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Topics in Current Chemistry

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Electronic Spectroscopy and Photoreactivity of Transition Metal Complexes 135<br />

2.6<br />

Non-Adiabatic Processes<br />

In an electronically non-adiabatic process the description of the nuclear motion<br />

<strong>in</strong>volves more than one PES. Electronic spectroscopy and photochemical<br />

reactions <strong>in</strong>volve transitions between two or more PES <strong>in</strong> critical regions<br />

(avoided cross<strong>in</strong>gs, conical <strong>in</strong>tersections, cross<strong>in</strong>gs) where the nature of the<br />

electronic wave function may change rapidly as a function of the nuclear<br />

displacement. This is illustrated <strong>in</strong> Scheme 4 which represents two different<br />

Scheme 4<br />

situations, namely an <strong>in</strong>ternal conversion (IC) between electronic states of<br />

same multiplicity and an <strong>in</strong>tersystem cross<strong>in</strong>g (ISC) process between electronic<br />

states of different multiplicity.<br />

The efficiency of the transition is governed by the non-zero <strong>in</strong>teraction<br />

matrix elements between electronic states, the BO approximation be<strong>in</strong>g no<br />

longer valid. In order to determ<strong>in</strong>e the electronic structure aspects of an<br />

electronically non-adiabatic process it is necessary to determ<strong>in</strong>e: i) the critical<br />

regions of the PES; ii) the coupl<strong>in</strong>g between the states <strong>in</strong> these regions.<br />

The first po<strong>in</strong>t has been discussed <strong>in</strong> the previous section whereas the second<br />

po<strong>in</strong>t will be developed <strong>in</strong> the next section.

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