Rotational reorientation dynamics of Rhodamine 700 in different excited states

The rotational reorientation dynamics of rhodamine 700 (LD700) in the first (S1) and the fifth (S5) excited state in three aprotic polar solvents have been investigated using femtosecond time-resolved stimulated emission pumping fluorescence depletion (FS TR SEP TD) spectroscopy. In both excited states, the overall rotational relaxation of LD700 occurs on a time scale of 40–230 ps depending on the solvent, and a quantitative analysis of this time constant has been performed using the Stokes–Einstein–Debye (SED) hydrodynamic theory combined with the extended charge distribution model developed by Alavi and Waldeck. The experimentally measured reorientation times for LD700 in S5 are smaller than those in S1, which is in accord with the predictions by the SED theory. In addition, for LD700 in S5, a rapid initial decrease on the time scale less than 0.5 ps has been found. According to our analysis, this fast component may account for the rapid internal conversion from S5 to S1, and the rate of internal conversion was found to be sensitive to the solvent polarity.