Abstract

The importance of cis-trans photoisomerization in the diphenylpolyenes as a model system for isomerization is well established and has been reviewed.^1,2 The structure and ordering of the excited electronic states in these systems remain important areas of study. The diphenylpolyenes also provide an important test case for the study of the fundamental interaction between solvent and solute in a chemical reaction in solution. Of particular interest is the dimensionality of the isomerization pathway.^3-6 We are using transient Raman spectroscopy to probe the influence of friction on the structure of reacting species in solution.

© 1990 Optical Society of America