UV-VIS Absorption spectroscopy

(Electronic spectroscopy)

The earliest method of molecular spectroscopy!

Quantitative analysis: concentration determination.

Qualitative analysis: identification of molecule properties

(electronic transitions of molecules ↔ UV-Vis absorption)
 Quantitative Analysis

UV-Vis spectroscopy is used more for routine analytical determinations .

Beer-Lambert law: A = ε·b·c

Parameters:
A- absorbance, (A = log(I0/I1))
I - light intensity
ε - molar absorption coefficient (L·mol-1·cm-1),
b - sample pathlength (usually 1 cm),
I1  Io e bc
c - concentration (mol/L).

Io
ln( )  bc
I1
 Conceptual Basis of Beer’s Law:

- Light of a particular wavelength enters the ‘sample’.

- Light scatters from particles in solution reducing light transmission
- Light is absorbed by molecules/particles and remitted at different wavelengths,
reducing light transmission

dI
 cdl
I
I dI l
Io I 0cdb
 

I
ln  cb
Io
Io
A  ln
I
A   cb
 The amount of absorbed radiation may be measured in different ways:

transmittance
absorbance

A = lg(1/T) = ε·b·c
T = I/I0 = 10-ε·b·c
A: [0,∞)
%T: [0%,100%]

If all the light passes through a

If all the light is absorbed, then percent solution without any absorption,
transmittance is zero, and absorption is then absorbance is zero, and
infinite percent transmittance is 100%.
Molar absorptivity is a constant for a particular substance (at a wavelength!).

 = f(subst, ) !!!!
 Absorption spectrum (A = f()) represents the dependence of absorbance from
wavelength

From the absorption spectrum can be determined:

- the position of the absorption maxima (λmax)
- the intensity of the absorption maxima (A)
 For concentration determinations the calibration curve (already existing or
determined in the laboratory) can be used.

According to the Beer-Lambert Law,

absorbance is proportional to concentration.

To build a calibration curve:

- record the absorption spectra for different knowns concentrations of a substance
- determine the absorbance (maximum of absorption band) for each spectra
- plotted the absorbance versus concentration A = f (c) to produce a calibration
‘curve’
- obtain equation of straight line (y = mx) from line of ‘best fit’

To determine an unknown concentration:

- record the absorption spectra for unknown concentration of same substance
use for calibration curve.
- use obtained equation to calculate the concentration.
The Beer-Lambert law is additive:
Absorbance of a mixture, at a certain wavelength, is the sum of each component
absorbance at the considered wavelength: Atot = A1+ A2 + A3 + …
To determining the concentration of a mixture of two or more substances, UV-Vis
absorption spectra of each component is needed (for a known concentration).
Usually, the number of wavelength used to determine the absorbances is equal
with the number of the constituents from mixture. One option is to choose those
wavelengths at which each component has the maximum of absorption.

In order to determine the concentrations of each component of the mixture (cMx,

cNy) the values of molar absorptivities of the two substances M, N must be
calculated (using Beer-Lambert law) from the UV-Vis absorption spectrum of each
component recorded for known concentrations (cM, cN) .

A
 M  M
A ( M1  N )  A M1 x  A Ny1 A ( M1  N )   M1 bc Mx   N1 bc Ny b  cM
A ( M2  N )  A Mx2  A Ny2 A ( M2  N )   M2 bc Mx   N2 bc Ny  A N
 
b  cN
N

By solving the system, the concentrations (cMx, cNy) of the two components of the
mixture can be determined.
Absorption curve is influenced by:

- Temperature (at higher temperatures monomers are predominant)

- Concentration (at higher concentrations dimers/polymers are predominant)

- pH (influence the balance between ionized and non-ionized forms)

Izobestic point is the intersection of all absorption curves of a solution at different

pH's
 Limits to Beer’s Law: High Concentration and Chemical Deviations

- high concentration:
- particles too close
- average distance between ions and molecules are diminished
- affect the charge distribution and extent of absorption.
- cause deviations from linear relationship.

The Beer-Lambert Law breaks down for solutions of higher concentration!

A<1 for accurate results!

If A > 1:
- Dilute the sample 1
- Use a narrower cuvette
dimension of usually cuvettes:
1 mm,
1 cm,
10 cm.

- chemical interactions: dissociation or reaction with the solvent

 Limits to Beer’s Law: Instrumental Deviations

- non-monochromatic radiation: deviation of calibration curve from linearity

- if a significant amount of the light passed through the sample contains

wavelengths that have much lower extinction coefficients than the nominal one,
the instrument will report an incorrectly low absorbance.
 Limits to Beer’s Law: Experimental Deviations

- reflections, scattering, etc. modify the reported absorption.

 UV-VIS Absorption: Instrumentation

Light Source
Deuterium Lamps－a truly
continuous spectrum in the
ultraviolet region is produced by
electrical excitation of deuterium at
low pressure. (160nm~375nm)
Deuterium Lamp

Tungsten Filament Lamps－the

most common source of visible and
near infrared radiation.
 Monochromator
• The diffraction grating splits light into its component colours.

• The exit slit allows only light of a very narrow range of wavelengths into the
rest of the spectrometer.

• By gradually rotating the diffraction grating, the light from the whole spectrum
(a tiny part of the range at a time) reach into the rest of the instrument.
 Detector

The Photovoltaic Detector measures the

intensity of photons by means of the voltage
developed across the semiconductor layer.
Electrons, ejected by photons from the
semiconductor, are collected by the silver
layer. The potential depends on the number
of photons hitting the detector.

The Phototube Detector is a vacuum

tube with a cesium-coated photocathode.
Photons of sufficiently high energy hitting
the cathode can dislodge electrons, which
are collected at the anode. Photon flux is
measured by the current flow in the system.
 The Photomultiplier Detector consists of a photoemissive cathode coupled with
a series of electron-multiplying dynode stages.

The primary electrons ejected from the photo-cathode are accelerated by an

electric field so as to strike a small area on the first dynode.

The impinging electrons strike with enough energy to eject two to five secondary
electrons, which are accelerated to the second dynode to eject still more electrons.

A photomultiplier may have

9 to 16 stages, and overall
gain of 106~109 electrons
per incident photon.
 Single and Double Beam Spectrometer

• Single-Beam: There is only one light beam or optical path from the source
through to the detector.

• Double-Beam: The light from the source, after passing through the
monochromator, is split into two separate beams: one for the sample
and the other for the reference.
 Photodiode array (CCD)
allow simultaneous
detection of all wavelength.

No monochromator is needed!
 Sample cell

The sample and reference cells are small rectangular

containers made by:
- glass (using over Visible region)
- quartz or fused silica (Using over 190 nm)

The cell are often designed so that the light beam travels a distance of 1 cm
through the contents (1 mm for low volume).

The sample cell contains a solution of the substance - usually very dilute.

The solvent is chosen so that it doesn't absorb any significant amount of light in
the wavelength range we are interested in (200 - 800 nm).

The reference cell just contains the pure solvent.

 UV-Vis: Qualitative analysis

Absorption of electromagnetic radiation in the UV-Vis range:

- change the distribution of electrons in the molecule
- electrons are promoted from the ground state an unoccupied orbital
(excited electronic states)
- electronic transition!!!

250 nm = 40000 cm-1 = 1.2 x 1015 Hz

UV
400 nm = 25000 cm-1 = 7.5 x 1014 Hz
Vis
750 nm = 13333 cm-1 = 4 x 1014 Hz

Internuclear distances and force constants corresponding to the excited electronic

states differ from those corresponding to ground electronic states!
 All molecules give electronic spectra!
(contrary to vibrational and rotational spectroscopies)

UV-Vis absorptions features:

a. Transitions between electronic energy

levels are induced by electromagnetic
radiation in the UV-Visible region.

b. Within each electronic state are a series

of vibrational and rotational levels.

c. The relative populations of the various states are governed by Boltzmann

distributions:
n2   (E 2  E1 ) 
 exp  ; k  1.38 x 1023 J/K;
n1  kT 

d. At room temperature nearly all molecules are in the vibrational ground state.
(e.g., at 298 K: for E = 10 kJ/mol → N2/N1 = 0.0176 )
 e. Electronic transitions can occur to various vibrational-rotational states in the
excited electronic state.

The spectrum for a given electronic transition should consist of a large number
of closely spaced lines.)

In practice, this is observed only in dilute gases or at very low temperatures.

In solution and at room temperature, the fine structure is lost due to collisions,
environmental heterogeneity, Doppler shifts, etc.

f. The electronic energy can be modeled as a harmonic

oscillator near the equilibrium bond distance.

g. On the timescale of the electronic transition the

nuclei are fixed because the electronic transitions
are very fast.
Franck-Condon Principle: electronic transitions are vertical!
UV-Vis spectroscopy is related with transitions between electronic energy
levels of molecular orbitals  electronic transitions

The frequency of absorbed light (wave number, wavelength) depends on the

structure of the molecule and on its neighborhood.

Different molecules absorb different wavelengths of radiation!

Because certain molecules absorb light in a characteristic way, this is usefull

to identify and quantify biological molecules.

Indigo carmine: synthetic dye (blue )

used in textile industry.
Vibrational changes produce a “coarse structure” on the electronic transitions
Rotational changes produce a “fine structure” on the electronic transitions.

S0→S2 S0→S1
 Shape of UV-VIS Bands

The vibrational fine structure disappear for solutions but can be observed for gases.

I Gas phase, room temperature

II In isopentane-methylcyclohexane matrix, 77K

III In cyclohexane, room temperature ex. 1,2,4,5-tetrazine

IV In water, room temperature
 Electronic transition
A diatomic molecule may simultaneously undergo electronic, vibrational and
rotational transitions.

The Born-Oppenheimer approximation (“Since the energies of the various

motions are very different, motions of a diatomic molecule may be considered as
independent”) allows us to express the total molecular energy as:

Etot = Eelec + Evib + Erot

As a result of a transition, the change in the total energy of a molecule is:

ΔEtotal = ΔEelec + ΔEvib + ΔErot

(the approximate orders of magnitude: ΔEelec ~ ΔEvib ∙ 103 ~ ΔErot ∙ 106 )

For vibrational transitions between different electronic levels, there is no

rule for Δv, so that every v" → v' transition has some probability, giving rise to
many spectral lines.

Absorption spectra from the ground state are more likely: virtually all the
molecules are in their lowest vibrational state (v” = 0), so that the only transitions
we observe are (0, 1), (0, 2), (0, 3) etc.
 Each set of transitions in a band is called a v’ progression, since the value
of v’ increases by unity for each line in the set.

The lines in a band are closer together at high frequencies because of the
anharmonicity of the upper state vibrations, which causes vibration energy levels
to converge.

In general, the spacing of vibrational energy

levels in the two electronic states is different.

v’’ → vibrational quantum number of ground

electronic state (initial state)
v’ → vibrational quantum number of excited
electronic state (final state)
Example:
The vibrational-electronic spectrum of I2 in the region from 500-650 nm displays a large
number of well-defined bands which, for the most part, correspond to 0  v' transitions connecting the
v" = 0 vibrational level of the ground electronic state to many different vibrational levels v' of the excited
electronic state. Under the conditions of this experiment (i.e., low resolution), the rotational lines within
each band are not resolved.
Each small peak, such as the (26,0) band labelled on the spectrum, corresponds to a transition
between two vibrational levels and is called a band. Each band is comprised of several hundred lines,
each of which involves different upper and lower rotational quantum numbers; as mentioned, these lines
are not resolved in the present experiment. The region of maximum absorption in each band is caused by
many of these lines falling together; it is called the band head. The set of all of these bands is referred to
as the visible band system of I2

If the sample is hot, then excited vibrational

levels of the ground state may be populated, and
these also will absorb light.
The hot bands arising from absorption from
v"=1 and v"=2 are shown very approximately on
the absorption spectrum above.

At a point called the convergence limit, the

spacing between bands decreases to zero.
Beyond this convergence limit, the spectrum is
continuous because the excited state of the
I2 molecule is not bound.
 Birge Sponer plot

The energy of a real molecule (anharmonic vibration) is:

1 1
E total  E elec  hc[(v  )  e  x e ( v  ) 2  e ]
2 2
The change in the total energy is: ΔEtotal = ΔEelec + ΔEvib
1 1 1 1
E total  E' elec E"elec hc[(v' )  ' e x ' e ( v' ) 2  ' e ( v" ) "e x"e ( v" ) 2 "e ]
2 2 2 2

If a sufficient number (at least five) of lines can be resolved in the band, the
values: x'e, x"e,  'e , "e and (E’elec – E”elec) can be calculated.

X - electronic ground state (S0),

b - electronic excited state (S1),

(") - lower state;

(') - higher state
For a given electronic transition: E'elec- E"elec = ΔEelect = constant.

1 1 1 1
ΔEtotal  ΔEelec  hc[(v'  )ν'e  x' e(v'  )2 ν'e (v"  )ν"e  x" e(v"  )2 ν"e ]
2 2 2 2

Considering only the terms (G(v') = ΔEtotal/hc) from a progression (ex. v"= 0)

1 1 1 1 1
G( v' )  E elec  [(v' )  'e x ' e ( v' ) 2  ' e ( ) "e x"e ( ) 2 "e ]
hc 2 2 2 2

and makes the difference between two consecutive

terms, will obtain an expression which is a first
degree equation in (v'+1/2):

1 1
G  G( v'1)  G( v' )   'e 2x 'e  'e ( v' )  f ( v' )
2 2
If we represent ΔG = f(v’ +1/2) will obtain the Birge-Sponer plot.
The slope of this line is equal to: 2x' e  'e
1 1
G  f ( v' )   'e 2 x'e  'e ( v' )
2 2

The y intercept represent  ' e (the vibrational frequency of harmonic oscillator).

The x intercept represent the number of vibrational levels from the electronic excited
state: v'max
If the terms from a series are used, the values corresponding to (") state will be
obtained.
The area below Birge-Sponer line represent the dissociation energy D0.

De energy is the maximum value of G (v):  e2

D e  G max v  
4  e  x e
 1 1
G  f ( v' )   'e 2 x'e  'e ( v' )
2 2

Example:
The vibrational energy levels of HgH
converge rapidly and successive intervals are:
(from 01): 1203.7, 965.6, 632.4, 172 cm-1.
Estimate the dissociation energy
 Vibrational band analysis: the Deslandres table

In order to draw Birge-Sponer line the Deslandres table could be used.

The Deslandres table contain vibrational wavenumbers of electronic transitions
and the differences between them.

The differences between rows and

columns is constant, and correspond to
the energy difference between a
particular pair of vibrational levels in
either the upper state (rows) or the lower
state (columns):
 Intensity of vibrational-electronic transitions (vibronic):
The vibrational lines in a progression are not of the same intensity. Intensities of the
vibrational bands are determined by three factors:

(1) The intrinsic strength of the transition

(2) The populations of the levels involved.
(3) The overlap of the vibrational wavefunctions (the Franck-Condon factor).
 The Franck-Condon principle: “Since electronic transitions occur very rapidly (≈
10-15 s), vibration and rotation of the molecule do not change the internuclear
distance appreciably during the transition”.
The intensity of a transition is greatest for the largest of the vibrational
wavefunctions.
Franck-Condon principle → explains the intensity of vibronic transitions
An electronic transition occur without changing the position of nuclei in the
molecule.

In view of the Franck-Condon

principle, electronic transitions
occur “vertically” on a potential
energy diagram.

When the nucleus realigns

itself with the new electronic
configuration, the theory states
that it must undergo a vibration.
(1) If the internuclear distances in the upper and lower states are equal (re” ≈ re’),
the most probable transition is (0, 0) (left). However, there is a non-zero probability of
(1, 0), (2, 0), (3, 0) etc. transitions. The successive lines will therefore have rapidly
diminishing intensities.

(2) If the excited electronic state has a slightly

larger nuclear separation than the ground
state (r'e > r"e), the most probable (and thus
most intense) transition is (2, 0) (center).
The intensities of the neighbouring transitions
are lower.

(3) When the excited electronic state has a

considerably larger nuclear separation than
the ground state (r'e >> r"e) (right), the
vibrational state to which the transition takes
place has a high v’ value.
Further, transitions can occur to levels where
the molecule has energy in excess of its
dissociation energy.

From such states the molecule will dissociate without any vibrations and, since the
fragments which are formed may take up any value of kinetic energy, the transitions
are not quantized and a continuum results.
Types of electronic transitions:

A. Transitions involving electrons π, σ and n

B. Transitions involving charge transfer The electronic structure of CH2O
C. Transitions involving electrons d and f

A. Organics: Involving π, σ, n electrons

Saturated compounds
σ→σ* (<150 nm), n →σ* (<250 nm): deep UV
Double bonds/unsaturated systems
less energy to π∗
π→π*, n →π* transitions: (200-700 nm)

B. Metal-ligand complexes: charge transfer

transition
Electron moves between ligand and metal.
One must act as donor and other as acceptor.

C. Inorganics: d-d transition

Additionally, transitions between d orbitals
split by presence of ligand field.
Usually in visible.
 Wavelengths below 200 nm are absorbed by air therefore, can not be
registered with a ordinary UV-Vis spectrometer.

"Vacuum UV" all parts must be maintained in a vacuum.

The vacuum UV absorption are caused by σ → σ * transitions.

These transitions correspond to simple bonds and are common to all molecules.

π -> π* transitions depend on

the conjugation, so it can reach
the visible region of radiation,
causing the color of substances.
Molecular orbital theory (MO):

An atomic orbital is the space within

which an electron belonging to the orbital
spends 95% of its time.

In molecular orbital theory orbitals

embrace two or more nuclei.

Electrons in a molecule are not tied to

a particular atom, they are "scattered"
throughout the entire molecule.
 The lowest energy transition (and most often obs. by UV) is typically that of
an electron in the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) to the Lowest
Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO)

For any bond (pair of electrons) in a molecule, the molecular orbitals are a
mixture of the two contributing atomic orbitals; for every bonding orbital “created”
from this mixing (σ, π), there is a corresponding anti-bonding orbital of
symmetrically higher energy (σ*, π*)

σ-orbilals: typically are the lowest energy occupied orbitals; the

corresponding anti-bonding (σ*) orbital is of the highest energy

π-orbitals are of somewhat higher energy, and their complementary anti-

bonding orbital (π*) somewhat lower in energy than σ*.

n-orbitals: non-bonding electrons lie at the energy of the original atomic

orbital, most often this energy is higher than π or σ (since no bond is formed, there
is no benefit in energy)
s*
p* Unoccupied levels
Atomic orbital n Atomic orbital
p Occupied levels
s
Energy Molecular orbitals
Molecular orbital wavefunction is a linear combination of atomic orbital wavefunctions.

For bonding orbitals the interference between the two atomic orbitals are constructive.
For unbonding orbitals the interference between the two atomic orbitals are distructive.

Ex: Hydrogen molecule:

The sum: ψ+H2 =ψ1s +ψ1s

This bonding orbital (called 1sσ, as it is produced from two s atomic orbitals)
is a simple symmetrical ellipsoid. It does not change sign upon inversion about the
centre of symmetry, which is marked by the subscript g (gerade = even). The orbital is
thus known as 1sσg.

The difference: ψ-H2 =ψ1s −ψ1s

In this antibonding orbital (called

1sσ∗) the charge is concentrated outside
the nuclei, which repel one another. This
orbital does change sign upon inversion,
which is marked by the subscript u
(ungerade = odd). It is thus known as 1sσu*.
formation of σg and σu* orbitals from two
atomic 2pz orbitals

formation of πg and πu* orbitals

from two atomic 2py orbitals
 Transitions involving electrons π, σ and n
σ → σ* transitions
The energy of this transitions is big. The corresponding maxima does not
appear in specific UV-Vis spectra (200 - 700 nm). (UV absorption!)

Ex: CH4 (only C-H bond) allows only σ → σ* transition.

The maximul of absorption is at 125 nm.

n → σ* transitions
Saturated compounds containing atoms with unpaired electrons (nonbonding
electrons) allows n → σ * transitions . The energy necessary for those transitions is
less than the energy needed for σ → σ * transitions. Transitions may be initiated by
radiation in the wavelength 150-250 nm.
The number of organic functional groups which have the maximum of absorption
in UV region is small.
n → π* and π → π* transitions

Most absorption bands of organic compounds are due to electronic transitions from
fundamental levels n or π on the excited levels π *. Absorption bands for these
transitions fall in the 200 nm - 700 nm region. These transitions require the presence, in
the molecule, of an unsaturated group which has π electrons.

n → π* transitions have low molar absorptivity (ε ~ 10 - 100 L/mol·cm).

π → π* transitions have high molar absorptivity (ε ~ 1.000 - 10.000 L/mol·cm).

The solvent could influence the positions of absorption bands.

With increasing polarity n → π * transitions are shifted to lower wavelengths (blue

shift). This shift is due to unpaired electrons (orbital energy decreases n)

With increasing polarity π → π * transitions are often (not always) shifted to higher
wavelengths (red shift). This is caused by attractive polarization forces between the
solvent and absorbent, which determine the decreas of ground and excited states
energy. This decrease is greater for excited state than for fundamental state, so the
difference in energy between the two levels decreases, resulting in a shift of the
absorption band to higher wave numbers (red shift).

This effect also influences n → π * transitions but is covered by the blue shift
due to unpaired electrons.
Charge-transfer transitions

These electronic transitions usually appear in light absorption of inorganic

molecules.

For a molecule to allow a charge-transfer transition must have a component

(atom, group) able to donate an electron and another component must be able to
accept an electron.
The absorption of radiation involves an electron transfer from an orbital of a
donor to an orbital associated with an acceptor.

Charge-transfer transitions have high molar absorptivity (ε > 10.000 l/mol·cm).

Charge transfer transitions are common in metal-ligand complexes.

→ Typical metal-ligand transition: an electron from an orbital of the metal is transferred

to a π * orbital of the ligand.

→ If the metal has an empty d orbital, it is possible a transfer from ligand to metal.
 d-d transitions

d-d transitions correspond to the transition of an electron from a metal d orbital to

another metal d orbital.

Problem: → d orbitals have the symmetry g (even)

→ d-d transition is forbidden "symmetry forbidden".

Vibronic coupling: some vibration can remove the center of symmetry of the molecule.
d-d transitions are "weakly allowed”.

The intensity of d-d transitions is very low, because d-d transitions are forbidden.
Molar absorptivity is under 100 L/mol·cm.

type of transition Molar absorptivity ε

(L/mol·cm)
π-π* thousands
σ- σ* hundred - thousands
d-d 10-100
charge transfer >10.000
The wavelength of light absorbed is that having the energy required to
move an electron from a lower energy level to a higher energy level.
Transitions involving π and n orbitals (n = non-bonding) are important because
they can be used to identify conjugate systems, which have strong absorption.

The lowest energy transition is that between the HOMO (Highest occupied
molecular orbital) and LUMO (Lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) orbitals.

The absorption of electromagnetic radiation extract an electron from the HOMO

and transfer it on the LUMO, creating an excited state.
 The color arises when a molecule absorbs certain wavelengths of visible light and
transmits or reflects others.

Absorption spectrum consists of absorption bands corresponding to structural

groups of molecules (chromophores)

Chromophores: atom groups acting as a light absorber!

The chromophore is a region in the

molecule where the energy difference
between two different molecular orbitals falls
within the range of the visible spectrum.

Visible light that hits the chromophore can

be absorbed by exciting an electron from
its ground state into an excited state.
In the absorption spectrum of molecules that contain more chromophores,
the following changes can occur due to interaction of the chromophores:

Hypsochromic shift (λmax↓) Bathochromic shift (λmax↑)

Hypochromice effect (abs. ↓) Hyperchromic effect (abs.↑)
The color of a substance:
- the transmitted color not the absorbed color
- the color that remains after subtracting from the incident light the
absorbed light.
The color we see in ink, dyes, flowers, etc. is due to conjugation of organic molecules!

If the system is conjugated, the gap between HOMO and LUMO became lower, so the
frequency of radiation absorbed is smaller (the wavelength of radiation absorbed is
greater).

Conjugated molecules are those in which there is an alternation of single and double
bonds along a chain of carbon atoms.

Vacuum UV or Far UV (λ < 190 nm )

UV/VIS
 When two isolated
double bonds are
brought into
conjugation, both
levels are shifted to
give bonding and anti-
bonding orbitals.

The effect of conjugation is that the LUMO π* orbital is shifted downwards, and
the n→π* absorption shifts to lower energy (longer wavelengths).

Repeated conjugation increases this effect.

Absorption by a C=C double bond excites a π electron into an antibonding

π* orbital. The chromophore activity is due to an π → π* transition, corresponding to
absorption at 180 nm.

When the double bond is part of a conjugated chain, the energies of the
molecular orbitals lie closer together, and the π → π* transition moves to longer
wavelengths (lower energy). It may even lie in the visible region if the conjugated
system is long enough.
 An important example is the photochemical mechanism of vision.
The retina of the eye contains “visual purple”, a combination of a protein
with 11-cis-retinal, which acts as a chromophore and is a receptor of photons
entering the eye.
11-cis-retinal itself absorbs at 380 nm, but in combination with the protein
the absorption maximum shifts to ca. 500 nm and tails into the blue.
The conjugated double bonds are responsible for the ability of the
molecule to absorb over the entire visible region. They play another important role:
in its electronically excited state the conjugated chain can isomerize by twisting
about an excited C=C bond, forming 11-trans-retinal.

The primary step in

vision is photon
absorption followed by
isomerization, which
triggers a nerve impulse
to the brain.
Chromophores have well know absorption maxima:

Chromophore Example Excitation λmax, nm ε Solvent

C=C Ethene π __ > π* 171 15,000 hexane

C≡C 1-Hexyne π __ > π* 180 10,000 hexane
n __ > π* 290 15 hexane
C=O Ethanal
π __ > π* 180 10,000 hexane
n __ > π* 275 17 ethanol
N=O Nitromethane
π __ > π* 200 5,000 ethanol

C-X
Methyl bromide n __ > σ* 205 200 hexane
X=Br
Methyl Iodide n __ > σ* 255 360 hexane
X=I
The color of conjugated systems

The conjugation of double or triple bonds lead to increased absorptivity and determine
the shift of λmax to higher wavelengths (bathochromic shift):

The word "conjugation" is derived from a Latin word that means "to link together". In organic
chemistry, it is used to describe the situation that occurs when π systems are "linked together".

An "isolated" π system exists only between a single pair of adjacent atoms (e.g. C=C)
An "extended" π system exists over a longer series of atoms (e.g. C=C-C=C or C=C-C=O etc.).
An extended π system results in a extension of the chemical reactitvity.

A conjugated system requires that there is a continuous array of "π" orbitals that can
align to produce a bonding overlap along the whole system.
If a position in the chain does not provide a "π" orbital or if geometry prevents the
correct alignment, then the conjugation is broken at that point.
The result of conjugation is that there are extra π bonding interactions between the
adjacent π systems that results in an overall stabilisation of the system.
Conjugation = most efficient means of bringing about a bathochromic and
hyperchromic shift of an unsaturated chromophore:

max (nm) 
H2C
175 15,000
CH2

217 21,000

258 35,000

465 125,000

-carotene

O
n  p* 280 12
p  p* 189 900

O n  p* 280 27
p  p* 213 7,100
 UV-Vis Selection rules:
1. Spin rule: Changes in spin multiplicity are forbidden
Therefore, transitions between states with different multiplicity are forbidden
allowed transitions: singlet  singlet or triplet  triplet
forbidden transitions: singlet  triplet or triplet  singlet

Always there is a weak interaction between different

wave functions due to the multiplicity spin-orbit
coupling. Therefore the wave function corresponding to
the singlet state containing a small fraction of the triplet
wave function and vice versa.
This leads to the occurrence of singlet-triplet transitions
(intersystem crossing) with very low absorption
coefficient, but still noticeable.
2. Laporte rule: In an electronic transition there must be a change in the
parity (symmetry)

Therefore, a transition may be forbidden for symmetry reasons.

Electric dipole transition can occur only between states of opposite parity.

allowed transitions: g  u or u  g
forbidden transitions: g  g or u  u

g (gerade = even), u (ungerade = odd)

A symmetry forbidden transition may be observed due to vibronic

coupling (result in a far from perfect symmetry).

Molar absorptivity is very small and the corresponding absorption

bands have well-defined vibronic bands

Example: n → π * transitions of most solvents that can not form

hydrogen bonds. (ε ~ 100–1000 L/mol∙cm)