Intersystem crossing states

Once the excited molecule reaches the S state it can decay by emitting fluorescence or it can undergo a fiirtlier radiationless transition to a triplet state. A radiationless transition between states of different multiplicity is called intersystem crossing. This is a spin-forbidden process. It is not as fast as internal conversion and often has a rate comparable to the radiative rate, so some S molecules fluoresce and otliers produce triplet states. There may also be fiirther internal conversion from to the ground state, though it is not easy to detemiine the extent to which that occurs. Photochemical reactions or energy transfer may also occur from S. ... 

By examining the expression for Q ( equation (B1.16.4)). it should now be clear that the nuclear spin state influences the difference in precessional frequencies and, ultimately, the likelihood of intersystem crossing, tlnough the hyperfme tenn. It is this influence of nuclear spin states on electronic intersystem crossing which will eventually lead to non-equilibrium distributions of nuclear spin states, i.e. spin polarization, in the products of radical reactions, as we shall see below. 

Since Ag is positive and is negative, Q is larger for the p state than for the a state. Radical pairs in the p nuclear spin state will experience a faster intersystem crossing rate than those in the a state with the result that more RPs in the p nuclear spin state will become triplets. The end result is that the scavenging product, which is fonned primarily from triplet RPs, will have an excess of spins in the p state while the recombination product, which is fonned from singlet RPs, will have an excess of a nuclear spin states. 

Figure C 1.5.10. Nonnalized fluorescence intensity correlation function for a single terrylene molecule in p-terjDhenyl at 2 K. The solid line is tire tlieoretical curve. Regions of deviation from tire long-time value of unity due to photon antibunching (the finite lifetime of tire excited singlet state), Rabi oscillations (absorjDtion-stimulated emission cycles driven by tire laser field) and photon bunching (dark periods caused by intersystem crossing to tire triplet state) are indicated. Reproduced witli pennission from Plakhotnik et al [66], adapted from [118].

Energy level diagram for a molecule showing pathways for deactivation of an excited state vr Is vibrational relaxation Ic Is Internal conversion ec Is external conversion, and Isc Is Intersystem crossing. The lowest vibrational energy level for each electronic state Is Indicated by the thicker line. 

The common case, and the one that will be emphasized here, is triplet sensitization. In this case, the intersystem crossing of the sensitizer must be faster than energy transfer to the reactant or solvent from the singlet excited state. 

These reactions usually occur via the triplet excited state T,. The intersystem crossing of the initially formed singlet excited state is so fast (fc 10 s ) that reactions of the S state are usually not observed. The reaction of benzophenone has been particularly closeh studied. Some of the facts that have been established in support of the general mechanisir. outlined above are as follows ... 

When pyrrole is irradiated, only decomposition products were obtained. Theoretical data can fit this statement (Fig. 6). In fact, the direct irradiation populates the excited singlet state, which can be converted into the Dewar pyrrole or into the corresponding triplet state. Clearly, the intersystem crossing to the triplet state allows the system to reach the lowest energy state. The excited triplet state can give the biradical intermediate, and this intermediate can give either the decomposition... 

The results described above represent the first example of the FR mechanism (Scheme 1). Semiempirical calculations on this molecule showed that the intersystem crossing to the excited triplet state is favored The reaction cannot be sensitized by xanthone because the triplet state of 3,4-diphenyl-1,2,5-oxadiazole is lower than that of xanthone. The cleavage of the triplet state to the biradical is favored, considering the relative energy of this intermediate (Fig. 23) (OOOUPl). 

Quenching of the Intersystem Crossing to the Triplet State 521 Photoinduced 1RAV Studies 522 Time-Resolved Photoinduced Studies 524 Sensitization of Photoconductivity 525 Magnetic Properties 526... 

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