Abstract
IN many applications of conjugated polyenes for nonlinear optoelectronics and as probes of biophysical systems, the orientation of the electronic transition dipole moment relative to the long axis of the chains is an important quantity. Simple models predict that the transition moment lies closely along the chain axis1,2 or at an angle of about 30° to this axis3, but the difficulty of preparing perfectly oriented samples has made these predictions hard to test. Here we report the results of polarized single crystal spectroscopy of a linear conjugated tetraene in the highly aligned configuration made possible by incorporating these molecules as guests in the channels of urea crystals. The angular dependence of the absorption spectrum indicates that the transition moment lies at an angle of 15° to the chain axis. Molecular-orbital calculations can reproduce this value when they include the effects of electron correlation.
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Shang, Qy., Dou, X. & Hudson, B. Off-axis orientation of the electronic transition moment for a linear conjugated polyene. Nature 352, 703–705 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/352703a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/352703a0
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