The excited-state orientation hydrogen-bonding dynamics, and vibronic spectra of isoquinoline (IQ) and its cationic form IQc in water have been investigated at the time-dependent density functional theory quantum chemistry level plus Franck-Condon simulation and interpretation. The excited-state orientation hydrogen bond strengthening has been found in IQ:HO complex due to the charge redistribution upon excitation; this is interpreted by simulated 1:1 mixed absorption spectra of free IQ and IQ:HO complex having best agreement with experimental results. Conversely, the orientation hydrogen bond in IQc:HO complex would be strongly weakening in the S state and this is interpreted by simulated absorption spectra of free IQc having best agreement with experimental results. By performing Franck-Condon simulation, it reveals that several important vibrational normal modes with frequencies about 1250 cm involving the wagging motion of the hydrogen atoms are very sensitive to the formation of the orientation hydrogen bond for the IQ/IQc:HO complex and this is confirmed by damped Franck-Condon simulation with free IQ/IQc in water. However, the emission spectra of the IQ and IQc in water have been found differently. Upon the excitation, the simulated fluorescence of IQ in water is dominated by the IQ:HO complex; thus hydrogen bond between IQ and HO is much easier to form in the S state. While the weakened hydrogen bond in IQc:HO complex is probably cleaved upon the laser pulse because the simulated emission spectrum of the free IQc is in better agreement with the experimental results.

) related to ring wagging plus CC stretching and CH bend motions on the backbone are actually interpreted for solvent enhanced absorption (fluorescence) spectra of rubrene in benzene and cyclohexane solutions.

Damped harmonic oscillators are utilized to calculate Franck-Condon factors within displaced harmonic oscillator approximation. This is practically done by scaling unperturbed Hessian matrix that represents local modes of force constants for molecule in gaseous phase, and then by diagonalizing perturbed Hessian matrix it results in direct modification of Huang-Rhys factors which represent normal modes of solute molecule perturbed by solvent environment. Scaling parameters are empirically introduced for simulating absorption and fluorescence spectra of an isolated solute molecule in solution. The present method is especially useful for simulating vibronic spectra of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules in which hydrogen atom vibrations in solution can be scaled equally, namely the same scaling factor being applied to all hydrogen atoms in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The present method is demonstrated in simulating solvent enhanced X (1)Ag ↔ A(1)B1u absorption and fluorescence spectra of perylene (medium-sized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) in benzene solution. It is found that one of six active normal modes v10 is actually responsible to the solvent enhancement of spectra observed in experiment. Simulations from all functionals (TD) B3LYP, (TD) B3LYP35, (TD) B3LYP50, and (TD) B3LYP100 draw the same conclusion. Hence, the present method is able to adequately reproduce experimental absorption and fluorescence spectra in both gas and solution phases.

Extremely solvent-enhanced absorption and fluorescence spectra of carbazole were investigated by performing a generalized multi-set damped Franck–Condon spectral simulation. Experimental absorption and fluorescence spectra of carbazole in the gas phase were first well reproduced by performing an un-damped Franck–Condon simulation, but a one-set scaling damped Franck–Condon simulation severely underestimated the intensities of the peaks of experimental absorption and fluorescence spectra of carbazole in n-hexane. Then, a multi-set scaling damped Franck–Condon simulation was proposed and carried out for simulating the extremely solvent-enhanced absorbance and fluorescence, and here, the simulated spectra agreed well with the experimental ones. Five (four) representative solvent-enhanced normal modes corresponding to the combination of ring stretching and ring breathing vibrational motions were determined to be responsible for enhanced absorbance (fluorescence) in n-hexane solution. Furthermore, different scalings were applied to the ground and first-excited states, resulting in different enhancement of absorbance and fluorescence, and this analysis revealed atoms in the carbazole interacting with n-hexane solvent molecules and, hence, leading to different normal-mode vibrational vector patterns in the ground and first-excited states, respectively. Basically, the same conclusion was drawn from a simulation with HF-CIS and the three functionals (TD)B3LYP, (TD)B3LYP-35, and (TD)BHandHLYP. The present multi-set scaling damped Franck–Condon simulation scheme was demonstrated to successfully interpret extremely solvent-enhanced absorbance and fluorescence of carbazole in n-hexane-solvent.

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