Spectral hole-burning and magnetic circular dichroism of matrix-isolated copper phthalocyanine

Persistent spectral hole-burning in the Q-band region is reported for a concentrated (≈ 2 × 10−2 mol l−1) matrix of copper phthalocyanine in solid Ar at 1.6 K. Hole-burning occurs with a quantum efficiency of ≈ 10−6 and can be reversed by annealing at ≈ 28 K. Vibrational side holes allow determination of excited-state frequencies. A hole-burning mechanism involving triplet-state charge separation followed by rapid electron back-transfer is proposed. Temperature dependence of the MCD and the difference between MCD spectra taken before and after irradiation indicate that the excited state is split by crystal-field and spin-orbit interactions.