0000000001150657
AUTHOR
Satu Mustalahti
Photodynamics of a Molecular Water-Soluble Nanocluster Identified as Au130(pMBA)50
Photodynamics of a highly monodisperse sample of a water-soluble gold nanocluster tentatively identified as Au130(pMBA)50 (pMBA = p-mercaptobenzoic acid) was studied by mid-IR transient absorption spectroscopy with visible excitation. The observed long-lived excited states (>1 ns) indicate a molecular behavior of the cluster. By combining the transient absorption data with DFT calculation results the observed relaxation dynamics could be fully explained by identifying several relaxation processes involving singlet and triplet manifolds. The results indicate that the cluster may have interesting transient magnetic properties due to a long-lived triplet population.
Molecule-like photodynamics of Au102(pMBA)44 nanocluster.
Photophysical properties of a water-soluble cluster Au102(pMBA)44 (pMBA = para-mercaptobenzoic acid) are studied by ultrafast time-resolved mid-IR spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations in order to distinguish between molecular and metallic behavior. In the mid-IR transient absorption studies, visible or near-infrared light is used to electronically excite the sample, and the subsequent relaxation is monitored by studying the transient absorption of a vibrational mode in the ligands. Based on these studies, a complete picture of energy relaxation dynamics is obtained: (1) 0.5-1.5 ps electronic relaxation, (2) 6.8 ps vibrational cooling, (3) intersystem crossing from the low…
Injection and ultrafast regeneration in dye-sensitized solar cells
Injection of an electron from the excited dye molecule to the semiconductor is the initial charge separation step in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC's). Though the dynamics of the forward injection process has been widely studied, the results reported so far are controversial, especially for complete DSC's. In this work, the electron injection in titanium dioxide (TiO2) films sensitized with ruthenium bipyridyl dyes N3 and N719 was studied both in neat solvent and in a typical iodide/triiodide (I-/I3 -) DSC electrolyte. Transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy was used to monitor both the formation of the oxidized dye and the arrival of injected electrons to the conduction band of TiO2. Emiss…
Conserved histidine and tyrosine determine spectral responses through the water network in Deinococcus radiodurans phytochrome
Funding Information: This work was supported by Academy of Finland grants 285461 (H.T.), 330678 (H.T., J.R.), 277194 (H.L.), and 290677 (S.M.). We acknowledge the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) for providing synchrotron access for crystal data collection. We thank Prof. Janne Ihalainen (University of Jyväskylä) for all the help in all aspects of the paper, Prof. Gerrit Groenhof (University of Jyväskylä) for support, and Prof. Nikolai V. Tkachenko (Tampere University) for help and facilities for time-resolved absorption spectroscopy. We also thank M.Sc. Alli Liukkonen (University of Jyväskylä) and Dr. Heikki Häkkänen (University of Jyväskylä) for the assistance in laboratory …
Photodynamics studies of ligand-protected gold nanoclusters by using ultrafast transient infrared spectroscopy
Highly monodisperse samples of three ligand-protected gold nanoclusters Au102(pMBA)44, Au144(SC2H4Ph)60, and a cluster tentatively identified as Au130(pMBA)50, were characterized by UV/vis and infrared spectroscopy, and their photodynamics was studied by transient absorption spectroscopy. The dynamics study for each cluster was performed by electronically exciting the cluster with a pump pulse in the visible or near infrared region and by monitoring the transient absorption of vibrational modes of the ligands with a mid-IR probe pulse. The photodynamics studies were used to determine the molecular or metallic behavior of the cluster, and also to gain important size dependent information abo…
Ultrafast electronic relaxation and vibrational cooling dynamics of Au 144(SC2H4Ph)60 nanocluster probed by transient mid-IR spectroscopy
Energy relaxation dynamics of a gold nanocluster with atomically precise composition, Au144(SC2H4Ph)60, is studied by transient mid-IR spectroscopy. The experiment is designed to simultaneously pro...
Dynamic Stabilization of the Ligand-Metal Interface in Atomically Precise Gold Nanoclusters Au68 and Au144 Protected by meta-Mercaptobenzoic Acid
Ligand-stabilized, atomically precise gold nanoclusters with a metal core of a uniform size of just 1–3 nm constitute an interesting class of nanomaterials with versatile possibilities for applications due to their size-dependent properties and modifiable ligand layers. The key to extending the usability of the clusters in applications is to understand the chemical bonding in the ligand layer as a function of cluster size and ligand structure. Previously, it has been shown that monodispersed gold nanoclusters, stabilized by meta-mercaptobenzoic acid (m-MBA or 3-MBA) ligands and with sizes of 68–144 gold atoms, show ambient stability. Here we show that a combination of nuclear magnetic reson…
Photoactive Yellow Protein Chromophore Photoisomerizes around a Single Bond if the Double Bond Is Locked
Photoactivation in the Photoactive Yellow Protein, a bacterial blue light photoreceptor, proceeds via photo-isomerization of the double C=C bond in the covalently attached chromophore. Quantum chemistry calculations, however, have suggested that in addition to double bond photo-isomerization, the isolated chromophore and many of its analogues, can isomerize around a single C-C bond as well. Whereas double bond photo-isomerization has been observed with x-ray crystallography, experimental evidence for single bond photo-isomerization is currently lacking. Therefore, we have synthesized a chromophore analogue, in which the formal double bond is covalently locked in a cyclopentenone ring and ca…
Role of Vibrational Dynamics in Electronic Relaxation of Cr(acac)3
Ultrafast energy relaxation of Cr(acac)3 dissolved in tetrachloroethylene (TCE) is studied by time-resolved infrared (TRIR) spectroscopy by using electronic and vibrational excitation. After electronic excitation at 400 or 345 nm, the ground state recovers in two time scales: 15 ps (major pathway) and 800 ps (minor pathway), corresponding to fast electronic transition to the ground state and intermediate trapping on the long-lived (2)E state followed by intersystem crossing (ISC) to the ground state. The quantum yield for the fast recovery of the ground state depends on the excitation wavelength, being higher for 345 nm. Vibrational cooling (VC) occurs on the electronic excited states with …
Dynamic Stabilization of the Ligand-Metal Interface in Atomically Precise Gold Nanoclusters Au68 and Au144 Protected by meta-Mercaptobenzoic Acid
Ligand-stabilized, atomically precise gold nanoclusters with a metal core of a uniform size of just 1-3 nm constitute an interesting class of nanomaterials with versatile possibilities for applications due to their size-dependent properties and modifiable ligand layers. The key to extending the usability of the clusters in applications is to understand the chemical bonding in the ligand layer as a function of cluster size and ligand structure. Previously, it has been shown that monodispersed gold nanoclusters, stabilized by meta-mercaptobenzoic acid (m-MBA or 3-MBA) ligands and with sizes of 68-144 gold atoms, show ambient stability. Here we show that a combination of nuclear magnetic reson…
Vibrational Perturbations and Ligand–Layer Coupling in a Single Crystal of Au144(SC2H4Ph)60 Nanocluster
We have determined vibrational signatures and optical gap of the Au144(PET)60 (PET: phenylethylthiol, SC2H4Ph) nanocluster solvated in deuterated dichloromethane (DCM-D2, CD2Cl2) and in a single crystal. For crystals, solid-state (13)C NMR and X-ray diffraction were also measured. A revised value of 2200 cm(-1) (0.27 eV) was obtained for the optical gap in both phases. The vibrational spectra of solvated AU144(PET)60 closely resembles that of neat PET, while the crystalline-state spectrum exhibits significant inhomogeneous spectral broadening, frequency shifts, intensity transfer between vibrational modes, and an increase in the overtone and combination transition intensities. Spectral broa…