Phosphorescence spectra of bacteriochlorophylls

The authors report phosphorescence spectra of the lowest triplet state of a number of bacteriochlorophylls (BChls) which provide the first accurate values for the triplet state energies of these chromophores. There have been many previous attempts to estimate the triplet state energies of bacteriochlorins motivated by the possible importance of triplet states in photosynthesis, the utility of these chromophores as sensitizers and quenchers of singlet oxygen, model studies of electron transfer, and intrinsic theoretical interest in the excited state energies of extended conjugated macrocycles.