Electron transfer in platinum(II) diimine-centered triads: mechanistic insights from photoinduced transient displacement current measurements.

The consequences of photoexcitation of a platinum diimine bisacetylide complex and its triads with phenothiazine species (McGarrah, J. E.; Eisenberg, R. Inorg. Chem. 2003, 42, 4355-4365) were investigated by the photoinduced transient displacement current (PTDC) method, with the aim of understanding the role of solvent in defining the nature and extent of intratriad electron transfer. PTDC enables reports on the distance of charge separation in photoexcited states. Photoexcition of the triad, Pt(dbbpy)(CCC(6)H(4)CH(2)(PTZ))(2) (where dbbpy = 4,4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine), leads to formation of the (3)MLCT excited state, which in CH(2)Cl(2) is intramolecularly quenched by PTZ to form a charge-separated (CS) state, Pt(dbbpy(*-))(CCC(6)H(4)CH(2)(PTZ) CCC(6)H(4)CH(2)(PTZ(*+)); the CS state features a dipole moment oriented in essentially the opposite direction to that of the ground state. In toluene the last step of charge separation is shut down. In THF these two transient states are equilibrated, approximately as a 1:1 mixture of (3)MLCT and CS states, causing a complex, but instructive, PTDC response. The PTDC response for Pt(dbbpy)(CCC(6)H(5))(2), on the other hand, is similar in all solvents and shows a negative signal corresponding to a long-lived, and comparatively nonpolar, (3)MLCT state. The ground-state dipole moment, mu(g), weakly increases with solvent polarity, from approximately 11.5 D in toluene to approximately 15.5 D in THF and CH(2)Cl(2).

Probing exciton localization/delocalization: transient dc photoconductivity studies of excited states of symmetrical porphyrin monomers, oligomers, and supramolecular assemblies.

Solution-phase transient dc photoconductivity (TDCP) measurements are used to address the question of exciton localization/delocalization in strongly coupled oligomeric porphyrins and in well-defined, higher-order assemblies of oligomers (ladder and prism assemblies). The approach used is determination of the excited-state excess polarizability volume, Delta alpha(V)--a quantity known to report on exciton delocalization. The measurements reveal for the oligomers that singlet excitons are substantially delocalized but that triplet excitons are much more localized. For each of the two higher-order assemblies, the measurements reveal that excitons are transiently confined to individual oligomeric subunits rather than being delocalized over the entire assembly.

CR-39 (PADC) Reflection and Transmission of Light in the Ultraviolet-Near-Infrared (UV-NIR) Range.

The spectral reflection (specular and diffuse) and transmission of Columbia Resin 39 (CR-39) were measured for incoherent light with wavelengths in the range of 200-2500 nm. These results will be of use for the optical characterization of CR-39, as well as in investigations of the chemical modifications of the polymer caused by ultraviolet (UV) exposure. A Varian Cary 5000 was used to perform spectroscopy on several different thicknesses of CR-39. With proper analysis for the interdependence of reflectance and transmittance, results are consistent across all samples. The reflectivity from each CR-39-air boundary reveals an increase in the index of refraction in the near-UV. Absorption observations are consistent with the Beer-Lambert law. Strong absorption of UV light of wavelength shorter than 350 nm suggests an optical band gap of 3.5 eV, although the standard analysis is not conclusive. Absorption features observed in the near infrared are assigned to molecular vibrations, including some that are new to the literature.

Photoinduced electron transfer from rail to rung within a self-assembled oligomeric porphyrin ladder.

Photoinduced electron transfer in a self-assembled supramolecular ladder structure comprising oligomeric porphyrin rails and ligated dipyridyltetrazine rungs was characterized by transient absorption spectroscopy and transient direct current photoconductivity to be mainly from an oligomer (rail) to the center of a terminal tetrazine (rung), with the remaining hole being delocalized on the oligomer and subsequent charge recombination in 0.19 ns.

Dynamics of charge transport and recombination in ZnO nanorod array dye-sensitized solar cells.

Intensity modulated photovoltage and photocurrent spectroscopies reveal that photoanodes based on nanorod arrays exhibit dramatically faster electron transport while retaining similar electron lifetimes (recombination times) compared to standard photoanodes assembled from colloidal nanoparticles.

Dyads for photoinduced charge separation based on platinum diimine bis(acetylide) chromophores: synthesis, luminescence and transient absorption studies.

The platinum diimine bis(acetylide) chromophore was utilized to explore photoinduced intramolecular reductive quenching with phenothiazine donors in chromophore-donor dyad complexes. Compounds of the general formula Pt(X(2)-bpy)(C triple bond C-p-C(6)H(4)CH(2)(D))(2) (where D = phenothiazine (PTZ) or trifluromethylphenothiazine (TPZ) and X = (t)Bu or CO(2)Et) were synthesized from the corresponding Pt(X(2)-bpy)Cl(2) and aryl acetylene by a CuI-catalyzed coupling reaction. Solvent dependence was explored for the system with X = (t)Bu in MeCN, CH(2)Cl(2), EtOAc, and toluene. Electron transfer quenching of the (3)MLCT excited state of the platinum diimine bis(acetylide) takes place in MeCN leaving no intrinsic emission from the excited state, but in toluene both the PTZ and TPZ dyad complexes exhibit no emission quenching. Picosecond pump-probe transient absorption (TA) experiments were used to monitor decay of the (3)MLCT excited state and electron transfer to form the charge-separated (CS) state. Electrochemical measurements were used to estimate the driving force for charge recombination (CR), with deltaE(CR) based on the reduction potential corresponding to Pt(X(2)-bpy)(C triple bond C-Ar)(2) --> Pt(X(2)-bpy(*)(-))(C triple bond C-Ar)(2) and the oxidation corresponding to donor --> donor(*)(+). Kinetic information from the TA measurements was used to correlate rate and driving force with the electron transfer reactions. Concomitant with the decay of the (3)MLCT excited state was the observation of a transient absorption at ca. 500 nm due to formation of the PTZ or TPZ radical cation in the CS state, with the rate of charge separation, k(CS), being 1.8 x 10(9) to 2 x 10(10) s(-1) for the three dyads explored in MeCN and 1:9 CH(2)Cl(2)/MeCN. The fastest rate of CR occurs for X = CO(2)Et and D = PTZ, the compound with smallest deltaE(CR) = 1.71 V. The rate of CR for dyads with X = (t)Bu and D = PTZ or TPZ was estimated to be 1.7-2.0 x 10(8) s(-1) in MeCN. The slower rate corresponds to a greater driving force for CR, deltaE(CR) = 2.18 and 2.36 V for D = PTZ and TPZ, respectively, suggesting that the driving force for charge recombination places it in the Marcus inverted region.

Multiple emissions and brilliant white luminescence from gold(I) O,O'-di(alkyl)dithiophosphate dimers.

The Au(I) dimers Au(2)[S(2)P(OR)(2)](2) for R = Me, Et are found to exhibit a structure in which aurophilic interactions yield one-dimensional Au...Au chains with intermolecular contacts (3.09-3.16 A) similar to the Au...Au distances within the dimers (3.10-3.18 A). The dimers are luminescent in the solid state and become brilliantly emissive at low temperatures. At 77 K, Au(2)[S(2)P(OMe)(2)](2) shows multiple emission bands. The two higher energy bands at 415 and 456 nm are assigned to (1)MC and (3)MC on the basis of lifetime measurements (20 ns and 2.16 micros, respectively) and concentration-related effects, while the lower energy band at 560 nm is attributed to a LMCT excited state. In frozen glasses of different solvents, Au(2)[S(2)P(OMe)(2)](2) as well as the Et and n-Pr derivatives exhibit a bright luminescence of different colors and striking thermochromism of the emission.

Nonadiabatic electron transfer at the nanoscale tin-oxide semiconductor/aqueous solution interface.

Photo-excitation of chromophoric metal complexes electrostatically adsorbed to tin-oxide semiconductor nanoparticles is often accompanied by injection of electrons from the complexes into the semiconductor conduction band. The mechanism of back electron transfer (semiconductor particle to adsorbed molecule) for a family of tris-bipyridyl ruthenium and osmium complexes has been examined by evaluating the kinetics of transfer to derivatives featuring alkyl substituents of varying length, methyl to pentyl. The substituents serve to change the electron transfer (ET) distance under conditions of weak chemical interaction with the semiconductor surface. Accompanying increases in alkyl substituent length, and therefore transfer distance, are systematic decreases in back ET rate. The decreases are indicative of nonadiabatic ET, i.e. electronic rather than nuclear control of the reaction dynamics. Further analysis points to trap-mediated transfer, rather than direct transfer from the conduction band, as the most probable back-reaction pathway.