si. In the case of the H/allyl Cl, the validity confirmation process recovered the CHDN and 1,3-CHDN anchors. An attempt to approach the third anchor [BCE(I)] resulted instead in a biradical, shown in Figure 43. The bhadical may be regarded as a resonance hybrid of two allyl-type biradicals. 

The potential surfaces of the ground and excited states in the vicinity of the conical intersection were calculated point by point, along the trajectory leading from the antiaromatic transition state to the benzene and H2 products. In this calculation, the HH distance was varied, and all other coordinates were optimized to obtain the minimum energy of the system in the excited electronic state ( Ai). The energy of the ground state was calculated at the geometry optimized for the excited state. In the calculation of the conical intersection... 

Reference [73] presents the first line-integral study between two excited states, namely, between the second and the third states in this series of states. Here, like before, the calculations are done for a fixed value of ri (results are reported for ri = 1.251 A) but in contrast to the previous study the origin of the system of coordinates is located at the point of this particulai conical intersection, that is, the (2,3) conical intersection. Accordingly, the two polar coordinates (adiabatic coupling term i.e. X(p (— C,2 c>(,2/ )) again employing chain rules for the transformation... 

Fig. 13.5. Schematic representation of the potential energy surfaces of the ground state (S ,) and the excited state (.5,) of a nonadiabatic photoreaction of reactant R. Depending on the way the classical trajectories enter the conical intersection region, different ground-state valleys, which lead to products P and can be reached. Reproduced from Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 34 549 (1995) by permission of Wiley-VCH.

The reverse reaction, closure of butadiene to cyclobutene, has also been explored computationally, using CAS-SCF calculations. The distrotatory pathway is found to be favored, although the interpretation is somewhat more complex than the simplest Woodward-Hoffinann formulation. It is found that as disrotatory motion occurs, the singly excited state crosses the doubly excited state, which eventually leads to the ground state via a conical intersection. A conrotatory pathway also exists, but it requires an activation energy. 

Accordingly, the reaction path then proceeds via the Ag excited state on the excited state PES until the conical intersection region is reached, passing through an excited state minimum. At the conical intersection, the molecule drops down to the ground... 

The search for a conical intersection is also successful. The predicted structure is at the left. The predicted energies of the two states—the ground state and the first excited state—differ by about 0.00014 Hartrees, confirming that they are degenerate at these points on the two potential energy surfaces. ... 

A photochemical reaction coordinate has two branches an excited state branch and a ground state branch that is reached after decay at a conical intersection. Thus a conical intersection between ground and excited states of a molecule is a precursor to ground state reactivity, and conforms to the above definition of a reactive intermediate. The main focus of our article will be to develop this idea. In Figure 9.1b, we show the energy profile for a photochemical reaction with a conical intersection... 

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