Excited state dynamics of isolated 6- and 8-hydroxyquinoline molecules.

The photoinduced dynamics of isolated n-hydroxyquinoline (nHQ) molecules (n=6,8) was investigated in femtosecond pump-probe experiments. A qualitative difference was found between 8HQ and 6HQ. After an initial rapid decay corresponding to the departure of the initial wavepacket out of the Franck-Condon region of the excitation, the 8HQ probe signal decays to zero in 0.37 ps whereas a much longer time constant of 10.4 ps is observed in 6HQ. This interrogates on the role played by the intramolecular H-bond N···HO which is at play the 8HQ molecule. Ab-initio calculations were performed at the MCSCF/aug-cc-pVDZ level on the 8HQ molecule to help the discussion. A complex energy landscape was found, which includes a conical intersection.