Influence of symmetry breaking on the absorption spectrum of crystal violet: from isolated cations at 5 K to room temperature solutions

We report the resolution of a long-standing puzzle in molecular spectroscopy: the origin of the shoulder in the room temperature solution absorption spectrum of crystal violet (CV) - an archetypal cationic triphenylmethane dye. This was achieved by comparing experimental and theoretical results for...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Schäfer, Alexander, Giannini, Samuele, Strelnikov, Dmitry, Mohr, Theresa, Santoro, Fabrizio, Cerezo Bastida, Javier, Kappes, Manfred M.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:biblosearchi::3e033274af661a901ff0f16aa0eb7165
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10486/757540
https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D4CP03825H
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Absorption spectra
Jahn-Teller effect
light absorption
Toluene
Vat dyes
Química
Descripción
Sumario:We report the resolution of a long-standing puzzle in molecular spectroscopy: the origin of the shoulder in the room temperature solution absorption spectrum of crystal violet (CV) - an archetypal cationic triphenylmethane dye. This was achieved by comparing experimental and theoretical results for CV in solution at room temperature and as an isolated cation in gas-phase at 5 K. The two lowest energy electronically excited states involved in the visible region absorption are degenerate and coupled via a Jahn–Teller (JT) mechanism involving phenyl torsions, making CV particularly sensitive to environmental perturbations. The shoulder is absent in the low-temperature isolated cation spectrum, and vibronic simulations based on time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) indicate negligible JT effects under these conditions. Combining vibronic simulations with molecular dynamics, demonstrates that in water and toluene solution at room temperature the shoulder arises mainly from an intermolecular, Jahn–Teller-like symmetry-breaking effect induced by the fluctuating electrostatic potential of the disordered solvent environment, rather than from molecular distortions