title: Angular momentum conservation in dipolar energy transfer.
abstract: Conservation of angular momentum is a familiar tenet in science but has seldom been invoked to understand (or predict) chemical processes. We have developed a general formalism based on Wigner's original ideas concerning angular momentum conservation to interpret the photo-induced reactivity of two molecular donor-acceptor assemblies with physical properties synthetically tailored to facilitate intramolecular energy transfer. Steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic data establishing excited-state energy transfer from a rhenium(I)-based charge-transfer state to a chromium(III) acceptor can be fully accounted for by Förster theory, whereas the corresponding cobalt(III) adduct does not undergo an analogous reaction despite having a larger cross-section for dipolar coupling. Because this pronounced difference in reactivity is easily explained within the context of the angular momentum conservation model, this relatively simple construct may provide a means for systematizing a broad range of chemical reactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Troy E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: James K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: McCusker