Vibronic coupling

Abstract: This paper examines the vibronic energy levels of a symmetrical non-linear molecule in a spatially doubly degenerate electronic state which is split in first order by a doubly degenerate vibrational mode. The vibronic levels are classified by a quantum number, which in certain cases is formally related to the combined angular momentum of electronic and vibrational motion, and numerical values are obtained for the energies of these levels as functions of this quantum number and a dimensionless parameter measuring the magnitude of the electronic-vibrational coupling. It is shown that the selection rules for transitions from these vibronic levels to those of a non-degenerate electronic state allow changes in vibrational energy of any integral number of quanta, as though the Jahn-Teller effect were equivalent to a distortion which makes allowed vibrational transitions which would otherwise be forbidden. Numerical values are given for the oscillator strengths of vibronic absorption or emission bands involving transitions between a Jahn-Teller distorted state and an electronically non-degenerate state. It is found that in transitions from the latter to the former the vibrational structure of the electronic band exhibits two intensity maxima if the distortion is large.

Abstract: Nonadiabatic effects play an important role in many areas of physics and chemistry. The coupling between electrons and nuclei may, for example, lead to the formation of a conical intersection between potential energy surfaces, which provides an efficient pathway for radiationless decay between electronic states. At such intersections the Born-Oppenheimer approximation breaks down, and unexpected dynamical processes result, which can be observed spectroscopically. We review the basic theory required to understand and describe conical, and related, intersections. A simple model is presented, which can be used to classify the different types of intersections known. An example is also given using wavepacket dynamics simulations to demonstrate the prototypical features of how a molecular system passes through a conical intersection.

Abstract: Knowing the underlying photophysics of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) allows proper design of high efficiency organic light-emitting diodes. We have proposed a model to describe reverse intersystem crossing (rISC) in donor–acceptor charge transfer molecules, where spin–orbit coupling between singlet and triplet states is mediated by one of the local triplet states of the donor (or acceptor). This second order, vibronically coupled mechanism describes the basic photophysics of TADF. Through a series of measurements, whereby the energy ordering of the charge transfer (CT) excited states and the local triplet are tuned in and out of resonance, we show that TADF reaches a maximum at the resonance point, substantiating our model of rISC. Moreover, using photoinduced absorption, we show how the populations of both singlet and triplet CT states and the local triplet state change in and out of resonance. Our vibronic coupling rISC model is used to predict this behaviour and describes how rISC and TADF are affected by external perturbation.