The Lowest Excited Singlet States of 1-Azaadamantane and 1-Azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane: Fluorescence Excitation Spectroscopy and Density Functional Calculations

The lowest excited singlet states of the structurally rigid amines 1-azaadamantane and 1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane have been investigated by using fluorescence excitation spectroscopy on samples seeded in supersonic expansions. Based upon the notion that in both species the lowest excited singlet state is a Rydberg state with the ground state of the radical cation as its ionic core, excitation spectra have been analyzed by employing density functional calculations of the equilibrium geometries and force fields of the ground state of the neutral species and its radical cation. A good agreement is obtained between experimentally observed and theoretically predicted frequencies and intensities of vibronic transitions. Subsequent refinements of the geometry of the lowest excited singlet state are shown to account adequately for the minor differences between experiment and the computational results obtained by using the radical cation as a model for the lowest excited singlet state. From our analysis it also bec...