Ultrafast, polarization-selective time-resolved X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) was used to characterize the photochemistry of vitamin B12, cyanocobalamin (CNCbl), in solution. Cobalamins are important biological cofactors involved in methyl transfer, radical rearrangement, and light-activated gene regulation, while also holding promise as light-activated agents for spatiotemporal controlled delivery of therapeutics. We introduce polarized femtosecond XANES, combined with UV–visible spectroscopy, to reveal sequential structural evolution of CNCbl in the excited electronic state. Femtosecond polarized XANES provides the crucial structural dynamics link between computed potential energy surfaces and optical transient absorption spectroscopy. Polarization selectivity can be used to uniquely identify electronic contributions and structural changes, even in isotropic samples when well-defined electronic transitions are excited. Our XANES measurements reveal that the structural changes upon photoexcitation occur mainly in the axial direction, where elongation of the axial Co–CN bond and Co–NIm bond on a 110 fs time scale is followed by corrin ring relaxation on a 260 fs time scale. These observations expose features of the potential energy surfaces controlling cobalamin reactivity and deactivation.

Cobalamins are of widespread importance in biology. Both of the cofactors essential for human metabolism, the organocobalamins coenzyme B12 and methylcobalamin, are highly photolabile, as are other alkylcobalamins. The alkynylcobalamin phenylethynylcobalamin (PhEtyCbl) and the arylcobalamin 4-ethylphenylcobalamin (EtPhCbl) with “atypical” Co–C-bonds to unsaturated carbons, were recently designed as metabolically inert cobalamins, classified as “antivitamins B12”. The further development of an ideal light-activated or “conditional” antivitamin B12 would require it to be readily converted by light into an active B12 vitamin form. Very photolabile “antivitamins B12” would also represent particularly useful scaffolds for therapeutic light-activated reagents. Here, the photoactive arylcobalamin EtPhCbl and the remarkably photostable alkynylcobalamin PhEtyCbl are examined using femtosecond to picosecond UV–visible transient absorption spectroscopy. PhEtyCbl undergoes internal conversion to the ground state with near unit quantum yield on a time scale < 100 ps and an activation energy of 12.6 ± 1.4 kJ/mol. The arylcobalamin EtPhCbl forms an excited state with a ca. 247 ps lifetime. This excited state branches between internal conversion to the ground state and formation of a long-lived base-off species with a quantum yield of ∼9%. Anaerobic steady state photolysis of “light-sensitive” EtPhCbl results in the formation of cob(II)alamin, but only with quantum yield <1%. Hence, our studies suggest that suitably modified arylcobalamins may be a rational basis for the design of photoresponsive “antivitamins B12”.

Hydroxocobalamin is a potential biocompatible source of photogenerated hydroxyl radicals localized in time and space. The photogeneration of hydroxyl radicals is studied using time-resolved spectroscopy and theoretical simulations. Radicals are only generated for wavelengths <350 nm through a mechanism that involves competition between prompt dissociation and internal conversion. Characterization of the lowest-lying singlet potential energy surface provides insight into the photochemistry of hydroxocobalamin and other cobalamin compounds.

Our prior discovery of a novel biexponential photochemical ring-opening in 7-dehydrocholesterol (DHC) to previtamin D3 [Tang J. Chem. Phys. 2011, 134, 104503] is further explored with ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy, and the results are compared with recently reported high-level theoretical calculations. Three types of experiments are reported. First, variation of the excitation wavelength from 297 to 266 nm leaves the excited state dynamics unaffected. The biexponential decay of the excited state absorption is independent of excitation wavelength with time constants of 0.57 ± 0.06 and 1.88 ± 0.09 ps, in excellent agreement with the results reported earlier (0.56 ± 0.06 and 1.81 ± 0.15 ps) following excitation at 266 nm. Second, variation of the chirp of the excitation pulse influences the relative amplitude of the fast and slow decay components but has no influence on the photoproduct yield. Third, a 545 nm pulse delayed by 0.64 ps with respect to the initial 266 nm pulse was used to perturb the “slow” population and probe the influence of additional electronic or vibrational energy on the reaction process. The results show ultrafast internal conversion Sn → S1 on a ca. 150 fs time scale but no subsequent effect on the reaction dynamics. The experiments reported here are consistent with the recent state averaged complete active space self-consistent field ab initio multiple spawning (SA-CASSCF-AIMS) calculations of Snyder et al. [ J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2016, 7, 2444] that assign the biexponential decay to nonequilibrium dynamics related to the opening and closing motion of the cyclohexadiene ring moiety on the excited state surface. These new experiments support the model prediction that the biexponential dynamics does not involve multiple minima and demonstrate the direction for new experimental designs to manipulate the product yields and pathways.

Porphyrins and the related chlorins and corrins contain a cyclic tetrapyrrole with the ability to coordinate an active metal center and to perform a variety of functions exploiting the oxidation state, reactivity, and axial ligation of the metal center. These compounds are used in optically activated applications ranging from light harvesting and energy conversion to medical therapeutics and photodynamic therapy to molecular electronics, spintronics, optoelectronic thin films, and optomagnetics. Cobalt containing corrin rings extend the range of applications through photolytic cleavage of a unique axial carbon–cobalt bond, permitting spatiotemporal control of drug delivery.The photochemistry and photophysics of cyclic tetrapyrroles are controlled by electronic relaxation dynamics including internal conversion and intersystem crossing. Typically the electronic excitation cascades through ring centered ππ* states, ligand to metal charge transfer (LMCT) states, metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) states, and metal centered states. Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy provides a powerful tool for the investigation of the electronic state dynamics in metal containing tetrapyrroles. The UV–visible spectrum is sensitive to the oxidation state, electronic configuration, spin state, and axial ligation of the central metal atom. Ultrashort broadband white light probes spanning the range from 270 to 800 nm, combined with tunable excitation pulses, permit the detailed unravelling of the time scales involved in the electronic energy cascade. State-of-the-art theoretical calculations provide additional insight required for precise assignment of the states.In this Account, we focus on recent ultrafast transient absorption studies of ferric porphyrins and corrin containing cob(III)alamins elucidating the electronic states responsible for ultrafast energy cascades, excited state dynamics, and the resulting photoreactivity or photostability of these compounds. Iron tetraphenyl porphyrin chloride (Fe(III)TPPCl) exhibits picosecond decay to a metal centered d → d* 4T state. This state decays on a ca. 16 ps time scale in room temperature solution but persists for much longer in a cryogenic glass. The photoreactivity of the 4T state may lead to novel future applications for these compounds. In contrast, the nonplanar cob(III)alamins contain two axial ligands to the central cobalt atom. The upper axial ligand can be an alkyl group as in the two biologically active coenzymes or a nonalkyl ligand such as −CN in cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12) or −OH in hydroxocobalamin. The electronic structure, energy cascade, and bond cleavage of these compounds is sensitive to the details of the axial ligand. Nonalkylcobalamins exhibit ultrafast internal conversion to a low-lying state of metal to ligand or ligand to metal charge transfer character. The compounds are generally photostable with ground state recovery complete on a time scale of 2–7 ps in room temperature aqueous solution. Alkylcobalamins exhibit ultrafast internal conversion to an S1 state of d/π → π* character. Most compounds undergo bond cleavage from this state with near unit quantum yield within ∼100 ps. Recent theoretical calculations provide a potential energy surface accounting for these observations. Conformation dependent mixing of the corrin π and cobalt d orbitals plays a significant role in the observed photochemistry and photophysics.

Cyanocobalamin (CNCbl) is a paradigm system for the study of excited electronic states and biological cofactors including the B12 vitamers. The photophysics of CNCbl has been thoroughly investigated using both ultrafast spectroscopy and time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT). Here we review the spectroscopic and theoretical investigations of CNCbl with emphasis on the nature of S1, the lowest excited electronic state, and extend the spectroscopic measurements to include the ultraviolet region of the spectrum. Ultrafast transient absorption measurements in the visible αβ band region and in the mid-infrared led to assignment of the S1 state to a ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) with lengthened axial bonds and a ∼3 kcal/mol barrier for internal conversion to the ground state. The present measurements encompassing the γ band region of the spectrum provide further support for the assignment of the S1 state. The experiments are in good agreement with the results of TD-DFT calculations which confirm the expected lengthening of the axial bonds in S1 and account for the observed barrier for internal conversion back to the ground state.Broadband transient absorption spectroscopy of vitamin B12, cyanocobalamin is extended into the UV region of the spectrum. Spectroscopic and theoretical investigations are reviewed and compared to elucidate the nature of the lowest excited electronic states controlling the photochemistry and photophysics.

The light activated ring-opening reaction of the 1,3-cyclohexadiene chromophore finds application in optical control, optical switching, optical memory, light activated molecular machines, photobiology, photochromic materials, and conformation-specific photocatalysts. The development of ultrafast spectroscopic methods and powerful computational methods have accelerated the understanding and facilitated the application of this important chromophore in a wide range of systems. Here we look at the current state of theoretical and experimental understanding for the ring-opening reaction of the isolated cyclohexadiene molecule and the ring-opening reactions of substituted cyclohexadienes, including fulgides, diarylethenes, and provitamin D.

We report evidence for the formation of long-lived photoproducts following excitation of iron(III) tetraphenylporphyrin chloride (Fe(III)TPPCl) in a 1:1 glass of toluene and CH2Cl2 at 77 K. The formation of these photoproducts is dependent on solvent environment and temperature, appearing only in the presence of toluene. No long-lived product is observed in neat CH2Cl2 solvent. A 2-photon absorption model is proposed to account for the power-dependent photoproduct populations. The products are formed in a mixture of spin states of the central iron(III) metal atom. Metastable six-coordinate high-spin and low-spin complexes and a five-coordinate high-spin complex of iron(III) tetraphenylporphyrin are assigned using structure-sensitive vibrations in the resonance Raman spectrum. These species appear in conjunction with resonantly enhanced toluene solvent vibrations, indicating that the Fe(III) compound formed following photoexcitation recruits a toluene ligand from the surrounding environment. Low-temperature transient absorption (TA) measurements are used to explain the dependence of product formation on excitation frequency in this photochemical model. The six-coordinate photoproduct is initially formed in the high-spin Fe(III) state, but population relaxes into both high-spin and low-spin state at 77 K. This is the first demonstration of coupling between the optical and magnetic properties of an iron-centered porphyrin molecule.

Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy was used to investigate the photochemistry of adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl), methylcobalamin (MeCbl), and n-propylcobalamin (PrCbl) at pH 2 where the axial nitrogenous ligand is replaced by a water molecule. The evolution of the difference spectrum reveals the internal conversion process and spectral characteristics of the S1 excited state. The photolysis yield in the base-off cobalamins is controlled by competition between internal conversion and bond homolysis. This is in direct contrast to the process in most base-on alkylcobalamins where primary photolysis occurs with near unit quantum yield and the photolysis yield is controlled by competition between diffusive separation of the radical pair and geminate recombination. The absence of the axial nitrogenous ligand in the base-off cobalamins modifies the electronic structure and opens a channel for fast nonradiative decay. This channel competes effectively with the channel for bond dissociation, dropping the quantum yield for primary radical pair formation from unity in base-on PrCbl and AdoCbl to 0.2 ± 0.1 and 0.12 ± 0.06 in base-off PrCbl and AdoCbl, respectively. The photolysis of base-off MeCbl is similar to that of base-off AdoCbl and PrCbl with competition between rapid nonradiative decay leading to ground state recovery and formation of a radical pair following bond homolysis.

A learning algorithm was used to manipulate optical pulse shapes and optimize retinal isomerization in bacteriorhodopsin, for excitation levels up to 1.8 × 10¹⁶ photons per square centimeter. Below 1/3 the maximum excitation level, the yield was not sensitive to pulse shape. Above this level the learning algorithm found that a Fourier-transform-limited (TL) pulse maximized the 13-cis population. For this optimal pulse the yield increases linearly with intensity well beyond the saturation of the first excited state. To understand these results we performed systematic searches varying the chirp and energy of the pump pulses while monitoring the isomerization yield. The results are interpreted including the influence of 1-photon and multiphoton transitions. The population dynamics in each intermediate conformation and the final branching ratio between the all-trans and 13-cis isomers are modified by changes in the pulse energy and duration.

Time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy was used to investigate the primary geminate recombination and cage escape of alkyl radicals in solution over a temperature range from 0 to 80 °C. Radical pairs were produced by photoexcitation of methyl, ethyl, propyl, hexylnitrile, and adenosylcobalamin in water, ethylene glycol, mixtures of water and ethylene glycol, and sucrose solutions. In contrast to previous studies of cage escape and geminate recombination, these experiments demonstrate that cage escape for these radical pairs occurs on time scales ranging from a hundred picoseconds to over a nanosecond as a function of solvent fluidity and radical size. Ultrafast cage escape (<100 ps) is only observed for the methyl radical where the radical pair is produced through excitation to a directly dissociative electronic state. The data are interpreted using a unimolecular model with competition between geminate recombination and cage escape. The escape rate constant, ke, is not a simple function of the solvent fluidity (T/η) but depends on the nature of the solvent as well. The slope of ke as a function of T/η for the adenosyl radical in water is in near quantitative agreement with the slope calculated using a hydrodynamic model and the Stokes−Einstein equation for the diffusion coefficients. The solvent dependence is reproduced when diffusion constants are calculated taking into account the relative volume and mass of both solvent and solute using the expression proposed by Akgerman (Akgerman, A.; Gainer, J. L. Ind. Eng. Chem. Fundam. 1972, 11, 373−379). Rate constants for cage escape of the other radicals investigated are consistently smaller than the calculated values suggesting a systematic correction for radical size or coupled radical pair motion.

Although physical chemistry has often concentrated on the observation and understanding of chemical systems, the defining characteristic of chemistry remains the direction and control of chemical reactivity. Optical control of molecular dynamics, and thus of chemical reactivity provides a path to use photon energy as a smart reagent in a chemical system. In this paper, we discuss recent research in this field in the context of our studies of the multiphoton optical control of the photo-initiated ring-opening reaction of 1,3-cyclohexadiene (CHD) to form 1,3,5-cis-hexatriene (Z-HT). Closed-loop feedback and learning algorithms are able to identify pulses that increase the desired target state by as much as a factor of two. Mechanisms for control are discussed through the influence of the intensity dependence, the nonlinear power spectrum, and the projection of the pulses onto low orders of polynomial phase. Control measurements in neat solvents demonstrate that competing solvent fragmentation reactions must also be considered. In particular, multiphoton excitation of cyclohexane alone is capable of producing hexatriene. Statistical analyses of data sets obtained in learning algorithm searches in neat cyclohexane and for CHD in hexane and cyclohexane highlight the importance of linear and quadratic chirp, while demonstrating that the control features are not so easily defined. Higher order phase components are also important. On the basis of these results the involvement of low-frequency ground-state vibrational modes is proposed. When the population is transferred to the excited state, momentum along the torsional coordinate may keep the wave packet localized as it moves toward the conical intersections controlling the yield of Z-HT.

Excited state population can be manipulated by resonant chirped laser pulses through pump–dump processes. We investigate these processes in the laser dye LD690 as a function of wavelength by monitoring the saturated absorption of chirped ultrafast pulses. The resulting nonlinear absorption spectrum becomes increasingly complex as the pulse is tuned to shorter wavelengths. However, fluorescence measurements indicate that the excited state population depends weakly on chirp when the pump wavelength is far from the lowest order electronic transition. Using a learning algorithm and closed-loop control, we find nonlinear chirp parameters that optimize features in the transmission spectrum. The results are discussed in terms of competition between excited state absorption and stimulated resonant Raman scattering.