Donatas Zigmantas

The dynamics of the excited states of the carotenoid peridinin in polar solvents were studied using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in the spectral range of 500-1900 nm. A broadening of the absorption spectrum in polar solvents is caused by a distribution of conformers having different ground-state properties. In addition, the dependence of the peridinin lifetime on the excitation wavelength reveals that two peridinin forms coexist in protic solvents, where a "red"-absorbing form is produced by hydrogen bonding via the carbonyl group. The observed dynamics show that the S1 and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) states of peridinin are strongly coupled, forming a collective S1/ICT state whose lifetime is determined by the degree of ICT character. In nonpolar solvent, pure S1 character with a lifetime of ~160 ps is observed, whereas in polar solvents an increase in the ICT character leads to a lifetime as short as 10 ps in methanol and 13 ps in ethylene glycol. In protic solvents, the ICT character of the S1/ICT state of the red peridinin form is further enhanced by hydrogen bonding, resulting in lifetimes shorter than 6 ps. A weak dependence of peridinin dynamics on viscosity shows that the ICT state is not formed via a twisted ICT mechanism. At 190 K in methanol, a significant increase in the S1/ICT lifetime is observed, suggesting that thermal coupling is involved in the S1/ICT state mixing. At 77 K in ethylene glycol glass, a multiexponential decay is revealed, indicating the presence of several conformers with different S1/ICT state properties.