Triplet Mediated C-N Dissociation versus Internal Conversion in Electronically Excited N-Methylpyrrole.

The photochemical and photophysical pathways operative in N-methylpyrrole, after excitation in the near part of its ultraviolet absorption spectrum, have been investigated by the combination of time-resolved total ion yield and photoelectron spectroscopies with high-level ab initio calculations. The results collected are remarkably different from the observations made for pyrrole and other aromatic systems, whose dynamics is dictated by the presence of πσ* excitations on X-H (X: N, O, S, ..

Tracking the relaxation of 2,5-dimethylpyrrole by femtosecond time-resolved photoelectron and photoion detection.

The relaxation of 2,5-dimethylpyrrole after excitation in the 290-239 nm range, which covers the weak absorption of the S1 (1)A2 πσ* state, dissociative along the N-H bond, and the stronger band mostly attributed to the (1)B2 ππ* state, has been investigated by time-resolved ion and photoelectron techniques. The measurements yield an invariant lifetime of ∼55 fs for the (1)πσ* state, after preparation in its Franck-Condon region with increasing vibrational content. This ultrafast rate indicates that, contrary to the observations made in pyrrole (Roberts et al.

Revisiting the relaxation dynamics of isolated pyrrole.

Herein, the interpretation of the femtosecond-scale temporal evolution of the pyrrole ion signal, after excitation in the 267-217 nm interval, recently published by our group [R. Montero, A. Peralta Conde, V.

Ultrafast Nonradiative Relaxation Channels of Tryptophan.

The nonradiative relaxation channels of gas-phase tryptophan excited along the S1-S4 excited states (287-217 nm) have been tracked by femtosecond time-resolved ionization. In the low-energy region, λ ≥ 240 nm, the measured transient signals reflect nonadiabatic interactions between the two bright La and Lb states of ππ* character and the dark dissociative πσ* state of the indole NH. The observed dynamical behavior is interpreted in terms of the ultrafast conversion of the prepared La state, which simultaneously populates the fluorescent Lb> and the dissociative πσ* states.

Ultrafast evolution of imidazole after electronic excitation.

The ultrafast dynamics of the imidazole chromophore has been tracked after electronic excitation in the 250-217 nm energy region, by time delayed ionization with 800 nm laser pulses. The time-dependent signals collected at the imidazole(+) mass channel show the signature of femtosecond dynamics, originating on the πσ*- and ππ*-type states located in the explored energy region. The fitting of the transients, which due to the appearance of nonresonant coherent adiabatic excitation requires a quantum treatment based in the Bloch equations, yields two lifetimes of 18 ± 4 and 19 ± 4 fs.

Femtosecond evolution of the pyrrole molecule excited in the near part of its UV spectrum.

The evolution of the isolated pyrrole molecule has been followed after excitation in the 265-217 nm range by using femtosecond time delayed ionization. The transients collected in the whole excitation range show the vanishing of the ionization signal in the femtosecond time scale, caused by the relaxation along a πσ(∗) type state (3s a(1)←π 1a(2)), which is the lowest excited electronic state of the molecule. This surface is dissociative along the NH bond, yielding a 15 ± 3 fs lifetime that reflects the loss of the ionization cross-section induced by the ultrafast wavepacket motion.

Ultrafast photophysics of the isolated indole molecule.

The relaxation dynamics of the isolated indole molecule has been tracked by femtosecond time-resolved ionization. The excitation region explored (283-243 nm) covers three excited states: the two ππ* L(b) and L(a) states, and the dark πσ* state with dissociative character. In the low energy region (λ > 273 nm) the transients collected reflect the absorption of the long living L(b) state.

Ultrafast dynamics of aniline in the 294-234 nm excitation range: the role of the πσ∗ state.

The ultrafast relaxation of jet-cooled aniline was followed by time-resolved ionization, after excitation in the 294-234 interval. The studied range of energy covers the absorption of the two bright ππ∗ excitations, S(1) and S(3), and the almost dark S(2) (πσ∗) state. The employed probe wavelengths permit to identify different ultrafast time constants related with the coupling of the involved electronic surfaces.