Researchers at IOCB Prague are the first to describe the causes of the behavior of one of the fundamental aromatic molecules, which fascinates the scientific world not only with its blue color but also with other unusual properties—azulene. Their current undertaking will influence the foundations of organic chemistry in the years to come and in practice will help harness the maximum potential of captured light energy. Their article appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).
Artistic rendering of the unusual behavior of azulene. Credit: Tomáš Belloň / IOCB Prague
This rule explains how molecules emit light upon transitioning to various excited states. If we use the analogy of an ascending staircase, then the first step is high, and each subsequent step is lower and therefore closer to the previous one. The smaller the distance between the steps, the faster the molecule tends to fall from the step to lower levels. It then waits the longest on the first step before returning to the base level, whereupon it can emit light. But azulene behaves differently.
On the second step, however, it behaves like a satisfied aromatic substance. And that is important. It can exist in this excited state for even a full nanosecond, and that is long enough to emit light. Therefore, the energy of this excited state is not lost anywhere and is completely converted into a high-energy photon.
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