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Conspectus: Molecular photochromic compounds are those that interconvert between two isomeric forms with light. The two isomeric forms display distinct electronic and molecular structures and must not be in equilibrium with one another. These light-activated molecular switch compounds have found wide application in areas of study ranging from chemical biology to materials science, where conversion from one isomeric form to another by light prompts a response in the environment (e.g., protein or polymeric material). Certain ruthenium and osmium polypyridine sulfoxide complexes are photochromic. The mode of action is a phototriggered isomerization of the sulfoxide from S- to O-bonded. The change in ligation drastically alters both the spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of the metal complex. Our laboratory has pioneered the preparation and study of these complexes. In particular, we have applied femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy to reveal excited state details of the isomerization mechanism. The data from numerous complexes allowed us to predict that the isomerization was nonadiabatic in nature, defined as occurring from a S-bonded triplet excited state (primarily metal-to-ligand charge transfer in character) to an O-bonded singlet ground state potential energy surface. This prediction was corroborated by high-level density functional theory calculations. An intriguing aspect of this reactivity is the coupling of nuclear motion to the electronic wave function and how this coupling affects motions productive for isomerization. In an effort to learn more about this coupling, we designed a project to examine phototriggered isomerization in bis-sulfoxide complexes. The goal of these studies was to determine whether certain complexes could be designed in which a single photon excitation event would prompt two sulfoxide isomerizations. We employed chelating sulfoxides in this study and found that both the nature of the chelate ring and the R group on the sulfoxide affect the photochemical reactivity. For example, this reactivity may be tuned such that two sulfoxide ligands isomerize sequentially following two successive excitations or that two sulfoxide ligands isomerize following a single excitation. This Account explains our understanding to date of this photochemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the synthesis and characterization of a series of four fluorescent Sn(IV) Schiff base complexes, which also possess long-lived triplet excited states. The complexes absorb visible light (λmax = 420 to 462 nm) and the optical properties are easily tunable without laborious synthetic elaboration. The triplet excited states are not luminescent, but can be observed and followed using nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The lifetimes of the triplet excited states are on the order of 500 µs-10 ms in PMMA matrices. The triplet state energies were estimated via energy transfer reactions with a series of organic triplet acceptors. In addition, the photoexcited complexes react with electron donors and acceptors in solution. These results demonstrate the potential for the development of photosensitizers based on main group elements with high spin orbit coupling constants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irradiation of [Ru(bpy)2(bpSOp)](PF6)2 (where bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine and bpSOp is 1,3-bis(phenylsulfinyl)-propane) results in the formation of two new isomers, namely the S,O- and O,O-bonded species. The crystal structure of the bis-thioether and bis-sulfoxide complexes are reported. NMR spectroscopy of the bis-thioether complex in solution is consistent with the molecular structure determined by diffraction methods. Further, NMR spectroscopy of the bis-sulfoxide complex reveals two conformers in solution, one that is consistent with the solid state structure and a second conformer showing distortion in the aliphatic portion of the chelate ring. Time-resolved visible absorption spectroscopy reveals isomerization time constants of 91 ps in dichloroethane (DCE) and 229 ps in propylene carbonate (PC). Aggregate isomerization quantum yields of 0.57 and 0.42 have been determined in DCE and in PC, respectively. The kinetics of the thermal reversion from the O,O- to S,O-bonded isomer are strongly solvent dependent, occurring with rates of 2.41 × 10-3 and 4.39 × 10-5 s-1 in DCE, and 4.68 × 10-4 and 9.79 × 10-6 s-1 in PC. The two kinetic components are assigned to the two isomers identified in solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]