Time-resolved X-ray scattering of an electronically excited state in solution. Structure of the 3A(2u) state of tetrakis-mu-pyrophosphitodiplatinate(II).

The structure of the (3)A(2u) excited state of tetrakis-mu-pyrophosphitodiplatinate(II) in aqueous solution is investigated by time-resolved X-ray scattering on a time scale from 100 ps to 1 micros after optical pumping. The primary structural parameter, the Pt-Pt distance, is found to be 2.74 A, which is 0.24 A shorter than the ground-state value. The contraction is in excellent agreement with earlier estimates based on spectroscopic data in solution and diffraction data in the crystalline state. As a second structural parameter, the distance between the P planes in the (3)A(2u) excited state was determined to be 2.93 A, i.e., the same as that in the ground state. This result implies that a slight lengthening of the Pt-P bond occurs following excitation.