541 Physikalische Chemie
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Sonstige beteiligte Institutionen
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Silicatforschung ISC (3)
- Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany (2)
- Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan (2)
- Center for Nanosystems Chemistry (CNC), Universität Würzburg (1)
- Center for Nanosystems Chemistry (CNC), Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany (1)
- Center of Excellence for Science and Technology - Integration of Mediterranean region (STIM), Faculty of Science, University of Split, Poljička cesta 35, 2100 Split, Croatia (1)
- Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Ke Karlovu 5, 121 16 Prague, Czech Republic (1)
- Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain (1)
- Department of Chemistry, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Brook-Taylor-Strasse 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany (1)
- Department of Chemistry, Sungkyunkwan University, 440-746 Suwon, Republic of Korea (1)
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- M-1240-2017 (1)
Reactive hydrocarbon molecules like radicals, biradicals and carbenes are not only key players in combustion processes and interstellar and atmospheric chemistry, but some of them are also important intermediates in organic synthesis. These systems typically possess many low-lying, strongly coupled electronic states. After light absorption, this leads to rich photodynamics characterized by a complex interplay of nuclear and electronic motion, which is still not comprehensively understood and not easy to investigate both experimentally and theoretically. In order to elucidate trends and contribute to a more general understanding, we here review our recent work on excited-state dynamics of open-shell hydrocarbon species using time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and field-induced surface hopping simulations, and report new results on the excited-state dynamics of the tropyl and the 1-methylallyl radical. The different dynamics are compared, and the difficulties and future directions of time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and excited state dynamics simulations of open-shell hydrocarbon molecules are discussed.
In the last two decades, coherent multidimensional femtosecond spectroscopy has become a powerful and versatile tool to investigate chemical dynamics of a broad variety of quantum systems. The combination of transient information, equivalent to pumpprobe spectroscopy, with information about coupling between energetic states and the system environment allows an extensive insight into atomic and molecular properties. Many experimental 2D setups employ the coherence-detected approach, where nonlinear system responses are emitted as coherent electric _elds which are detected after spatial separation from the excitation pulses. As an alternative to this experimentally demanding approach, population-based 2D spectroscopy has been established. Here, the coherent information is encoded in the phases of a collinear excitation-pulse train and extracted from incoherent signals like uorescence via phase cycling. In principle, the use of uorescence as observable can boost the sensitivity down to the single-molecule level. The aim of this work was the realization of a pulse-shaper assisted fully collinear uorescence-detected 2D setup and the conducting of proof-of-principle experiments in the liquid phase. This inherently phase-stable and compact setup has been presented in chapter 3, with the utilized pulse shaper granting amplitude and phase modulation on a shot-to-shot basis. Two di_erent types of white-light sources have been applied and evaluated with regard to their respective advantages for 2D uorescence spectroscopy. A variety of artifact sources that can occur with the present setup have been discussed, and correction schemes and instructions for avoiding these artifacts have been provided. In chapter 4, the setup has been demonstrated by employing a four-pulse sequence on cresyl violet in ethanol. A detailed data-acquisition and data-analysis procedure has been presented, where phase cycling is used for extraction of the nonlinear contributions. Depending on the phase-cycling scheme, it is possible to recover all nonlinear contributions in a single measurement. Well-known quantum-beating behavior of cresyl violet during the population time could be reproduced. Due to measuring in a rotating-frame environment and 1 kHz shot-to-shot pulse incrementation, it was possible to obtain a 2D spectrum for one population time in 6 s. Via error evaluation it has been shown that 10_ averaging (1 min) is su_cient to obtain a root-mean-square error of < 0:05 compared to 400_ averaging, proving that the utilized acquisition scheme is well suited. The realization of the _rst experimental uorescence-detected 2Q 2D experiment and the _rst experimental access to the theoretically predicted 1Q-2Q contribution
Space- and time-resolved UV-to-NIR surface spectroscopy and 2D nanoscopy at 1 MHz repetition rate
(2019)
We describe a setup for time-resolved photoemission electron microscopy (TRPEEM) with aberration correction enabling 3 nm spatial resolution and sub-20 fs temporal resolution. The latter is realized by our development of a widely tunable (215–970 nm) noncollinear optical parametric amplifier (NOPA) at 1 MHz repetition rate. We discuss several exemplary applications. Efficient photoemission from plasmonic Au nanoresonators is investigated with phase-coherent pulse pairs from an actively stabilized interferometer. More complex excitation fields are created with a liquid-crystal-based pulse shaper enabling amplitude and phase shaping of NOPA pulses with spectral components from 600 to 800 nm. With this system we demonstrate spectroscopy within a single plasmonic nanoslit resonator by spectral amplitude shaping and investigate the local field dynamics with coherent two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy at the nanometer length scale (“2D nanoscopy”). We show that the local response varies across a distance as small as 33 nm in our sample. Further, we report two-color pump–probe experiments using two independent NOPA beamlines. We extract local variations of the excited-state dynamics of a monolayered 2D material (WSe2) that we correlate with low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and reflectivity (LEER) measurements. Finally, we demonstrate the in-situ sample preparation capabilities for organic thin films and their characterization via spatially resolved electron diffraction and dark-field LEEM.
The aim of this thesis was to develop new automatic enhanced sampling methods by extending the idea of Parrinello’s metadynamics to multistate problems and by introducing new quantum-mechanical electronic collective variables. These methods open up a rich perspective for applications to the photophysical processes in complex molecular systems, which play a major role in many natural processes such as vision and photosynthesis, but also in the development of new materials for organic electronics, whose function depends on specific electronic properties such as biradicalicity.
Doping plays a decisive role for the functionality of semiconductor-based (opto-)electronic
devices. Hence, the technological utilization of semiconductors necessitates control and a
fundamental understanding of the doping process. However, for low-dimensional systems like
carbon nanotubes, neither concentration nor distribution of charge carriers is currently well known.
The research presented in this thesis investigated the doping of semiconducting carbon nanotubes by spectroscopic methods. Samples of highly purified, intrinsic (6,5) single-wall carbon nanotubes were fabricated using polymer stabilization.
Chapter 4 showed that both electro- and redox chemical $p$-doping lead to identical bleaching,
blueshift, broadening and asymmetry of the S$_1$ exciton absorption band. The similar spectral changes induced by both doping schemes suggest that optical spectra can not be used to infer what process was used for doping. Perhaps more importantly, it also indicates that the distribution of charges and the character of the charge transfer states does not depend on the method by which doping was achieved.
The detailed analysis of the doping-induced spectral changes in chapter 5 suggests that surplus charges are distributed inhomogeneously. The hypothesis of carrier localization is consistent with the high sensitivity of the S$_1$ exciton photoluminescence to additional charge carriers and with the stretched-exponential decay of the exciton population following ultrafast excitation.
Both aspects are in good agreement with diffusion-limited contact quenching of excitons
at localized charges. Moreover, localized charges act – similar to structural defects – as
perturbations to the bandstructure as evidenced by a doping-induced increase of the D-band
antiresonance in the mid-infrared spectrum.
Quantum mechanical model calculations also suggest that counterions play a crucial role in
carrier localization. Counterion adsorption at the nanotube surface is thus believed to induce charge traps of more than 100 meV depth with a carrier localization length on the order of 3 - 4 nm. The doping-induced bleach of interband absorption is accompanied by an absorption increase in the IR region below 600 meV. The observed shift of the IR peak position indicates a continuous transition from localized to rather delocalized charge carriers. This transition is caused by the increase of the overlap of charge carrier wavefunctions at higher charge densities and was modeled by classical Monte-Carlo simulations of intraband absorption.
Chapter 6 discussed the spectroscopy of heavily (degenerately) doped nanotubes, which are
characterized by a Drude-response of free-carrier intraband absorption in the optical conductivity spectrum. In the NIR spectral region, the S$_1$ exciton and X$+^_1$ trion absorption is replaced by a nearly 1 eV broad and constant absorption signal, the so-called H-band. The linear and transient absorption spectra of heavily doped nanotubes suggest that the H-band can be attributed to free-carrier interband transitions.
Chapter 7 dealt with the quantification of charge carrier densities by linear absorption spectroscopy.
A particularly good measure of the carrier density is the S$_1$ exciton bleach. For a
bleach below about 50 %, the carrier density is proportional to the bleach. At higher doping
levels, deviations from the linear behavior were observed. For doping levels exceeding a
fully bleached S$_1$ band, the determination of the normalized oscillator strength f$\text{1st}$ over the
whole first subband region (trion, exciton, free e-h pairs) is recommended for quantification of carrier densities. Based on the nanotube density of states, the carrier density $n$ can be estimated using $n = 0.74\,\text{nm}^{−1} \cdot (1 − f_\text{1st})$.
In the last part of this thesis (chapter 8), the time-resolved spectroelectrochemistry was
extended to systems beyond photostable carbon nanotube films. The integration of a flowelectrolysis cell into the transient absorption spectrometer allows the investigation of in-situ electrochemically generated but photounstable molecules due to a continuous exchange of sample volume. First time-resolved experiments were successfully performed using the dye
methylene blue and its electrochemically reduced form leucomethylene blue.
Major advances in the chemistry of 5th and 6th row heavy p-block element compounds have recently uncovered intriguing reactivity patterns towards small molecules such as H\(_2\), CO\(_2\), and ethylene. However, well-defined, homogeneous insertion reactions with carbon monoxide, one of the benchmark substrates in this field, have not been reported to date. We demonstrate here, that a cationic bismuth amide undergoes facile insertion of CO into the Bi–N bond under mild conditions. This approach grants direct access to the first cationic bismuth carbamoyl species. Its characterization by NMR, IR, and UV/vis spectroscopy, elemental analysis, single-crystal X-ray analysis, cyclic voltammetry, and DFT calculations revealed intriguing properties, such as a reversible electron transfer at the bismuth center and an absorption feature at 353 nm ascribed to a transition involving σ- and π-type orbitals of the bismuth-carbamoyl functionality. A combined experimental and theoretical approach provided insight into the mechanism of CO insertion. The substrate scope could be extended to isonitriles.
In this thesis, the photophysics and spin chemistry of donor-photosensitizer-acceptor triads were investigated. While all investigated triads comprised a TAA as an electron donor and a NDI as an electron acceptor, the central photosensitizers (PS) were different chromophores based on the dipyrrin-motif. The purity and identity of all target compounds could be confirmed by NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis.
The first part of the work dealt with dipyrrinato-complexes of cyclometalated heavy transition metals. The successful synthesis of novel triads based on Ir(III), Pt(II) and Pd(II) was presented. The optical and electrochemical properties indicated charge separation (CS), which was confirmed by transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy. TA-spectroscopy also revealed that the process of CS is significantly slower and less efficient for the triads based on Pt(II) and Pd(II) than for the analogous Ir(III) triads. This is mostly due to a much more convoluted reaction pathway, comprising several intermediate states before the formation of the final charge separated state (CSS2). On the other hand, CSS2 exhibits long lifetimes which are dependent on the central metal ion. While the Ir(III) triads show lifetimes of about 0.5 µs in MeCN, the Pt(II) and Pd(II) analogues show lifetimes of 1.5 µs. The magnetic field effect on the charge recombination (CR) kinetics of CSS2 was investigated by magnetic field dependent ns-TA spectroscopy and could be rationalized based on a classical kinetic scheme comprising only one magnetic field dependent rate constant k±. The behavior of k± shows a clear separation of the coherent and incoherent spin interconversion mechanisms. While the coherent spin evolution is due to the isotropic hyperfine coupling with the magnetic nuclei of the radical centers, the incoherent spin relaxation is due to a rotational modulation of the anisotropic hyperfine coupling tensor and is strongly dependent on the viscosity of the solvent. This dependence could be used to measure the nanoviscosity of the oligomeric solvent pTHF, which was found to be distinctly different from its macroviscosity.
The second part of the work dealt with bisdipyrrinato complexes and their bridged porphodimethenato (PDM) analogues. Initially, the suitability of the different chromophores for the use as PS in donor-acceptor substituted triads was tested by a systematic investigation of their steady state and transient properties. While the PDM-complex of Zn(II) and Pd(II) exhibited promising characteristics such as a high exited state lifetime and relatively intense emission, the purely organic parent PDM and the non-bridged bisdipyrrinato-Pd(II) complex were less suitable. The difference between the two Pd(II) complexes could be explained by a structural rearrangement of the non-bridged complex which results in a non-emissive metal centered triplet state with disphenoidal geometry. This rearrangement is prevented by the dimethylmethylene-bridges in the bridged analogue resulting in higher phosphorescence quantum yields and excited state lifetimes.
With the exception of the Zn(II)PDM-complex, the synthesis of novel donor acceptor substituted triads could be realized for all desired central chromophores. They were investigated equivalently to the cyclometalated triads described in the first part. The steady state properties indicate a stronger electronic coupling between the subunits due to the lack of unsaturated bridges between the donor and the central chromophore. Photoinduced CS occurs in all investigated triads. Due to the low exited state lifetimes of the central chromophores, CSS is formed less efficiently for the triads based on the unbridged Pd(II)-complex as well as the purely organic PDM. In the triad based on the bridged Pd(II) complex, the CR of CSS2 is faster than its formation resulting in low intermediate concentrations. For its elongated analogue, this is not the case and CSS2 can be observed clearly. Although the spin-chemistry of the triads based on bisdipyrrinato-Pd(II) and porphodimethenato-Pd(II) is less well understood, first interpretations of the magnetic field dependent decay kinetics gave results approximately equivalent to those obtained for the cyclometalated triads. Furthermore, the MFE was shown to be useful for the investigation of the quantum yield of CS and the identity of the observed CSSs.
In both parts of this work, the influence of the central photosensitizer on the photophysics and the spin chemistry of the triads could be shown. While the process of CS is directly dependent on the PS, the PS usually is not directly involved in the final CSSs. None the less, it can still indirectly affect the CR and spin chemistry of the CSS since it influences the electronic coupling between donor and acceptor, as well as the geometry of the triads.
We present a theoretical study on exciton–exciton annihilation (EEA) in a molecular dimer. This process is monitored using a fifth-order coherent two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy as was recently proposed by Dostál et al. [Nat. Commun. 9, 2466 (2018)]. Using an electronic three-level system for each monomer, we analyze the different paths which contribute to the 2D spectrum. The spectrum is determined by two entangled relaxation processes, namely, the EEA and the direct relaxation of higher lying excited states. It is shown that the change of the spectrum as a function of a pulse delay can be linked directly to the presence of the EEA process.
We demonstrate two-quantum (2Q) coherent two-dimensional (2D)electronic spectroscopy using a shot-to-shot-modulated pulse shaper and fluorescence detection. Broadband collinear excitation is realized with the supercontinuum output of an argon-filled hollow-core fiber, enabling us to excite multiple transitions simultaneously in the visible range. The 2Q contribution is extracted via a three-pulse sequence with 16-fold phase cycling and simulated employing cresyl violet as a model system. Furthermore, we report the first experimental realization of one-quantum−two-quantum (1Q-2Q) 2D spectroscopy, offering less congested spectra as compared with the 2Q implementation. We avoid scattering artifacts and nonresonant solvent contributions by using fluorescence as the observable. This allows us to extract quantitative information about doubly excited states that agree with literature expectations. The high sensitivity and background-free nature of fluorescence detection allow for a general applicability of this method to many other systems.
Die vorliegende Dissertation widmete sich der Aufklärung der Photodissoziationsdynamik der drei Xylyl-Radikale ortho-, meta- und para-Xylyl sowie des Benzyl-Radikals mit Hilfe des Velocity-Map-Imagings. Diese reaktiven Intermediate sind insbesondere im Bereich der Verbrennungschemie von hoher Relevanz, da sie die primären Zerfallsprodukte der Xylole und des Toluols darstellen, welche als Antiklopfmittel in Ottokraftstoffen Verwendung finden.Dementsprechend ist eine Betrachtung des weiteren Zerfalls dieser resonanz-stabilisierten Radikale, insbesondere unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Rußbildung, von entscheidender Bedeutung.
Für alle drei Xylyl-Radikale konnte eine selektive pyrolytische Generierung aus den entsprechenden 2-(Methylphenyl)ethylnitriten realisiert werden. Die isomerspezifische Identifikation erfolgte mit Hilfe von REMPI-Spektroskopie der jeweiligen D0 -> D3-Übergänge. Nachfolgend wurde die Photodissoziation aller drei Xylyl-Isomere nach Anregung des D3-Zustandes bei ca. 310 nm und nach Anregung der D-Bande bei 250 nm untersucht. Das „einfachste” Experiment stellte in diesem Zusammenhang die Photodissoziation des para-Xylyl-Radikals dar. Es konnte die von Hemberger et al. in thermischen Zerfallsexperimenten beobachtete Reaktion p-Xylyl -> p-Xylylen + H verifiziert werden. Die VMI-Experimente lieferten die Kennwerte <fT>(309.6nm) = 33 % und <fT>(250nm) = 19 % unter Erhalt isotroper Images für beide Anregungswellenlängen. Die dazugehörigen Dissoziationsratenkonstanten wurden zu kH(309.6nm) ≈ 10^8 s-1 und kH(250nm) ≈ 5*10^7 s-1 bestimmt. Es ist verblüffend, dass die Photodissoziation scheinbar bei der höheren Anregungswellenlänge von 309.6 nm (und somit bei geringerer Anregungsenergie) schneller verläuft als bei 250 nm. Darüber hinaus ist es nicht möglich, die beobachteten Raten mittels des statistischen Modells der RRKM-Theorie zu beschreiben. Des Weiteren konnten auch die Translationsenergieverteilungen nicht mit dem „Quack-Fit” für statistische Dissoziationen angefittet werden. Bei der Photodissoziation des para-Xylyl-Radikals liegt eine Dissoziation nach Rückkehr in den rovibronisch hochangeregten elektronischen Grundzustand infolge der Photoanregung vor. Hierbei thermalisiert die innere Energie im elektronischen Grundzustand vor der Dissoziation scheinbar nur teilweise, sodass keine vollständige statistische Verteilung dieser innerhalb des para-Xylyls gegeben ist. Da dies eine Grundvoraussetzung der gängigen statistischen Modelle darstellt, ist es nicht verwunderlich, dass keine quantitative Reproduktion der experimentellen Ergebnisse durch Anwendung dieser Modelle ermöglicht wird.
Bei entsprechenden Experimenten zum ortho-Isomer konnten diese statistischen Modelle ebenfalls nicht zur quantitativen Beschreibung der Dissoziation verwendet werden. Abermals wurde mit kH(311.1nm) ≈ 10^8 s-1 und kH(250nm) ≈ 5*10^7 s-1 eine schnellere Dissoziation bei geringerer Anregungsenergie festgestellt. Dies erscheint demnach charakteristisch für die Xylyl-Radikale. Innerhalb der VMI-Experimente wurden isotrope Verteilungen erhalten, deren Fragmenttranslationsenergieverteilung nach Anregung des D3-Niveaus bei 311.1 nm jedoch nicht durch die von Hemberger et al. beschriebene Hauptreaktion o-Xylyl -> o-Xylylen + H erklärt werden konnte. Eine Fragmentation nach o-Xylyl -> Benzocyclobuten + H konnte auf diesem Weg als Hauptdissoziationspfad identifiziert werden. Innerhalb der Studien von Hemberger et al. ist eine Reaktion zu Benzocyclobuten bei Anregung mit 311.1 nm energetisch nicht zugänglich. Mittels quantenchemischer Rechnung konnte jedoch ein bislang unbekannter, energetisch zugänglicher Reaktionspfad zur Bildung von Benzocyclobuten unter simultaner Ringschlussreaktion und Wasserstofffragmentation identifiziert und charakterisiert werden. Die Kennwerte der Photodissoziationsreaktion des ortho-Xylyls konnten hierdurch zu <fT>(311.1nm) = 30 % und <fT>(250nm) = 16 % bestimmt werden. Wie bereits im Fall des para-Isomers liegt die Vermutung nahe, dass es sich um eine Dissoziation aus dem rovibronisch hoch-angeregten elektronischen Grundzustand handelt, welcher nicht vollständig vor der Fragmentation thermalisiert.
Im Rahmen der Experimente zum letzten der drei Xylyl-Isomere, dem meta-Xylyl-Radikal, konnte mit VMI eine Fragmentation nach m-Xylyl -> m-Xylylen + H als Hauptdissoziationpfad ausgeschlossen werden. Innerhalb der Experimente nach Anregung des D3-Niveaus um 310 nm konnten mit para-Xylylen und Benzocyclobuten zwei Reaktionsprodukte festgestellt werden, welche die erhaltene Translationsenergieverteilung erklären könnten, wobei die entsprechende maximale Überschussenergie einer Fragmentation zu para-Xylylen den Nullabfall der Verteilung geringfügig besser widerspiegelt. Die mittlere Fragmenttranslationsenergie liegt mit <fT>(p-Xylylen) = 29 % respektive <fT>(Bcb) = 25 % leicht unterhalb der entsprechenden Kennwerte der para- beziehungsweise ortho-Xylyl Experimente. Durch die nötige, der Dissoziation vorausgehende Isomerisierung scheint ein höherer Thermalisierungsgrad der Schwingungs- und Rotationsenergie innerhalb des elektronischen Grundzustands erreicht zu werden, aus welchem die geringen <fT>-Werte resultieren könnten. Der Effekt verminderter <fT>-Werte wurde in den Experimenten bei 250 nm nicht gefunden (<fT>(p-Xylylen) = 19 % respektive <fT>(Bcb) = 17 %). Vergleicht man an dieser Stelle die <ET>- anstelle der <fT>-Werte (<ET>(para) = 0.41 eV, <ET>(ortho) = 0.38 eV, <ET>(meta) = 0.41 eV), stellt man fest, dass <ET>(meta) = <ET>(para) gilt und somit ein weiteres Indiz dafür gefunden wurde, dass eine Umlagerung zu para-Xylyl mit anschließender Fragmentation zu para-Xylylen möglicherweise gegenüber jener zum ortho-Isomer mit nachfolgender Bcb-Bildung bevorzugt ist. Dies würde darüber hinaus im Einklang mit den Studien von Hemberger et al. stehen, in welchen beim thermischen Zerfall des meta-Xylyls para-Xylylen als alleiniges Fragmentationsprodukt gefunden wurde. Eine Betrachtung der Umlagerung mittels RRKM wies jedoch keinen bevorzugten Isomerisierungspfad aus. Schlussendlich lässt sich aufgrund der ermittelten Ratenkonstanten (kH(310nm) ≈ 10^8 s-1, kH(250nm) ≈ 4*10^7 s-1) sowie den <fT>-Werten vermuten, dass die Isomerisierung langsamer als die Dissoziation bei 310 nm verläuft, jedoch zumindest auf einer ähnlichen Zeitskala wie die entsprechende Dissoziation nach Anregung bei 250 nm. Eine zweifelsfreie Interpretation der meta-Xylyl Experimente gestaltet sich jedoch als schwierig.
Innerhalb der Studien zur Photodissoziation des Benzyl-Radikals konnten literaturbekannte Daten zur Fragmentation nach Anregung um 250 nm in guter Übereinstimmung reproduziert werden. Die experimentellen Daten zur Untersuchung der Photodissoziation nach Anregung des D3-Niveaus konnten jedoch nicht eindeutig interpretiert werden. Die literaturbekannte Lage des D3-Niveaus bei 305.3 nm konnte mittels REMPI-Spektroskopie reproduziert werden und anschließende 1H-Photofragmentspektren zeigten, dass eine Anregung des D3-Niveaus zur Bildung von Wasserstofffragmenten führt. Die beobachteten 1H-Fragmente zeigten jedoch eine deutlich zu hohe Überschussenergie für eine Einphotonenabsorption, sodass diese Mehrphotonenabsorptionen zugeordnet werden müssen. Es lässt sich vermuten, dass die Wasserstofffragmente aus einer Anregung eines „superexcited states” oberhalb des Ionisationspotentials, wahrscheinlich durch Zweiphotonenabsorption, stammen. Dieser „superexcited state” zeigt scheinbar keine (vollständige) Autoionisation und führt nachfolgend zumindest teilweise zur Fragmentation des Benzyl-Radikals. In der Folge liegt die Vermutung nahe, dass die Energien eines einzelnen 305 nm-Photons nicht zur Initiierung einer Photodissoziation des Benzyl-Radikals ausreichend ist oder aber, dass diese Photodissoziation zu langsam ist, um sie in einem VMI-Experiment zu beobachten. Potential für weitere Experimente zur Photodissoziation des Benzyl-Radikals nach Anregung des D3-Niveaus wird an dieser Stelle nicht gesehen.
Die Terahertz-Technologie erschließt permanent neue Forschungsbereiche und wird auch vermehrt im kommerziellen Bereich eingesetzt. Diese Entwicklung wird in eigenen Analysen dargestellt. Als Kernaspekte dieses Buchs werden technologische Verbesserungen für gepulste Terahertz-Systeme und der spektroskopische Einsatz für die Polymeranalytik vorgestellt. Einen besonderen Stellenwert nehmen dabei Untersuchungen an Polymermischungen im Schmelzezustand während der Prozessierung ein. Bemerkenswert ist hierbei das temperaturabhängige Verhalten von verschiedensten Polyamiden. Die Änderung der optischen und spektroskopischen Eigenschaften und die Einflussfaktoren werden tiefergehend betrachtet. Dabei werden verschiedene klassische und neuere Experimentalmethoden, Modellierungen und quantenchemische Simulationsmethoden eingesetzt, um insbesondere die intermolekularen Wechselwirkungen aufzuklären.
In this work the energy transfer and excitonic coupling in different chromophore arrangements were investigated. A difference in the coupling strength was introduced by varring the connecting unit and the spacial orientation relative to each other.
The synthesis of the 2,7-substituted pyrene compounds could be optimised and good yields of HAB 1 and HAB 2 and small amounts of HAB 2 could be achieved by cobalt-catalysed trimerisation or Diels Alder reaction in the end. Absorption and fluorescence spectra reveal strong intramolecular interactions between the pyrene molecules in the HAB 1. Excitation spectra recorded at the high and low energy fluorescence suggest the contribution of two components to the spectra. One being similar to the ground state aggregate and a second species similar to undisturbed pyrene. All these feature can be accounted to two different fluorescent states which are due to electronical decoupling in the excited state. Due to the strong intramolecular coupling already in the ground state of the molecule, no energy transfer could be studied, as the six pyrene units cannot be seen as separate spectroscopic entities between which energy could be transferred.
In the second part of this thesis dye conjugates of different size and alignment were synthesised to study the interaction of the transition-dipole moments. Therefore a systematic investigation of Sonogashira conditions was performed in order to obtain good yields of the desired compounds and keep dehalogenation at a minimum level. Nevertheless only the symmetrical triads could be purified as the asymmeric triads and pentades proved to decompose during purification.
The pyrene containing triads Py2B and Py2SQB show small interactions already in the ground state represented by red shifts of the spectra and a broadening of the bands. Nevertheless, these interactions are in the weak coupling regime and energy transfer between the constituents is possible. On the contrary in the TA spectra it is obvious that always the whole triad, at least to some extend is excited. To question if the excitation of the high energy state is deactivated by energy transfer or rather IC in a superchromophore could not be distinguished in the course of this work. At present additional time-dependent calculations of the dynamics are in progress to get a deeper understanding of the photophysical processes taking place in the triads.
The dye conjugates B2SQB-3 and (SQB)2B-4 can be assigned to the strong interaction range and hence are describable by exciton theory. The transition-dipole moments proved to be more than additive and increase for both compounds from absorption to fluorescence. This can be explained by an enhancement of the coupling in the relaxed excited state compared to the absorption into the Franck-Condon state due to a more steep potential energy surface in the excited state and hence smaller fluctuations.
In the last part of this thesis the influence of disrupting electronical communication by implementing a rigid non-conjugated bridge in a bichromophoric trans-squaraine system was tested. While the flexible linked squaraines show complex spectra due to different conformers the SQA2Anth compound is rigified and no rotation is possible. This change in flexibility is represented in the steady-state spectra where just one main absorption and fluorescence band is present due to a single allowed excitonic state. The system proves to own an excited state that is completely delocalised over the whole molecule.
In the context of quantum mechanical calculations, the properties of non-adiabatic coupling in a small system, the Shin-Metiu model, is investigated.
The transition from adiabatic to non-adiabatic dynamics is elucidated in modifying the electron-nuclear interaction. This allows the comparison of weakly correlated electron-nuclear motion with the case where the strong correlations determine the dynamics.
The studies of the model are extended to include spectroscopical transitions being present in two-dimensional and degenerate four-wave mixing spectroscopy.
Furthermore, the quantum and classical time-evolution of the coupled motion in the complete electron-nuclear phase space is compared for the two coupling cases.
Additionally, the numerically exact electron flux within the weak coupling case is compared to the Born-Oppenheimer treatment.
In the last part of the thesis, the model is extended to two dimensions.
The system then possesses potential energy surfaces which exhibit a typical 'Mexican hat'-like structure and a conical intersection in the adiabatic representation.
Thus, it is possible to map properties of the system onto a vibronic coupling (Jahn-Teller) hamiltonian. Exact wave-packet propagations as well as nuclear wave-packet dynamics in the adiabatic and diabatic representation are performed.
The invention of laser pulse shapers allowed for various quantum control experiments, where a chemical reaction is guided by specifically tailored laser pulses. However, despite of the prominent role of the liquid phase in chemistry, no successful attempt for controlling the selectivity of a bond-fission reaction has yet been reported in this state of matter. Promising candidates for such an experiment are C$_{\infty\mathrm{v}}$-symmetric trihalide anions with two different chemical bonds like $\ce{I2Cl-}$, because these molecules notionally offer the most simplest selectivity-control scenario of breaking either the one or the other bond and they are expected to dissociate under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation like it is known for the most-studied trihalide $\ce{I3-}$.
In order to investigate in this thesis the possibility that the dissociation reaction of such trihalides branches into two different photofragments, the ultrafast photodissociation dynamics of $\ce{I3-}$, $\ce{Br3-}$, $\ce{IBr2-}$ and $\ce{ICl2-}$ (point group D$_{\infty\mathrm{h}}$) as well as of $\ce{I2Br-}$ and $\ce{I2Cl-}$ (point group C$_{\infty\mathrm{v}}$) in dichloromethane solution were measured with broadband transient absorption spectroscopy in magic-angle configuration. The identification of the reaction pathway(s) relies on vibrational wavepacket oscillations, which survive the dissociation process and therefore carry not only informations about the reactant trihalides but also about the fragment dihalides.
These characteristic vibrational wavenumbers were extracted from the measured transient absorption spectra by globally fitting the population dynamics together with the wavepacket dynamics. Until recently, such a combined model function was not available in the well-established fitting tool Glotaran. This made it inevitable to develop a custom implementation of the underlying variable-projection fitting algorithm, for which the computer-algebra software Mathematica was chosen. Mathematica's sophisticated built-in functions allow not only for a high flexibility in constructing arbitrary model functions, but also offer the possibility to automatically calculate the derivative(s) of a model function. This allows the fitting procedure to use the exact Jacobian matrix instead of approximating it with the finite difference method.
Against the expectation, only one of the two thinkable photodissociation channels was found for each of the investigated C$_{\infty\mathrm{v}}$ trihalides. Since the photofragments recombine, their absorption signal as well as the reactant ground state bleach recover. This happens in a biexponential manner, which in the case of $\ce{I3-}$ was interpreted by Ruhman and coworkers with the direct formation of a neutral dihalogen fragment $\ce{I2}$ beside the negatively charged dihalide fragment $\ce{I2-}$. In this thesis, such a direct reaction channel was not found and instead the fast component of the biexponential decay is explained with vibrational excess energy mediating the recombination-preceding electron transfer process $\ce{I2- + I -> I2 + I-}$, while the slow component is attributed to cooled-down fragments.
In addition to the trihalide experiments, the possibility of a magic-angle configuration for polarization-shaping control experiments was theoretically investigated in this thesis by deriving magic-angle conditions for the third-order electric-dipole response signal of arbitrarily polarized laser pulses. Furthermore, the subtleties of anisotropy signals violating the well-known range of \numrange{-0.2}{0.4} were studied.
Energy Transfer Between Squaraine Polymer Sections: From helix to zig-zag and All the Way Back
(2015)
Joint experimental and theoretical study of the absorption spectra of squaraine polymers in solution provide evidence that two different conformations are present in solution: a helix and a zig-zag structure. This unique situation allows investigating ultrafast energy transfer processes between different structural segments within a single polymer chain in solution. The understanding of the underlying dynamics is of fundamental importance for the development of novel materials for light-harvesting and optoelectronic applications. We combine here femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy with time-resolved 2D electronic spectroscopy showing that ultrafast energy transfer within the squaraine polymer chains proceeds from initially excited helix segments to zig-zag segments or vice versa, depending on the solvent as well as on the excitation wavenumber. These observations contrast other conjugated polymers such as MEH-PPV where much slower intrachain energy transfer was reported. The reason for the very fast energy transfer in squaraine polymers is most likely a close matching of the density of states between donor and acceptor polymer segments because of very small reorganization energy in these cyanine-like chromophores.
The mechanism of excimer formation: an experimental and theoretical study on the pyrene dimer
(2017)
The understanding of excimer formation in organic materials is of fundamental importance, since excimers profoundly influence their functional performance in applications such as light-harvesting, photovoltaics or organic electronics. We present a joint experimental and theoretical study of the ultrafast dynamics of excimer formation in the pyrene dimer in a supersonic jet, which is the archetype of an excimer forming system. We perform simulations of the nonadiabatic photodynamics in the frame of TDDFT that reveal two distinct excimer formation pathways in the gas-phase dimer. The first pathway involves local excited state relaxation close to the initial Franck–Condon geometry that is characterized by a strong excitation of the stacking coordinate exhibiting damped oscillations with a period of 350 fs that persist for several picoseconds. The second excimer forming pathway involves large amplitude oscillations along the parallel shift coordinate with a period of ≈900 fs that after intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution leads to the formation of a perfectly stacked dimer. The electronic relaxation within the excitonic manifold is mediated by the presence of intermolecular conical intersections formed between fully delocalized excitonic states. Such conical intersections may generally arise in stacked π-conjugated aggregates due to the interplay between the long-range and short-range electronic coupling. The simulations are supported by picosecond photoionization experiments in a supersonic jet that provide a time-constant for the excimer formation of around 6–7 ps, in good agreement with theory. Finally, in order to explore how the crystal environment influences the excimer formation dynamics we perform large scale QM/MM nonadiabatic dynamics simulations on a pyrene crystal in the framework of the long-range corrected tight-binding TDDFT. In contrast to the isolated dimer, the excimer formation in the crystal follows a single reaction pathway in which the initially excited parallel slip motion is strongly damped by the interaction with the surrounding molecules leading to the slow excimer stabilization on a picosecond time scale.
The mechanism of excimer formation: an experimental and theoretical study on the pyrene dimer
(2017)
The understanding of excimer formation in organic materials is of fundamental importance, since excimers profoundly influence their functional performance in applications such as light-harvesting, photovoltaics or organic electronics. We present a joint experimental and theoretical study of the ultrafast dynamics of excimer formation in the pyrene dimer in a supersonic jet, which is the archetype of an excimer forming system. We perform simulations of the nonadiabatic photodynamics in the frame of TDDFT that reveal two distinct excimer formation pathways in the gas-phase dimer. The first pathway involves local excited state relaxation close to the initial Franck–Condon geometry that is characterized by a strong excitation of the stacking coordinate exhibiting damped oscillations with a period of 350 fs that persist for several picoseconds. The second excimer forming pathway involves large amplitude oscillations along the parallel shift coordinate with a period of ≈900 fs that after intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution leads to the formation of a perfectly stacked dimer. The electronic relaxation within the excitonic manifold is mediated by the presence of intermolecular conical intersections formed between fully delocalized excitonic states. Such conical intersections may generally arise in stacked π-conjugated aggregates due to the interplay between the long-range and short-range electronic coupling. The simulations are supported by picosecond photoionization experiments in a supersonic jet that provide a time-constant for the excimer formation of around 6–7 ps, in good agreement with theory. Finally, in order to explore how the crystal environment influences the excimer formation dynamics we perform large scale QM/MM nonadiabatic dynamics simulations on a pyrene crystal in the framework of the long-range corrected tight-binding TDDFT. In contrast to the isolated dimer, the excimer formation in the crystal follows a single reaction pathway in which the initially excited parallel slip motion is strongly damped by the interaction with the surrounding molecules leading to the slow excimer stabilization on a picosecond time scale.
Most proteins work in aqueous solution and the interaction with water strongly affects their structure and function. However, experimentally the motion of a specific single water molecule is difficult to trace by conventional methods, because they average over the heterogeneous solvation structure of bulk water surrounding the protein. Here, we provide a detailed atomistic picture of the water rearrangement dynamics around the –CONH– peptide linkage in the two model systems formanilide and acetanilide, which simply differ by the presence of a methyl group at the peptide linkage. The combination of picosecond pump–probe time-resolved infrared spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrates that the solvation dynamics at the molecular level is strongly influenced by this small structural difference. The effective timescales for solvent migration triggered by ionization are mainly controlled by the efficiency of the kinetic energy redistribution rather than the shape of the potential energy surface. This approach provides a fundamental understanding of protein hydration and may help to design functional molecules in solution with tailored properties.
Most proteins work in aqueous solution and the interaction with water strongly affects their structure and function. However, experimentally the motion of a specific single water molecule is difficult to trace by conventional methods, because they average over the heterogeneous solvation structure of bulk water surrounding the protein. Here, we provide a detailed atomistic picture of the water rearrangement dynamics around the –CONH– peptide linkage in the two model systems formanilide and acetanilide, which simply differ by the presence of a methyl group at the peptide linkage. The combination of picosecond pump–probe time-resolved infrared spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrates that the solvation dynamics at the molecular level is strongly influenced by this small structural difference. The effective timescales for solvent migration triggered by ionization are mainly controlled by the efficiency of the kinetic energy redistribution rather than the shape of the potential energy surface. This approach provides a fundamental understanding of protein hydration and may help to design functional molecules in solution with tailored properties.
We present a joint experimental and computational study of the nonradiative deactivation of the benzyl radical, C\(_7\)H\(_7\) after UV excitation. Femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging was applied to investigate the photodynamics of the radical. The experiments were accompanied by excited state dynamics simulations using surface hopping. Benzyl has been excited at 265 nm into the D-band (\(\pi\pi^*\)) and the dynamics was probed using probe wavelengths of 398 nm or 798 nm. With 398 nm probe a single time constant of around 70-80 fs was observed. When the dynamics was probed at 798 nm, a second time constant \(\tau_2\)=1.5 ps was visible. It is assigned to further non-radiative deactivation to the lower-lying D\(_1\)/D\(_2\) states.
The design of ordered arrays of metal nanoclusters such as for example 2D cluster organic frameworks might open a new route towards the development of materials with tailored optical properties. Such systems could serve as plasmonically enhanced light-harvesting materials, sensors or catalysts. We present here a theoretical approach for the simulation of the optical properties of ordered arrays of metal clusters that is based on the ab initio parametrized Frenkel exciton model. We demonstrate that small atomically precise silver clusters can be assembled in one- and two-dimensional arrays on suitably designed porphyrin templates exhibiting remarkable optical properties. By employing explicit TDDFT calculations on smaller homologs, we show that the intrinsic optical properties of metal clusters are largely preserved but undergo J- and H-type excitonic coupling that results in controllable splitting of their excited states.
Furthermore, ab initio parameterized Frenkel exciton model calculations allow us to predict an energetic splitting of up to 0.77 eV in extended two-dimensional square arrays and 0.79 eV in tilted square aggregates containing up to 25 cluster-porphyrin subunits.
We present a theoretical approach for the simulation of the electric field and exciton propagation in ordered arrays constructed of molecular-sized noble metal clusters bound to organic polymer templates. In order to describe the electronic coupling between individual constituents of the nanostructure we use the ab initio parameterized transition charge method which is more accurate than the usual dipole-dipole coupling. The electronic population dynamics in the nanostructure under an external laser pulse excitation is simulated by numerical integration of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation employing the fully coupled Hamiltonian. The solution of the TDSE gives rise to time-dependent partial point charges for each subunit of the nanostructure, and the spatio-temporal electric field distribution is evaluated by means of classical electrodynamics methods. The time-dependent partial charges are determined based on the stationary partial and transition charges obtained in the framework of the TDDFT. In order to treat large plasmonic nanostructures constructed of many constituents, the approximate self-consistent iterative approach presented in (Lisinetskaya and Mitric in Phys Rev B 89:035433, 2014) is modified to include the transition-charge-based interaction. The developed methods are used to study the optical response and exciton dynamics of Ag-3(+) and porphyrin-Ag-4 dimers. Subsequently, the spatio-temporal electric field distribution in a ring constructed of ten porphyrin-Ag-4 subunits under the action of circularly polarized laser pulse is simulated. The presented methodology provides a theoretical basis for the investigation of coupled light-exciton propagation in nanoarchitectures built from molecular size metal nanoclusters in which quantum confinement effects are important.
We present a joint theoretical and experimental study of excited state dynamics in pure and hydrated anionic gold clusters Au\(^-_3\)[H\(_2\)O]\(_n\) (n = 0-2). We employ mixed quantum-classical dynamics combined with femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy in order to investigate the influence of hydration on excited state lifetimes and photo-dissociation dynamics. A gradual decrease of the excited state lifetime with the number of adsorbed water molecules as well as gold cluster fragmentation quenching by two or more water molecules are observed both in experiment and in simulations. Non-radiative relaxation and dissociation in excited states are found to be responsible for the excited state population depletion. Time constants of these two processes strongly depend on the number of water molecules leading to the possibility to modulate excited state dynamics and fragmentation of the anionic cluster by adsorption of water molecules.
We have investigated the photodynamics of \(\beta\)-D-glucose employing our field-induced surface hopping method (FISH), which allows us to simulate the coupled electron-nuclear dynamics, including explicitly nonadiabatic effects and light-induced excitation. Our results reveal that from the initially populated S\(_{1}\) and S\(_{2}\) states, glucose returns nonradiatively to the ground state within about 200 fs. This takes place mainly via conical intersections (CIs) whose geometries
in most cases involve the elongation of a single O-H bond, while in some instances ring-opening due to dissociation of a C-O bond is observed. Experimentally, excitation to a distinct excited electronic state is improbable due to the presence of a dense manifold of states bearing similar oscillator strengths. Our FISH simulations explicitly including a UV laser pulse of 6.43 eV photon energy reveals that after initial excitation the population is almost equally spread over several close-lying electronic states. This is followed by a fast nonradiative decay on the time scale of 100-200 fs, with the final return to the ground state proceeding via the S\(_{1}\) state through the same types of CIs as observed in the field-free simulations.
We introduce a general theoretical approach for the simulation of photochemical dynamics under the influence of circularly polarized light to explore the possibility of generating enantiomeric enrichment through polarized-light-selective photochemistry. The method is applied to the simulation of the photolysis of alanine, a prototype chiral amino acid. We show that a systematic enantiomeric enrichment can be obtained depending on the helicity of the circularly polarized light that induces the excited-state photochemistry of alanine. By analyzing the patterns of the photoinduced fragmentation of alanine we find an inducible enantiomeric enrichment up to 1.7%, which is also in good correspondence to the experimental findings. Our method is generally applicable to complex systems and might serve to systematically explore the photochemical origin of homochirality.
Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy in Molecular Beams and Liquids Using Incoherent Observables
(2018)
The aim of the present work was to implement an experimental approach that enables coherent two-dimensional (2D) electronic spectroscopy of samples in various states of matter. For samples in the liquid phase, a setup was realized that utilizes the sample fluorescence for the acquisition of 2D spectra. Whereas the liquid-phase approach has been established before, coherent 2D spectroscopy on gaseous samples in a molecular beam as developed in this work is in fact a new method. It employs for the first time cations in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer for signal detection and was used to obtain the first ion-selective 2D spectra of a molecular-beam sample. Additionally, a new acquisition concept was developed in this thesis that significantly decreases measurement times in 2D spectroscopy using optimized sparse sampling and a compressed-sensing reconstruction algorithm.
Characteristic for the variant of 2D spectroscopy presented in this work is the usage of a phase-coherent sequence of four laser pulses in a fully collinear geometry for sample excitation. The pulse sequence was generated by a custom-designed pulse shaper that is capable of rapid scanning by changing the pulse parameters such as time delays and phases with the repetition rate of the laser. The sample's response was detected by monitoring incoherent observables that arise from the final-state population, for instance fluorescence or cations. Phase cycling, i.e., signal acquisition with different combinations of the relative phases of the excitation pulses, was applied to extract nonlinear signal contributions from the full signal during data analysis.
Liquid-phase 2D fluorescence spectroscopy was established with the laser dye cresyl violet as a sample molecule, confirming coherent oscillations previously observed in literature that are originating from vibronic coherences in specific regions of the 2D spectrum.
The data set of this experiment was used subsequently to introduce optimized sparse sampling in 2D spectroscopy. An optimization algorithm was implemented in order to find the best sampling pattern while taking only one quarter of the regular time-domain sampling points, thereby reducing the acquisition time by a factor of four. Signal recovery was based on a new and compact representation of 2D spectra using the von Neumann basis, which required about six times less coefficients than the Fourier basis to retain the relevant information. Successful reconstruction was shown by recovering the coherent oscillations in cresyl violet from a reduced data set.
Finally, molecular-beam coherent 2D spectroscopy was introduced with an investigation of ionization pathways in highly-excited nitrogen dioxide, revealing transitions to discrete auto-ionizing states as the dominant contribution to the ion signal. Furthermore, the advantage of the time-of-flight approach to obtain reactant and product 2D spectra simultaneously enabled the observation of distinct differences in the multiphoton-ionization response functions of the nitrogen dioxide cation and the nitrogen oxide ionic fragment.
The developed experimental techniques of this work will facilitate fast acquisition of 2D spectra for samples in various states of matter and permit reliable direct comparison of results. Therefore, they pave the way to study the properties of quantum coherences during photophysical processes or photochemical reactions in different environments.
Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, ein Schichtsystem auf Basis des Sol-Gel-Prozesses zu entwickeln, um Lighttrapping in Si-Dünnschichtsolarzellen zu erzeugen. Die Grundlage dieses Schichtsystems bilden SiO2-Partikel, die über den Stöber-Prozess hergestellt werden. Es zeigte sich, dass sich die Rauheit und der Haze der Schichten über die Partikelgröße und Schichtdicke einstellen lassen.
Um die mechanische Stabilität der reinen Stöber-Schichten zu verbessern, kamen verschiedene Binder zum Einsatz. Beste Ergebnisse zeigten Binder basierend auf löslichen Vorstufenpulvern, da diese dem Stöber-Sol beigemischt werden konnten und so Binder und Partikel gleichzeitig aufgebracht werden konnten.
Auf diese Weise entstehen mechanisch stabile, lichtstreuende Schichten. Zum Einsatz kam zunächst ein TiO2-Binder. Durch eine anschließende Glättung der Stöber-TiO2-Streuschichten mit SiO2 entsteht eine defektfreie, aber dennoch raue Oberfläche. Zusätzlich wird ein beträchtlicher Teil des Lichts in große Winkel gestreut.
Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass sich auf den SiO2-geglätteten Stöber-TiO2-Streuschichten ZnO:Al deponieren lässt, wobei die elektrischen Eigenschaften von der Dicke der Glättung abhängen. Auch die elektrischen Eigenschaften der Si-Dünnschichtsolarzellen hängen von der Glättung bzw. der Dicke der Glättung ab. Dies gilt insbesondere für die von der Materialqualität abhängigen Parameter Füllfaktor FF und offen Klemmenspannung VOC. Insgesamt fallen die Parameter jedoch noch gegenüber Referenzzellen auf geätztem Frontkontakt zurück. Vor allem aber wurde die hohe Zellreflexion aufgrund der Glas-TiO2-Grenzfläche als primäres Problem identifiziert. Dennoch konnte bei einer Glättungsdicke von 200 nm sehr gutes Lighttrapping beobachtet werden. Verantwortlich hierfür ist sehr wahrscheinlich die Großwinkelstreuung der Stöber-TiO2-Streuschichten.
Um die Zellreflexion zu verringern, wurde der Brechungsindex des Binders und der Glättungsschichten an den Stack aus Substrat, Streuschicht und ZnO:Al-Schicht angepasst. Idee war es, durch Einbringen eines Al2O3-Vorstufenpulvers eine niedrigbrechende Komponente bereitzustellen, um durch Mischung von Al2O3- und TiO2-Vorstufenpulver freie Hand über den Brechungsindex des Binders und der Glättung zu erhalten.
Da sich das Volumenverhältnis von SiO2-Partikeln zu Binder bei verschiedenen Al2O3-TiO2-Verhältnissen nur schwer bestimmen lässt, wurde lediglich ein reiner Al2O3-Binder in den Streuschichten eingesetzt. Die Einstellung des Brechungsindex beschränkte sich allein auf die Glättungsschichten. Um Stöber-Al2O3-Streuschichten mit hoher Rauigkeit und geringen Defekten zu erzielen, muss das Binder-zu-Partikel-Verhältnis angepasst werden. Beste Ergebnisse ergaben sich bei einem Al2O3-Gehalt von 2% im Sol. Aufgrund der hohen Rauigkeit besitzen die Streuschichten einen hohen Haze und wegen des geringen Brechungsunterschied zwischen Glas und Binder eine hohe Transmission. Die Glättung der Streuschichten im Al2O3-TiO2-System ist nur mit Hilfe einer zusätzlichen SiO2-Glättungsschicht und einer reduzierten Dicke auf 50 nm möglich. Auf den reinen defektreichen Streuschichten tendieren die Al2O3-TiO2-Schichten selbst zu Rissbildung.
Zur Untersuchung der ZnO:Al-Deposition wurde eine Glättungsdicke von 200 nm gewählt. Die erwies sich als zu gering. Die aufgebrachten ZnO:Al-Schichten wiesen größere Poren und kleinere Oberflächendefekte auf. Die Anpassung des Brechungsindex der Glättungsschichten an die ZnO:Al-Schicht erwies sich nicht als vorteilhaft. Die reine Al2O3-Glättung zeigt auch nach der ZnO:Al-Deposition die höchste Transmission. Die Winkelverteilung des Streulichts der Stöber-Al2O3-Streuschichten ist gegenüber den Stöber-TiO2-Streuschichten zu kleineren Winkeln verschoben. Dennoch wird ein größerer Anteil des Lichts in große Winkel gestreut, als es bei der geätzten ZnO:Al-Referenz der Fall ist.
Trotz der Defekte in den ZnO:Al-Schichten konnten auf den Stöber-Al2O3-Streuschichten funktionierende Tandemzellen hergestellt werden. Der Füllfaktor und die offene Klemmenspannung fallen nur geringfügig hinter die der Referenzzelle zurück. In der Kurzschlussstromdichte machen sich die verringerte Zellreflexion und das sehr gute Lighttrapping bemerkbar, so dass das Niveau der Referenz erreicht werden konnte. Zu beachten ist allerdings, dass gerade im langwelligen Lighttrapping-Spektralbereich die gleiche EQE erreicht wurde, trotz immer noch leicht erhöhter Zellreflexion.
Die letzte Versuchsreihe konnte zeigen, dass die entwickelten Schichten sich sehr gut zur Erzeugung von Lighttrapping in Si-Dünnschichtsolarzellen eignen.
In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde erfolgreich eine neue Gasphasen-Apparatur für
Photoelektronen-Imaging-Experimente simuliert, aufgebaut und in Verbindung mit einem ps-Lasersystem in Betrieb genommen.
Neben dem Aufbau der Apparatur stand die Aufklärung der Dynamik angeregter Zustände von aromatischen Heterocyclen und Pyrenen im Fokus dieser Arbeit. Die untersuchten Moleküle wurden durch Resonanzverstärkte Mehrphotonenionisation in einem Molekularstrahlexperiment sowohl zeit-, als auch frequenzaufgelöst untersucht.
Theory predicts peculiar features for excited-state dynamics in one dimension (1D) that are difficult to be observed experimentally. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are an excellent approximation to 1D quantum confinement, due to their very high aspect ratio and low density of defects. Here we use ultrafast optical spectroscopy to probe photogenerated charge-carriers in (6,5) semiconducting SWNTs. We identify the transient energy shift of the highly polarizable S\(_{33}\) transition as a sensitive fingerprint of charge-carriers in SWNTs. By measuring the coherent phonon amplitude profile we obtain a precise estimate of the Stark-shift and discuss the binding energy of the S\(_{33}\) excitonic transition. From this, we infer that charge-carriers are formed instantaneously (<50 fs) even upon pumping the first exciton, S\(_{11}\). The decay of the photogenerated charge-carrier population is well described by a model for geminate recombination in 1D.
In the first part of his work, the causes for the sudden degradation of useable capacity of lithium-ion cells have been studied by means of complementary methods such as computed tomography, Post-Mortem studies and electrochemical analyses. The results obtained point unanimously to heterogeneous aging as a key-factor for the sudden degradation of cell capacity, which in turn is triggered by differences in local compression.
At high states of health, the capacity fade rate is moderate but some areas of the graphite electrode degrade faster than others. Still, the localized changes are hardly noticeable on cell level due to averaging effects. Lithium plating occurs first in unevenly compressed areas, creating patterns visible to the human eye. As lithium plating leads to rapid consumption of active lithium, a sudden drop in capacity is observed on cell level. Lithium plating appears to spread out from the initial areas over the whole graphite electrode, quickly consuming the remaining useful lithium and active graphite. It can be hypothesized that a self-amplifying circle of reciprocal acceleration of local lithium loss and material loss causes rapid local degradation.
Battery cell designers can improve cycle life by homogeneous pressure distribution in the cell and using negative active materials that are resilient to elevated discharge potentials such as improved carbons or lithium titanate. Also, a sufficiently oversized negative electrode and suitable electrolyte additives can help to avoid lithium plating. When packs are designed, care must be taken not to exert local pressure on parts of cells and to avoid both very high and low states of charge.
In the second part of this dissertation the resilience of cylindrical and pouchbag cells to shocks and different vibrations was investigated. Stresses inflicted by vibration and shock tests according to the widely recognized UN38.3 transport test were compared to a long-time test that exposed cells to a 186 days long ordeal of sine sweep vibrations with a profile based on real-world applications. All cells passed visual and electric inspection performed by TU München after the vibration tests. Only cylindrical cells subjected to long-term vibrations in axial direction showed an increase in impedance and a loss of capacity that could be recuperated in part.
The detailed analyses presented in this thesis gave more details on the damages inflicted by vibrations and shocks and revealed drastic damages in some cases. In cylindrical cells, only movement in axial direction caused damage. Long term vibrations were found to be especially detrimental.
No damage whatsoever could be detected for pouch cells, regardless of the test protocol and the direction of movement. The extreme resilience of pouchbag cells shows that the electrode stack of lithium-ion cells is resistant to vibrations, and that damages are caused by design imperfections that can be improved at low cost.
The findings of this work, and the general state of research show that it is most crucial to control the lithiation and thus potential of the graphite electrode.
In the last part of this work, a new, direct method for charge estimation based on changing transmission is presented. A correlation between transmission of short ultrasonic pulses and state of charge is found. This new technology allows direct measurement of the state of charge. The method is demonstrated for batteries with different positive active materials, showing its versatility. As the observed changes can be traced to the lithiation of graphite, it can be determined without a reference electrode. Already at this early stage of development, the found correlations allow estimation of state of charge. The present hysteresis in the signal height of the slow wave, which is unneglectable especially during discharging at higher currents, will be subject to further investigation.
The observed effects can be explained by effects on different length scales. Biot’s theory explains the second wave’s slowness based on the active material particles size in the range of 0.01 mm and electrolyte-filled pores. Lithiation of graphite changes the porosity of the electrode and thereby the velocity and wavelength of the impulse. When the wavelength approaches the length scale of the layers, 0.1 mm, scattering effects dampen the transmitted signal. Finally, the wavelength of the pulse should be shorter than the transducers diameter to obtain a homogeneous wave front.
To conclude, the new method allows the control of each individual cell in a pack independent from the electrical connections of the cells.
As the method shows great promise, further studies regarding factors such as long-term behavior, temperature and current rates should be conducted. In this thesis hysteresis was observed and a deeper understanding of the reasons behind it may allow further improvements of measurement precision.
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.
Polypeptoids are an old but recently rediscovered polymer class with interesting synthetic, physico-chemical and biological characteristics. Here, we introduce new aromatic monomers, N-benzyl glycine N-carboxyanhydride and N-phenethyl glycine N-carboxyanhydride and their block copolymers with the hydrophilic polysarcosine. We compare their self-assembly in water and aqueous buffer with the self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolypeptoids with aliphatic side chains. The aggregates in water were investigated by dynamic light scattering and electron microscopy. We found a variety of morphologies, which were influenced by the polymer structure as well as by the preparation method. Overall, we found polymersomes, worm-like micelles and oligo-lamellar morphologies as well as some less defined aggregates of interconnected worms and vesicles. Such, this contribution may serve as a starting point for a more detailed investigation of the self-assembly behavior of the rich class of polypeptoids and for a better understanding between the differences in the aggregation behavior of non-uniform polypeptoids and uniform peptoids.
Diese Arbeit befasst sich mit zeitaufgelösten Prozessen in molekularen Systemen. Dabei wurde sowohl die Wellenpaketdynamik nach Photoanregung betrachtet als auch spektrale Eigenschaften mittels Absorptions- und zweidimensionaler Spektroskopie untersucht.
Zunächst widmet sich die Arbeit der Wellenpaket- und Populationsdynamik in zwei diabatischen, gekoppelten Zuständen. Nach impulsiver Anregung aus dem zu Beginn besetzten Zustand treten in der Populationsdynamik zwei deutlich verschiedene Oszillationen auf. Der langsamer variierende Populationstransfer besitzt die Periodendauer der Vibrationsbewegung und ist auf einen Wechsel der Zustände beim Durchlaufen des Wellenpakets durch die Kreuzungsregion der diabatischen Potentiale zurückzuführen. Die ultraschnelle Komponente mit einer Periodendauer von etwa 4 fs lässt sich als eine Art Rabi-Oszillation beschreiben, die durch die (zeitunabhängige) Kopplung hervorgerufen wird. Sie wurde mit Hilfe von analytischen Berechnungen ausführlich charakterisiert. Damit dieser Prozess auftreten kann müssen mehrere Bedingungen erfüllt werden: Das Wellenpaket muss über die Dauer der Oszillationen annähernd örtlich lokalisiert bleiben; dies ist an den Umkehrpunkten der Wellenpaketsbewegung der Fall. Die Amplitude der Oszillationen in den Populationen ist proportional zum Verhältnis der Kopplung zum Energieabstand der Zustände. Deshalb muss an den stationären Stellen die Kopplung groß im Vergleich zum Energieabstand sein. Die Amplitude der Oszillationen hängt außerdem von dem Populationsverhältnis und den Phasen der Komponenten des Wellenpakets in den beiden Zuständen ab. Die ultraschnellen Oszillationen bleiben auch in mehrdimensionalen Systemen mit unterschiedlichen Vibrationsfrequenzen je Freiheitsgrad erhalten.
Das gleiche Modell wurde benutzt, um Ladungstransferprozesse mittels linearer und 2D-Spektroskopie zu untersuchen. Eine Kopplung an die Umgebung wurde, aufbauend auf einer Quanten-Master-Gleichung in Markov-Näherung, wellenfunktionsbasiert mittels eines Quantum-Jump-Algorithmus mit expliziter Dephasierung beschrieben. Dabei findet mit vorher definierten Wahrscheinlichkeiten zu jedem Zeitschritt einer von drei stochastischen Prozessen statt. Neben kohärenter Propagation können Sprünge in einen anderen Eigenzustand des Systems und Dephasierungen auftreten. Zwei Dissipationsparameter spielen dabei eine Rolle. Dies ist zum einen die Stärke der System-Bad-Kopplung, welche die Gesamtrate der Energierelaxation beschreibt. Weiterhin beeinflusst die Dephasierungskonstante den Verlust kohärenter Phasen ohne Energieänderung. Fallenzustände wurden identifiziert, die durch sehr geringe Sprungraten in niedrigere Zustände charakterisiert sind. Die Langlebigkeit kann durch die Form der Eigenfunktionen erklärt werden, die eine deutlich andere Wahrscheinlichkeitsverteilung als die der Nicht-Fallenzustände besitzen. Dadurch werden die in die Sprungraten eingehenden Matrixelemente klein. Das Absorptionsspektrum zeigt Peaks an der Stelle der Fallenzustände, da nur die Eigenfunktionen der Fallenzustände große Franck-Condon-Faktoren mit der Anfangswellenfunktion besitzen. Verschiedene Kombinationen der Dissipationsparameter führen zu Änderungen der relativen Peakintensitäten und der Peakbreiten.
Die 2D-Spektren des Ladungstransfersystems werden störungstheoretisch über die Polarisation dritter Ordnung berechnet. Sie zeigen viele eng nebeneinander liegende Peaks in einer schachbrettmusterförmigen Anordnung, die sich auf Übergänge unter Mitwirkung der Fallenzustände zurückführen lassen. Höhere System-Bad-Kopplungen führen aufgrund der effizienten Energiedissipation zu einer Verschiebung zu kleineren Energien. Peaks, die mit schneller zerfallenden Fallenzuständen korrespondieren, bleichen schneller aus. Höhere Dephasierungskonstanten resultieren in verbreiterten Peaks. Um den Einfluss der Dissipation genauer zu charakterisieren, wurden gefilterte 2D-Spektren betrachtet. Dazu wurden Ausschnitte der Polarisation dritter Ordnung zu verschiedenen Zeiten fouriertransformiert. Längere Zeiten führen zu einer effektiveren Energierelaxation entlang der entsprechenden Zeitvariablen. Die Entvölkerung der höher liegenden Zustände lässt sich somit zeit- und energieaufgelöst betrachten. Weiterhin wurde gezeigt, dass sich der Zerfall eines einzelnen Peaks mit dem Populationsabfall des damit korrespondierenden Eigenzustandes in Einklang bringen lässt, obwohl die Zuordnung der Peaks im 2D-Spektrum zu Übergängen zwischen definierten Eigenzuständen nicht eindeutig ist.
Mit dem benutzten eindimensionalen Modell können auch Ladungstransferprozesse in organischen gemischtvalenten Verbindungen beschrieben werden. Es wurde die Frage untersucht, welche Prozesse nach einem optisch induzierten Energietransfer in solchen Systemen ablaufen. Experimentelle Daten (aufgenommen im Arbeitskreis von Prof. Lambert) deuten auf eine schnelle interne Konversion (IC) gefolgt von Thermalisierung hin. Um dies theoretisch zu überprüfen, wurden Absorptionsspektren bei verschiedenen Temperaturen berechnet und mit den gemessenen transienten Spektren verglichen. Es findet sich, abhängig von der Stärke der elektronischen Kopplung, eine sehr gute bis gute Übereinstimmung, was die Annahme eines schnellen ICs stützt.
Im letzten Teil der Arbeit wurden vibronische 2D-Spektren von molekularen Aggregaten betrachtet. Dazu wurde die zeitabhängige Schrödingergleichung für ein Monomer-, Dimer- und Trimersystem mit der Multi-Configuration Time-Dependent Hartree-Methode gelöst und die Polarisation nicht-störungstheoretisch berechnet. Der Hamiltonoperator des Trimers umfasst hierbei sieben gekoppelte elektronische Zustände und drei bzw. sechs Vibrationsfreiheitsgrade. Der betrachtete Photonenecho-Beitrag der Polarisation wurde mittels phasencodierter Laserpulse extrahiert. Die resultierenden Spektren sind geometrieabhängig, ein Winkel zwischen den Übergangsdipolmomenten der Monomere von 0° (180°) resultiert in einem H-Aggregat (J-Aggregat). Die Lage und Intensität der Peaks im rein elektronischen Trimer wurde analytisch erläutert. Die Spektren unter Einbeziehung der Vibration zeigen eine ausgeprägte vibronische Struktur. Es wurde gezeigt, wie die Spektren für höhere Aggregationsgrade durch die höhere Dichte an vibronischen Zuständen komplexer werden. Im J-Aggregat ist mit zunehmender Aggregation eine stärkere Rotverschiebung zu sehen. Das Spektrum des H-Aggregats zeigt eine im Vergleich zum J-Aggregat kompliziertere Struktur. Die Verwendung zweier Vibrationsfreiheitsgrade je Monomer führt zu Spektren mit überlappenden Peaks und einer zusätzlichen vibronischen Progression. Der Vergleich von Spektren verschiedener Mischungen von Monomer, Dimer und Trimer, entsprechend einem von Temperatur und Konzentration abhängigen Aggregationsgrad, zeigt den Einfluss dieser experimentellen Faktoren. Schließlich wurden mögliche Ansätze aufgezeigt, anhand der Spektren auf den Aggregationsgrad zu schließen.
Time-resolved spectroscopy allows for analyzing light-induced energy conversion and
chromophore–chromophore interactions in molecular systems, which is a prerequisite in
the design of new materials and for improving the efficiency of opto-electronic devices.
To elucidate photo-induced dynamics of complex molecular systems, transient absorption
(TA) and coherent two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy were employed and combined
with additional experimental techniques, theoretical approaches, and simulation models
in this work.
A systematic series of merocyanines, synthetically varied in the number of chromophores
and subsitution pattern, attached to a benzene unit was investigated in cooperation with
the group of Prof. Dr. Frank Würthner at the University of Würzburg. The global analysis
of several TA experiments, and additional coherent 2D spectroscopy experiments, provided
the basis to elaborate a relaxation scheme which was applicable for all merocyanine
systems under investigation. This relaxation scheme is based on a double minimum on the
excited-state potential energy surface. One of these minima is assigned to an intramolecular
charge-transfer state which is stabilized in the bis- and tris-chromophoric dyes by
chromphore–chromophore interactions, resulting in an increase in excited-state lifetime.
Electro-optical absorption and density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed a
preferential chromophore orientation which compensates most of the dipole moment of
the individual chromophores. Based on this structural assignment the conformationdependent
exciton energy splitting was calculated. The linear absorption spectra of the
multi-chromophoric merocyanines could be described by a combination of monomeric and
excitonic spectra.
Subsequently, a structurally complex polymeric squaraine dye was studied in collaboration
with the research groups of Prof. Dr. Christoph Lambert and Prof. Dr. Roland Mitric
at the University of Würzburg. This polymer consists of a superposition of zigzag and
helix structures depending on the solvent. High-level DFT calculations confirmed the previous
assignment that zigzag and helix structures can be treated as J- and H-aggregates,
respectively. TA experiments revealed that in dependence on the solvent as well as the
excitation energy, ultrafast energy transfer within the squaraine polymer proceeds from
initially excited helix segments to zigzag segments or vice versa. Additionally, 2D spectroscopy
confirmed the observed sub-picosecond dynamics. In contrast to other conjugated
polymers such as MEH-PPV, which is investigated in the last chapter, ultrafast
energy transfer in squaraine polymers is based on the matching of the density of states
between donor and acceptor segments due to the small reorganization energy in cyanine-like
chromophores.
Finally, the photo-induced dynamics of the aggregated phase of the conjugated polymer
MEH-PPV was investigated in cooperation with the group of Prof. Dr. Anna Köhler at the University of Bayreuth. Our collaborators had previously described the aggregation of MEH-PPV upon cooling by the formation of so-called HJ-aggregates based on exciton
theory. By TA measurements and by making use of an affiliated band analysis distinct
relaxation processes in the excited state and to the ground state were discriminated. By
employing 2D spectroscopy the energy transfer between different conjugated segments
within the aggregated polymer was resolved. The initial exciton relaxation within the
aggregated phase indicates a low exciton mobility, in contrast to the subsequent energy
transfer between different chromophores within several picoseconds.
This work contributes by its systematic study of structure-dependent relaxation dynamics
to the basic understanding of the structure-function relationship within complex
molecular systems. The investigated molecular classes display a high potential to increase
efficiencies of opto-electronic devices, e.g., organic solar cells, by the selective choice of
the molecular morphology.
We present a fast and sensitive polarimeter combining common-path optical heterodyne interferometry and accumulative spectroscopy to detect rotatory power. The sensitivity of rotatory detection is determined to be 0.10 milli-degrees for a measurement time of only one second and an interaction length of 250 µm. Its suitability for femtosecond studies is demonstrated in a non-resonant two-photon photodissociation experiment.
We use pump-repump-probe transient absorption spectroscopy to investigate the role of higher-lying electronic states in the photochemistry of a molecular switch. Moreover, replacing the pump pulse by a pulse-shaper-generated phase-stable double pulse, triggered-exchange two-dimensional (TE2D) electronic spectroscopy is established in the visible regime.
Ultraviolet irradiation of CO-releasing molecules (CORMs) in water eventually leads to the loss of several carbon monoxide ligands.We show for an exemplary manganese tricarbonyl CORM that only one ligand is photolyzed off on an ultrafast timescale and that some molecules may undergo geminate recombination.
Three spectroscopic techniques are presented that provide simultaneous spatial and temporal resolution: modified confocal microscopy with heterodyne detection, space-time-resolved spectroscopy using coherent control concepts, and coherent two-dimensional nano-spectroscopy. Latest experimental results are discussed.
Organic semiconductors are attractive for optical sensing applications due to the effortless processing on large active area of several \(cm^2\), which is difficult to achieve with solid-state devices. However, compared to silicon photodiodes, sensitivity and dynamic behavior remain a major challenge with organic sensors. Here, we show that charge trapping phenomena deteriorate the bandwidth of organic photodiodes (OPDs) to a few Hz at low-light levels. We demonstrate that, despite the large OPD capacitances of similar to 10 nF \(cm^{-2}\), a frequency response in the kHz regime can be achieved at light levels as low as 20 nW \(cm^{-2}\) by appropriate interface engineering, which corresponds to a 1000-fold increase compared to state-of-the-art OPDs. Such device characteristics indicate that large active area OPDs are suitable for industrial sensing and even match medical requirements for single X-ray pulse detection in the millisecond range.
Within the framework of this thesis, photolysis reactions in the liquid phase were investigated by means of ultrafast optical spectroscopy. Apart from molecular studies dealing with the highly spin-dependent reactivity of diphenylcarbene (DPC) in binary solvent
mixtures and ligand dissociation reactions of so-called CO-releasing molecules (CORMs),
special emphasis was put on the implementation and characterization of methods improving
and extending the signal detection in conventional pump–probe transient absorption setups.
The assumption of DPC being an archetypal triplet-ground-state arylcarbene was recently questioned by matrix-isolation studies at low temperatures. DPC embedded in argon matrices revealed a hitherto unknown reactivity when the carbene environment was modified by small amounts of methanol dopant molecules. To complement these findings with liquid-phase experiments at room temperature, femtosecond pump–probe transient absorption spectroscopy with probing in the visible and ultraviolet regime was employed to unravel primary reaction processes of DPC in solvent mixtures. Supported by quantum chemical simulations conducted by our collaborators, it was shown that a competition between the reaction pathways occurs that not only depends on the solvent molecule near-by but also on its interaction with other solvent molecules. In-depth analysis of the solvation dynamics and the amount of nascent intermediates corroborates the importance of a hydrogen-bonded complex with a protic solvent molecule, in striking analogy to complexes found at cryogenic temperatures.
Probing the transient absorption of molecules in the mid-infrared spectral range benefits from the high chemical specificity of molecules’ vibrational signatures. The technique of chirped-pulse upconversion (CPU) constitutes a promising alternative to standard direct multichannel MCT detection when accessing this spectral detection window. Hence, one chapter of this thesis is dedicated to a direct comparison between both detection methods. By conducting an exemplary pump–probe transient absorption experiment, it became evident, that the additional nonlinear interaction step is responsible for increased noise levels when using CPU. However, a correction procedure capable of removing these additional noise contributions—stemming from the fundamental laser radiation used for upconversion—was successfully tested. Perhaps most importantly for various spectroscopic applications, CPU scored with a significantly extended detection bandwidth owing to the high pixel numbers of modern CCD cameras.
Transition-metal complexes capable of releasing small molecular messengers upon photoactivation are promising sources of gasotransmitters such as carbon monoxide (CO) or nitric oxide (NO) in biological applications. However, only little is known about the characteristic time scales of ligand dissociation in this class of molecules. For this purpose, two complexes were investigated with femtosecond time resolution: [Mn(CO)3(tpm)]Cl with tpm=tris(2-pyrazolyl)methane, a manganese tricarbonyl complex which has proven to be selective and cytotoxic to cancer cells, and [Mo(CO)2(NO)(iPr3tacn)]PF6 with iPr3tacn=1,4,7-triisopropyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane, a molybdenum complex containing both carbonyl and nitrosyl ligands. By conducting pump–probe transient absorption measurements in different spectral probing windows supported by quantum chemical calculations and linear absorption spectroscopy, it was shown that both complexes are able to release one CO ligand within the first few picoseconds after UV excitation. The results complement existing studies which focused on the molecules’ ligand-releasing properties upon long-term exposure. The additional information gained on an ultrafast time scale provides a comprehensive understanding of individual reaction steps connected with ligand release in this class of molecules. Hence, the studies might create new incentives to develop modified molecules for specific applications.
Part 1 of this work describes the development of accurate physically grounded force fields for
intermolecular Cation-π interactions based on SAPT energy decomposition analysis.
The presented results demonstrate the benefits of the used DFT-SAPT method to describe non-bonding
interactions. First of all, this method is able to reproduce the high level CCSD(T) energy values
but using much less computational time. Second it provides the possibility to separate the total
intermolecular interaction energy into several physically meaningful contributions. The relative
contributions of the dimers investigated can be seen in Fig. 6.16. In Tab. 6.3 the percentage
contribution of the attractive energy parts to the stabilization energy is shown. The polarization
energy is important for the NH+...C6H6 interaction, whereas it becomes less crucial
considering other dimers. The dispersion energy contribution is large in the case of
the C6H6...H2O dimers, whereas it is relatively less important for the NH+...C6H6
interaction. The electrostatic energy contributes a large amount of stabilizing energy
in all considered dimer interactions. ...
In the present contribution, we describe the synthesis of highly dispersed silver nanorods (NRs) of different aspect ratios using a chemical route. The shape and size of the synthesized NRs were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and UV-visible spectroscopy. Longitudinal and transverse absorptions bands confirm the rod type structure. The experimentally recorded UV-visible spectra of NRs solutions were fitted by using an expression of the extinction coefficient for rod like nano structures under the dipole approximation. Simulated and experimentally observed UV-visible spectra were compared to determine the aspect ratios (R) of NRs. The average values of R for NR1, NR2 and NR3 solutions are estimated to be 3.0 +/- 0.1, 1.8 +/- 0.1 and 1.2 +/- 0.1, respectively. These values are in good agreement with those obtained by TEM micrographs. The silver NRs of known aspect ratios are used to study antimicrobial activities against B. subtilis (gram positive) and E. coli (gram negative) microbes. We observed that the NRs of intermediate aspect ratio (R = 1.8) have greater antimicrobial effect against both, B. subtilis (gram positive) and E. coli (gram negative). The NRs of aspect ratio, R = 3.0 has better antimicrobial activities against gram positive than on the gram negative.
A site specific perturbation of a photo-excited molecular aggregate can lead to a localization of excitonic energy. We investigate this localization dynamics for laser-prepared excited states. Changing the parameters of the electric field significantly influences the exciton localization which offers the possibility for a selective control of this process. This is demonstrated for aggregates possessing a single vibrational degree of freedom per monomer unit. It is shown that the effects identified for the molecular dimer can be generalized to larger aggregates with a high density of vibronic states.
Im Fokus dieser Arbeit standen (6,5)-SWNT-PFO-BPy-Komplexe als Vertreter für polyfluorenstabilisierte, einwandige Kohlenstoffnanoröhren. In einem ersten Projekt wurden präparative Verfahren zur Dispergierung und Abscheidung dieser Proben weiterentwickelt. Es ist gelungen, die Ansatzgröße von 15 mL auf 200 mL hochzuskalieren sowie dünne SWNT-Filme über Rotationsbeschichtung herzustellen.
Des Weiteren wurde die lichtinduzierte Dynamik in halbleitenden SWNTs von der ps- bis zur µs-Zeitskala untersucht. Hier wurde ein umfassendes Bild zur Singulett- und Triplett-Exzitonendynamik in halbleitenden Kohlenstoffnanoröhren gezeichnet, welches maßgeblich durch diffusionslimitierte Prozesse geprägt ist.
Abschließend wurde eine Methode vorgestellt, mit der sich Informationen zur Struktur von SWNT-Polymer-Komplexen und anderen supramolekularen Systemen gewinnen lassen. Diese basiert auf der Kombination von polarisationswinkelaufgelöster Absorptionsspektroskopie an anisotropen Proben und globaler Datenanalyse.
In dieser Arbeit werden die Wechselwirkungen zwischen der Oberfläche von Kohlenstoffnanoröhren und verschiedenen Dispergierreagenzien anhand der Photolumineszenz (PL) der (6,5)-Nanoröhren untersucht. Um den Einfluss der verschiedenen Reagenzien auf die exzitonischen Eigenschaften und die PL-Emission zu quantifizieren, wurden die Dispergierreagenzien ausgetauscht, die Temperaturabhängigkeit bestimmt und die Konzentration der Reagenzien variiert.
Die Dispergierreagenzien eines immobilisierten, SC-stabilisierten (6,5)-SWNT-Ensembles wurden im Mikrofluidikkanal ausgetauscht. Wird der Kanal mit Wasser gespült, verringern sich die PL-Intensität und die Emissionsenergie, da der Wasserfluss die Tensidmoleküle von der Oberfläche entfernt. Beim Austausch einer DOC-Umgebung gegen Wasser nimmt die PL-Intensität ebenfalls ab und die PL-Emissionsenergie verringert sich. Die Austauschexperimente verlaufen reversibel und der instantane Anstieg der Emissionsenergie bei der Tensidadsorption weist auf eine kooperative Anlagerung hin. Deshalb ist anzunehmen, dass sich Tensid-SWNT-Heteromizellen ausbilden.
Anschließend werden die Emissionsenergie und die PL-Intensität in verschiedenen Dispergierreagenzien und in Wasser verglichen. Die größte Emissionsenergie und PL-Intensität werden während des Wechsels von einer SDS- zu einer (GT)16-Lösung gemessen. Dies kann auf die lückenlose Bedeckung der SWNT-Oberfläche mit einer heterogenen Schicht aus SDS-Molekülen und (GT)16-Strängen zurückgeführt werden. In reiner SDS-Umgebung emittieren die Nanoröhren Licht mit der zweithöchsten Energie, aber die PL-Intensität liegt unter der in einer SC-Umgebung. Die Emissionsenergie in der SC-Umgebung ist geringer und davon abhängig, ob die SWNTs bereits mit (GT)16-Strängen stabilisiert waren, da dies eine permanente Rotverschiebung der Emissionsenergie in der SC-Umgebung sowie eine verringerte PL-Intensität verursacht. In wässriger Umgebung verringert sich nach erfolgtem (GT)16-Kontakt die PL-Intensität dauerhaft.
Danach wurde die Anlagerung von Tensidmolekülen an die (6,5)-SWNT-Oberfläche in Suspensionen mit der Temperatursprungmethode untersucht. Die Temperatur im Mikrofluidikkanal wurde anhand der linearen Abnahme der Emissionsenergie SC- und DOC-stabilisierter SWNTs mit steigender Temperatur bestimmt. Die Suspensionstemperatur ist in den verschiedenen Temperatursprungexperimenten unabhängig von der Messposition im Mikrofluidikkanal und wird durch die absolute Position auf den Peltier-Elementen bestimmt. Zudem stimmen die im Kanal gemessenen Temperaturen für SC- und DOC-stabilisierte (6,5)-SWNTs überein, weshalb in diesem Experiment nicht die erwartete Einstellung eines Gleichgewichts wie in einem Temperatursprungexperiment der Fall, sondern die Momentantemperatur gemessen wird.
Die schnelle Gleichgewichtseinstellung zwischen freien und auf der SWNT-Oberfläche adsorbierten Tensidmolekülen beim Temperatursprung zeigt, dass die SC- und DOC-(6,5)-SWNT-Suspensionen thermochrome Farbstoffe sind. Wegen der Temperaturabhängigkeit der Emissionsenergie ist es bei wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten wichtig, neben dem verwendeten Dispergierreagenz auch die Temperatur der SWNT-Suspension anzugeben.
Abschließend wurden die kritischen Mizellenkonzentrationen von Tensid-SWNT-Suspensionen in Verdünnungsexperimenten und daraus die thermodynamischen Bildungsparameter der Tensid-SWNT-Heteromizellen ermittelt. In der temperaturabhängigen Analyse der SC-SWNT-Mizellenbildung wird ein konstanter Hill-Koeffizient erhalten, der die Mizellenbildung als positiv kooperativ klassifiziert. Für die Bestimmung der Freien Mizellierungsenthalpie wurden nur die CMCs aus den Verdünnungsexperimenten verwendet, da die Mizellenbildung bei der Aufkonzentration teils kinetisch gehemmt ist. Da die Freie Mizellierungsenthalpie bei allen Temperaturen negativ ist, stabilisiert die Bildung der Heteromizellen das System. Die Triebkraft für die Mizellenbildung ist über 322 K die Enthalpie, während unterhalb von 316 K der Entropiegewinn dominiert. Die Verdünnung einer DOC-SWNT-Suspension zeigt keine Änderung der Emissionsenergie, obwohl dabei sowohl die primäre als auch die sekundäre CMC von DOC unterschritten werden.
Zuletzt wurden die Verdünnungsexperimente mit einer SDS-SWNT-Suspension durchgeführt und die thermodynamischen Parameter der Mizellenbildung bestimmt. Da auf die Auflösung der Mizellenstruktur direkt die Aggregation der SWNTs folgt, wurde für die Ermittlung der CMC näherungsweise die Konzentration am Maximum der Emissionsenergie verwendet. Daraus ergibt sich bei jeder Temperatur eine negative Freie Mizellierungsenthalpie, deren Beiträge analog zu SC bei kleineren Temperaturen als 323 K entropisch und bei höheren Temperaturen enthalpisch dominiert werden.
Somit ermöglichen die Experimente mit SC- und SDS-SWNT-Suspensionen die temperaturabhängige Bestimmung der CMC und damit die Berechnung der Freien Mizellierungsenthalpie sowie der zugehörigen enthalpischen und entropischen Beiträge.
In summary, we have prepared single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) thin films by the method of evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA). Using the scalable two-plate or lens setups, sorts of different film types or patterns of SWNTs has been successfully fabricated directly from the evaporation of solvents and could be precisely controlled by the concentrations of SWNT in ambient conditions. The special geometry of meniscus as the capillary bridge has not only given rise to a much higher efficiency of fabrication than what previously reported but also allowed us to monitor the pinning and depinning process carefully and further investigate the mechanism underlying the formation of different film morphologies.
In contrast with the conventional "stick-slip" model, we have provided the new dynamical pinning and zipping model for the contact line (CL) behavior. By analyzing the motion of CL and varying deposited patterns, the traditionally so-called "stick" state should be treated as a dynamical pinning process due to the interfacial tension contrast between SWNT-covered and bare silicon surface. Besides, the plausible one-step "slip" motion could be dominated by the zipping-like kink propagation.
In addition, the experiments with heated substrates at higher temperatures between 30°C and 50 °C have shown that the striped pattern could be fabricated by both much lower SWNT and SDS concentrations than that in room temperature, which is consistent with our model of interfacial tension contrast. In this situation, the deposition rate was increased but the quality of SWNT alignment was undermined because the corresponding moving velocity of SWNT was also too fast for SWNTs to rotate when the evaporative rate was high.
The similar results were identified by the SWNT/polymer conjugates dispersed in chloroform under the similar setups and other identical conditions. The typical breathing motion of dynamical pinning and zipping-like propagation for depinning were confirmed by the new suspensions despite that some morphological parameters changed dramatically compared with that from the aqueous solution. For example, the spacing between stripes reached 100 µm ~ 200 µm because the large contact angle contrast between HDMS- and SWNT-covered surface accompanies with the high evaporation rate of chloroform in the pinning and depinning process. Likewise the average CL velocity for fabrication reached around 20 µm/s due to the much higher evaporation rate of chloroform than water.
Using alike suspensions, the modified EISA method called dose-controlled floating evaporative self-assembly (DFES) was employed to implement the self-assembly of SWNTs on the water/air interface and then deposit them on solid substrate by directed floating. Although the stripes were fabricated successfully by drops with certain doses and SWNT concentrations, there inevitably existed randomly oriented SWNTs from the water surface that built networks between the stripes containing well-aligned tubes. In order to slow down the evaporation rate and monitor the process detailedly, we used chlorobenzene as the solvent instead of chloroform and find the typical pinning/depinning movement of the CL. A preliminary analysis of the results in terms of chlorobenzene implied that the CL possibly followed the similar pinning/depinning process in consistence with our model with capillary bridge.
In the last part of the thesis, the primary research on the optical properties of these stripes of ultrahigh purity semiconducting nanotubes was conducted by fluorescence microscopy and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectroscopy. The energy transfer of the photogenerated excitons was confirmed between different tube species with controlled band gaps.
In short, the experiments performed in this thesis allowed to gain new insights about the fabrication of large-area SWNT thin films by the cost-effective solution-processed method and most importantly to uncover its intrinsic mechanism as well. Combined with the separation and selection technique like density gradient centrifugation or polyfluorene derivatives assisted method, highly monodisperse semiconducting nanotubes could be deposited into organized, controllable and functional arrays.
Beyond the ambient conditions, precise control for the evaporation under preset temperature and vapor pressure could possibly extend the technique to the industry level. Assisted by some other mature techniques such as roll-to-roll printing, the cost-effective method could be widely used in the manufacture of various thin film devices. More complex 2D or even 3D structures could be designed and accomplished by the method for the functional or stretchable requirements. Further research on the fundamental exciton transition and diffusion in different networks or structures of SWNTs will be the significant precondition for the real applications.
Looking ahead, from the individual carbon nanotube to its thin film, this promising material with outstanding properties had many challenges to overcome before the real-world applications. Thanks to the availability of pure and well-defined materials, the scalable solution-processed approaches for fabrication of thin films should be able to unlock the potential of carbon nanotubes and exploit them in (opto-)electronic devices in the foreseeing future.
Einwandige Kohlenstoffnanoröhren weisen aufgrund ihrer besonderen Struktur viele für ein rein kohlenstoffhaltiges Makromolekül ungewöhnliche Eigenschaften auf. Dies macht sie sowohl für die Erforschung grundlegender Phänomene in eindimensionalen Nanostrukturen als auch für potenzielle Anwendungen äußerst interessant. Da alle Atome einer SWNT Oberflächenatome sind, führt dies zu einer besonders ausgeprägten Empfindlichkeit ihrer elektronischen Eigenschaften auf Wechselwirkungen mit der Umgebung. Lokale zeitabhängige Änderungen in diesen Wechselwirkungen führen daher zu Phänomenen wie dem Photolumineszenz-Blinken und spektraler Diffusion. Die Erforschung und Kontrolle der Parameter, die für die Beeinflussung der elektronischen Eigenschaften von SWNTs durch Umgebungseinflüsse entscheidend sind, wird neben der spezifischen Synthese eine maßgebliche Rolle dabei spielen, ob und in welcher Form SWNTs in optoelektronischen Bauteilen zukünftig Anwendung finden. Die vorliegende Arbeit liefert einen Beitrag zum Verständnis dieser Wechselwirkungen, indem die Dynamik von Energietransferprozessen innerhalb von SWNTs und zwischen SWNTs untersucht wurde.
Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden homogene und inhomogene Beiträge zur Linienverbreiterung von in einer Matrix eingebetteten SWNTs bestimmt. Dabei wurde erstmals beobachtet, dass die spektrale Diffusion sowohl bei Raumtemperatur als auch bei 17 K auf einer ultraschnellen Zeitskala, d. h. innerhalb von weniger als 1 ps abläuft. Mittels transienter Lochbrennspektroskopie konnte gezeigt werden, dass die homogene Linienbreite von (6,5)-SWNTs mit 3.6 meV nur den geringsten Beitrag zur Absorptionslinienbreite liefert, während die größte Verbreiterung mit mehr als 99 % inhomogen ist. Die inhomogene Linienbreite wurde aus inkohärenten 2D-Spektren, welche durch spektrale Lochbrennexperimente bei Variation der Anregungswellenlänge erhalten werden konnten, zu \(54\pm5\)meV bestimmt. Die Dynamik der spektralen Diffusion wird mit einer Exzitonendiffusion in einer durch lokale Umgebungswechselwirkungen verursachten inhomogenen Energielandschaft entlang der Nanorohrachse erklärt. Durch zeitaufgelöste Lochbrennexperimente unter nichtresonanter Anregung konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Populationsumverteilung innerhalb dieser Energielandschaft für eine energetisch abwärts gerichtete Relaxation ein spontaner Prozess ist. Im umgekehrten Fall ist sie dagegen thermisch aktiviert. Mögliche Einflüsse von Artefakten wurden anhand von Referenzmessungen diskutiert und die Bestimmung der homogenen Linienbreite durch komplementäre CW-Lochbrennexperimente ergänzt.
Durch Monte-Carlo-Simulationen konnten erstmals Informationen über die Form der Potenzialenergielandschaft entlang einer SWNT erhalten und die Größenordnung der Plateaubreite mit nahezu konstanter Energie innerhalb der Potenziallandschaft zu 5.8-18.2nm ermittelt werden. Dies gelang durch eine Kalibrierung der Simulationszeit anhand experimenteller transienter Absorptionsspektren. Im Rahmen dieses Modells wurde darüber hinaus die Zeit für einen Sprung zu einem benachbarten Gitterplatz der Energielandschaft zu 0.1 ps bestimmt.
Inter- und intraband-Relaxationsprozesse von SWNTs wurden mittels Photolumineszenzspektroskopie untersucht. Die Ergebnisse deuten auf eine temperaturunabhängige Effizienz der internen Konversion und die photostimulierte Generierung von Löschzentren hin. Anhand temperaturabhängiger PL-Messungen, die erstmals bei Anregung des \(S_1\)-Zustands durchgeführt wurden, konnte die Energiedifferenz zwischen dem hellen und dunklen Exziton für (6,5)-SWNTs im Rahmen des Modells eines Dreiniveausystems zu \(\delta = (3.7\pm0.1)\)meV bestimmt werden. Aus der guten Übereinstimmung des temperaturabhängigen Trends der PL-Intensität unter \(S_1\)-Anregung mit in früheren Studien erhaltenen Ergebnissen unter \(S_2\)-Anregung konnte geschlussfolgert werden, dass die Effizienz der internen Konversion nicht ausgeprägt temperaturabhängig ist. Für SWNT-Gelfilme wurde unter \(S_2\)-Anregung eine deutliche Abweichung zur \(S_1\)-Anregung in Form eines Bleichens der Photolumineszenz beobachtet. Dieses Phänomen ist in der Literatur wenig diskutiert und wurde daher in leistungsabhängigen PL-Experimenten weiter untersucht. Dabei wurde für die \(S_2\)- im Vergleich zur \(S_1\)-Anregung eine stärker ausgeprägte sublineare Leistungsabhängigkeit gefunden. Die Abweichung vom linearen Zusammenhang der PL-Intensität mit der Leistung trat hier schon bei um eine Größenordnung geringeren Leistungsdichten auf als in früheren Studien und kann mit einer Exziton-Exziton-Annihilation allein nicht erklärt werden. Möglicherweise ist die Öffnung zusätzlicher Zerfallskanäle durch metastabile Löschzentren für dieses Verhalten verantwortlich. Die PL-Experimente zeigten zudem ein zeitabhängiges irreversibles Bleichen unter \(S_2\)-Anregung, welches bei 30 K stärker ausgeprägt war als bei Raumtemperatur. Dessen Abhängigkeit von der eingestrahlten Photonenzahl lässt auf eine Akkumulation von Löschzentren schließen. Daher wird eine mögliche Redoxreaktion mit Wasser, ausgelöst durch die intrinsische p-Dotierung der SWNTs, als Quelle der Löschzentren diskutiert.
Das Verzweigungsverhältnis für die Relaxation nach \(S_2\)-Anregung von SWNTs wurde in Form der relativen Quantenausbeute bestimmt und eine nahezu quantitative interne Konversion des \(S_2\)-Exzitons gefunden. Dieses Ergebnis hat eine wichtige Bedeutung für potenzielle Anwendungen von SWNTs in der Photovoltaik, da die Verluste durch die interband-Relaxation bei einer Anregung des zweiten Subband-Exzitons <3% zu sein scheinen. Die Herausforderung des Experiments wird hier durch die geringe Stokes-Verschiebung von SWNTs verursacht, die eine quantitative Trennung von PL- und Streulicht unmöglich macht. Daher wurde ein Aufbau realisiert, in dem ein großer Teil des Streulichts bereits räumlich entfernt wird und die PL unter \(S_1\)- bzw. \(S_2\)-Anregung quantifizierbar und ohne eine Annahme über Streulicht-Anteile direkt vergleichbar ist. Sowohl für SDS- als auch für Polymer-stabilisierte SWNTs wurde eine relative Quantenausbeute von \(\xi \approxeq 1\) erhalten, was eine nahezu quantitative interne Konversion von \(S_2\)- zu \(S_1\)-Exzitonen innerhalb der PL-Lebensdauer nahelegt.
Anregungsenergietransferprozesse zwischen Kohlenstoffnanoröhren in mono- und bidispersen SWNT-Netzwerkfilmen definierter Zusammensetzung wurden mittels zeitaufgelöster Polarisationsanisotropie untersucht. Dabei wurden neben einem ultraschnellen Energietransfer in weniger als 1 ps auch Hinweise auf Beiträge des \(S_2\)-Exzitons an diesem Prozess gefunden. Die Ergebnisse der Experimente mit bidispersen SWNT-Netzwerkfilmen bestätigen den auch in PLE-Spektren beobachteten energetisch abwärts gerichteten Energietransfer von SWNTs mit großer zu solchen mit kleiner Bandlücke und liefern darüber hinaus eine Zeitskala von weniger als 1 ps für diesen Prozess. Die umgekehrte Transferrichtung konnte weder aus dem \(S_1\)- noch aus dem \(S_2\)-Exziton beobachtet werden. Eine Beschleunigung der Anisotropiedynamik bei \(S_2\)- im Vergleich zu S\uu1-Anregung deutet auf einen Beitrag des \(S_2\)-Exzitons am Energietransferprozess in Konkurrenz zur internen Konversion hin. Durch Referenzexperimente mit monodispersen Netzwerkfilmen konnte eine Beteiligung von Energietransferprozessen zwischen SWNTs der gleichen Chiralität auf einer Zeitskala von 1-2ps nachgewiesen werden. Dadurch konnten Beobachtungen von zeitabhängigen Anisotropieänderungen, die einen energetisch aufwärts gerichteten Energietransfer suggerieren, mit einem intra-Spezies-Transfer erklärt werden - Hinweise auf energetisch aufwärts gerichtete EET-Prozesse wurden nicht gefunden. Eine wichtige Erkenntnis aus diesen Experimenten ist die Tatsache, dass die Überlappung von Signalbeiträgen zu einer Verfälschung der Anisotropie und damit zu fehlerhaften Interpretationen führen kann. Darüber hinaus wurde auf den Einfluss der Probenheterogenität und der Alterung von SWNT-Netzwerkfilmen hingewiesen. Diese Untersuchungen legen nahe, dass ein effizienter Exzitonentransfer in SWNT-Netzwerkfilmen auch zwischen den einzelnen Röhrensträngen erfolgen kann und es somit möglich ist, die Effizienz entsprechender Solarzellen zu verbessern.
Im letzten Teil der Arbeit wurden erstmals transiente Absorptionsexperimente im Femtosekundenbereich mit SWNTs unter \(Gate-Doping\) durchgeführt. In ersten Experimenten konnte gezeigt werden, dass analog zur chemischen Dotierung von SWNTs die Dynamik des \(S_1\)-Bleichens eines (6,5)-SWNT-Netzwerkfilms nach \(S_2\)-Anregung unter \(Gate-Doping\) eine Beschleunigung durch zusätzliche Zerfallskanäle erfährt. Die elektrochemische Bandlücke wurde für (6,5)-Nanoröhren zu 1.5 eV bestimmt. Eine Verringerung der Photoabsorptionsamplitude mit zunehmendem Potenzial lässt Vermutungen über die Natur dieses in transienten Absorptionsexperimenten beobachteten PA-Merkmals in Form der Absorption einer dotierten SWNT-Spezies zu. Diese Untersuchungen liefern erste Einblicke in die Art und Weise, wie eine elektrochemische Modifizierung von SWNTs die elektronische Bandstruktur und Ladungsträgerdynamik verändert.
The surface electronic structure of the narrow-gap seminconductor BiTeI exhibits a large Rashba-splitting which strongly depends on the surface termination. Here we report on a detailed investigation of the surface morphology and electronic properties of cleaved BiTeI single crystals by scanning tunneling microscopy, photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES, XPS), electron diffraction (SPA-LEED) and density functional theory calculations. Our measurements confirm a previously reported coexistence of Te- and I-terminated surface areas originating from bulk stacking faults and find a characteristic length scale of ~100 nm for these areas. We show that the two terminations exhibit distinct types of atomic defects in the surface and subsurface layers. For electronic states resided on the I terminations we observe an energy shift depending on the time after cleavage. This aging effect is successfully mimicked by depositon of Cs adatoms found to accumulate on top of the I terminations. As shown theoretically on a microscopic scale, this preferential adsorbing behaviour results from considerably different energetics and surface diffusion lengths at the two terminations. Our investigations provide insight into the importance of structural imperfections as well as intrinsic and extrinsic defects on the electronic properties of BiTeI surfaces and their temporal stability.
Photoinduced processes are nowadays studied with a huge variety of spectroscopic methods. In the liquid phase, transient absorption spectroscopy is probably the most versatile pump–probe technique used to study light-induced molecular phenomena. Optical time-resolved spectroscopy is established in a large number of laboratories and is still further being developed with respect to many technical aspects. Nevertheless, the full potential of shortening the data-acquisition time—necessary for the investigation of rapidly photodegrading samples and observation of macroscopically fast processes—achievable with high-repetition-rate laser systems and shot-to-shot detection was not fully exploited. Especially, shot-to-shot detection is highly beneficial due to the high correlation of subsequent laser pulses.
The development and implementation of 100 kHz broadband shot-to-shot data acquisition was presented in Chapter 3. For an established laser dye as a benchmark system, ultrafast excited-state dynamics were measured for the first time with broadband shot-to-shot detection at 100 kHz. An analysis of both the noise characteristics of the employed laser and the correlation of subsequent pulses quantified the advantage of shot-to-shot data acquisition. In the utilized software environment, the time for measuring a complete data set could be sped up by a factor of three or even higher compared to a laser system working at 1 kHz. So far, the limiting factor is the data processing and the movement of the mechanical delay stage. Nevertheless, the new shot-to-shot detection has the potential to shorten the measurement time up to a factor of 100. The data quality is improved by a factor of three when the hitherto conventional averaging scheme is compared to shot-to-shot acquisition for the same number of laser pulses. The expansion of shot-to-shot data acquisition for high repetition rates will allow studies on sensitive samples as exposure times can strongly be reduced to achieve the same signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, multidimensional spectroscopy can also be extended to high-repetition shot-to-shot readout allowing an efficient recording of data. Therefore, in future experiments, dynamics and couplings in sensitive samples and kinetic processes could be studied in more detail.
Complex photophysical and photochemical phenomena are subject of many fields of research. Many of these multifaceted processes are not yet fully understood. Therefore, a possible approach is the elucidation of single reaction steps with the combination of transient absorption spectroscopy and a suitable, less complex model system. The systematic variation of the model system’s properties and environments, e.g., by chemical substitution or adequate choice of the solvent allows the determination of essential entities and reactivities thereof. Proper knowledge of an individual intermediate step and its determining factors can enhance the understanding of the complete photoreaction process.
The application of transient absorption spectroscopy was shown for the optically-induced electron transfer in a series of donor–acceptor oligomers in Chapter 4. In general, the solvent relaxation times were isolated from the back-electron-transfer dynamics by a global lifetime analysis. For the smallest oligomeric structure where complete charge separation is possible, an ultrafast equilibration leads to charge recombination from the configuration showing the lowest barrier for recombination. The back-electron transfer strongly depends on the utilized solvent. Whereas in dichloromethane the back-electron transfer occurs with the maximum rate in the barrierless optimal region, the dynamics in toluene are governed by a Marcus inverted-region effect. The experimentally observed rates were also estimated by theoretical calculations of the respective barriers. The study did not only successfully unravel charge transfer in the oligomeric systems but also improved the understanding of the electron-transfer properties of larger polymers from an earlier study. Therefore, the combination of length variation and time-resolved spectroscopy is an important step towards the correct prediction of charge-carrier dynamics in macroscopic devices, e.g., for photovoltaics.
The bond dissociation of a carbon-monoxide-releasing molecule in aqueous solution was studied in Chapter 5 as a prototype reaction for the photo-triggered breaking of a bond. It was shown that upon excitation only one carbon-monoxide ligand of the tricarbonyl complex is dissociated. A fraction of the photolyzed molecules restore the intact initial complex by geminate recombination within the temporal resolution of the experiment. However, the recombination could be detected by the hot ground-state infrared absorption of the complex. The detectable dicarbonyl formed upon CO release distributes excess energy from the absorbed photon into low-frequency modes which result in broadened absorption bands like for the recombined tricarbonyl. The free coordination site in the ligand sphere is filled with a solvent water molecule. Despite numerous studies of metal carbonyls studied in alkaneous solutions, the elucidation of the dynamics of a CORM in aqueous solution added another important detail to the photochemistry of this class of compounds. Experiments employing a second ultraviolet pump pulse did not trigger further CO dissociation and hence no formation of a monocarbonyl species; this might either be due to a different release mechanism without a further photochemical step or a strong spectral shift of the dicarbonyl’s absorption. Both reasons could explain why degenerate pump–repump–probe spectroscopy is inefficient. However, further experiments with ultraviolet probe pulses could substantiate whether the intermediate dicarbonyl reacts further photochemically or not. Apart from the model-system character of the CORM for bond dissociation, the study could determine exactly how many CO ligands are initially photolyzed off. Detailed knowledge of the release mechanism will affect the previous use and application as well as the further development of CORMs as therapeutic prodrugs to deliver high local concentrations of CO in cancerous or pathological tissue. Hence, the study of two-photon absorption properties which are important for in vivo applications of CORMs should be the main focus in further spectroscopic experiments.
In Chapter 6, both abovementioned molecular phenomena—electron transfer and bond dissociation—were studied in combination. The photochemistry of a tetrazolium salt was studied in detail in a variety of different solvents. Being a relatively small molecule, the studied tetrazolium cation shows a multifaceted photochemistry and is therefore a textbook example for the combination of ultrafast molecular phenomena studied in different environments. Within femtoseconds, the tetrazolium ring is opened. The biradicalic species is then reduced via uptake of an electron from the solvent. The formation of the ring-open formazan photoproduct from this point of the reaction sequence on was excluded by experiments with acidic pH value of the solution. The ring-open radical is stabilized by ring-closure. The resulting tetrazolinyl radical was already observed in experiments with microsecond time resolution. However, its formation was observed in real time for the first time in this study. Irradiation of a tetrazoliumsalt solution yields different photoproduct distributions depending on the solvent. However, it was shown that all photoproducts have a tetrazolinyl radical as a common precursor on an ultrafast time scale. In combination with studies from the literature, the complete photochemical conversion of a tetrazolium salt was clarified in this study. Apart from the prototype character of the reaction sequence, the reaction mechanism will have impact on research associated with life science where tetrazolium assays are used on a daily basis without taking into account of photochemical conversion of the indicating tetrazolium ion and its photochemically formed reactive intermediates. On the basis of the tetrazolium-ion photochemistry, the rich photochemistry of the formazan photoproduct, including structural rearrangements and subsequent reformation of the tetrazolium ion, might be the subject of future studies.
This thesis shows a method advancement and application of transient absorption spectroscopy to exemplary molecular model systems. The insights into each respective field did not only enlighten singular aspects, but have to be seen in a much larger context. Understanding complex photoinduced processes bottom-up by learning about their constituting steps—microscopically and on an ultrafast time scale—is an ideal method to approach understanding and prediction of phenomena in large molecular systems like biological or artificial architectures as for example used in photosynthetic light-harvesting and photovoltaics.