Unraveling the mechanism of NO ligand photoisomerism by time-resolved infrared spectroscopy

UV–Vis- and infrared femtosecond spectroscopy makes it possible to reveal all different steps of photochemical reactions after the electronic excitation. The electronic relaxations are observed in the UV–Vis spectral range whereas the nuclear motions are monitored in the infrared spectral range. We used femtosecond time-resolved infrared spectroscopy to demonstrate the photoisomerization of the NO ligand photoinduced by a visible femtosecond pulse in a Na2[Fe(CN)5NO]·2H2O single crystal occurs in about 350 fs. The analysis of data makes it possible to unravel the mechanism leading to the photoisomerization of the NO ligand.