Research Projects

The proposal aims to spectroscopically determine the photostability of electronically excited biomolecular analogs. The experiments will be conducted using N-rich organic molecules to investigate the role of nitrogen in the deactivation of the excited states. Recent investigations from the PI’s group have shown a novel deactivation mechanism, in which a proton transfer from solvent can trigger the deactivation process if it is hydrogen-bonded to an N-containing organic molecule. However, the studies require systematic investigation on both the N-position and isotopic substitution to probe the reaction mechanism. Recently, the PI’s group has developed a highly selective isotopic substitution method, which will be an The molecular complexes will be produced in the gas phase using the supersonic jet expansion technique and characterized using various laser spectroscopic techniques. The energy barrier will be determined and confirmed using a novel spectroscopic scheme developed at the PI’s laboratory. The focus will be on the following scientific investigations: (a) To determine the energy barriers associated to the excited state processes in N-rich organic chromophores, (b) To probe reaction mechanisms using the measured energy barriers and the kinetic isotope effect on the spectral bands and (c) To understand the deactivation pathways in photo-induced N-rich biomolecules We are expecting to have fully developed spectroscopic methods to accurately determine the energetics of excited-state processes. The above quantitative values can be used as benchmark data sets. The data can be used a. To recognize the mechanism of deactivation pathways of excited-state N-containing biomolecules based on the thermodynamic stability of the transition states experimentally. b. The N-rich aromatic molecules in nature are relatively more protected than their counterparts. The current investigation can provide the reason for the same.