A supramolecular tetrad featuring covalently linked ferrocene-zinc porphyrin-BODIPY coordinated to fullerene: a charge stabilizing, photosynthetic antenna-reaction center mimic.

A novel photosynthetic-antenna-reaction-center model compound, comprised of BF2 -chelated dipyrromethene (BODIPY) as an energy-harvesting antenna, zinc porphyrin (ZnP) as the primary electron donor, ferrocene (Fc) as a hole-shifting agent, and phenylimidazole-functionalized fulleropyrrolidine (C60 Im) as an electron acceptor, has been synthesized and characterized. Optical absorption and emission, computational structure optimization, and cyclic voltammetry studies were systematically performed to establish the role of each entity in the multistep photochemical reactions. The energy-level diagram established from optical and redox data helped identifying different photochemical events. Selective excitation of BODIPY resulted in efficient singlet energy transfer to the ZnP entity. Ultrafast electron transfer from the (1) ZnP* (formed either as a result of singlet-singlet energy transfer or direct excitation) or (1) C60 * of the coordinated fullerene resulting into the formation of the Fc-(C60 (.) (-) Im:ZnP(.) (+) )-BODIPY radical ion pair was witnessed by femtosecond transient absorption studies. Subsequent hole migration to the ferrocene entity resulted in the Fc(+) -(C60 (.) (+) Im:ZnP)-BODIPY radical ion pair that persisted for 7-15 µs, depending upon the solvent conditions and contributions from the triplet excited states of ZnP and ImC60 , as revealed by the nanosecond transient spectral studies. Better utilization of light energy in generating the long-lived charge-separated state with the help of the present "antenna-reaction-center" model system has been successfully demonstrated.

A charge-stabilizing, multimodular, ferrocene-bis(triphenylamine)-zinc-porphyrin-fullerene polyad.

A novel multimodular donor-acceptor polyad featuring zinc porphyrin, fullerene, ferrocene, and triphenylamine entities was designed, synthesized, and studied as a charge-stabilizing, photosynthetic-antenna/reaction-center mimic. The ferrocene and fullerene entities, covalently linked to the porphyrin ring, were distantly separated to accomplish the charge-separation/hole-migration events leading to the creation of a long-lived charge-separated state. The geometry and electronic structures of the newly synthesized compound was deduced by B3LYP/3-21G(*) optimization, while the energy levels for different photochemical events was established using data from the optical absorption and emission, and electrochemical studies. Excitation of the triphenylamine entities revealed singlet-singlet energy transfer to the appended zinc porphyrin. As predicted from the energy levels, photoinduced electron transfer from both the singlet and triplet excited states of the zinc porphyrin to fullerene followed by subsequent hole migration involving ferrocene was witnessed from the transient absorption studies. The charge-separated state persisted for about 8.5 µs and was governed by the distance between the final charge-transfer product, that is, a species involving a ferrocenium cation and a fullerene radical anion, with additional influence from the charge-stabilizing triphenylamine entities located on the zinc-porphyrin macrocycle.

Excitation-wavelength-dependent, ultrafast photoinduced electron transfer in bisferrocene/BF2-chelated-azadipyrromethene/fullerene tetrads.

Donor-acceptor distance, orientation, and photoexcitation wavelength are key factors in governing the efficiency and mechanism of electron-transfer reactions both in natural and synthetic systems. Although distance and orientation effects have been successfully demonstrated in simple donor-acceptor dyads, revealing excitation-wavelength-dependent photochemical properties demands multimodular, photosynthetic-reaction-center model compounds. Here, we successfully demonstrate donor- acceptor excitation-wavelength-dependent, ultrafast charge separation and charge recombination in newly synthesized, novel tetrads featuring bisferrocene, BF2 -chelated azadipyrromethene, and fullerene entities. The tetrads synthesized using multistep synthetic procedure revealed characteristic optical, redox, and photo reactivities of the individual components and featured "closely" and "distantly" positioned donor-acceptor systems. The near-IR-emitting BF2-chelated azadipyrromethene acted as a photosensitizing electron acceptor along with fullerene, while the ferrocene entities acted as electron donors. Both tetrads revealed excitation-wavelength-dependent, photoinduced, electron-transfer events as probed by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. That is, formation of the Fc(+)-ADP-C60(.-) charge-separated state upon C60 excitation, and Fc(+)-ADP(.-)-C60 formation upon ADP excitation is demonstrated.

Control over photoinduced energy and electron transfer in supramolecular polyads of covalently linked azaBODIPY-bisporphyrin 'molecular clip' hosting fullerene.

A 'molecular clip' featuring a near-IR emitting fluorophore, BF(2)-chelated tetraarylazadipyrromethane (aza-BODIPY) covalently linked to two porphyrins (MP, M = 2H or Zn) has been newly synthesized to host a three-dimensional electron acceptor fullerene via a 'two-point' metal-ligand axial coordination. Efficient singlet-singlet excitation transfer from (1)ZnP* to aza-BODIPY was witnessed in the dyad and triad in nonpolar and less polar solvents, such as toluene and o-dichlorobenzene, however, in polar solvents, additional electron transfer occurred along with energy transfer. A supramolecular tetrad was formed by assembling bis-pyridine functionalized fullerene via a 'two-point' metal-ligand axial coordination, and the resulted complex was characterized by optical absorption and emission, computational, and electrochemical methods. Electron transfer from photoexcited zinc porphyrin to C(60) is witnessed in the supramolecular tetrad from the femtosecond transient absorption spectral studies. Further, the supramolecular polyads (triad or tetrad) were utilized to build photoelectrochemical cells to check their ability to convert light into electricity by fabricating FTO/SnO(2)/polyad electrodes. The presence of azaBODIPY and fullerene entities of the tetrad improved the overall light energy conversion efficiency. An incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency of up to 17% has been achieved for the tetrad modified electrode.

Near-IR excitation transfer and electron transfer in a BF2-chelated dipyrromethane-azadipyrromethane dyad and triad.

A molecular dyad and triad, comprised of a known photosensitizer, BF(2)-chelated dipyrromethane (BDP), covalently linked to its structural analog and near-IR emitting sensitizer, BF(2)-chelated tetraarylazadipyrromethane (ADP), have been newly synthesized and the photoinduced energy and electron transfer were examined by femtosecond and nanosecond laser flash photolysis. The structural integrity of the newly synthesized compounds has been established by spectroscopic, electrochemical, and computational methods. The DFT calculations revealed a molecular-clip-type structure for the triad, in which the BDP and ADP entities are separated by about 14 Å with a dihedral angle between the fluorophores of around 70°. Differential pulse voltammetry studies have revealed the redox states, allowing estimation of the energies of the charge-separated states. Such calculations revealed a charge separation from the singlet excited BDP ((1)BDP*) to ADP (BDP(.+)-ADP(.-)) to be energetically favorable in nonpolar toluene and in polar benzonitrile. In addition, the excitation transfer from the singlet BDP to ADP is also envisioned due to good spectral overlap of the BDP emission and ADP absorption spectra. Femtosecond laser flash photolysis studies provided concrete evidence for the occurrence of energy transfer from (1)BDP* to ADP (in benzonitrile and toluene) and electron transfer from BDP to (1)ADP* (in benzonitrile, but not in toluene). The kinetic study of energy transfer was measured by monitoring the rise of the ADP emission and revealed fast energy transfer (ca. 10(11) s(-1)) in these molecular systems. The kinetics of electron transfer via (1)ADP*, measured by monitoring the decay of the singlet ADP at λ=820 nm, revealed a relatively fast charge-separation process from BDP to (1)ADP*. These findings suggest the potential of the examined ADP-BDP molecules to be efficient photosynthetic antenna and reaction center models.

Functionalization of diameter-sorted semiconductive SWCNTs with photosensitizing porphyrins: syntheses and photoinduced electron transfer.

Covalent functionalization of diameter sorted SWCNTs with porphyrins (MP), and photochemistry to establish nanotube diameter-dependent charge separation efficiencies are reported. The MP-SWCNT(n,m) [M=2H or Zn, and (n,m)=(7,6) or (6,5)] nanohybrids are characterized by a variety of spectroscopic, thermogravimetric, TEM imaging techniques, and also by DFT MO calculations. The thermogravimetric, Raman and fluorescence studies reveal the presence of a moderate number of porphyrins on the SWCNT surface. The MO results suggest charge separation (CS) via the excited state of MP. Time-resolved fluorescence studies reveal quenching of the singlet excited state of the MP with SWCNT(n,m), giving the rate constants of charge separation (k(CS)) in the range of (4-5)×10(9) s(-1). Nanosecond transient absorption measurements confirm the charge-separated radical cation and the radical anion as [MP(.+)-SWCNT(.-)] with their characteristic absorption bands in the visible and near-IR regions. The charge separated states persist for about 70-100 ns thus giving an opportunity to utilize them to build photoelectrochemical cells, which allowed us to derive the structure-reactivity relationship between the nature of porphyrin and diameter of the employed nanotubes.

Ultrafast photoinduced energy and electron transfer in multi-modular donor-acceptor conjugates.

New multi-modular donor-acceptor conjugates featuring zinc porphyrin (ZnP), catechol-chelated boron dipyrrin (BDP), triphenylamine (TPA) and fullerene (C(60)), or naphthalenediimide (NDI) have been newly designed and synthesized as photosynthetic antenna and reaction-center mimics. The X-ray structure of triphenylamine-BDP is also reported. The wide-band capturing polyad revealed ultrafast energy-transfer (k(ENT) =1.0 × 10(12) s(-1)) from the singlet excited BDP to the covalently linked ZnP owing to close proximity and favorable orientation of the entities. Introducing either fullerene or naphthalenediimide electron acceptors to the TPA-BDP-ZnP triad through metal-ligand axial coordination resulted in electron donor-acceptor polyads whose structures were revealed by spectroscopic, electrochemical and computational studies. Excitation of the electron donor, zinc porphyrin resulted in rapid electron-transfer to coordinated fullerene or naphthalenediimide yielding charge separated ion-pair species. The measured electron transfer rate constants from femtosecond transient spectral technique in non-polar toluene were in the range of 5.0 × 10(9)-3.5 × 10(10) s(-1). Stabilization of the charge-separated state in these multi-modular donor-acceptor polyads is also observed to certain level.

Syntheses and excitation transfer studies of near-orthogonal free-base porphyrin-ruthenium phthalocyanine dyads and pentad.

A new series of molecular dyads and pentad featuring free-base porphyrin and ruthenium phthalocyanine have been synthesized and characterized. The synthetic strategy involved reacting free-base porphyrin functionalized with one or four entities of phenylimidazole at the meso position of the porphyrin ring with ruthenium carbonyl phthalocyanine followed by chromatographic separation and purification of the products. Excitation transfer in these donor-acceptor polyads (dyad and pentad) is investigated in nonpolar toluene and polar benzonitrile solvents using both steady-state and time-resolved emission techniques. Electrochemical and computational studies suggested that the photoinduced electron transfer is a thermodynamically unfavorable process in nonpolar media but may take place in a polar environment. Selective excitation of the donor, free-base porphyrin entity, resulted in efficient excitation transfer to the acceptor, ruthenium phthalocyanine, and the position of imidazole linkage on the free-base porphyrin could be used to tune the rates of excitation transfer. The singlet excited Ru phthalocyanine thus formed instantly relaxed to the triplet state via intersystem crossing prior to returning to the ground state. Kinetics of energy transfer (k(ENT)) was monitored by performing transient absorption and emission measurements using pump-probe and up-conversion techniques in toluene, respectively, and modeled using a Förster-type energy transfer mechanism. Such studies revealed the experimental k(ENT) values on the order of 10(10)-10(11) s(-1), which readily agreed with the theoretically estimated values. Interestingly, in polar benzonitrile solvent, additional charge transfer interactions in the case of dyads but not in the case of pentad, presumably due to the geometry/orientation consideration, were observed.

Photoinduced charge separation in three-layer supramolecular nanohybrids: fullerene-porphyrin-SWCNT.

Photoinduced charge separation processes of three-layer supramolecular hybrids, fullerene-porphyrin-SWCNT, which are constructed from semiconducting (7,6)- and (6,5)-enriched SWCNTs and self-assembled via π-π interacting long alkyl chain substituted porphyrins (tetrakis(4-dodecyloxyphenyl)porphyrins; abbreviated as MP(alkyl)(4)) (M = Zn and H(2)), to which imidazole functionalized fullerene[60] (C(60)Im) is coordinated, have been investigated in organic solvents. The intermolecular alkyl-π and π-π interactions between the MP(alkyl)(4) and SWCNTs, in addition, coordination between C(60)Im and Zn ion in the porphyrin cavity are visualized using DFT calculations at the B3LYP/3-21G(*) level, predicting donor-acceptor interactions between them in the ground and excited states. The donor-acceptor nanohybrids thus formed are characterized by TEM imaging, steady-state absorption and fluorescence spectra. The time-resolved fluorescence studies of MP(alkyl)(4) in two-layered nanohybrids (MP(alkyl)(4)/SWCNT) revealed efficient quenching of the singlet excited states of MP(alkyl)(4) ((1)MP*(alkyl)(4)) with the rate constants of charge separation (k(CS)) in the range of (1-9) × 10(9) s(-1). A nanosecond transient absorption technique confirmed the electron transfer products, MP˙(+)(alkyl)(4)/SWCNT˙(-) and/or MP˙(-)(alkyl)(4)/SWCNT˙(+) for the two-layer nanohybrids. Upon further coordination of C(60)Im to ZnP, acceleration of charge separation via(1)ZnP* in C(60)Im→ZnP(alkyl)(4)/SWCNT is observed to form C(60)˙(-)Im→ZnP˙(+)(alkyl)(4)/SWCNT and C(60)˙(-)Im→ZnP(alkyl)(4)/SWCNT˙(+) charge separated states as supported by the transient absorption spectra. These characteristic absorptions decay with rate constants due to charge recombination (k(CR)) in the range of (6-10) × 10(6) s(-1), corresponding to the lifetimes of the radical ion-pairs of 100-170 ns. The electron transfer in the nanohybrids has further been utilized for light-to-electricity conversion by the construction of proof-of-concept photoelectrochemical solar cells.

Bionano donor-acceptor hybrids of porphyrin, ssDNA, and semiconductive single-wall carbon nanotubes for electron transfer via porphyrin excitation.

Photoinduced electron transfer in self-assemblies of porphyrins ion-paired with ssDNA wrapped around single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) has been reported. To accomplish the three-component hybrids, two kinds of diameter-sorted semiconducting SWCNT(n,m)s of different diameter ((n,m) = (6,5) and (7,6)) and free-base or zinc porphyrin bearing peripheral positive charges ((TMPyP(+))M (tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridyl)porphyrin); M = Zn and H(2)) serving as light-absorbing photoactive materials are utilized. The donor-acceptor hybrids are held by ion-pairing between the negatively charged phosphate groups of ssDNA on the surface of the SWCNT and the positively charged at the ring periphery porphyrin macrocycle. The newly assembled bionano donor-acceptor hybrids have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and spectroscopic methods. Photoinduced electron transfer from the excited singlet porphyrin to the SWCNTs directly and/or via ssDNA as an electron mediator has been established by performing systematic studies involving the steady-state and time-resolved emission as well as the transient absorption studies. Higher charge-separation efficiency has been successfully demonstrated by the selection of the appropriate semiconductive SWCNTs with the right band gap, in addition to the aid of ssDNA as the electron mediator.

Photochemical charge separation in closely positioned donor-boron dipyrrin-fullerene triads.

A series of molecular triads, composed of closely positioned boron dipyrrin-fullerene units, covalently linked to either an electron donor (donor(1)-acceptor(1)-acceptor(2)-type triads) or an energy donor (antenna-donor(1)-acceptor(1)-type triads) was synthesized and photoinduced energy/electron transfer leading to stabilization of the charge-separated state was demonstrated by using femtosecond and nanosecond transient spectroscopic techniques. The structures of the newly synthesized triads were visualized by DFT calculations, whereas the energies of the excited states were determined from spectral and electrochemical studies. In the case of the antenna-donor(1)-acceptor(1)-type triads, excitation of the antenna moiety results in efficient energy transfer to the boron dipyrrin entity. The singlet-excited boron dipyrrin thus generated, undergoes subsequent energy and electron transfer to fullerene to produce a boron dipyrrin radical cation and a fullerene radical anion as charge-separated species. Stabilization of the charge-separated state in these molecular triads was observed to some extent.

Ultrafast excitation transfer and charge stabilization in a newly assembled photosynthetic antenna-reaction center mimic composed of boron dipyrrin, zinc porphyrin and fullerene.

A self-assembled supramolecular triad as a model to mimic the light-induced events of the photosynthetic antenna-reaction center, that is, ultrafast excitation transfer followed by electron transfer ultimately generating a long-lived charge-separated state, has been accomplished. Boron dipyrrin (BDP), zinc porphyrin (ZnP) and fullerene (C(60)), respectively, constitute the energy donor, electron donor and electron acceptor segments of the antenna-reaction center imitation. Unlike in the previous models, the BDP entity was placed between the electron donor, ZnP and electron acceptor, C(60) entities. For the construction, benzo-18-crown-6 functionalized BDP was synthesized and subsequently reacted with 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl functionalized ZnP through the central boron atom to form the crown-BDP-ZnP dyad. Next, an alkyl ammonium functionalized fullerene was used to self-assemble the crown ether entity of the dyad via ion-dipole interactions. The newly formed supramolecular triad was fully characterized by spectroscopic, computational and electrochemical methods. Steady-state fluorescence and excitation studies revealed the occurrence of energy transfer upon selective excitation of the BDP in the dyad. Further studies involving the pump-probe technique revealed excitation transfer from the (1)BDP* to ZnP to occur in about 7 ps, much faster than that reported for other systems in this series of triads, as a consequence of shorter distance between the entities. Upon forming the supramolecular triad by self-assembling fullerene, the (1)ZnP(*) produced by direct excitation or by energy transfer mechanism resulted in an initial electron transfer to the BDP entity. The charge recombination resulted in the population of the triplet excited state of C(60), from where additional electron transfer occurred to produce C(60)(•-):crown-BDP-ZnP(•+) ion pair as the final charge-separated species. Nanosecond transient absorption studies revealed the lifetime of the charge-separated state to be ~100 µs, the longest ever reported for this type of antenna-reaction center mimics, indicating better charge stabilization as a result of the different disposition of the entities of the supramolecular triad.

Syntheses, electrochemistry, and photodynamics of ferrocene-azadipyrromethane donor--acceptor dyads and triads.

A near-IR-emitting sensitizer, boron-chelated tetraarylazadipyrromethane, has been utilized as an electron acceptor to synthesize a series of dyads and triads linked with a well-known electron donor, ferrocene. The structural integrity of the newly synthesized dyads and triads was established by spectroscopic, electrochemical, and computational methods. The DFT calculations revealed a 'molecular clip'-type structure for the triads wherein the donor and acceptor entities were separated by about 14 Å. Differential pulse voltammetry combined with spectroelectrochemical studies have revealed the redox states and estimated the energies of the charge-separated states. Free-energy calculations revealed the charge separation from the covalently linked ferrocene to the singlet excited ADP to yield Fc(+)-ADP(•-) to be energetically favorable. Consequently, the steady-state emission studies revealed quantitative quenching of the ADP fluorescence in all of the investigated dyads and triads. Femtosecond laser flash photolysis studies provided concrete evidence for the occurrence of photoinduced electron transfer in these donor-acceptor systems by providing spectral proof for formation of ADP radical anion (ADP(•-)) which exhibits a diagnostic absorption band in the near-IR region. The kinetics of charge separation and charge recombination measured by monitoring the rise and decay of the ADP(•-) band revealed ultrafast charge separation in these molecular systems. The charge-separation performance of the triads with two ferrocenes and a fluorophenyl-modified ADP macrocycle was found to be superior. Nanosecond transient absorption studies revealed the charge-recombination process to populate the triplet ADP as well as the ground state.

Ultrafast singlet-singlet energy transfer in self-assembled via metal-ligand axial coordination of free-base porphyrin-zinc phthalocyanine and free-base porphyrin-zinc naphthalocyanine dyads.

Singlet-singlet energy transfer in self-assembled via axial coordination of imidazole-appended (at different positions of one of the meso-phenyl entities) free-base tetraphenylporphyrin, H(2)PIm, to either zinc phthalocyanine, ZnPc, or zinc naphthalocyanine, ZnNc, dyads is investigated in noncoordinating solvents, o-dichlorobenzene and toluene, using both steady-state and time-resolved transient absorption techniques. The newly formed supramolecular dyads were fully characterized by spectroscopic, computational, and electrochemical methods. The binding constants measured from optical absorption spectral data were found to be in the range of 10(4)-10(5) M(-1) for the 1:1 dyads, suggesting fairly stable complex formation. Electrochemical and computational studies suggested that photoinduced electron transfer is a thermodynamically unfavorable process when free-base porphyrin is excited in these dyads. Selective excitation of the donor free-base porphyrin entity was possible in both types of dyads formed by either of the ZnPc or ZnNc energy acceptors. Efficient singlet-singlet energy transfer was observed in these dyads, and the position of imidazole linkage on the free-base porphyrin entity, although flexible, seems to have some control over the overall efficiency of excited energy transfer process. Kinetics of energy transfer was monitored by performing transient absorption measurements using both up-conversion and pump-probe techniques. Such studies revealed ultrafast singlet-singlet energy transfer in the studied dyads with time constants on the order of 2-25 ps depending upon the type of the dyad.

Photosynthetic reaction center mimicry: low reorganization energy driven charge stabilization in self-assembled cofacial zinc phthalocyanine dimer-fullerene conjugate.

By employing well-defined self-assembly methods, a biomimetic bacterial photosynthetic reaction center complex has been constructed, and photoinduced electron transfer originating in this supramolecular donor-acceptor conjugate has been investigated. The biomimetic model of the bacterial "special pair" donor, a cofacial zinc phthalocyanine dimer, was formed via potassium ion induced dimerization of 4,5,4',5',4'', 5'',4''',5'''-zinc tetrakis(1,4,7,10,13-pentaoxatridecamethylene)phthalocyanine. The dimer was subsequently self-assembled with functionalized fullerenes via "two-point" binding involving axial coordination and crown ether-alkyl ammonium cation complexation to form the donor-acceptor pair, mimicking the noncovalently bound entities of the bacterial photosynthetic reaction center. The adopted self-assembly methodology yielded a supramolecular complex of higher stability with defined geometry and orientation as revealed by the binding constant and computational optimized structure. Unlike the previously reported porphyrin analog, the present phthalocyanine macrocycle based model system exhibited superior electron-transfer properties including formation of a long-lived charge-separated state, a key step of the photosynthetic light energy conversion process. Detailed analysis of the kinetic data in light of the Marcus theory of electron transfer revealed that small reorganization energy of the relatively rigid phthalocyanine is primarily responsible for slower charge-recombination process. The importance of the cofacial dimer in stabilizing the charge-separated state is borne out in the present all-supramolecular "reaction center" donor-acceptor mimic.

Melamine acoustic chemosensor based on molecularly imprinted polymer film.

A melamine piezomicrogravimetric (acoustic) chemosensor using a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film has been devised and tested. The MIP films were prepared by electropolymerization of the melamine complexed by the functional monomer of the bis(bithiophene) derivative bearing an 18-crown-6 substituent 4. The structure of the MIP-melamine complex was visualized by the DFT B3LYP/3-21G(*) energy optimization calculations. The sensitivity and selectivity of the MIP film was improved by cross-linking the polymer with the bithianaphthene monomer 5 and the presence of the porogenic ionic liquid in the prepolymerization solution. After electropolymerization, the melamine template was extracted from the MIP film with an aqueous strong base solution. The measurements of UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), DPV, and EIS as well as scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) imaging confirmed extraction of the melamine template from the MIP film and then rebinding of the melamine analyte while the film relative roughness and porosity was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging, respectively. The analytical as well as kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of the chemosensing were assessed under flow-injection analysis (FIA) conditions with piezoelectric microgravimetry (PM) detection. The linear concentration range for melamine detection was 5 nM to at least 1 mM with a limit of detection of approximately 5 nM. The chemosensor successfully discriminated the cyanuric acid, cyromazine, and ammeline interfering agents.

Through-bond photoinduced electron transfer in a porphyrin-fullerene conjugate held by a Hamilton type hydrogen bonding motif.

Control over the occurrence of through-bond electron transfer in self-assembled donor-acceptor conjugates is often difficult, since through-space electron transfer also competes due to the flexible nature of the spacer used to link the entities. In the present study, we have constructed a self-assembled donor-acceptor conjugate held solely by complementary hydrogen bonding and established through-bond electron transfer. The protocol used here is a Hamilton type hydrogen bonding motif involving self-assembly of a carboxylic acid functionalized porphyrin and 2-aminopyridine functionalized fullerene. Owing to the presence of two-point hydrogen bonds, the structure of the dyad is free from rotation with a donor-acceptor distance positioned appropriately to justify the through-bond electron transfer. Detailed spectral, computational and photochemical studies reveal efficient photoinduced charge separation and slow charge recombination in the studied conjugate, thus, bringing out the fundamental advantages of the directional hydrogen-bonding in the construction of donor-acceptor conjugates based on biomimetic principles and their functional role in governing electron transfer events.

Photosynthetic antenna-reaction center mimicry: sequential energy- and electron transfer in a self-assembled supramolecular triad composed of boron dipyrrin, zinc porphyrin and fullerene.

A self-assembled supramolecular triad, a model to mimic the photochemical events of photosynthetic antenna-reaction center, viz., sequential energy and electron transfer, has been newly constructed and studied. Boron dipyrrin, zinc porphyrin, and fullerene respectively constitute the energy donor, electron donor, and electron acceptor segments of the antenna-reaction center mimicry. For the construction, first, boron dipyrrin was covalently attached to a zinc porphyrin entity bearing a benzo-18-crown-6 host segment at the opposite end of the porphyrin ring. Next, an alkyl ammonium functionalized fullerene was used to self-assemble the crown ether entity via ion-dipole interactions. The newly formed supramolecular triad was fully characterized by spectroscopic, computational, and electrochemical methods. Selective excitation of the boron dipyrrin moiety in the dyad resulted in energy transfer over 97% efficiency creating singlet excited zinc porphyrin. The rate of energy transfer from the decay measurements of time-correlated singlet photon counting (TCSPC) and up-conversion techniques agreed well with that obtained by the pump-probe technique and revealed efficient photoinduced energy transfer in the dyad (time constant in the order of 10-60 ps depending upon the conformer). Upon forming the supramolecular triad by self-assembling fullerene, the excited zinc porphyrin resulted in electron transfer to the coordinated fullerene yielding a charge-separated state, thus mimicking the antenna-reaction center functionalities of photosynthesis. Nanosecond transient absorption studies yielded a lifetime of the charge-separated state to be 23 micros indicating charge stabilization in the supramolecular triad. The present supramolecular system represents a successful model to mimic the rather complex "combined antenna-reaction center" events of photosynthesis.

Metal quinolinolate-fullerene(s) donor-acceptor complexes: evidence for organic LED molecules acting as electron donors in photoinduced electron-transfer reactions.

Tris(quinolinolate)aluminum(III) (AlQ3) is the most widely used molecule in organic light-emitting devices. There exists a strong demand for understanding the photochemical and photophysical events originating from this class of molecules. This paper provides the first report on the electron donor ability of MQ(n) (M = Al or Zn for n = 3 or 2) complexes covalently connected to a well-known electron acceptor, fullerene. To accomplish this, fullerene was functionalized with 8-hydroxyquinoline at different ligand positions and their corresponding zinc(II) and aluminum(III) complexes were formed in situ. The weakly fluorescent metal quinolinolate-fullerene complexes formed a new class of donor-acceptor conjugates. The stoichiometry and structure of the newly formed metal quinolinolate-fullerene complexes were established from various spectroscopic methods including matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and computational density functional theory studies. Electrochemical studies involving free-energy calculations suggested the possibility of photoinduced electron transfer from excited metal-quinolinolate complex to the appended fullerene entity. Femtosecond transient absorption studies confirmed such a claim and analysis of the kinetic data allowed us to establish the different photophysical events in sufficient detail. The novel features of this class of donor-acceptor conjugates include faster charge recombination compared to charge separation and decay of the charge-separated state to populate the low-lying fullerene triplet state in competition with direct charge recombination to the ground state.

Corrole-fullerene dyads: formation of long-lived charge-separated states in nonpolar solvents.

The first example of covalently linked free-base corrole-fullerene dyads is reported. In the newly synthesized dyads, the free-energy calculations performed by employing the redox and singlet excited-state energy in both polar and nonpolar solvents suggested the possibility of electron transfer from the excited singlet state of corrole to the fullerene entity. Accordingly, steady-state and time-resolved emission studies revealed efficient fluorescence quenching of the corrole entity in the dyads. Further studies involving femtosecond laser flash photolysis and nanosecond transient absorption studies confirmed electron transfer to be the quenching mechanism, in which the electron-transfer product, the fullerene anion radical, was able to be spectrally characterized. The rate of charge separation, kCS, was found to be on the order of 10(10)-10(11) s(-1), suggesting an efficient photoinduced electron-transfer process. Interestingly, the rate of charge recombination, kCR, was slower by 5 orders of magnitude in nonpolar solvents, cyclohexane and toluene, resulting in a radical ion-pair lasting for several microseconds. Careful analysis of the kinetic and thermodynamic data using the Marcus approach revealed that this novel feature is due to appropriately positioning the energy level of the charge-separated state below the triplet states of either of the donor and acceptor entities in both polar and nonpolar solvents, a feature that was not evident in donor-acceptor dyads constructed using symmetric tetrapyrroles as electron donors.