Discriminatory Resonance Energy Transfer Mediated by a Third Molecule

Relay of resonant excitation energy between two chiral molecules by an inert third particle is studied using molecular quantum electrodynamics theory. A single virtual photon propagates between each interacting pair. Fourth-order diagrammatic time-dependent perturbation theory is employed to compute the matrix element. Rate terms dependent upon the chirality of the donor and acceptor species are extracted using the Fermi golden rule. Interestingly, the mediated rate is discriminatory. For freely tumbling particles it exhibits an inverse-square dependence on each interparticle separation distance, indicating a purely radiative exchange mechanism. Furthermore, the isotropic rate is found to be a maximum for a collinear geometry and vanishes when the angle between the donor, mediator, and acceptor is 90°. The indirect rate is compared with direct transfer between two chiral molecules. Insight is gained into discriminatory migration of energy in a dielectric medium.