Pd-Porphyrin Oligomers Sensitized for Green-to-Blue Photon Upconversion: The More the Better?

A series of directly meso-meso-linked Pd-porphyrin oligomers (PdDTP-M, PdDTP-D, and PdDTP-T) have been prepared. The absorption region and the light-harvesting ability of the Pd-porphyrin oligomers are broadened and enhanced by increasing the number of Pd-porphyrin units. Triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) systems were constructed by utilizing the Pd-porphyrin oligomers as the sensitizer and 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA) as the acceptor in deaerated toluene and green-to-blue photon upconversion was observed upon excitation with a 532 nm laser. The triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion quantum efficiencies were found to be 6.2 %, 10.5 %, and 1.6 % for the [PdDTP-M]/DPA, [PdDTP-D]/DPA, and [PdDTP-T]/DPA systems, respectively, under an excitation power density of 500 mW cm(-2) . The photophysical processes of the TTA-UC systems have been investigated in detail. The higher triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion quantum efficiency observed in the [PdDTP-D]/DPA system can be rationalized by the enhanced light-harvesting ability of PdDTP-D at 532 nm. Under the same experimental conditions, the [PdDTP-D]/DPA system produces more (3) DPA* than the other two TTA-UC systems, benefiting the triplet-triplet annihilation process. This work provides a useful way to develop efficient TTA-UC systems with broad spectral response by using Pd-porphyrin oligomers as sensitizers.