Mechanism of Efficient Firefly Bioluminescence via Adiabatic Transition State and Seam of Sloped Conical Intersection

Firefly emission is a well-known efficient bioluminescence. However, the mystery of the efficient thermal generation of electronic excited states in firefly still remains unsolved, particularly at the atomic and molecular levels. We performed SA-CASSCF(12,12)/6-31G* and CASPT2(12,12)/6-31G*//SA-CASSCF(12,12)/6-31G* calculations to elucidate the reaction mechanism of bioluminescence from the firefly dioxetanone in the gas phase. Adiabatic transition state (TS) for the O-O bond cleavage and the minimum energy conical intersection (MECI) were located and characterized. The unique topology of MECI featuring a seam of a sloped conical intersection for the firefly dioxetanone, which was uncovered for the first time, emerges along the reaction pathway to provide a widely extended channel to diabatically access the excited-state from the ground state.