Electron paramagnetic resonance lineshape analysis of the photoexcited triplet state of C60 in frozen solution. Exchange narrowing and dynamic Jahn–Teller effect

The EPR lineshape of the photoinduced triplet state of C60 in frozen toluene solution was studied by pulsed EPR spectroscopy. Lineshape calculations of the triplet spectra were performed including dynamical exchange effects. The observed spectra in a glassy matrix are compatible with zero field splitting parameters ‖D1‖ = 0.0114 cm−1 (12.2 mT) and ‖E1‖ = 0.0005 cm−1 (0.5 mT). The temperature dependence of the powder lineshape was simulated using a dynamical exchange model, where the triplet principal axis jumps between all equivalent sites allowed by the D5d symmetry for the lowest excited triplet state. The determined exchange rate turned out to be only weakly temperature dependent and suggests that the dynamic process is due to tunneling between Jahn–Teller distorted states rather than to real molecular jumps. In addition we have observed a different triplet state with zero field splitting parameters ‖D2‖ = 0.0100 cm−1 (10.6 mT), ‖E2‖ = 0.0015 cm−1 (1.6 mT) after annealing of the matrix. We attribute this to a C60 dimer or, alternatively, to crystal field effects.