Hamburg 2009 – scientific programme

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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik

MO 20: Photochemie 1

MO 20.1: Prize Talk

Thursday, March 5, 2009, 10:30–11:15, VMP 6 HS-G

Photophysics of hydrogen bond: from theory to applications — •Andrzej L. Sobolewski — Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland --- Träger des Smoluchowski - Warburg Physik Preises

Hydrogen bonds are ubiquitous in organic matter. They govern, for example, molecular recognition in DNA and determine to a large extent the secondary structure of proteins. While the structure and functionality of hydrogen bonds in the electronic ground state have been investigated since decades and are thus quite well understood, much less is known on the properties of hydrogen bonds in excited electronic states and on their role in photochemical processes.

We have shown recently that radiationless deactivation channel associated with conical intersection between the electronically excited state and the ground state for proton-transfer reaction along intra- or inter-molecular hydrogen bonds may provide a very effective mechanism for explanation of functionality of commercial organic photostabilizers, and the photostability of biological molecules such as DNA and proteins, respectively.

In this presentation some potential applications of the above mentioned phenomena will be outlined. Thus the mechanistic aspects of the excited-state intra-molecular proton-transfer (ESIPT) process may be utilized in construction of optically driven photostable molecular switches, while the electron-driven proton-transfer (EDPT) phenomenon along the inter-molecular hydrogen bond(s) may provide a template for designing of artificial molecular systems which split water using solar radiation.