Model of ultrafast intersystem crossing in photoexcited transition-metal organic compounds.
The mechanism behind fast intersystem crossing in transition-metal complexes is shown to be a result of the dephasing of the photoexcited state to the phonon continuum of a different state with a significantly different transition metal-ligand distance. The coupling is a result of the spin-orbit interaction causing a change in the local moment. A recurrence to the initial state is prevented by the damping of the phonon oscillation. The decay time is faster than the oscillation frequency of the transition metal-ligand stretch mode, in agreement with experiment. For energies above the region where the strongest coupling occurs, a slower "leakage-type" decay is observed. If the photoexcited state is lower in energy than the state it couples to, then there is no decay.
van Veenendaal
Michel
M
Department of Physics, Northern Illinois University, De Kalb, Illinois 60115, USA.
Chang
Jun
J
Fedro
A J
AJ