title: Solvent tuning of a conical intersection: direct experimental verification of a theoretical prediction.
abstract: We report an ultrafast study of a merocyanine molecule, whose fluorescence lifetime was tuned by changing the solvent's polarity. A recent theoretical prediction that the fluorescence lifetime is considerably shortened upon lowering the polarity of the solvent, due to tuning of the conical intersection properties, is fully confirmed (Xu et al. J. Phys. Chem. A 2009, 113, 9779-9791). This constitutes a direct measurement of a previously predicted tunable property of a conical intersection.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemistry and the Farkas Center for Light-Induced Processes, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
authors.forename: Anat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kahan
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wand
authors.forename: Sanford
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ruhman
authors.forename: Shmuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zilberg
authors.forename: Yehuda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Haas
mesh_terms: D000097:Acetonitriles / Q000737:chemistry*; D001578:Benzopyrans / Q000032:analysis*; D007211:Indoles / Q000032:analysis*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011789:Quantum Theory; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D014050:Toluene / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000097:Acetonitriles; D001578:Benzopyrans; D007211:Indoles; D012997:Solvents; C548873:merocyanine; D014050:Toluene; C032159:acetonitrile