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The experimental technique predominantly employed within the scope of this Thesis constitutes one subarea of femtochemistry: the time-resolved spectroscopy of photoin-
duced chemical reactions in the liquid phase by means of molecular signatures in the mid-infrared (MIR) spectral range. Probing transient vibrational states, i.e., dynamic
changes in the vibrational motion of specic molecular subunits or functional Groups allows for a distinct separation and assignment of measured signals to emerging molecular species. For this purpose, one key building block is indispensable, which most of the investigations carried out within the eld of femtochemistry have in common: a coherent light source delivering ultrashort laser pulses with a temporal duration that matches the femtosecond time scale on which molecular motions typically occur. This instrumentation enables the observation of photoinduced chemical reactions from the
starting point|the excitation event to the appearance of intermediates to the nal formation of stable photoproducts after several pico- or nanoseconds.
This work comprises the acquisition and presentation of time-resolved spectroscopic data related to promising molecular systems upon photoexcitation as well as the im-
plementation and testing of experimental optical techniques both for the presented experiments but as well for experiments conceivable in the future. In addition, linear spectroscopy measurements and quantum-chemical simulations on the emerging chemical species have been carried out. In so doing, the primary processes and subse-
quently emerging reaction products of two compounds on a timescale of several nanoseconds after photoexcitation have been elucidated in great detail. Both compounds, the
[Mn(CO)3(tpm)]+ (tpm = tris(2-pyrazolyl)methane) CO-releasing molecule (CORM) and the 5-diazo Meldrum's acid (DMA), are of academic interest but in addition belong
to molecular classes that might be utilized in the near future as dark-stable prodrugs under physiological conditions or that are already utilized in industrial chemistry procedures, respectively. The ndings of both studies gave rise to implement and examine two techniques for prospective transient absorption experiments, namely the shaping and characterization of ultraviolet (UV) laser pulses and the recording of two-photon excitation spectra. Beyond that, since each of the depicted experiments is based on the detection of weak transient absorption signals in the MIR spectral region, two dif-
ferent detection schemes, via chirped-pulse upconversion (CPU) on the one hand and via direct multichannel MCT detection on the other hand, have been juxtaposed at the
conclusion of this work. Since both techniques are suitable in femtosecond pump-probe measurements but thereby exhibit individual strengths and weaknesses, a comparative study provides clarication of the respective pros and cons. The first study introduced within this work investigates the complex photochemistry
of DMA, a photoactive compound used in lithography and industrial chemistry. By femtosecond MIR transient absorption spectroscopy covering several nanoseconds, the
light-induced dynamics and ultrafast formation of several photoproducts from the manifold of reaction pathways have been disclosed to form a coherent picture of the overall
reaction scheme. After UV excitation of DMA dissolved in methanol to the second excited state S2, 70% of excited molecules relax back to the S0 ground state. In compet-
ing processes, they can either undergo an intramolecular Wolff rearrangement to form ketene, which reacts with a solvent molecule to an enol intermediate and further to carboxylate ester, or they rst relax to the DMA S1 state, from where they can isomerize to a diazirine. The third competing reaction channel, having the lowest quantum efficiency with respect to the rst two channels, is the formation of a singlet carbene out of the S1 state. From there an ylide can arise or, via an intersystem crossing, the triplet form of the carbene follows. Whereas the primary reaction steps occur on a picosecond timescale, the subsequently arising intermediates and stable photoproducts are formed
within a few hundreds to thousands of picoseconds. For a reliable identication of the involved compounds, density functional theory calculations on the normal modes and
Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy of the reactant and the photoproducts in the chemical equilibrium accompany the analysis of the transient spectra. Additional experiments in ethanol and isopropanol led to slight spectral shifts as well as elongated time
constants due to steric hindrance in transient spectra connected with the ester Formation channel, further substantiating the assignment of the occurring reaction pathways and photoproducts.
The study demonstrated that the combination of linear and time-resolved spectroscopic measurements in conjunction with quantum-chemical calculations constitutes a powerful tool to unravel even highly complex photoreactions exhibiting multiple consecutive intermediate states within parallel reaction pathways. Although some of the individual reaction steps, for example the ketene formation via Wolff rearrangement, have been observed on ultrashort time scales before, this work encompassed the Observation of the whole set of appearing photoproducts of DMA in different alcohol solutions within several nanoseconds. In this sense, the ultrafast photochemistry of DMA represents a prototype example for a multisequential reaction scheme, elucidated by the capabilities of femtosecond MIR spectroscopy.
With a modified instrumentation concerning amongst others the system delivering the fundamental laser pulses or the generation of the UV pump pulses, the next ob-
jective within this work was to elucidate the primary processes upon UV Irradiation of a manganese tricarbonyl CORM in aqueous environment. The time-resolved
experiment was performed with two different pump wavelengths and furthermore supported by linear spectroscopy methods and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations on the excited states as well as DFT calculations on the ground
states. The measurements revealed that irradiating the compound with UV excitation pulses primarily leads to ultrafast photolysis of one CO ligand. Geminate recombination may occur within one picosecond but it remains a minor process as the photolyzed CO
group is liberated and the unoccupied coordination site is predominantly filled by an incoming solvent molecule. There was no evidence for hot CO bands, i.e., the remaining CO ligands|in the dicarbonyl photoproduct as well as in the intact CORM are not vibrationally excited through the UV excitation of the CORM. According to this, the excess energy merges into low-frequency vibrational modes associated with the molecule as a whole. Since studies on a macroscopic scale at irradiation times of several minutes prove that UV irradiation eventually leads to the release of two or even all three CO
ligands, further loss of CO most likely necessitates manganese oxidation or another interaction with light. To clarify the latter, a consecutive UV pulse was employed in order to excite the photoproducts subsequent to the initial pump interaction. However, the data obtained was not instructive enough to denitely exclude the manganese oxidation being responsible for the loss of further CO groups. Besides the exchange of a CO Group by a solvent molecule or the geminate recombination, the employment of two different excitation wavelengths in combination with ndings derived from the TDDFT calculations suggested another reaction process, namely the possibility that the excitation does not lead to any bond cleavage at all. As the CORM under investigation is tissue-selective and cytotoxic against cancer cells, knowledge of these rst photoinduced reaction steps is essential for a full understanding of its biological activity. Inspired by these two studies, experimental techniques for prospective transient absorption measurements have been implemented and tested within preparative measure-
ments. First, in the course of a UV-pump-MIR-probe experiment with specically tailored excitation pulses, one could pursue the aim of coherently controlling the outcome of a photoreaction in the liquid phase. Out of the rich photochemistry of DMA the vibrational signature of a particular molecular species might thereby serve as a feedback signal, which is a central part of a learning loop that adaptively determines the pulse shape that steers the quantum mechanical system upon photoexcitation into a desired direction. This motivated the installation and testing of devices by means of which the shaping and characterization of ultrashort laser pulses in the UV could be performed. Second, motivated by the biological applications of CORMs, one can imagine a scenario where a certain amount of CORMs is deposited inside cancerous tissue. Since the activation of CO loss by means of UV pulses is not possible due to the absorption characteristics of biological tissue, the simultaneous excitation via two photons from the visible spectral regime seems appealing. However, success or failure of such an application depends on whether the deposited compound efficiently absorbs two photons simultaneously, i.e., whether the two-photon absorption cross section is large enough. Therefore, a setup to record two-photon excitation spectra under full consideration of
the crucial laser pulse parameters like the pulse duration, energy and central wavelength was arranged and tested. The rst results were obtained with a commercially available reference system (Mn2CO10) but the setup as well as the described measurement and
data analysis procedure can easily be applied to record the two-photon absorption cross section of more promising molecular systems. Third, as the detection of probe pulses
in the MIR spectral region is part of each time-resolved measurement throughout this thesis, a comparison between the newly established technique of CPU and direct multi-
channel MCT detection is presented by means of pump{probe experiments on Mn2CO10 and Co4CO12 with a 1 kHz shot-to-shot data acquisition. It was shown that the CPU detection technique scores with its high spectral resolution and coverage of the easy-to-handle and more cost-effective CCD detectors. On the other hand, in the course of the additional nonlinear upconversion process intensity fluctuations of the chirped fundamental pulses are transferred to the probe spectrum in the visible regime. This entails a lower signal-to-noise ratio than the direct MCT detection, which can be compensated by an additional normalization procedure applied to the CPU probe pulses. As a consequence, the CPU detection scheme offers more flexibility for future investigations
employing MIR probe pulses. This is of great importance for many applications within the presented eld of femtochemistry as a huge variety of time-resolved investigations on a multitude of systems in the liquid phase is based on the detection of weak transient
absorption signals in the MIR spectral region.
Zahlreiche theoretische und experimentelle Untersuchungen haben erwiesen, dass in halbleitenden Kohlenstoffnanoröhren durch Absorption von Licht hauptsächlich Exzitonen erzeugt werden. Die photophysikalischen Eigenschaften und insbesondere die Prozesse nach der optischen Anregung sind aber gegenwärtig noch nicht vollständig verstanden. Zeitaufgelöste Spektroskopie bietet die Möglichkeit, diese Prozesse zu verfolgen und somit detaillierten Einblick in das photophysikalische Verhalten von Kohlenstoffnanoröhren zu nehmen. Hierbei scheinen auch extrinsische Faktoren - zu nennen sind die Herstellungsmethode, die Art der Probenpräparation, der Aggregationsgrad sowie der durch das Lösungs- bzw. Dispersionsmittel bedingte Einfluss - eine entscheidende Rolle zu spielen.
In dieser Dissertation wurden die Exzitonengröße sowie die exzitonische Dynamik in einwandigen Kohlenstoffnanoröhren mittels transienter Absorptionsspektroskopie sowie stationärer und zeitaufgelöster Photolumineszenzmessungen untersucht. Alle Experimente fanden dabei an halbleitenden (6,5)-Kohlenstoffnanoröhren statt, deren chirale Anreicherung durch Dichtegradientenultrazentrifugation gelang. Für die temperaturabhängigen Messungen wurde ein Verfahren zur Herstellung von tensidstabilisierten Gelatinefilmen entwickelt. Diese zeichnen sich durch eine hohe Temperaturstabilität bei gleichzeitiger Minimierung von Streulichteffekten aus.
Die Bestimmung der Exzitonengröße erfolgte mit Hilfe des Phasenraumfüllmodells, das die intensitätsabhängige Änderung der Oszillatorstärke eines Übergangs mit der Exzitonengröße verknüpft. Hierfür wurden leistungsabhängige Messungen der transienten Absorption durchgeführt und die Signalintensität des Photobleichens gegen die absorbierte Photonenflussdichte aufgetragen. Da diese beiden Größen nur bei geringer Exzitonendichte in einer linearen Beziehung stehen, aus der sich die Exzitonengröße berechnen lässt, wurde im Experiment besonderer Wert auf niedrige Anregungsfluenzen und deren exakte Bestimmung gelegt. Um den Einfluss der Aggregation quantifizieren zu können und den Vergleich mit der Literatur zu erleichtern, fanden die Untersuchungen sowohl an individualisierten als auch an aggregierten Röhrenproben statt. Die Datenanalyse, bei der erstmalig die stimulierte Emission sowie der spektrale Überlapp von Photoabsorptions- und Photobleichbande Berücksichtigung fanden, ergab für individualisierte (6,5)-Nanoröhren einen Wert von 12.0 nm für die Größe des S1-Exzitons, während diese bei der aggregierten Röhrenprobe nur 5.6 nm beträgt. Die Probenabhängigkeit der Exzitonengröße macht den Vergleich mit anderen experimentell ermittelten Werten schwierig. Diese liegen fast ausschließlich zwischen 1 nm und 4.5 nm, ihre Bestimmung fand aber teilweise an stark aggregierten bzw. polydispersen Proben statt. Theoretische Berechnungen liefern für die Exzitonengröße Werte zwischen 1 nm und 4 nm. Zwar gelten einige der Berechnungen für Vakuum, was verglichen zu einer experimentell in Lösung bzw. im Film bestimmten Exzitonengröße einen kleineren Wert mit sich bringt, jedoch kann allein hierdurch die Diskrepanz zu der in dieser Arbeit ermittelten Exzitonengröße von 12.0 nm nicht erklärt werden. Setzt man experimentell und theoretisch für Vakuum bestimmte Werte für die Exzitonengröße und die Bindungsenergie in einen einfachen Zusammenhang, entspricht eine Exzitonengröße von 12.0 nm einer Bindungsenergie zwischen 0.21 eV und 0.27 eV. Die mittels Zweiphotonenexperimenten ermittelten Werte für die Bindungsenergie von (6,5)-Kohlenstoffnanoröhren befinden sich zwischen 0.37 eV und 0.42 eV; diese wurden allerdings unter Zuhilfenahme eines vereinfachten zylindrischen Modells abgeschätzt. Weitere experimentelle und theoretische Untersuchungen könnten klären, inwieweit eine exzitonische Bindungsenergie zwischen 0.21 eV und 0.27 eV für (6,5)-SWNTs in Betracht kommt.
Strahlender und nichtstrahlender Zerfall in den Grundzustand scheinen in (6,5)-Kohlenstoffnanoröhren durch eine Dynamik zwischen verschiedenen Zuständen sowie durch die Diffusion der Exzitonen beeinflusst zu werden. Um diese für die Rekombination maßgeblichen Prozesse besser zu verstehen, wurden temperaturabhängige Messungen der stationären und zeitaufgelösten Photolumineszenz sowie der transienten Absorption durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse der stationären PL-Experimente deuten darauf hin, dass die Exzitonen zwischen dem optisch aktiven Singulettzustand mit A2-Symmetrie - im Folgenden mit [B] bezeichnet - und einem energetisch tiefer liegenden dunklen Zustand [D] gestreut werden. Mit einem Wert von 5 meV für die energetische Aufspaltung zwischen [B] und [D] gelingt eine gute Anpassung an die Daten, was mit Blick auf die Bandstruktur von (6,5)-SWNTs vermuten lässt, dass es sich bei [D] um den A1-Singulettzustand handelt. Außerdem scheint eine nichtthermische Verteilung der Exzitonen auf [B] und [D] vorzuliegen, wobei strahlende Rekombination nur vom Zustand [B] aus möglich ist. Mit diesen Annahmen kann das temperaturabhängige Verhalten der stationären Photolumineszenz modelliert werden, die Ergebnisse der zeitaufgelösten PL-Messungen jedoch nicht. Mit einem rein diffusionsdominierten Modell gelingt dies ebenso wenig, so dass zur Interpretation des PL-Zerfalls vermutlich ein Modell entwickelt werden muss, in dem sowohl die Streuung der Exzitonen zwischen [B] und [D] als auch das durch Diffusion bedingte Löschen an Defektstellen oder Röhrenenden Berücksichtigung findet. Die Bedeutung der Diffusion von Exzitonen zu Defektstellen oder Röhrenenden, an denen bevorzugt nichtstrahlender Zerfall stattfindet, kann durch spektral- und zeitaufgelöste PL-Messungen belegt werden. Abhängig von der zur Verfügung stehenden thermischen Energie und der Höhe der Potenzialbarrieren des untersuchten Systems kann die Diffusion niederenergetischer Exzitonen, die sich in Potenzialminima befinden, soweit eingeschränkt werden, dass diese eine fast bis um den Faktor zwei längere PL-Lebensdauer aufweisen als höherenergetische Exzitonen. Das unterschiedliche Verhalten von transienter Absorption und zeitaufgelöster Photolumineszenz bei Temperaturen zwischen 14 K und 35 K zeigt, dass die Repopulation des Grundzustands hauptsächlich von einem anderen Zustand aus erfolgt als die strahlende Rekombination. Ob es sich hierbei aber um den mit [D] bezeichneten A1-Singulettzustand oder einen anderen dunklen Zustand handelt, kann nicht abschließend geklärt werden.
Aufgrund inhomogener Verbreiterung stellt die Halbwertsbreite der Banden im Absorptionsspektrum ein Maß für die Höhe der Potenzialbarrieren bzw. für die energetische Verteilung der Exzitonen im angeregten Zustand dar. In dieser Arbeit wurde anhand vier verschiedener Nanorohrsuspensionen gezeigt, dass Sättigungsverhalten der transienten Absorption von (6,5)-Kohlenstoffnanoröhren und Bandenbreite im Absorptionsspektrum demselben Trend folgen. Begründen kann man dies damit, dass das Sättigungsverhalten der transienten Absorption durch Exziton-Exziton-Annihilation bestimmt wird. Aufgrund ihrer eindimensionalen Struktur unterliegen Kohlenstoffnanoröhren einer starken Beeinflussung durch die Umgebung. Abhängig vom Lösungs- bzw. Dispersionsmittel resultiert eine unterschiedliche inhomogene Verbreiterung der Absorptionsbanden und damit unterschiedlich hohe Potenzialbarrieren im angeregten Zustand. Niedrige Potenzialbarrieren erlauben eine weitreichende Diffusion der Exzitonen, sodass effiziente Exziton-Exziton-Annihilation schon bei einer vergleichsweise geringen Exzitonendichte stattfindet und das Signal der transienten Absorption bei einer niedrigen Impulsfluenz sättigt.
Es wurde die zeitabhängige Relaxation der Elektronenverteilung in einem Metall-Halbleiter (Galliumarsenid-Gold) Kontakt nach Anregung durch einen Femtosekundenlaserpuls untersucht. Der Einfluss von internen Photoströmen und extern angelegten Spannungen auf die zeitaufgelöste Messung der Elektronenverteilung durch ein Flugzeitspektrometer wird bestimmt und simuliert.
This thesis will outline studies performed on the fluorescence dynamics of phenyl-benzo-
[c]-tetrazolo-cinnolium chloride (PTC) in alcoholic solutions with varying viscosity using
time-resolved fluoro-spectroscopic methods. Furthermore, the properties of femtosecond
Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) laser pulses will be investigated with respect to their temporal
and spatial features and an approach will be developed to measure and control the spatial
intensity distribution on the time scale of the pulse.
Tetrazolium salts are widely used in biological assays for their low oxidation and reduction
thresholds and spectroscopic properties. However, a neglected feature in these applications
is the advantage that detection of emitted light has over the determination of the
absorbance. To corroborate this, PTC as one of the few known fluorescent tetrazolium
salts was investigated with regard to its luminescent features. Steady-state spectroscopy
revealed how PTC can be formed by a photoreaction from 2,3,5-triphenyl-tetrazolium
chloride (TTC) and how the fluorescence quantum yield behaved in alcoholic solvents
with different viscosity. In the same array of solvents time correlated single photon counting
(TCSPC) measurements were performed and the fluorescence decay was investigated.
Global analysis of the results revealed different dynamics in the different solvents, but
although the main emission constant did change with the solvent, taking the fluorescence
quantum yield into consideration resulted in an independence of the radiative rate from
the solvent. The non-radiative rate, however, was highly solvent dependent and responsible
for the observed solvent-related changes in the fluorescence dynamics. Further studies
with the increased time resolution of femtosecond fluorescence upconversion revealed an
independence of the main emission constant from the excitation energy, however the dynamics
of the cooling processes prior to emission were prolonged for higher excitation
energy. This led to a conceivable photoreaction scheme with one emissive state with a
competing non-radiative relaxation channel, that may involve an intermediate state.
LG laser beams and their properties have seen a lot of scientific attention over the past two
decades. Also in the context of new techniques pushing the limit of technology further to
explore new phenomena, it is essential to understand the features of this beam class and
check the consistency of the findings with theoretical knowledge. The mode conversion
of a Hermite-Gaussian (HG) mode into a LG mode with the help of a spiral phase plate
(SPP) was investigated with respect to its space-time characteristics. It was found that
femtosecond LG and HG pulses of a given temporal duration share the same spectrum
and can be characterized using the same well-established methods. The mode conversion
proved to only produce the desired LG mode with its characteristic orbital angular momentum
(OAM), that is conserved after frequency doubling the pulse. Furthermore, it
was demonstrated that temporal shaping of the HG pulse does not alter the result of its
mode-conversion, as three completely different temporal pulse shapes produced the same
LG mode. Further attention was given to the sum frequency generation of fs LG beams
and dynamics of the interference of a HG and a LG pulse. It was found that if both are
chirped with inverse signs the spatial intensity distribution does rotate around the beam
axis on the time scale of the pulse. A strategy was found that would enable a measurement
of these dynamics by upconversion of the interference with a third gate pulse. The results
of which are discussed theoretically and an approach of an experimental realization had
been made. The simulated findings had only been reproduced to a limited extend due to
experimental limitations, especially the interferometric stability of the setup.