2’‐Deoxy‐5‐formylcytidine (5fdCyd), a naturally occurring nucleoside found in mammalian DNA and mitochondrial RNA, exhibits important epigenetic functionality in biological processes. Because it efficiently generates triplet excited states, it is an endogenous photosensitizer capable of damaging DNA, but the intersystem crossing (ISC) mechanism responsible for ultrafast triplet state generation is poorly understood. In this study, time‐resolved mid‐IR spectroscopy and quantum mechanical calculations reveal the distinct ultrafast ISC mechanisms of 5fdCyd in water versus acetonitrile. Our experiment indicates that in water, ISC to triplet states occurs within 1 ps after 285 nm excitation. PCM‐TD‐DFT computations suggest that this ultrafast ISC is mediated by a singlet state with significant cytosine‐to‐formyl charge‐transfer (CT) character. In contrast, ISC in acetonitrile proceeds via a dark1nπ* state with a lifetime of ∼3 ps. CT‐induced ISC is not favored in acetonitrile because reaching the minimum of the gateway CT state is hampered by intramolecular hydrogen bonding, which enforces planarity between the aldehyde group and the aromatic group. Our study provides a comprehensive picture of the non‐radiative decay of 5fdCyd in solution and new insights into the factors governing ISC in biomolecules. We propose that the intramolecular CT state observed here is a key to the excited‐state dynamics of epigenetic nucleosides with modified exocyclic functional groups, paving the way to study their effects in DNA strands.
Ultrafast branching in intersystem crossing dynamics revealed by coherent vibrational wavepacket motions in a bimetallic Pt( ii ) complex
Ultrafast excited state processes of transition metal complexes (TMCs) are governed by complicated interplays between electronic and nuclear dynamics, which demand a detailed understanding to achieve optimal functionalities of photoactive TMC-based materials for many applications. In this work, we investigated a cyclometalated platinum( ii ) dimer known to undergo a Pt–Pt bond contraction in the metal–metal-to-ligand-charge-transfer (MMLCT) excited state using femtosecond broadband transient absorption (fs-BBTA) spectroscopy in combination with geometry optimization and normal mode calculations. Using a sub-20 fs pump and broadband probe pulses in fs-BBTA spectroscopy, we were able to correlate the coherent vibrational wavepacket (CVWP) evolution with the stimulated emission (SE) dynamics of the 1 MMLCT state. The results demonstrated that the 145 cm −1 CVWP motions with the damping times of ∼0.9 ps and ∼2 ps originate from coherent Pt–Pt stretching vibrations in the singlet and triplet MMLCT states, respectively. On the basis of excited state potential energy surface calculations in our previous work, we rationalized that the CVWP transfer from the Franck–Condon (FC) state to the 3 MMLCT state was mediated by a triplet ligand-centered ( 3 LC) intermediate state through two step intersystem crossing (ISC) on a time scale shorter than a period of the Pt–Pt stretching wavepacket motions. Moreover, it was found that the CVWP motion had 110 cm −1 frequency decays with the damping time of ∼0.2 ps, matching the time constant of 0.253 ps, corresponding to a redshift in the SE feature at early times. This observation indicates that the Pt–Pt bond contraction changes the stretching frequency from 110 to 145 cm −1 and stabilizes the 1 MMLCT state relative to the 3 LC state with a ∼0.2 ps time scale. Thus, the ultrafast ISC from the 1 MMLCT to the 3 LC states occurs before the Pt–Pt bond shortening. The findings herein provide insight into understanding the impact of Pt–Pt bond contraction on the ultrafast branching of the 1 MMLCT population into the direct ( 1 MMLCT → 3 MMLCT) and indirect ISC pathways ( 1 MMLCT → 3 LC → 3 MMLCT) in the Pt( ii ) dimer. These results revealed intricate excited state electronic and nuclear motions that could steer the reaction pathways with a level of detail that has not been achieved before.
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10345347
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Faraday Discussions
- ISSN:
- 1359-6640
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract -
Dinuclear d 8 Pt( ii ) complexes, where two mononuclear square planar Pt( ii ) units are bridged in an “A-frame” geometry, possess photophysical properties characterised by either metal-to-ligand-(MLCT) or metal–metal–ligand-to-ligand charge transfer (MMLCT) transitions determined by the distance between the two Pt( ii ) centres. When using 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQH) as the bridging ligand to construct novel dinuclear complexes with general formula [C^NPt(μ-8HQ)] 2 , where C^N is either 2-phenylpyridine (1) or 7,8-benzoquinoline (2), triplet ligand-centered ( 3 LC) photophysics results echoing that in a mononuclear model chromophore, [Pt(8HQ) 2 ] (3). The lengthened Pt–Pt distances of 3.255 Å (1) and 3.243 Å (2) results in a lowest energy absorption centred around 480 nm assigned as having mixed LC/MLCT character by TD-DFT, mirroring the visible absorption spectrum of 3. Additionally, 1 and 2 exhibit 3 LC photoluminescence with limited quantum yields (0.008) from broad transitions centred near 680 nm. Photoexcitation of 1–3 leads to an initially prepared excited state that relaxes within 15 ps to a 3 LC excited state centred on the 8HQ bridge, which then persists for several microseconds. All the experimental results correspond well with DFT electronic structure calculations.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1039/D2FD00009A
