Influence of an intermolecular charge-transfer state on excited-state relaxation dynamics: solvent effect on the methylnaphthalene-oxygen system and its significance for singlet oxygen production.

The extent to which an intermolecular charge-transfer (CT) state can influence excited-state relaxation dynamics is examined for the system wherein 1-methylnaphthalene (MN) interacts with molecular oxygen. The MN-O2 system is ideally suited for such a study because excited states can be independently accessed by (i) irradiation into the discrete MN-O2 CT absorption band, (ii) direct irradiation of MN, and (iii) the photosensitized production of triplet state MN. Changing the solvent in which the MN-O2 system is dissolved influences the MN-dependent photoinduced production of singlet oxygen, O2(a1Delta(g)), which, in turn, yields information about fundamental concepts of state mixing. Results of experiments conducted in the polar solvent acetonitrile differ substantially from those obtained from the nonpolar solvent cyclohexane. The data reflect differences in the energy and behavior of the solvent-equilibrated MN-O2 CT state, CT(SE), and the extent to which this state couples to other states of the MN-O2 system. In particular, the data are consistent with a model where both the MN triplet state and the MN-O2 CT(SE) state are immediate precursors of O2(a1Delta(g)). Although the work reported herein is of direct and practical significance for the wide variety of systems in which O2(a1Delta(g)) can be produced upon irradiation, it also serves as an accessible model for a study of general issues pertinent to state mixing and the solvent-dependent dynamics of CT-mediated excited-state relaxation.