Magnetic field dependence of spin dynamics of radical pairs studied by time-resolved RYDMR

The photochemical reaction of 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone in sodium dodecyl-sulphate micellar solution was investigated with an optical detection ESR apparatus working at 17.44 GHz (Ku-band). The Ku-band RYDMR spectra are obtained from the transient optical absorption and the stationary absorption of the reaction product, and the shift of the spectral peak compared with the spectra at 331 mT is reproduced well by the difference in g of the component radicals. The microwave pulse length dependence shows the quantum beat originated from the conversion between triplet ±1 states and the mixed state of singlet and triplet 0 states by the microwave field. The decay rate of the radical pair in triplet ±1 at 622 mT was determined to be 7.1 ± 1.1 × 105 s−1 by changing the irradiation time of a short (20 ns) microwave pulse with reference to the laser excitation. This value is smaller than that at 331 mT, as expected by the relaxation mechanism.