Relaxation dynamics of a polar solvent cage around a nonpolar electronically excited solvent probe. A subpicosecond laser study

The aim of the present paper is to show that the LDS 751 unsymmetrical cyanine laser dye, highly polar in the ground state and non polar in the fluorescent excited singlet state, is a suitable solvent probe. Excitation of LDS 751 in a polar solvent with an ultrashort laser pulse suddenly annihilates the permanent dipole moment of the solute and suppresses the forces which orientate the nearby solvent molecules. The subpicosecond analysis of the Time-Dependent Fluorescence Stokes Shift (TDFSS) of LDS 751 thus enables to probe the relaxation of polar solvent molecules which can be considered as free of solute-solvent interactions. (author)