Kinetic analysis of nitroxide radical formation under oxygenated photolysis: toward quantitative singlet oxygen topology.

Reaction kinetics for two sterically hindered secondary amines with singlet oxygen have been studied in detail. A water soluble porphyrin sensitizer, 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(4-sulfunatophenyl)-21,23H-porphyrin (TPPS), was irradiated in oxygenated aqueous solutions containing either 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-4-one (TMPD) or 4-[N,N,N-trimethyl-ammonium]-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl chloride (N-TMPCl). The resulting sensitization reaction produced singlet oxygen in high yield, ultimately leading to the formation of the corresponding nitroxide free radicals (R2NO) which were detected using steady-state electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Careful actinometry and EPR calibration curves, coupled with a detailed kinetic analysis, led to a simple and compact expression relating the nitroxide quantum yield ΦR2NO (from the doubly-integrated EPR signal intensity) to the initial amine concentration [R2NH]i. With all other parameters held constant, a plot of ΦR2NOvs. [R2NH]i gave a straight line with a slope proportional to the rate constant for nitroxide formation, kR2NO. This establishment of a rigorous quantitative relationship between the EPR signal and the rate constant provides a mechanism for quantifying singlet oxygen production as a function of its topology in heterogeneous media. Implications for in vivo assessment of singlet oxygen topology are briefly discussed.

Mechanistic study of the photochemical hydroxide ion release from 9-hydroxy-10-methyl-9-phenyl-9,10-dihydroacridine.

The excited-state behavior of 9-hydroxy-10-methyl-9-phenyl-9,10-dihydroacridine and its derivative, 9-methoxy-10-methyl-9-phenyl-9,10-dihydroacridine (AcrOR, R = H, Me), was studied via femtosecond and nanosecond UV-vis transient absorption spectroscopy. The solvent effects on C-O bond cleavage were clearly identified: a fast heterolytic cleavage (τ = 108 ps) was observed in protic solvents, while intersystem crossing was observed in aprotic solvents. Fast heterolysis generates 10-methyl-9-phenylacridinium (Acr(+)) and (-)OH, which have a long recombination lifetime (no signal decay was observed within 100 µs). AcrOH exhibits the characteristic behavior needed for its utilization as a chromophore in the pOH jump experiment.

Photoinduced electron transfer in naphthalimide-pyridine systems: effect of proton transfer on charge recombination efficiencies.

We studied the effect of proton-coupled electron transfer on lifetimes of the charge-separated radicals produced upon light irradiation of the thiomethyl-naphthalimide donor SMe-NI-H in the presence of nitro-cyano-pyridine acceptor (NO(2)-CN-PYR). The dynamics of electron and proton transfer were studied using femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy in the UV/vis range. We find that the photoinduced electron transfer between excited SMe-NI-H and NO(2)-CN-PYR occurs with a rate of 1.1 × 10(9) s(-1) to produce radical ions SMe-NI-H(•+) and NO(2)-CN-PYR(•-). These initially produced radical ions in a solvent cage do not undergo a proton transfer, possibly due to unfavorable geometry between N-H proton of the naphthalimide and aromatic N-atom of the pyridine. Some of the radical ions in the solvent cage recombine with a rate of 2.3 × 10(10) s(-1), while some escape the solvent cage and recombine at a lower rate (k = 4.27 × 10(8) s(-1)). The radical ions that escape the solvent cage undergo proton transfer to produce neutral radicals SMe-NI(•) and NO(2)-CN-PYR-H(•). Because neutral radicals are not attracted to each other by electrostatic interactions, their recombination is slower that the recombination of the radical ions formed in model compounds that can undergo only electron transfer (SMe-NI-Me and NO(2)-CN-PYR, k = 1.2 × 10(9) s(-1)). The results of our study demonstrate that proton-coupled electron transfer can be used as an efficient method to achieve long-lived charge separation in light-driven processes.

Electronic properties of N(5)-ethyl flavinium ion.

We investigated the electronic properties of N(5)-ethyl flavinium perchlorate (Et-Fl(+)) and compared them to those of its parent compound, 3-methyllumiflavin (Fl). Absorption and fluorescence spectra of Fl and Et-Fl(+) exhibit similar spectral features, but the absorption energy of Et-Fl(+) is substantially lower than that of Fl. We calculated the absorption signatures of Fl and Et-Fl(+) using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) methods and found that the main absorption bands of Fl and Et-Fl(+) are (π,π*) transitions for the S(1) and S(3) excited states. Furthermore, calculations predict that the S(2) state has (n,π*) character. Using cyclic voltammetry and a simplistic consideration of the orbital energies, we compared the HOMO/LUMO energies of Fl and Et-Fl(+). We found that both HOMO and LUMO orbitals of Et-Fl(+) are stabilized relative to those in Fl, although the stabilization of the LUMO level was more pronounced. Visible and mid-IR pump-probe experiments demonstrate that Et-Fl(+) exhibits a shorter excited-state lifetime (590 ps) relative to that of Fl (several nanoseconds), possibly due to faster thermal deactivation in Et-Fl(+), as dictated by the energy gap law. Furthermore, we observed a fast (23-30 ps) S(2) → S(0) internal conversion in transient absorption spectra of both Fl and Et-Fl(+) in experiments that utilized pump excitations with higher energy.

Electron Transfer Kinetics at Graphene Quantum Dot Assembly Electrodes.

Electrochemical performance of nanostructured carbon electrodes was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry and a simple simulation model. The electrodes were prepared from soluble precursors by anodic electrodeposition of two sizes of graphene quantum dot assemblies (hexabenzocoronene (HBC) and carbon quantum dot (CQD)) onto a conductive support. Experimental and simulated voltammograms enabled the extraction of the following electrode parameters: conductivity of the electrodes (a combination of ionic and electronic contributions), density of available electrode states at different potentials, and tunneling rate constant (Marcus-Gerischer model) for interfacial charge transfer to ferrocene/ferrocenium (Fc/Fc+) couple. The parameters indicate that HBC and CQD have significant density of electronic states at potentials more positive than -0.5 V versus Ag/Ag+. Enabled by these large densities, the electron transfer rates at the Fc/Fc+ thermodynamic potential are several orders of magnitude slower than those commonly observed on other carbon electrodes. This study is expected to accelerate the discovery of improved synthetic carbon electrodes by providing fast screening methodology of their electrochemical behavior.

Electrode-assisted catalytic water oxidation by a flavin derivative.

The success of solar fuel technology relies on the development of efficient catalysts that can oxidize or reduce water. All molecular water-oxidation catalysts reported thus far are transition-metal complexes, however, here we report catalytic water oxidation to give oxygen by a fully organic compound, the N(5)-ethylflavinium ion, Et-Fl(+). Evolution of oxygen was detected during bulk electrolysis of aqueous Et-Fl(+) solutions at several potentials above +1.9 V versus normal hydrogen electrode. The catalysis was found to occur on glassy carbon and platinum working electrodes, but no catalysis was observed on fluoride-doped tin-oxide electrodes. Based on spectroelectrochemical results and preliminary calculations with density functional theory, one possible mechanistic route is proposed in which the oxygen evolution occurs from a peroxide intermediate formed between the oxidized flavin pseudobase and the oxidized carbon electrode. These findings offer an organic alternative to the traditional water-oxidation catalysts based on transition metals.

Fast excited-state deactivation in N(5)-ethyl-4a-hydroxyflavin pseudobase.

We present a study of the excited-state behavior of N(5)-ethyl-4a-hydroxyflavin (Et-FlOH), a model compound for bacterial bioluminescence. Using femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy, we found that the Et-FlOH excited state exhibits multiexponential dynamics, with the dominant decay component having a 0.5 ps lifetime. Several possible mechanisms for fast excited-state decay in Et-FlOH were considered: (i) excited-state deprotonation of the -OH proton, (ii) thermal deactivation via (1)n,π* → (1)π,π* conical intersection, and (iii) excited-state release of OH(-) ion. These mechanisms were excluded based on transient absorption studies of two model compounds (N(5)-ethyl-4a-methoxyflavin, Et-FlOMe, and N(5)-ethyl-flavinium ion, Et-Fl(+)) and based on the results of time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations of Et-FlOH excited-states. Instead, we propose that the fast decay in Et-FlOH is caused by S(1) → S(0) internal conversion, initiated by the excited-state nitrogen planarization (sp(3) → sp(2) hybridization change at the N(5)-atom of Et-FlOH S(1) state) coupled with out-of-plane distortion of the pyrimidine moiety of flavin.