@phdthesis{Kullmann2013, author = {Kullmann, Martin Armin}, title = {Tracing Excited-State Photochemistry by Multidimensional Electronic Spectroscopy}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-81276}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Light-induced excitation of matter proceeds within femtoseconds, resulting in excited states. Originating from these states chemical reaction mechanisms, like isomerization or bond formation, set in. Photophysical mechanisms like energy distribution and excitonic delocalization also occur. Thus, the reaction scheme has to be disentangled by assessing the importance of each process. Spectroscopic methods based on fs laser pulses have emerged as a versatile tool to study these reactions. Within this thesis time-resolved experiments with fs laser pulses on various molecular systems were performed. Novel photosystems, with possible applications ranging from ultrathin molecular wires to molecular switches, were extensively characterized. To resolve the complex kinetics of the investigated systems, time-resolved techniques had to be newly developed. By combining a visible excitation pulse pair with an additional pulse and a continuum probe electronic triggered-exchange two-dimensional spectroscopy (TE2D) was demonstrated for the first time. This goal was accomplished by combining a three-color transient-absorption setup with a pulse shaper. Hence, 2D spectroscopy with a continuum probe was also implemented. Using these methods two different molecular systems in solution were characterized in a comprehensive manner. (ZnTPP)2, a directly beta,beta'-linked Zn-metallated bisporphyrin, and a spiropyran-merocyanine photosystem, 6,8-dinitro BIPS, were characterized. (ZnTPP)2 is a homodimer, featuring strong excitonic effects. These manifest themselves in a twofold splitting of the Soret band (S2). 6,8-Dinitro BIPS exists in one of two possible conformations. The ring closed spiropyran absorbs only in the UV, while the ring open merocyanine also absorbs in the visible. For both molecular systems photodynamics upon illumination were monitored using transient-absorption. However, the obtained results were ambiguous, necessitating more complex methods. In the case of (ZnTPP)2 first the monomeric building block was characterized. There, population transfer from the S2 state into S1 within 2 ps was identified. Afterwards, intersystem crossing proceeds within 2 ns. For (ZnTPP)2 similar pathways were found, albeit the relaxation is faster. The intersystem crossing with 1.5 ns was not only indirectly deduced but directly measured by probing in the NIR spectral range. The excitonic influence of was investigated by coherent 2D spectroscopy in the Soret band. Population transfer within S2 was directly visualized on a time-scale of 100 fs. Calculation of the 2D spectra of a simple homodimer confirmed the results. After this analysis of the distinct excitonic character, this molecule may serve as a building block for larger porphyrin arrays with applications ranging from asymmetric catalysis over biomimicry of electron-transfer to organic optical devices. The second photosystem was the molecular switch 6,8-dinitro BIPS, existing in two conformations. Merocyanine is the more stable form in thermal equilibrium. Transient-absorption measurements uncovered that the sample consisted of a mixture of two merocyanine isomers, referred to as TTC and TTT. However, both isomers are capable of ring-closure forming spiropyran. The remaining excited molecules return to the ground state radiatively. Conducting 2D measurements utilizing a continuum probe the differing photochemistry of both isomers was examined in a single measurement. No isomerization between these conformations was detected. Therefore, 6,8-dinitro BIPS performs a concerted switching without long-living intermediates. This was confirmed by a pump-repump-probe scan. 6,8-DinitroBIPS can be closed by visible and opened by UV pulses using subsequent pulses and vice versa. These mechanisms via singlet pathways satisfy an important criterion for a unimolecular switching device. A second pump-repump-probe experiment showed that the sample is ionized, resulting in a merocyanine radical cation, when the first excited state is resonantly excited. Furthermore, by implementing TE2Dspectroscopy, it was elucidated that only TTC was ionized. Taking all this into account new techniques were developed and complex molecular systems were characterized within this thesis. Deeper insight into the photodynamics of (ZnTPP)2and 6,8-dinitro BIPS was gained by adapting transient absorption for the NIR spectral range, constructing a 2D setup in pump-probe geometry, and combining it with multipulse excitation to coherent TE2D. All techniques solved the questions for which they were constructed, but they are not limited to these cases. Especially TE2D opens new roads in photochemistry. By connecting reactant, product and the corresponding intermediates, a chemical reaction can be tracked through all stages, making unambiguous identification of the reactive states feasible. Thus, fundamental insight into the photochemistry of molecular compounds is gained.}, subject = {Femtosekundenspektroskopie}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Szeghalmi2005, author = {Szeghalmi, Adriana Viorica}, title = {The ground and excited state molecular structure of model systems undergoing photochemical processes and the characterization of active agents by means of vibrational spectroscopy and theoretical calculations}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-11961}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2005}, abstract = {The present thesis reports about vibrational and quantum chemical investigations on model systems undergoing photochemical processes and pharmaceutically active compounds, respectively. Infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy were applied for the characterization of the ground state molecular structure. Moreover, resonance Raman (RR) spectra contain additional information about the resonantly enhanced excited state molecular structure. A quantitative resonance Raman intensity analysis in conjunction with the simultaneous simulation of the absorption spectra by means of time-dependent propagation methods was accomplished in order to extract valuable information about the excited state molecular structures of the investigated systems. Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) allows one to determine the interaction and adsorption site of active agents on a metal substrate. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) and potential energy distribution (PED) calculations were carried out for an exact assignment of the vibrational spectra. Complete active space self consistent field (CASSCF) and configuration interaction (CI) calculations for some model systems were also performed to assess the experimental results on the excited state potential surfaces. The fundamentals of resonance Raman spectroscopy are treated in detail, describing the physical processes and emphasizing the theoretical methodologies which allow one to obtain the information about the resonantly excited state via an RR intensity analysis. The Brownian oscillator model to determine the solvent reorganization energy is briefly presented. Furthermore, the SERS enhancement mechanisms and selection rules to determine the orientation of the molecules adsorbed on the metal substrate are discussed. The Hartree-Fock approach to calculate the ground state geometry is expatiated, and the basic characteristics of the CI and CASSCF calculations are specified. The chapter ends with a short description of the DFT calculations. Chapter 4 deals with the investigation of the excited state intramolecular proton transfer of the model system, 1-hydroxy-2-acetonaphthone (HAN). The vibrations showing the highest displacement parameters correspond to stretching and in-plane deformation modes of the naphthalene ring and the conjugated carbonyl group, while the OH stretching mode exhibits no observable enhancement. The cooperative effect of the skeletal vibrations reduces the distance between the carbonyl and hydroxyl oxygen atoms in accordance with a general electron density redistribution. Hence, the leading force in the proton transfer process is the increase in electron density on the carbonyl group and the decrease of the negative charge on the hydroxyl oxygen. In chapter 5 the structural and vibrational characteristics of the organic mixed valence system N,N,N',N'-tetraphenylphenylenediamine radical cation (1+) are discussed. The resonance Raman measurements showed that at least eight vibrational modes are strongly coupled to the optical charge transfer process in (1+). These Franck-Condon active modes were assigned to symmetric vibrations. The most enhanced band corresponds to the symmetric stretching mode along the N-phenylene-N unit and exhibits the largest vibrational reorganization energy. Nevertheless, symmetric stretching modes of the phenylene and phenyl units as well as deformation modes are also coupled to the electronic process. The total vibrational reorganization energy of these symmetrical modes is dominant, while the solvent induced broadening and reorganization energy are found to be small. Hence, (1+) adopts a symmetrical delocalized Robin-Day Class III structure in the ground state. Chapter 6 reports about a vibrational spectroscopic investigation of a model organic photorefractive thiophene derivative, 2-(N,N-diethylamino)-5-(2',2'-dicyanovinyl)-thiophene. The geometry of the first excited state were optimized and the FC parameters were calculated using the configuration interaction with single excitations method. These calculations show that the contribution of the zwitterionic structure to the excited state is significantly higher than in the ground state. The resonance Raman spectra indicate that several stretching modes along the bonds connecting the donor and acceptor moieties as well as the S-C stretching vibrations are enhanced. Chapter 7 presents the vibrational analysis of an aziridinyl tripeptide, a cysteine protease inhibitor active drug. The vibrational analysis reveals stronger H-bonding of the aziridine NH unit in the solid state of the aziridinyl tripeptide than in the liquid electrophilic building block, indicating medium strong intermolecular H-bond interactions in the crystal unit. The amide hydrogen atoms of the aziridinyl tripeptide are involved in weaker H-bonds than in an epoxide analogon. Furthermore, the characteristic vibrational modes of the peptide backbone were discussed. Chapter 8 reports on the adsorption mechanism of two related anti-leukemia active agents, 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) and 6-mercaptopurine-ribose (6MPR) on a silver colloid. Both molecules adsorb through the N1 and possibly S atom on the metal surface under basic conditions. The SERS spectra recorded for acidic pH values showed that the ribose derivative exhibits a different adsorption behavior compared to the free base. 6MP probably adsorbs on the silver sol through the N9 and N3 atoms, while 6MPR interacts with the surface via the N7 and probably S atoms. Around critical biological concentrations and pH values i.e. at low concentrations and almost neutral condition (pH 7-9), 6MPR interacts with the substrate through both N7 and N1 atoms, possibly forming two differently adsorbed species, while for 6MP only the species adsorbed via N1 was evidenced.}, subject = {Photochemie}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Settels2012, author = {Settels, Volker}, title = {Quantum chemical description of ultrafast exciton self-trapping in perylene based materials}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-69861}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation wurden sehr lange Exzitonen-Diffusionsl{\"a}ngen (LD) unter idealen Bedingungen f{\"u}r Perylen-basierte Materialien simuliert. Dies ist ein Indiz daf{\"u}r, dass die sehr kurzen LD in realen Materialien aus einer extrinsischen sowie einer intrinsischen Immobilisierung resultieren. Letztere basiert auf einer Relaxation in sogenannten „Self-Trapping"-Zust{\"a}nde. Ein tieferes Verst{\"a}ndnis der dem Self-Trapping zugrunde liegenden atomistischen Prozesse ist notwendig, um zuk{\"u}nftig Materialien mit langen LD entwickeln zu k{\"o}nnen, bei denen eine intrinsische Exzitonen-Immobilisierung verhindert wird. F{\"u}r die Entwicklung eines solchen mechanistischen Verst{\"a}ndnisses ist das Vorliegen einer eindeutigen Korrelation zwischen der molekularen Anordnung und der LD unabdingbar. Diese weisen Einkristalle von Diindenoperylen (DIP) und α-Perylen-tetracarboxyl-anhydrid (α-PTCDA) auf. Bei ersteren wurde eine außergew{\"o}hnlich lange LD von 90 nm und bei letzteren nur 22 nm gemessen. Teil dieser Arbeit war es, Gr{\"u}nde f{\"u}r diesen Unterschied in der LD zu finden. Nur Self-Trapping kommt als Ursache in Frage. Aus diesem Grund eignen sich diese Materialien, um ein atomistisches Verst{\"a}ndnis des Self-Trappings exemplarisch an ihnen zu erarbeiten. Mutmaßlich k{\"o}nnten Differenzen in der elektronischen Struktur in DIP und α-PTCDA f{\"u}r das unterschiedliche Self-Trapping verantwortlich sein. Allerdings konnte gezeigt werden, dass es f{\"u}r viele Perylen-basierte Materialien keine signifikanten Unterschiede in der elektronischen Struktur gibt, wodurch diese f{\"u}r die Aufkl{\"a}rung von Immobilisierungsmechanismen zu vernachl{\"a}ssigen sind. Eine weitere m{\"o}gliche Begr{\"u}ndung w{\"a}re in Polarisationseffekten im Kristall zu suchen, welche die elektronische Struktur in Perylen-basierten Materialien unterschiedlich beeinflussen. Vor allem ihr Einfluss auf Ladungstrennungs-Zust{\"a}nde (CT), die oberhalb des optisch hellen Frenkel-Zustandes liegen, war fraglich, weil sie energetisch abgesenkt werden k{\"o}nnten. Ein signifikanter Einfluss von Polarisationseffekten konnte aber f{\"u}r alle Zust{\"a}nde mittels eines polarisierbaren Kontinuum-Modells ausgeschlossen werden. Die geringe LD im α-PTCDA ist folglich ein Indiz f{\"u}r ein Self-Trapping, das durch die Kristallstruktur aus π-Stapeln evoziert wird, welche in DIP fischgr{\"a}tenartig ist. Da Polarisationseffekte auszuschließen sind, {\"u}bt der Kristall lediglich durch sterische Restriktionen einen Einfluss auf das Dimer aus. Daher muss die Methode f{\"u}r die Beschreibung von Self-Trapping nur diese Effekte ber{\"u}cksichtigen, so dass sich f{\"u}r den Einsatz des mechanical embedding QM/MM-Ansatzes entschieden wurde. Nun konnten Potentialfl{\"a}chen berechnet werden, auf denen anschließend eine Wellenpaketdynamik durchgef{\"u}hrt wurde. Diese Methode erlaubt es erstmals, Mechanismen der Exzitonen-Immobilisierung in organischen Materialien auf einer atomistischen Ebene zu beschreiben. Als Erkl{\"a}rung f{\"u}r Self-Trapping in α-PTCDA dienten Potentialfl{\"a}chen, die eine intermolekulare Verschiebung des Dimers im Kristall abbilden. So wurde eine Exzitonen-Immobilisierung innerhalb von 500 fs gefunden, die aus einem irreversiblem Energieverlust und einer lokalen Verzerrung der Kristallstruktur resultiert und auf diese Weise den weiteren Transport des Exzitons verhindert. Im Fall von DIP kann diese Immobilisierung aufgrund hoher Energiebarrieren nicht stattfinden. Diese Barrieren resultieren aus der fischgr{\"a}tenartigen Kristallstruktur des DIP. Diese Diskrepanzen in der Dynamik erkl{\"a}ren die unterschiedlichen LD-Werte f{\"u}r DIP und α-PTCDA. In einem weiteren Fall wurde eine Exzitonen-Immobilisierung in helikalen π Aggregaten von Perylen-tetracarboxyl-bisimid (PBI) Molek{\"u}len festgestellt. Hier wird Self-Trapping durch einen Relaxationsmechanismus verursacht, in dem das Exziton durch geringe asymmetrische Schwingungen des Aggregats innerhalb von 200 fs von dem hellen Frenkel- in den dunklen Frenkel-Zustand transferiert wird, wobei dieser {\"U}bergang von einem CT-Zustand vermittelt wird. Der gesamte Vorgang ist nur bei helikalen Aggregaten m{\"o}glich, weil nur hier CT-Zust{\"a}nde sehr dicht bei dem hellen Frenkel-Zustand vorhanden sind. Im finalen Frenkel-Zustand tritt eine Torsionsbewegung um die π-Stapelachse ein, so dass ein Energieverlust und eine lokale {\"A}nderung der Aggregatstruktur erfolgt - also ein Self-Trapping des Exzitons. Dieser modellierte Mechanismus steht im Einklang zu allen vorliegenden experimentellen Daten. Diese Erkenntnisse lassen die Schlussfolgerung zu, dass in k{\"u}nftigen Materialen f{\"u}r organische Solarzellen eine irreversible und ultraschnelle Deformation des Aggregats nach der Photoanregung vermieden werden muss - will man lange LD erreichen. Nur so kann Self-Trapping von Exzitonen verhindert werden.}, subject = {Exziton}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Walter2015, author = {Walter, Christof}, title = {Excitonic States and Optoelectronic Properties of Organic Semiconductors - A Quantum-Chemical Study Focusing on Merocyanines and Perylene-Based Dyes Including the Influence of the Environment}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-123494}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The scope of computational chemistry can be broadened by developing new methods and more efficient algorithms. However, the evaluation of the applicability of the methods for the different fields of chemistry is equally important. In this thesis systems with an unusual and complex electronic structure, such as excitonic states in organic semiconductors, a boron-containing bipolaron and the excited states of pyracene were studied and the applicability of the toolkit of computational chemistry was investigated. Concerning the organic semiconductors the focus was laid on organic solar cells, which are one of the most promising technologies with regard to satisfying the world's need for cheap and environmentally sustainable energy. This is due to the low production and material costs and the possibility of using flexible and transparent devices. However, their efficiency does still not live up to the expectations. Especially the exciton diffusion lengths seem to be significantly too short. In order to arrive at improved modules, a fundamental understanding of the elementary processes occurring in the cell on the molecular and supramolecular level is needed. Computational chemistry can provide insight by separating the different effects and providing models for predictions and prescreenings. In this thesis, the focus was laid on the description of excitonic states in merocyanines and perylene-based dyes taking the influence of the environment into account. At first, the photochemical isomerization between two configurations of 6-nitro BIPS observed experimentally was studied by first benchmarking several functionals against SCS-ADC(2) in the gas phase and subsequently calculating the excited-state potential energy surface. The geometries obtained from a relaxed scan in the ground state as well as from a scan in the excited state were used. The environment was included using different polarizable continuum models. It was shown that the choice of the model and especially the question of the state specificity of the approach is of vital importance. Using the results of the calculations, a two-dimensional potential energy surface could be constructed that could be used to explain the experimental findings. Furthermore, the importance of the excited-state isomerization as a potential deactivation channel in the exciton transport was pointed out. Then the assessment of the suitability of different merocyanines for optoelectronic applications with quantum-chemical methods was discussed. At first, the effect of the environment on the geometry, especially on the bond length alternation pattern, was investigated. It was shown that the environment changes the character of the ground-state wave function of several merocyanines qualitatively, which means that the results of gas-phase calculations are meaningless - at least when a comparison with solution or device data is desired. It was demonstrated that using a polarizable continuum model with an effective epsilon, a qualitative agreement between the calculated geometry and the geometry in the crystal structure can be obtained. Therefore, by comparing the bond length alternation in solution and in the crystal, a rough estimate of the effect of the crystal environment can be made. It was further shown that the connection between the HOMO energy and the open-circuit voltage is not as simple as it is often implied in the literature. It was discussed that it is not clear whether the HOMO of a single molecule or a \$\pi\$-stack containing several monomers should be used and if the environmental charges of the bulk phase or the interface should be included. Investigating the dependence of the HOMO energy on the stack size yielded no definitive trend. Furthermore, it was discussed that the effect due the optimization of the modules (solvent, bulk heterojunction) during the production masks any potential correlation between the HOMO energy and measured open-circuit values. Therefore, a trend can only be expected for unoptimized bilayer cells. It was concluded that ultimately, the importance of the HOMO energy should not be overestimated. The correlation between the exciton reorganization energy and the so-called cyanine limit, which is predicted by a simple two-state model, was also discussed. By referring to the results of VB calculations, it was discussed that the correlation indeed exists and is non-negligible, although the effect is not as strong as one might have expected. In this context, a potential application of a VB/MM approach was covered briefly. The importance of the molecular reorganization energy and the device morphology was also discussed. It was concluded that the optimization of merocyanines for organic optoelectronic devices is inherently a multiparameter problem and one cannot expect to find one particular parameter, which solely controls the efficiency. The perylene-based dyes were studied with a focus on the description of a potential trapping mechanism involving an intermolecular motion in a dimer. The aim was to find methods which can be applied to larger model systems than a dimer and take the effect of the environment into account. As a test coordinate the longitudinal shift of two monomers against each other was used. At first, it was demonstrated how the character of an excited state in a dimer can be defined and how it can be extracted from a standard quantum-chemical calculation. Then several functionals were benchmarked and their applicability or failure was rationalized using the character analysis. Two recipes could be proposed, which were applied to a constraint optimization (only intermolecular degrees of freedom) in the excited states of the PBI dimer and to the description of the potential energy surfaces of ground and excited states along a longitudinal displacement in the perylene tetramer, respectively. It was further demonstrated that the semi-empirical OMx methods fail to give an accurate description of the excited-state potential energy surfaces as well as the ground-state surface along the test coordinate. This failure could be attributed to an underestimation of overlap-dependent terms. Consequently, it could be shown that the methods are applicable to large intermolecular distances, where the overlap is negligible. The results of DFT calculations with differently composed basis sets suggested that adding an additional single p-function for each atom should significantly improve the performance. QM/MM methods are ideally suited to take the effect of the environment on a a dimer model system into account. However, it was shown that standard force fields also give an incorrect description of the interaction between the monomers along the intermolecular coordinate. This failure was attributed to the isotropic atom-atom interaction in the repulsion term of the Lennard-Jones potential. This was corroborated using two simple proof-of-principle anisotropy models. Therefore, a novel force field called OPLS-AA_O was presented that is based on OPLS-AA, but uses an anisotropic model for the repulsion. The model involves the overlap integral between the molecular densities, which are modeled as a sum of atom-centered p-type Gaussian functions. It was shown that using this force field an excellent agreement with the DFT results can be obtained when the correct parameters are used. These parameters, however, are not very generalizable, which was attributed to the simplicity of the model in its current state (using the same exponential parameter for all atoms). As a short excursion, the applicability of an MO-based overlap model was discussed. It was demonstrated that the repulsion term based on the density overlap can be used to correct the failure of the OMx methods for the ground states. This is in accord with the assumption that an underestimation of the overlap terms is responsible for the failure. It was shown that OPLS-AA_O also gives an excellent description of the longitudinal shift in a PBI tetramer. Using the tetramer as a test system and applying the recipe obtained in the TDDFT benchmark for the QM-part and OPLS-AA_O for the MM-part in conjunction with an electrostatic embedding scheme, a QM/MM description of the excited states of the PBI dimer including the effect of the environment could be obtained. In the last chapter the theoretical description of the Bis(borolyl)thiophene dianion and the excited states of pyracene were discussed. The electronic structure of the Bis(borolyl)thiophene dianion - a negative bipolaron - was elucidated using DFT and CASPT2 methods. Furthermore, an estimation of the extent of triplet admixture to the ground state due to spin-orbit coupling was given. In the second project the S1 and S2 states of pyracene were computed using SCS-CC2 and SCS-ADC(2) and an estimation for the balance between aromaticity and ring strain was given. This also involved computing the vibrational frequencies in the excited states. In both studies the results of the computations were able to rationalize and complete experimental results.}, subject = {Exziton}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Liu2011, author = {Liu, Wenlan}, title = {Exciton Coupling in Valence and Core Excited Aggregates of pi-Conjugated Molecules}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-56169}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit werden theoretische Modelle zur Beschreibung von Valenz- und Rumpf-angeregten elektronischen Zust{\"a}nden diskutiert. Im Fall der Valenz-Anregungen wurden time-dependend Hartree-Fock (TD-HF) und timedependent Dichtefunktionaltheorie (TD-DFT)Methoden mit verschiedenen Funktionalen f{\"u}r ein Perylenbisimid (PBI) System validiert. Eine einfache Analyse der Charakt{\"a}re der angeregten Zust{\"a}nde wurde vorgeschlagen, die auf den berechneten {\"U}bergangsdipolmomenten basiert. Dieser Ansatz ist allerdings auf Zust{\"a}nde beschr{\"a}nkt, die ein signifikantes {\"U}bergangsdipolmoment aufweisen. Deshalb wurde eine allgemeinere und fundiertere Methode entwickelt, die auf einer Analyse der berechneten CISWellenfunktion basiert. Dar{\"u}berhinaus wurde ein literaturbekannter Model-Hamiltonoperator Ansatz von einem lokalisierten Molek{\"u}lorbitalbild (MO) abgeleitet, das aus der generelleren Analyse-Methode resultiert. Auf diesem Weg ist ein Zugang zu diabatischen angeregten Zust{\"a}nden und korrespondierenden Kopplungsparametern auf der Basis von ab initio Rechnungen gegeben. F{\"u}r rumpfangeregte elektronische Zust{\"a}nde wurden drei Methoden f{\"u}r C 1s-angeregte und ionisierte Zust{\"a}nde verschiedener kleiner Molek{\"u}le validiert. Dar{\"u}berhinaus wurde die Basissatzabh{\"a}ngigkeit dieser Zust{\"a}nde untersucht. Anhand der Resultate wurde die frozen core N{\"a}herung ausgew{\"a}hlt um rumpfangeregte Zust{\"a}nde von Naphthalintetracarbons{\"a}uredianhydrid (NTCDA) zu berechnen. Um experimentelle Ergebnisse zu erkl{\"a}ren, wurde ein Algorithmus entwicklet, der die Exzitonenkopplungsparameter im Fall von nicht-orthogonalen MOs berechnet.}, subject = {Exziton}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Roeder2017, author = {R{\"o}der, Anja M.}, title = {Excited-State Dynamics in Open-Shell Molecules}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151738}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2017}, abstract = {In this thesis the excited-state dynamics of radicals and biradicals were characterized with femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. These open-shell molecules play important roles as combustion intermediates, in the formation of soot and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in atmospheric chemistry and in the formation of complex molecules in the interstellar medium and galactic clouds. In these processes molecules frequently occur in some excited state, excited either by thermal energy or radiation. Knowledge of the reactivity and dynamics of these excited states completes our understanding of these complex processes. These highly reactive molecules were produced via pyrolysis from suitable precursors and examined in a molecular beam under collision-free conditions. A first laser now excites the molecule, and a second laser ionizes it. Time-of-flight mass spectrometry allowed a first identification of the molecule, photoelectron spectroscopy a complete characterization of the molecule - under the condition that the mass spectrum was dominated by only one mass. The photoelectron spectrum was obtained via velocity-map imaging, providing an insight in the electronic states involved. Ion velocity map imaging allowed separation of signal from direct ionization of the radical in the molecular beam and dissociative photoionization of the precursor. During this thesis a modified pBasex algorithm was developed and implemented in python, providing an image inversion tool without interpolation of data points. Especially for noisy photoelectron images this new algorithm delivers better results. Some highlighted results: • The 2-methylallyl radical was excited in the ππ*-state with different internal energies using three different pump wavelengths (240.6 , 238.0 and 236.0 nm). Ionized with 800 nm multi-photon probe, the photoelectron spectra shows a s-Rydberg fingerprint spectrum, a highly positive photoelectron anisotropy of 1.5 and a bi-exponential decay ( τ1= 141\pm43 fs, τ2= 4.0\pm0.2 ps for 240.6 nm pump), where the second time-constant shortens for lower wavelengths. Field-induced surface hopping dynamics calculations confirm that the initially excited ππ*-state relaxes very fast to an s-Rydberg state (first experimentally observed time-constant), and then more slowly to the first excited state/ground state (second time-constant). With higher excitation energies the conical intersection between the s-Rydberg-state and the first excited state is reached faster, resulting in shorter life-times. • The benzyl radical was excited yith 265 nm and probed with two wavelengths, 798 nm and 398 nm. Probed with 798 nm it shows a bi-exponential decay (\tau_{1}=84\pm5 fs, \tau_{2}=1.55\pm0.12 ps), whereas with 398 nm probe only the first time-constant is observed (\tau_{1}=89\pm5 fs). The photoelectron spectra with 798 nm probe is comparable to the spectrum with 398 nm probe during the first 60 fs, at longer times an additional band appears. This band is due to a [1+3']-process, whereas with 398 nm only signal from a [1+1']-process can be observed. Non-adiabatic dynamic on the fly calculations show that the initially excited, nearly degenerate ππ/p-Rydberg-states relax very fast (first time-constant) to an s-Rydberg state. This s-Rydberg state can no longer be ionized with 398 nm, but with 798 nm ionization via intermediate resonances is still possible. The s-Rydberg state then decays to the first excited state (second time-constant), which is long-lived. • Para-xylylene, excited with 266 nm into the S2-state and probed with 800 nm, shows a bi-exponential decay (\tau_{1}=38\pm7 fs, \tau_{2}=407\pm9 fs). The initially excited S2-state decays quickly to S1-state, which shows dissociative photoionization. The population of the S1-state is directly visible in the masses of the dissociative photoionization products, benzene and the para-xylylene -H. • Ortho-benzyne, produced via pyrolysis from benzocyclobutendione, was excited with 266 nm in the S2 state and probed with 800 nm. In its time-resolved mass spectra the dynamic of the ortho-benzyne signal was superposed with the dynamics from dissociative photoionization of the precursor and of the ortho-benzyne-dimer. With time-resolved ion imaging gated on the ortho-benzyne these processes could be seperated, showing that the S2-state of ortho-benzyne relaxes within 50 fs to the S1-state.}, subject = {Radikal }, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Mueller2022, author = {M{\"u}ller, Stefan}, title = {Coherent Multiple-Quantum Multidimensional Fluorescence Spectroscopy}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-24411}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-244113}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {This thesis describes novel concepts for the measurement of the static and dynamic properties of the electronic structure of molecules and nanocrystals in the liquid phase by means of coherent fluorescence-detected spectroscopy in two and three frequency dimensions. These concepts are based on the systematic variation ("phase cycling") of a sequence of multiple time-delayed femtosecond excitation pulses in order to decode a multitude of novel nonlinear signals from the resulting phase-dependent fluorescence signal. These signals represent any permutation of correlations between zero-, one-, two-, and three-quantum coherences. To this end, two new phase-cycling schemes have been developed which can simultaneously resolve and discriminate several nonlinear signals of sixth order, including those of the fourth order of nonlinearity. By means of the sixth-order signals recorded in this work, static properties of highly excited electronic states in molecules such as their energies, transition dipole moments, and relative displacement of electronic potential surfaces, as well as dynamic properties in terms of their relaxation kinetics, can be ascertained. Furthermore, it was shown that these signals are suitable for the characterization of exciton-exciton correlations in colloidal quantum dots and for the measurement of ultrafast exciton-exciton annihilation in molecular aggregates. The experiments performed in this thesis mark an important step towards the complete characterization of the nonlinear response of quantum systems. In view of this, the concept of fluorescence-detected multiple-quantum coherence multidimensional spectroscopy introduced here offers a unified, systematic approach. In virtue of the technical advantages such as the use of a single excitation beam and the absence of nonresonant contributions, the measurement protocols developed here can be directly transferred to other incoherent observables and to sample systems in other states of matter. Furthermore, the approaches presented here can be systematically extended to higher frequency dimensions and higher orders of nonlinearity.}, subject = {Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy}, language = {en} }