Abstract

Intramolecular proton transfer represents an elementary chemical reaction occuring in many aromatic molecules after excitation to a higher singlet state. Previous picosecond measurements, where the proton motion was not temporally resolved, suggest subpicosecond time constants of this type of structural change. In this paper, we study proton transfer with a temporal resolution of 70 fs. The proton transfer rates are determined and the mechanisms of the reaction are discussed.

© 1990 Optical Society of America