Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.106, No.24, 5768-5778, 2002
Medium dependence of intramolecular vibrational modes coupled to MLCT transitions in metal polypyridyl complexes
The temperature and solvent dependent emission spectra of fac-[(bpy)Re(CO)(3)(4-Etpy)]PF6 were recorded in 4:1 (v:v) EtOH-MeOH and CH2Cl2-MeOH mixtures (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; 4-Etpy = 4-ethylpyridine). The temperature-dependent emission of [Ru(bpy)(3)](PF6)(2) and the emission spectra of [(bpy)(2)Ru(bpyc-NHMe)]-(PF6)(2) (bpyc-NHMe = 4-methyl-4'-(N-methyl carboxamido)-2,2'-bipyridine) in 10 solvents were also analyzed for comparison purposes. The data reveal a significant dependence of the effective vibrational quantum spacing (homega(M)) with the energy difference between the ground and excited states (E-0) as the medium properties are systematically varied. Initial attempts to explain this dependence in terms of a medium induced modulation of the metal-to-ligand charge transfer energy were not fully successful. That model is based on the relationship between the energy gap, the extent of charge transfer, and excited state distortions. A more satisfactory explanation of the experimental data was achieved by a model that includes hydrogen bonding interactions between the CO groups of the Re complex and a protic solvent. The inclusion of extended hydrogen-bonding interactions between the solute and the solvent are required to fully explain homega(M) and solvent reorganizational energy dependencies on medium properties and temperature.