1. An artificial molecular switch that mimics the visual pigment and completes its photocycle in picoseconds
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Majed Chergui, Adalgisa Sinicropi, Stefania Fusi, Divya Sharma, Andrea Cannizzo, Fabrizio Santoro, Riccardo Basosi, Jan Helbing, Massimo Olivucci, Jérémie Léonard, Stefan Haacke, Elena García Martín, Vinicio Zanirato, Nicolas Ferré, Mikhail N. Ryazantsev, Julien Briand, Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg (IPCMS), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Matériaux et nanosciences d'Alsace (FMNGE), Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Réseau nanophotonique et optique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA), Université Louis Pasteur - Strasbourg I-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Zurich, and Helbing, J
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10120 Department of Chemistry ,Time Factors ,Photochemistry ,Ab initio ,UV-vis ,010402 general chemistry ,01 natural sciences ,Quantum chemistry ,Molecular modeling ,Molecular switches ,Simulation and Modeling (artificial mol. switch mimics visual pigment and completes photocycle in picoseconds) ,Isomerization (photoisomerization ,artificial mol. switch mimics visual pigment and completes photocycle in picoseconds) ,Pigments (visual ,Isomerism ,Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared ,540 Chemistry ,mid-IR ,Spectroscopy ,photochemical switch ,Molecular switch ,1000 Multidisciplinary ,Multidisciplinary ,time resolved spectroscopy ,biology ,010405 organic chemistry ,Chemistry ,[SCCO.NEUR]Cognitive science/Neuroscience ,Molecular Mimicry ,Solvation ,0104 chemical sciences ,mol switch vision pigment photocycle isomerization ,Rhodopsin ,Chemical physics ,Physical Sciences ,CASPT2//CASSCF ,biology.protein ,Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet ,Time-resolved spectroscopy ,Retinal Pigments ,Isomerization - Abstract
Single molecules that act as light-energy transducers (e.g., converting the energy of a photon into atomic-level mechanical motion) are examples of minimal molecular devices. Here, we focus on a molecular switch designed by merging a conformationally locked diarylidene skeleton with a retinal-like Schiff base and capable of mimicking, in solution, different aspects of the transduction of the visual pigment Rhodopsin. Complementary ab initio multiconfigurational quantum chemistry-based computations and time-resolved spectroscopy are used to follow the light-induced isomerization of the switch in methanol. The results show that, similar to rhodopsin, the isomerization occurs on a 0.3-ps time scale and is followed by