Electrostatically Tuning the Photodissociation of the Irgacure 2959 Photoinitiator in the Gas Phase by Cation Binding

Abstract

The low-lying electronic states of Irgacure 2959, a Norrish-type I photoinitiator, complexed with a single metal cation are investigated in the gas phase by photodissociation action spectroscopy. Analysis of the band shifts using quantum chemical calculations (TD-DFT and SCS-CC2) reveals the underlying influence of the charge on the key electronic energy levels. Since the cations (H+, Li+, Na+, K+, Zn2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+) bind at varying distances, the magnitude of the electric field at the center of the chromophore due to the cation is altered, and this shifts the electronic states by different amounts. Photodissociation action spectra of cation-Irg complexes show that absorption transitions to the first 1ÏÏ state are red-shifted with a magnitude proportional to the electric field strength (with red shifts >1 eV), and in most cases, the cation is essentially acting as a point charge. Calculations show that a neighboring 3nÏ state, a key state for the α-cleavage pathway, is destabilized (blue-shifted) by the orientated electric field. As such, if the 1ÏÏ-3nÏ energy gap is reduced, increased intersystem crossing rates are expected, resulting in higher yields of the desired radical photoproducts, and this is controlled by the orientated electric field arising from the cation. Show more