Kinetics of populating and depopulating of the components of the photoinduced triplet state of the photosynthetic bacteria Rhodospirillum rubrum, Rhodopseudomonas spheroides (wild type), and its mutant R-26 as measured by ESR in zero-field.

Optically detected ESR spectra in zero magnetic field of the triplet state of three photosynthetic bacteria are presented. The zero field splitting parameters [D] and [E] and the widths of the resonances show small but significant differences for the three bacteria. The resonance lines are inhomogeneously broadened as demonstrated by hole-burning experiments. The populating probabilities and depopulating rates for the triplet sublevels have been measured. The populating kinetics are very similar for the three bacteria. The depopulating rates are more than one order faster than those of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b and of porphyrin model systems. The populating probability of the lowest level is about 6 times less, and the depopulating rate about 6 times slower, than for the upper levels, identifying this level as the level connected to the molecular z-axis perpendicular to the plane of the molecule. The relative populations of the triplet sublevels are almost equal in zero magnetic field.