Multiple ESIPT pathways originating from three-state conical intersections in tropolone

Abstract

Internal conversion decay dynamics associated with the potential energy surfaces of three low-lying singlet excited electronic states, S1 (ππ*, A′), S2 (ππ*, A′), and S3 (nπ*, A″), of tropolone are investigated theoretically. Energetic and spatial aspects of conical intersections of these electronic states are explored with the aid of the linear vibronic coupling approach. Symmetry selection rules suggest that non-totally symmetric modes would act as coupling modes between S1 and S3 as well as between S2 and S3. We found that the S1-S2 interstate coupling via totally symmetric modes is very weak. A diabatic vibronic Hamiltonian consisting of 32 vibrational degrees of freedom is constructed to simulate the photoinduced dynamics of S0 → S1 and S0 → S2 transitions. We observe a direct nonadiabatic population transfer from S1 to S3, bypassing S2, during the initial wavepacket propagation on S1. On the other hand, the initial wavepacket evolving on S2 would pass through the S2-S3 and S1-S3 conical intersections before reaching S1. The presence of multiple proton transfer channels on the S1-S2-S3 coupled potential energy surfaces of tropolone is analyzed. Our findings necessitate the treatment of proton tunneling dynamics of tropolone beyond the adiabatic symmetric double well potentials.