Time-Resolved EPR Study of Singlet Oxygen in the Gas Phase

X-band EPR spectra of singlet O2((1)Δg) and triplet O2((3)Σg(-)) were observed in the gas phase under low molecular-oxygen pressures PO2 = 0.175-0.625 Torr, T = 293-323 K. O2((1)Δg) was produced by quenching of photogenerated triplet sensitizers naphthalene C8H10, perdeuterated naphthalene, and perfluoronaphthalene in the gas phase. The EPR spectrum of O2((1)Δg) was also observed under microwave discharge. Integrated intensities and line widths of individual components of the EPR spectrum of O2((3)Σg(-)) were used as internal standards for estimating the concentration of O2 species and PO2 in the EPR cavity. Time-resolved (TR) EPR experiments of C8H10 were the main focus of this Article. Pulsed irradiation of C8H10 in the presence of O2((3)Σg(-)) allowed us to determine the kinetics of formation and decay for each of the four components of the O2((1)Δg) EPR signal, which lasted for only a few seconds. We found that the kinetics of EPR-component decay fit nicely to a biexponential kinetics law. The TR EPR 2D spectrum of the third component of the O2((1)Δg) EPR spectrum was examined in experiments using C8H10. This spectrum vividly presents the time evolution of an EPR component. The largest EPR signal and the longest lifetime of O2((1)Δg), τ = 0.4 s, were observed at medium pressure PO2 = 0.4 Torr, T = 293 K. The mechanism of O2((1)Δg) decay in the presence of photosensitizers is discussed. EPR spectra of O2((1)Δg) evidence that the spin-rotational states of O2((1)Δg) are populated according to Boltzmann distribution in the studied time range of 10-100 ms. We believe that this is the first report dealing with the dependence of O2((1)Δg) EPR line width on PO2 and T.