Radiationless processes molecular model

A number of controversies have arisen in the literature concerning some aspects of the theory of radiationless processes, and an attempt is made to clarify a number of these matters. In the next section we discuss the simple molecular model which is sufficiently general to enable its use in the description of radiationless transitions. 

The next two chapters are devoted to ultrafast radiationless transitions. In Chapter 5, the generalized linear response theory is used to treat the non-equilibrium dynamics of molecular systems. This method, based on the density matrix method, can also be used to calculate the transient spectroscopic signals that are often monitored experimentally. As an application of the method, the authors present the study of the interfadal photo-induced electron transfer in dye-sensitized solar cell as observed by transient absorption spectroscopy. Chapter 6 uses the density matrix method to discuss important processes that occur in the bacterial photosynthetic reaction center, which has congested electronic structure within 200-1500cm 1 and weak interactions between these electronic states. Therefore, this biological system is an ideal system to examine theoretical models (memory effect, coherence effect, vibrational relaxation, etc.) and techniques (generalized linear response theory, Forster-Dexter theory, Marcus theory, internal conversion theory, etc.) for treating ultrafast radiationless transition phenomena. 

The presented theoretical approach to large molecular systems such as bacterial photosynthetic RCs can provide microscopic details of ultrafast radiationless transition taking place faster than 100 fsec. In particular, this approach establishes a standard model for treating such ultrafast processes of RCs. It is possible to analyze and provide similar details for wild-type RCs or other mutant RCs for example, for wild-type RCs of Rb. sphaeroides the electronic coupling of radiationless transition from the B band to the higher excitonic band and that from the higher excitonic band to the lower one are found to be 105.5 and 123 cm-1. For R26.Phe-a mutant RCs, the former coupling is 105 cm-1 and the latter is 123.7 cm-1. 

It has been shown recently by Kapturkiewicz and co-workers [14] that the analysis of the CT absorption CT <— So and the radiative and radiationless charge recombination processes CT So (Figure 4) in selected D-A n-n interacting systems sterically hindered to coplanarity (such as 9-anthryl and 9-acridyl derivatives of aromatic amines [14a,b], carbazol-9-yl derivatives of aromatic nitriles [14c] and ketones [14d] and D-A derivatives of indoles [14e] or phenoxazines and phe-nothiazines [14f]) in terms of the theory of photoinduced ET processes in absorption [52, 53] and emission [53-55] and Mulliken and Murrell models of molecular CT complexes [56, 57] leads to the determination of the quantities relevant for the rate of the radiative ET processes (exemplified by the CT absorption and emission) and to the estimation of the electronic structure and molecular conformation of the states involved in the photoinduced ET. A similar approach can be applied to describe the properties of the fluorescent singlet CT states and phosphorescent triplet CT states [58]. It should be pointed out that the relatively large values of the electronic transition dipole moments of the CT fluorescence indicate a non-... 

It should be stressed that the wave-packet picture of photophysical relaxation and photochemical reaction dynamics described in this chapter is substantially different from the traditional concepts in this area. In contrast to the established picture of radiationless transitions in terms of interacting tiers of zero-order molecular eigenstates, the dynamics is rationalized in terms of local properties of PE surfaces such as slopes, barriers and surface intersections, a view which now becomes widely accepted in photochemistry. This picture is firmly based on ah initio electronic-structure theory, and the molecular relaxation d3mamics is described on the basis of quantum mechanics, replacing previously prevaUing kinetic models of electronic decay processes. Such a more detailed and rigorous description of elementary photochemical processes appears timely in view of the rich and specific information on ultrafast chemical processes which is provided by modern time-resolved spectroscopy. " ... 

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