Ten-nanosecond time resolution has been achieved with step-scan FT-IR absorbance difference spectroscopy (S2FT-IR Δ A TRS) and demonstrated by measuring Δ A spectra of fac-[Re(bpy)(CO)3Cl] and cis-[Os(bpy)2(CO)(4,4′-bpy)]2+ (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine; 4,4′-bpy=4,4′-bipyridine) in CH3CN solution, following 355-nm laser excitation. In both complexes, the large shifts in (CO) to higher energy are consistent with the assignment that the lowest-energy excited states are metal-to-ligand charge transfer in nature. For [Os(bpy)2(CO)(4,4′-bpy)]2+, it is also possible to measure the excited-state decay kinetics, again with 10-ns resolution. In addition, Δ A bands are observed that are related to excited-state vibrations of the bipyridine ligands. Δ A spectra of good signal-to-noise ratio can be obtained for complexes with lifetimes as short as 10 ns.
