The excited-state dynamics of the aminoazobenzene derivative, Metanil Yellow (MY), were studied by ultrafast Transient Absorption (TA) spectroscopy and state-of-the-art XUV tTme-Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy (TRPES). Experiments were carried out with two different excitation wavelengths, λ=370 nm and λ=490 nm, to investigate the non-hydrated and hydrated forms of the molecule and reveal differences in their dynamics. The dynamics were also studied in two solvents, water and ethanol, to investigate the effect of hydrogen bonding with the solvent. In TRPES experiments the dynamics were studied in water solution, using a λ=400 nm pump, thus exciting both forms. The timescales from the TRPES experiments are in good agreement with the results from the TAS measurements. Based on quantum chemical calculations the dynamics are tentatively assigned to the S2→S1 conversion followed by relaxation to a long-lived state, the nature of which (possibly a twisted intramolecular charge transfer – TICT – state) remains to be confirmed.
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