Niels H. Damrauer

Photoselective adaptive femtosecond quantum control in the liquid phase

Coherent light sources can be used to manipulate the outcome of light–matter interactions by exploiting interference phenomena in the time and frequency domain. A powerful tool in this emerging field of ‘quantum control’ is the adaptive shaping of femtosecond laser pulses, resulting, for instance, in selective molecular excitation. The basis of this method is that the quantum system under investigation itself guides an automated search, via iteration loops, for coherent light fields best suited for achieving a control task designed by the experimenter. The method is therefore ideal for the control of complex experiments. To date, all demonstrations of this technique on molecular systems have focused on controlling the outcome of photo-induced reactions in identical molecules, and little attention has been paid to selectively controlling mixtures of different molecules. Here we report simultaneous but selective multi-photon excitation of two distinct electronically and structurally complex dye molecules in solution. Despite the failure of single parameter variations (wavelength, intensity, or linear chirp control), adaptive femtosecond pulse shaping can reveal complex laser fields to achieve chemically selective molecular excitation. Furthermore, our results prove that phase coherences of the solute molecule persist for more than 100 fs in the solvent environment.

Facile collection of two-dimensional electronic spectra using femtosecond pulse-shaping technology

This letter reports a straightforward means of collecting two-dimensional electronic (2D-E) spectra using optical tools common to many research groups involved in ultrafast spectroscopy and quantum control. In our method a femtosecond pulse shaper is used to generate a pair of phase stable collinear laser pulses which are then incident on a gas or liquid sample. The pulse pair is followed by an ultrashort probe pulse that is spectrally resolved. The delay between the collinear pulses is incremented using phase and amplitude shaping and a 2D-E spectrum is generated following Fourier transformation. The partially collinear beam geometry results in perfectly phased absorptive spectra without phase twist. Our approach is much simpler to implement than standard non-collinear beam geometries, which are challenging to phase stabilize and require complicated calibrations. Using pulse shaping, many new experiments are now also possible in both 2D-E spectroscopy and coherent control.

Liquid-phase adaptive femtosecond quantum control: Removing intrinsic intensity dependencies

Femtosecond adaptive pulse shaping of 800-nm laser pulses is applied to control the multiphoton molecular excitation of the charge-transfer coordination complex [Ru(dpb)3](PF6)2 (where dpb=4,4′-diphenyl-2,2′-bipyridine) dissolved in methanol. A phase-only femtosecond pulse shaper provides a mechanism for multiparameter (128) variation of the incident field, and a closed-loop evolutionary algorithm optimizes pulse shapes within the vast search space. Molecular emission at 620 nm is used as experimental feedback which is proportional to the excited-state population in the long-lived 3MLCT (metal-to-ligand charge-transfer) state. The dominant intensity dependence of the multiphoton excitation process is removed by using second-harmonic generation (SHG) in a thin optical crystal as a general “reference” signal. Successful control of the emission/SHG ratio demands that the field adapt to the electronic structure or dynamic needs of the molecule in solution. This suggests that adaptive femtosecond pulse shaping...

Charge Transfer Dynamics between Photoexcited CdS Nanorods and Mononuclear Ru Water-Oxidation Catalysts

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Intramolecular Charge Transfer and Ion Pairing in N,N-Diaryl Dihydrophenazine Photoredox Catalysts for Efficient Organocatalyzed Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

T. Baumert et al, Appl. Phys. B 65, 779 (1997)

Adaptive shaping of femtosecond polarization profiles

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Tunable electronic coupling and driving force in structurally well-defined tetracene dimers for molecular singlet fission: a computational exploration using density functional theory.

M. Bergt et al, Science 282, 919 (1998)

Uncovering the Roles of Oxygen in Cr(III) Photoredox Catalysis

We describe the charge transfer interactions between photoexcited CdS nanorods and mononuclear water oxidation catalysts derived from the [Ru(bpy)(tpy)Cl](+) parent structure. Upon excitation, hole transfer from CdS oxidizes the catalyst (Ru(2+) → Ru(3+)) on a 100 ps to 1 ns timescale. This is followed by 10-100 ns electron transfer (ET) that reduces the Ru(3+) center. The relatively slow ET dynamics may provide opportunities for the accumulation of multiple holes at the catalyst, which is necessary for water oxidation.

Solution-Phase Singlet Fission in a Structurally Well-Defined Norbornyl-Bridged Tetracene Dimer.

Photoexcited intramolecular charge transfer (CT) states in N,N-diaryl dihydrophenazine photoredox catalysts are accessed through catalyst design and investigated through combined experimental studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. These CT states are reminiscent of the metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) states of ruthenium and iridium polypyridyl complexes. For cases where the polar CT state is the lowest energy excited state, we observe its population through significant solvatochromic shifts in emission wavelength across the visible spectrum by varying solvent polarity. We propose the importance of accessing CT states for photoredox catalysis of atom transfer radical polymerization lies in their ability to minimize fluorescence while enhancing electron transfer rates between the photoexcited photoredox catalyst and the substrate. Additionally, solvent polarity influences the deactivation pathway, greatly affecting the strength of ion pairing between the oxidized photocatalyst and the bromide anion and thus the ability to realize a controlled radical polymerization. Greater understanding of these photoredox catalysts with respect to CT and ion pairing enables their application toward the polymerization of methyl methacrylate for the synthesis of polymers with precisely tunable molecular weights and dispersities typically lower than 1.10.