Abstract

The photophysical and photochemical dynamics of small linear polyenes is a subject of current interest since these molecules play important roles in the biological systems. However, the excited state dynamics of small polyenes have not been well understood because these molecules exhibit no fluorescence and give only broad absorption spectra even in the low temperature matrices and supersonic expansions. It has been considered that after the photoexcitation, the lifetimes of the initial excited states of small linear polyenes are extremely short and the immediate transfer to the other dark electronic state occurs. Thus, direct ultrafast time-resolved studies are needed in order to understand the fate of the photoexcited state of small linear polyenes in the condensed phase. In this study, we carried out the ultrafast transient absorption measurement of trans-1,3,5-hexatriene in cyclohexane and acetonitrile, respectively.

© 1996 Optical Society of America