Ultrafast spectroscopy of the primary charge transfer and ISC processes in 9-anthraldehyde

Abstract The ultrafast charge transfer (CT) and the following intersystem crossing (ISC) processes of 9-anthraldehyde were investigated in ethanol and hexane using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy combined with quantum chemical calculations. The CT was observed within 0.11 ps in ethanol and 0.23 ps in hexane. Due to the stronger polarity in ethanol, the CT is faster than in hexane. The following ISC is determined to be 22.3 ps and 21.4 ps in two solvents, respectively. However, the timescales of ISC are similar in both solvents since the excited energies of the S 1 and triplet states are close.