Formaldehyde (HCHO) plays a primary role in tropospheric chemistry. Its photochemical activity is an important source of radical species such as HCO, H, and subsequently HO2 as well as molecular hydrogen and carbon monoxide. As a source of hydrogen radicals (HOx = OH + HO2), HCHO plays a significant role in the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere, and an important part in the interrelated chemistries of ozone and the HOx and NOx (NO + NO2) cycles. Accurate atmospheric photolysis rates of HCHO are thus required in order to properly model tropospheric chemistry. Despite extensive studies HCHO’s spectroscopy and photochemistry remains to be well characterized. Absolute room temperature absorption cross sections for the A1A2 – X1A1 electronic transition of formaldehyde have been measured over the spectral range 30285 – 32890 cm-1 (304 – 330 nm) using ultraviolet (UV) laser absorption spectroscopy. Absorption cross sections were obtained at an instrumental resolution better than 0.09 cm-1 which is slightly broader than the Doppler width of a rotational line of HCHO at 300K (~0.07 cm-1) and so we were able to resolve all but the most closely spaced lines. Qualitative comparisons with spectral simulations show varying agreement depending on vibronic band. Refined state origins and transition dipole moments for each vibronic band have been reported. There is evidence of areas of perturbation and the need to optimize higher order spectral constants. Pressure broadening parameters have been measured and increase with the strength of intermolecular interaction between formaldehyde and the collision partner. Comparisons between the available high-resolution studies and spectral simulations indicate that the HCHO absorption cross section is still not well characterized. The relative quantum yield for the production of radical products, H+HCO, from the UV photolysis of formaldehyde (HCHO) has been measured directly using a Pulsed Laser Photolysis – Pulsed Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLP – PLIF) technique across the same spectral region. Relative yields were normalized to a value of 0.69 at 31750 cm-1 based on the current NASA-JPL recommendation. The resulting absolute radical quantum yields agree well with previous experimental studies and show more wavelength dependent behavior than the recommendation. This provides support for the complicated competition among the various HCHO dissociation pathways.

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The cyclic peroxides: diphenoyl peroxide (1), spiro-adamantyl-1,2-dioxetanone (2) and 4-(3-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxyphenyl)-4-methoxyspiro[1.2-dioxetane-3.2\'-adamantane] (3) synthesized, purified and characterized, also their kinetic and chemiluminescence (CL) properties were determined. The influence of solvent polarity on the chemiexcitation parameters of the catalyzed decomposition of 1 and 2, as well as the induced decomposition of 3 were examined in several binary solvent mixtures with different polarity and polarizability parameters, but similar viscosities. For solvents with low polarity, singlet quantum yields for the intermolecular catalyzed decomposition of diphenoyl peroxide (1,) and 1,2-dioxetanone (2) increase in function of medium polarity, showing maximum values in mediums of intermediate polarity, and decreasing in highly polar mixtures. For the induced decomposition of 3, the quantum yield showed to increase with increasing solvent polarity, including high polar solvent systems. In the binary solvent systems studied, the polarizability parameter showed to be contrary to the polarity values, therefore, it might appear that an increase of polarizability leads to a decrease in the singlet quantum yields for catalyzed decomposition of diphenoyl peroxide (1) and the induced decomposition of 3, however an increase in the singlet quantum yields for 1,2-dioxetanone 2. The three CL systems were also studied in binary solvent mixtures with different viscosities but similar polarity and polarizability parameters and singlet quantum yields showed an increase with increasing medium viscosity. Data were analyzed by using the collisional and the free volume models. The highly efficient intramolecular system induced 1,2-dioxetane 3 decomposition showed to be much more sensible to viscosity effects than the inefficient intermolecular systems. This surprising fact indicates that, even showing a significant solvent-cage effect, the induced 1,2-dioxetane should occur by an intramolecular electron back transfer. Moreover, chemiluminescence parameters of these systems were studied in several pure solvents. The obtained singlet quantum yields were correlated with viscosity, polarizability and polarity parameters by using multiple linear regression analysis. / Os peróxidos cíclicos: peróxido de difenoila (1), spiro-adamantil-1,2-dioxetanona (2) e 4-(3-terc-butildimetilsililoxifenil)-4-metoxispiro[1,2-dioxetano-3.2\'-adamantano] (3) foram sintetizados, purificados e caracterizados e as suas propriedades cinéticas e de quimiluminescência (CL) determinadas. A influência da polaridade do solvente sobre os parâmetros de quimi-excitação da decomposição catalisada de 1 e 2, e a decomposição induzida de 3 foi examinada em diversas misturas binárias de solventes com parâmetros de polaridade e polarizabilidade diferente, mas viscosidades semelhantes. Para solventes com baixa polaridade, os rendimentos quânticos singlete para a decomposição catalisada intermolecular do peróxido de difenoila (1) e 1,2-dioxetanona (2) aumentam em função da polaridade do meio, mostrando valores máximos em meios com polaridade intermediária, e diminuim para misturas altamente polares. Para a decomposição induzida de 3, o rendimento quântico mostrou aumentar com o aumento da polaridade do solvente, inclusive para sistemas com alta polaridade. Nos sistemas binários de solventes estudados, os parâmetros de polarizabilidade mostraram-se contrários aos valores de polaridade, portanto, parece que um aumento da polarizability leva a uma diminuição nos rendimentos quânticos singlete para a decomposição catalisada do peróxido de difenoila (1) e a decomposição induzida de 3, no entanto, um aumento nos rendimentos quânticos singlete para a 1,2-dioxetanona 2. Os três sistemas de CL também foram estudados em misturas binárias de solventes com diferentes viscosidades, mas com parâmetros de polaridade e polarizabilidade semelhantes e os rendimentos quânticos singlete mostraram aumentar com o aumento da viscosidade do meio. Os dados foram analisados usando tanto o modelos colisional quando o modelo de volume livre. Surpreendentemente, o sistema altamente eficiente decomposição induzida intramolecular do 1,2-dioxetano 3 mostrou-se muito mais sensível aos efeitos da viscosidade do que os sistemas intermoleculares ineficientes, o que indica claramente que a decomposição induzida do 1,2-dioxetano deve ocorrer por um processo de retro-transferência de elétron intramolecular. Além disso, os parâmetros de quimiluminescência destes sistemas foram estudados em vários solventes puros. Os rendimentos quânticos singlete obtidos foram correlacionados com parâmetros de viscosidade, polarizabilidade e polaridade usando análise de regressão linear múltipla.

The cyclic peroxides: diphenoyl peroxide (1), spiro-adamantyl-1,2-dioxetanone (2) and 4-(3-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxyphenyl)-4-methoxyspiro[1.2-dioxetane-3.2\'-adamantane] (3) synthesized, purified and characterized, also their kinetic and chemiluminescence (CL) properties were determined. The influence of solvent polarity on the chemiexcitation parameters of the catalyzed decomposition of 1 and 2, as well as the induced decomposition of 3 were examined in several binary solvent mixtures with different polarity and polarizability parameters, but similar viscosities. For solvents with low polarity, singlet quantum yields for the intermolecular catalyzed decomposition of diphenoyl peroxide (1,) and 1,2-dioxetanone (2) increase in function of medium polarity, showing maximum values in mediums of intermediate polarity, and decreasing in highly polar mixtures. For the induced decomposition of 3, the quantum yield showed to increase with increasing solvent polarity, including high polar solvent systems. In the binary solvent systems studied, the polarizability parameter showed to be contrary to the polarity values, therefore, it might appear that an increase of polarizability leads to a decrease in the singlet quantum yields for catalyzed decomposition of diphenoyl peroxide (1) and the induced decomposition of 3, however an increase in the singlet quantum yields for 1,2-dioxetanone 2. The three CL systems were also studied in binary solvent mixtures with different viscosities but similar polarity and polarizability parameters and singlet quantum yields showed an increase with increasing medium viscosity. Data were analyzed by using the collisional and the free volume models. The highly efficient intramolecular system induced 1,2-dioxetane 3 decomposition showed to be much more sensible to viscosity effects than the inefficient intermolecular systems. This surprising fact indicates that, even showing a significant solvent-cage effect, the induced 1,2-dioxetane should occur by an intramolecular electron back transfer. Moreover, chemiluminescence parameters of these systems were studied in several pure solvents. The obtained singlet quantum yields were correlated with viscosity, polarizability and polarity parameters by using multiple linear regression analysis. / Os peróxidos cíclicos: peróxido de difenoila (1), spiro-adamantil-1,2-dioxetanona (2) e 4-(3-terc-butildimetilsililoxifenil)-4-metoxispiro[1,2-dioxetano-3.2\'-adamantano] (3) foram sintetizados, purificados e caracterizados e as suas propriedades cinéticas e de quimiluminescência (CL) determinadas. A influência da polaridade do solvente sobre os parâmetros de quimi-excitação da decomposição catalisada de 1 e 2, e a decomposição induzida de 3 foi examinada em diversas misturas binárias de solventes com parâmetros de polaridade e polarizabilidade diferente, mas viscosidades semelhantes. Para solventes com baixa polaridade, os rendimentos quânticos singlete para a decomposição catalisada intermolecular do peróxido de difenoila (1) e 1,2-dioxetanona (2) aumentam em função da polaridade do meio, mostrando valores máximos em meios com polaridade intermediária, e diminuim para misturas altamente polares. Para a decomposição induzida de 3, o rendimento quântico mostrou aumentar com o aumento da polaridade do solvente, inclusive para sistemas com alta polaridade. Nos sistemas binários de solventes estudados, os parâmetros de polarizabilidade mostraram-se contrários aos valores de polaridade, portanto, parece que um aumento da polarizability leva a uma diminuição nos rendimentos quânticos singlete para a decomposição catalisada do peróxido de difenoila (1) e a decomposição induzida de 3, no entanto, um aumento nos rendimentos quânticos singlete para a 1,2-dioxetanona 2. Os três sistemas de CL também foram estudados em misturas binárias de solventes com diferentes viscosidades, mas com parâmetros de polaridade e polarizabilidade semelhantes e os rendimentos quânticos singlete mostraram aumentar com o aumento da viscosidade do meio. Os dados foram analisados usando tanto o modelos colisional quando o modelo de volume livre. Surpreendentemente, o sistema altamente eficiente decomposição induzida intramolecular do 1,2-dioxetano 3 mostrou-se muito mais sensível aos efeitos da viscosidade do que os sistemas intermoleculares ineficientes, o que indica claramente que a decomposição induzida do 1,2-dioxetano deve ocorrer por um processo de retro-transferência de elétron intramolecular. Além disso, os parâmetros de quimiluminescência destes sistemas foram estudados em vários solventes puros. Os rendimentos quânticos singlete obtidos foram correlacionados com parâmetros de viscosidade, polarizabilidade e polaridade usando análise de regressão linear múltipla.

This study aims at tackling some of the problems often encountered in photostability testing and liquid formulation development. Three anti-cancer drugs will be employed as models; Dacarbazine (DBZ) has well established photostability issues, Axitinib (AXI) and Sunitinib (SUT) are two new drugs only commercially available in solid dosage forms. In ethanol, the photokinetics of these drugs were well described by the newly proposed Φ-order kinetic mathematical model. This has confirmed the photoreversible character of AXI and SUT’s and unimolecular photoreaction of DBZ’s photodegradations. Also, the Φ-order kinetics is proven to describe them better than the usually used classic thermal reaction orders. In aqueous solution, the drugs were found to undergo thermal and photochemical complex degradations, involving at least 3 photoproducts. A new photokinetic approach has been proposed in this work to solving and unravelling the attributes of such complex mechanisms. For the first time, the quantum yields (QY) of the three drugs were determined and found to increase with irradiation wavelength. SUT’s QY were comparable in ethanol and water (QY460 = 0.02), DBZ was found to be more photoefficient in water (QY330 = 0.04 and 0.1, respectively) and AXI in water (QY330 = 0.06 and 0.03). Φ-order kinetics’ potential for the development of reliable actinometers of the three drugs, without prior knowledge of unknown reaction parameters, has also been established. A general equation to describe the isotherm of a (Gn:Hm) guest-host multicomponent complex was proposed in this work to palliate the lack of a strategy for characterising nanosponge-drug complexes. It provides information on both stiochiometry and association constant of the complex. The results indicate that hydrophobic AXI forms a 1:0.8 complex, indicating the possibility of multiple association sites and/or different types of binding. The newly developed AXI/nanosponge liquid formulation has significantly increased solubility (5000-fold) and thermal stability. Furthermore, the photostability of DBZ and SUT were considerably improved by using a strategy based on light-absorption competitors. Their initial velocities reduced from 10 and 3 s-1 (respectively) to 1 and 0.13 s-1. The successful application of these methods to the model anti-cancer drugs has set out new approaches that might be found useful for future treatments of photodegradation data, development of drug-actinometers and liquid formulations of drugs.

Since C^C* cyclometalated Pt(II) complexes with N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands have been identified as potential emitter materials in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs), very promising results regarding quantum yields, colour and stability have been presented. Herein, we report on four nitrile substituted complexes with a chelating NHC ligand (1-(4-cyanophenyl)-3-isopropyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole or 4-(tert-butyl)-1-(4-cyanophenyl)-3-methyl-1H-imidazole) and a bidentate monoanionic auxiliary ligand (acetylacetone or dimesitoylmethane). The complexes have been fully characterized including extensive 2D NMR studies (COSY, HSQC, HMBC, NOESY, 195Pt NMR), three of them also by solid-state structures. Photophysical measurements in amorphous PMMA films and pure emitter films at room temperature reveal the impact of the mesityl groups in the auxiliary ligand, which led to a significant increase of the quantum yield, while the decay lifetimes decreased. The electron withdrawing nitrile groups shift the emission towards blue colour coordinates.

A new experimental approach is reported that focuses on photoionization mass spectrometry of primary photofragments. Photodissociation of molecules and radicals is carried out by using a tunable, pulsed dye laser. Nascent photofragments are subsequently photoionized by time-correlated vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) radiation, so that only single-photon ionization occurs. Several experimental approaches are used in order to optimize pulsed radiation sources in the VUV that are suitable for pump-probe experiments. Laser systems that rely on frequency tripling in suitable non-linear media are used as an intense VUV radiation source of narrow bandwidth and limited tuning range. Monochromatized laser-produced plasma radiation is also used, which provides tunable VUV radiation throughout the entire VUV energy regime (8-25 eV). Ionized photofragments are finally detected by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. This experimental approach is used in order to investigate the following issues: * Absolute photoionization cross sections of atomic and molecular photofragments are derived from photoionization mass spectrometry. This is shown for the photolysis of chlorine dioxide (OClO), chlorine monoxide (ClO) and ozone (O3). The latter species generates O(1D), so that photoionization and autoionization of this excited species was studied for the first time. * Quantum states and quantum state distributions are derived from photoion yields of primary photofragments in order to characterize photodissociation processes. This is shown for the predissociation of OClO, which yields vibrationally excited ClO in its electronic ground state. * Branching ratios and quantum yields of competing photochemical pathways are determined from photoionization mass spectrometry. The accuracy of this approach is superior to other techniques. These investigations allowed us to investigate photolysis processes of molecules and radicals that are of significant importance with respect to recent issues of atmospherical photoprocesses, such as polar ozone depletion.

The kinetics of drugs photodegradation have traditionally been treated using thermal kinetic analysis methods consisting most commonly in zero and first order kinetics. These treatment strategies were shown to lack specificity and present a number of limitations when applied to photoreactions kinetics. Nevertheless, these methods have widely been used due to a lack of integrated rate-laws for the majority of photoreactions types, in turn, due to the presence of a variable time-dependent factor in most photoreactions rate-laws that prevents their mathematical integration. To address these limitations, a new methodology for the development and validation of semi-empirical integrated rate-laws that faithfully describe photoreactions kinetics and photoreactions simulated cases generated by numerical integration methods (NIMs), is hereby presented. Using this methodology, a new kinetic order was ascribed to photoreactions namely the Φ-order kinetics. Semi-empirical integrated rate-laws were, thus, developed for three photoreaction types namely, unimolecular, AB(1Φ), photoreversible ,AB(2Φ), and consecutive, AB4(4Φ), photoreactions. The proposed models were further tested experimentally on drugs following these photodegradation mechanisms using; nifedipine and nisoldipine for unimolecular photoreactions; montelukast and fluvoxamine for photoreversible reactions; and riboflavin for consecutive photoreactions. The developed models not only accurately described the photoreaction kinetics of these drugs but also allowed the determination of all the kinetic parameters that characterise them. Furthermore, the above studied drugs were shown to act as precise and simple actinometers when analytically treated with the Φ-order kinetic methods, hereby presented. A universal standard method for the precise and worldwide reproducible study of drugs stability and compounds photoreactions, based on monochromatic irradiation and Φ-kinetics data analysis, is also detailed and adopted throughout the thesis. Finally, two new kinetic parameters namely, the pseudo-rate-constant and pseudo-initial velocity have been identified and shown to be more reliable and accurate in the description and universal comparison of photoreactions kinetics.

Aufkonversions-Nanokristalle (UCNC) zeichnen sich als einzigartige Lumineszenzreporter aus, die Nah-infrarotes Anregungslicht in Photonen höherer Energie umwandeln. Für die gezielte Anpassung von Eigenschaften, bedarf es ein tiefes Verständnis der Prozesse der Aufwärtskonversionslumineszenz (UCL) und deren Abhängigkeit von Material und Partikeldesign. Diese Doktorarbeit untersucht die UCL-Prozesse von Yb3+,Er3+ dotierten SrF2-UCNC und zielt darauf ab, die UCL-Eigenschaften der bisher unterschätzten kubischen Wirtsgitter zu verstehen und zu steigern. Hierbei wird die fluorolytische Sol-Gel-Synthese als neuartige Syntheseroute für UCNC vorgestellt. Vorteile wie ausgezeichnete Reproduzierbarkeit, viele Freiheitsgrade bei der Temperaturbehandlung und Partikelgestaltung werden anhand von SrF2 UCNC demonstriert. Die UCNC wurden mittels UCL-Spektren, UCL-Quantenausbeuten, leistungsdichte-abhängiger relativer spektraler Verteilung sowie der Lumineszenzabklingkinetiken unter Einbeziehung kristalliner Eigenschaften wie der Kristallphase, der Kristallitgröße, der Gitterparameter und der Teilchengröße untersucht. Die Abhängigkeit der UCL-Eigenschaften von der Dotierungsmenge wurde mit einer umfassenden Dotierungsreihe beschrieben und der optimale Dotierungsbereich (Yb3+,Er3+) von kleinen, ungeschalten SrF2-UCNC eingegrenzt. Bei der Studie dotierter Kerne mit passivierenden Schalen wurde der Einfluss von Temperaturbehandlung auf die UCL-Mechanismen und die Kern-Schale-Vermischung untersucht. Anhand von unterschiedlich kalzinierten UCNC Pulvern wurde die Empfindlichkeit der UCL gegenüber der Änderung kristalliner Eigenschaften, wie Kristallphase, Kristallinität, und Kristallitgröße betrachtet. Zusammen liefern die Dotierungs-, die Kern-Schale- und die Kalzinierungsstudie wertvolle Einblicke in das gitterspezifische Verhalten der UCL-Eigenschaften als Funktion der Energiemigration und der Kristalleigenschaften. / Upconversion nanocrystals (UCNC) represent a unique type of luminescence reporters that convert near-infrared excitation light into higher energy photons. Tailoring UCNC with specific luminescence properties requires an in-depth understanding of upconversion luminescence (UCL) processes and their dependence on material and particle design. This Ph.D. thesis focuses on the UCL processes of Yb3+,Er3+ doped SrF2-UCNC and aims to understand and enhance the UCL properties of the previously underestimated cubic host lattices. Herein, fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis is introduced as a novel synthetic route for UCNC. Advantages such as excellent reproducibility, high flexibility in temperature treatment and particle design are demonstrated using SrF2 UCNC. The UCNC were characterized by UCL spectra, UCL quantum yields, excitation power density-dependent relative spectral distribution, and luminescence decay kinetics involving crystalline properties such as crystal phase, crystallite size, lattice parameters, and particle size. The dependence of UCL properties on doping amount was described in a comprehensive doping study, and the optimal doping range (Yb3+,Er3+) of small, unshelled SrF2-UCNC was identified. In a core-shell study of doped core UCNC with passivating shells, the influence of temperature treatment on UCL mechanisms and core-shell mixing was investigated. Further, using different calcined UCNC powders, the sensitivity of UCL to the change of crystalline properties, such as crystal phase, crystallinity, and crystallite size, was assessed. Together, the doping, core-shell, and calcination studies provide valuable insight into the lattice-specific behavior of UCL properties as a function of energy migration and crystal properties.