Electronic Relaxation Pathways in Heavy-Atom-Free Photosensitizers Absorbing Near-Infrared Radiation and Exhibiting High Yields of Singlet Oxygen Generation

Heavy-atom-free photosensitizers (HAF-PSs) based on thionation of carbonyl groups of readily accessible organic compounds are rapidly emerging as a versatile class of molecules. However, their photochemical properties and electronic relaxation mechanisms are currently unknown. Investigating the excited-state dynamics is essential to understand their benefits and limitations and to develop photosensitizers with improved photochemical properties. Herein, the photochemical and electronic-structure properties of two of the most promising HAF-PSs developed to date are revealed. It is shown that excitation of thio-4-(dimethylamino)­naphthalamide and thionated Nile Red with near-infrared radiation leads to the efficient population of the triplet manifold through multiple relaxation pathways in hundreds of femtoseconds. The strong singlet–triplet couplings in this family of photosensitizers should enable a broad range of applications, including in photodynamic therapy, photocatalysis, photovoltaics, organic LEDs, and photon up-conversion.