Femtosecond-Picosecond Laser Photolysis Studies on Photoinduced Electron Transfer Phenomena in Solutions

Results of our femtosecond-picosecond laser photolysis studies on photoinduced electron transfer phenomena in solutions including exciplex dynamics and its solvent dependences, energy gap dependences of photoinduced charge separation and charge recombination of various geminate ion pairs, mechanisms of chemical reactions via exciplexes and ion pairs, dynamics of photoinduced election transfer in hydrogen bonding complexes, dynamics and mechanisms of photoinduced electron transfer in fixed distance donor acceptor dyads and photosynthetic reaction center models, and mechanisms of electron ejection from solute fluorescent state in polar solutions are summarized and discussed.     

Synthesis of directly linked zinc(II) porphyrin-imide dyads and energy gap dependence of intramolecular electron transfer reactions

A series of zinc(II) porphyrin-imide dyads (ZP-Im), in which an electron donating ZP moiety is directly connected to an electron accepting imide moiety in the meso position, have been prepared for the examination of energy gap dependence of intramolecular electron transfer reactions with large electronic coupling. The nearly perpendicular conformation of the imide moiety towards the porphyrin plane has been revealed by Xray crystal structures. The energy gap for charge separation, 1ZP* - Im --> ZP+ - Im-, is varied by changing the electron accepting imide moiety to cover a range of about 0.8 eV in DMF. Definitive evidence for electron transfer has been obtained in three solvents (toluene, THF, and DMF) through picosecond-femtosecond transient absorption studies, which have allowed us to determine the rates of photoinduced charge separation, 1ZP* - Im --> ZP+ - Im-, and subsequent thermal charge recombination ZP+ - Im- --> ZP - Im. The free-energy gap dependence (energy gap law) has been probed from the normal to the nearly top region for the charge separation rate alone, and only the inverted region for the charge recombination rate. Although both of the energy gap dependencies can be approximately reproduced by means of the simplified semiclassical equation, when we take into consideration the effect of the high frequency vibrations replaced by one mode of averaged frequency, many features, including the effects of solvent polarity and the electron tunneling matrix element on the energy gap law, differ considerably from those of the previously studied porphyrin-quinone systems, which have weaker interchromophore electronic interactions.     

Unified interpretation of exciplex formation and marcus electron transfer on the basis of two-dimensional free energy surfaces

The mechanism of exciplex formation proposed in a previous paper has been refined to show how exciplex formation and Marcus electron transfer (ET) in fluorescence quenching are related to each other. This was done by making simple calculations of the free energies of the initial (DA*) and final (D+A-) states of ET. First it was shown that the decrease in D-A distance can induce intermolecular ET even in nonpolar solvents where solvent orientational polarization is absent, and that it leads to exciplex formation. This is consistent with experimental results that exciplex is most often observed in nonpolar solvents. The calculation was then extended to ET in polar solvents where the free energies are functions of both D-A distance and solvent orientational polarization. This enabled us to discuss both exciplex formation and Marcus ET in the same D-A pair and solvent on the basis of 2-dimensional free energy surfaces. The surfaces contain more information about the rates of these reactions, the mechanism of fluorescence quenching by ET, etc., than simple reaction schemes. By changing the parameters such as the free energy change of reaction, solvent dielectric constants, etc., one can construct the free energy surfaces for various systems. The effects of free energy change of reaction and of solvent polarity on the mechanism and relative importance of exciplex formation and Marcus ET in fluorescence quenching can be well explained. The free energy surface will also be useful for discussion of other phenomena related to ET reactions.     

Electron transfer in porphyrin—quinone cyclophanes studied on the pico- and femto-second time scale

Electron transfer in porphyrin—quinone cyclophanes is investigated by fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy with pico- and femto-second pulses. In nonpolar solvents, the S₁ state of the porphyrin shows a lifetime from 300 ps up to several nanoseconds, depending upon the number of quinones and upon their electron affinity. Comparative measurements in polar solvents demonstrate very fast electron transfer on a time scale between 1 and 10 ps. The results are analyzed with the aid of quantum-chemical calculations which give the energy of the charge transfer states and the relevant coupling strengths. For nonpolar solvents, theory suggests fluctuation-induced charge separation and/or direct radiationless internal conversion from the porphyrin S₁ to the ground state. In polar solution, the molecules exist in a tilted configuration with strong electronic coupling and charge transfer states well below the S₁ level, resulting in fast electron transfer and subsequent charge recombination within 10–40 ps.     

The reorganization energy of electron transfer in nonpolar solvents: molecular level treatment of the solvent

The intermolecular electron transfer in a solute pair consisting of pyrene and dimethylaniline is investigated in a nonpolar solvent, n-hexane. The earlier elaborated approach [M. Tachiya, J. Phys Chem. 97, 5911 (1993)] is used; this method provides a physically relevant background for separating inertial and inertialess polarization responses for both nonpolarizable and polarizable molecular level simulations. The molecular-dynamics technique was implemented for obtaining the equilibrium ensemble of solvent configurations. The nonpolar solvent, n-hexane, was treated in terms of OPLS-AA parametrization. Solute Lennard-Jones parameters were taken from the same parametrization. Solute charge distributions of the initial and final states were determined using ab initio level [HF/6-31G(d,p)] quantum-chemical calculations. Configuration analysis was performed explicitly taking into account the anisotropic polarizability of n-hexane. It is shown that the Gaussian law well describes calculated distribution functions of the solvent coordinate, therefore, the rate constant of the ET reaction can be characterized by the reorganization energy. Evaluated values of the reorganization energies are in a range of 0.03-0.11 eV and significant contribution (more then 40% of magnitude) comes from anisotropic polarizability. Investigation of the reorganization energy lambda dependence on the solute pair separation distance d revealed unexpected behavior. The dependence has a very sharp peak at the distance d=7 A where solvent molecules are able to penetrate into the intermediate space between the solute pair. The reason for such behavior is clarified. This new effect has a purely molecular origin and cannot be described within conventional continuum solvent models.     

Theoretical investigation of charge transfer excitation and charge recombination in acenaphthylene–tetracyanoethylene complex

Ab initio calculations were performed to investigate the charge separation and charge recombination processes in the photoinduced electron transfer reaction between tetracyanoethylene and acenaphthylene. The excited states of the charge‐balanced electron donor–acceptor complex and the singlet state of ion pair complex were studied by employing configuration interaction singles method. The equilibrium geometry of electron donor–acceptor complex was obtained by the second‐order Møller–Plesset method, with the interaction energy corrected by the counterpoise method. The theoretical study of ground state and excited states of electron donor–acceptor complex in this work reveals that the S₁ and S₂ states of the electron donor–acceptor complexes are excited charge transfer states, and charge transfer absorptions that corresponds to the S₀ → S₁ and S₀ → S₂ transitions arise from π–π* excitations. The charge recombination in the ion pair complex will produce the charge‐balanced ground state or excited triplet state. According to the generalized Mulliken–Hush model, the electron coupling matrix elements of the charge separation process and the charge recombination process were obtained. Based on the continuum model, charge transfer absorption and charge transfer emission in the polar solvent of 1,2‐dichloroethane were investigated. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem 94: 23–35, 2003     

Solvent dependence of the charge-transfer properties of a quaterthiophene–anthraquinone dyad

An electron donor–acceptor dyad (quaterthiophene–anthraquinone) mediates ultrafast intramolecular photoinduced charge separation and consequent charge recombination when in polar or moderately polar solvents. Alternatively, non-polar media completely impedes the initial photoinduced electron transfer by causing enough destabilization of the charge-transfer state and shifting its energy above the energy of the lowest locally excited singlet state. Furthermore, femtosecond transient-absorption spectroscopy reveals that for the solvents mediating the initial photoinduced electron-transfer process, the charge recombination rates were slower than the rates of charge separation. This behavior of donor–acceptor systems is essential for solar-energy-conversion applications. For the donor–acceptor dyad described in this study, the electron-transfer driving force and reorganization energy place the charge-recombination processes in the Marcus inverted region.     

Stabilization of the Charge‐Separated States of Covalently Linked Zinc Porphyrin–Triphenylamine–[60]Fullerene

Spectroscopic, redox, computational, and electron transfer reactions of the covalently linked zinc porphyrin–triphenylamine–fulleropyrrolidine system are investigated in solvents of varying polarity. An appreciable interaction between triphenylamine and the porphyrin π system is revealed by steady‐state absorption and emission, redox, and computational studies. Free‐energy calculations suggest that the light‐induced processes via the singlet‐excited porphyrin are exothermic in benzonitrile, dichlorobenzene, toluene, and benzene. The occurrence of fast and efficient charge‐separation processes (≈10¹² s^?1) via the singlet‐excited porphyrin is confirmed by femtosecond transient absorption measurements in solvents with dielectric constants ranging from 25.2 (benzonitrile) to 2.2 (benzene). The rates of the charge separation processes are much less solvent‐dependent, which suggests that the charge‐separation processes occur at the top region of the Marcus parabola. The lifetimes of the singlet radical‐ion pair (70–3000 ps at room temperature) decrease substantially in more polar solvents, which suggests that the charge‐recombination process is occurring in the Marcus inverted region. Interestingly, by utilizing the nanosecond transient absorption spectral technique we can obtain clear evidence about the existence of triplet radical‐ion pairs with relatively long lifetimes of 0.71 μs (in benzonitrile) and 2.2 μs (in o‐dichlorobenzene), but not in toluene and benzene due to energetic considerations. From the point of view of mechanistic information, the synthesized zinc porphyrin–triphenylamine–fulleropyrrolidine system has the advantage that both the lifetimes of the singlet and triplet radical‐ion pair can be determined.     

Energy-gap dependence of photoinduced charge separation and subsequent charge recombination in 1,4-phenylene-bridged zinc--free-base hybrid porphyrins

A series of 1,4-phenylene-bridged ZP-HP hybrid porphyrins (ZP = zinc porphyrin, HP = free-base porphyrin) 1-8 ZH have been prepared in which an electron-donating ZP moiety is kept constant and electron-accepting HP moieties are varied by introducing electron-accepting substituents, so that the energy gap for charge separation, ZP-1HP*--> ZP(+)-HP-, covers a range of about 0.9 eV in DMF. Here selective excitation at the HP moiety was employed to avoid complication in the determination of electron transfer rates derived from energy transfer, 1ZP*-HP --> ZP-1HP*. Definitive evidence for the electron transfer has been obtained in three solvents (benzene, THF, and DMF) through picosecond-femtosecond transient absorption studies, which have allowed the determination of the rates of the photoinduced charge separation, ZP-1HP* --> ZP(+)-HP-, and subsequent thermal charge recombination ZP(+)-HP- --> ZP-HP. Dyad 1ZH in THF exhibits a biphasic fluorescence decay that indicates thermal repopulation of the ZP-1HP* from ZP(+)-HP-; this has been also supported by the transient absorption spectra. On this ground, the energy levels of the ZP(+)-HP- ion pairs have been estimated. Similar biphasic fluorescence decay has been observed for 5 ZH in benzene; this allows furhter estimation of the energy level of the ZP(+)-HP- ion pairs. The free-energy-gap dependence (energy-gap law) has been probed from the normal to the upper limit region for the rate of the charge separation alone, and only the inverted region for the rate of the charge recombination. It was not possible to reproduce both energy-gap dependencies of the charge separation and the charge recombination assuming common parameter values for the reorganization energy and electronic interaction responsible for the electron transfer with the classical Marcus equation. Although both energy-gap dependencies can be approximately reproduced by means of the simplified semiclassical equation, which takes into consideration the effect of the high-frequency vibrations replaced by one mode of averaged frequency, many features, which include the effects of solvent polarity, electron-tunneling matrix element, and so forth on the energy-gap law, are considerably different from those of the previous studied porphyrin-quinone systems with weaker inter-chromophore electronic interactions.     

Photoinduced energy and electron-transfer processes in porphyrin-perylene bisimide symmetric triads

The photophysics of two symmetric triads, (ZnP)2PBI and (H2P)2PBI, made of two zinc or free-base porphyrins covalently attached to a central perylene bisimide unit has been investigated in dichloromethane and in toluene. The solvent has been shown to affect not only quantitatively but also qualitatively the photophysical behavior. A variety of intercomponent processes (singlet energy transfer, triplet energy transfer, photoinduced charge separation, and recombination) have been time-resolved using a combination of emission spectroscopy and femtosecond and nanosecond time-resolved absorption techniques yielding a very detailed picture of the photophysics of these systems. The singlet excited state of the lowest energy chromophore (perylene bisimide in the case of (ZnP)2PBI, porphyrin in the case of (H2P)2PBI) is always quantitatively populated, besides by direct light absorption, by ultrafast singlet energy transfer (few picosecond time constant) from the higher energy chromophore. In dichloromethane, the lowest excited singlet state is efficiently quenched by electron transfer leading to a charge-separated state where the porphyrin is oxidized and the perylene bisimide is reduced. The systems then go back to the ground state by charge recombination. The four charge separation and recombination processes observed for (ZnP)2PBI and (H2P)2PBI in dichloromethane take place in the sub-nanosecond time scale. They obey standard free-energy correlations with charge separation lying in the normal regime and charge recombination in the Marcus inverted region. In less polar solvents, such as toluene, the energy of the charge-separated states is substantially lifted leading to sharp changes in photophysical mechanism. With (ZnP)2PBI, the electron-transfer quenching is still fast, but charge recombination takes place now in the nanosecond time scale and to triplet state products rather than to the ground state. Triplet-triplet energy transfer from the porphyrin to the perylene bisimide is also involved in the subsequent deactivation of the triplet manifold to the ground state. With (H2P)2PBI, on the other hand, the driving force for charge separation is too small for electron-transfer quenching, and the deactivation of the porphyrin excited singlet takes place via intersystem crossing to the triplet followed by triplet energy transfer to the perylene bisimide and final decay to the ground state.     

Dynamical arrest of electron transfer in liquid crystalline solvents

We argue that electron transfer reactions in slowly relaxing solvents proceed in the nonergodic regime, making the reaction activation barrier strongly dependent on the solvent dynamics. For typical dielectric relaxation times of polar nematics, electron transfer reactions in the subnanosecond time scale fall into nonergodic regime in which nuclear solvation energies entering the activation barrier are significantly lower than their thermodynamic values. The transition from isotropic to nematic phase results in weak discontinuities of the solvation energies at the transition point and the appearance of solvation anisotropy weakening with increasing solute size. The theory is applied to analyze experimental kinetic data for the electron transfer kinetics in the isotropic phase of 5CB liquid crystalline solvent. We predict that the energy gap law of electron transfer reactions in slowly relaxing solvents is characterized by regions of fast change of the rate at points where the reaction switches between the ergodic and nonergodic regimes. The dependence of the rate on the donor-acceptor separation may also be affected in a way of producing low values for the exponential falloff parameter.     

Excited-state symmetry breaking in cofacial and linear dimers of a green perylenediimide chlorophyll analogue leading to ultrafast charge separation

Photoexcitation of chromophoric dimers constrained to a symmetric pi-stacked geometry by their molecular structure usually produces excimers independent of solvent polarity, while dimers with edge-to-edge perpendicular pi systems undergo excited-state symmetry breaking in highly polar solvents leading to intradimer charge separation. We present direct evidence for symmetry breaking in the lowest excited singlet state of a symmetric cofacial dimer of 1,7-bis(pyrrolidin-1'-yl)-perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) (5PDI) in the low polarity solvent toluene to produce a radical ion pair quantitatively. This dimer, cof-5PDI2, was synthesized by attaching two 5PDI chromophores via imide groups to a xanthene spacer. For comparison, a linear symmetric dimer, lin-5PDI2, was prepared in which the 5PDI chromophores are linked end-to-end via a N-N single bond between their imides. The edge-to-edge pi systems of the 5PDI chromophores within lin-5PDI2 are perpendicular to one another. Ground-state absorption spectra of both 5PDI dimers show exciton coupling, which is consistent with the orientation of the 5PDI chromophores relative to one another. Ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy following excitation of the dimers with 700 nm, 100 fs laser pulses shows that quantitative intradimer electron transfer occurs in cof-5PDI2 in toluene with tau = 0.17 ps followed by charge recombination to the ground state with tau = 222 ps. Similar measurements on lin-5PDI2 reveal that photoinduced electron transfer does not occur in toluene, but occurs in more polar solvents such as 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, wherein tau = 55 ps for charge separation and tau = 99 ps for charge recombination. Excited-state symmetry breaking in 5PDI dimers provides new routes to biomimetic charge separation and storage assemblies that can be more easily prepared and modified than those based on multiple tetrapyrrole macrocycles.     

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.     

Direct observation of the preference of hole transfer over electron transfer for radical ion pair recombination in donor-bridge-acceptor molecules

Understanding how the electronic structures of electron donor-bridge-acceptor (D-B-A) molecules influence the lifetimes of radical ion pairs (RPs) photogenerated within them (D+*-B-A-*) is critical to designing and developing molecular systems for solar energy conversion. A general question that often arises is whether the HOMOs or LUMOs of D, B, and A within D+*-B-A-* are primarily involved in charge recombination. We have developed a new series of D-B-A molecules consisting of a 3,5-dimethyl-4-(9-anthracenyl)julolidine (DMJ-An) electron donor linked to a naphthalene-1,8:4,5-bis(dicarboximide) (NI) acceptor via a series of Phn oligomers, where n = 1-4, to give DMJ-An-Phn-NI. The photoexcited charge transfer state of DMJ-An acts as a high-potential photoreductant to rapidly and nearly quantitatively transfer an electron across the Phn bridge to produce a spin-coherent singlet RP 1(DMJ+*-An-Phn-NI-*). Subsequent radical pair intersystem crossing yields 3(DMJ+*-An-Phn-NI-*). Charge recombination within the triplet RP then gives the neutral triplet state. Time-resolved EPR spectroscopy shows directly that charge recombination of the RP initially produces a spin-polarized triplet state, DMJ-An-Phn-3*NI, that can only be produced by hole transfer involving the HOMOs of D, B, and A within the D-B-A system. After the initial formation of DMJ-An-Phn-3*NI, triplet-triplet energy transfer occurs to produce DMJ-3*An-Phn-NI with rate constants that show a distance dependence consistent with those determined for charge separation and recombination.     

卟啉-酞菁分子内能量传递和电子转移的溶剂效应

用稳态荧光光谱研究了以氧原子和哌嗪作为连接基的卟啉酞菁二元分子在不同溶剂中的分子内能量传递和电子转移过程结果表明;分子内的能量传递和电子转移是两个相互竞争的过程，在非极性溶剂中，激发单重态的能量传递是主要过程，而在极性溶剂中则以电子转移为主运用Rehm-Weller公式计算了两种二元化合物在不同溶剂中的电子转移反应的自由能变化△G0ET，表明溶剂的极性对电子转移反应的自由能变化△G0ET影响很大极性越大;体系中的电子转移反应的△G0ET、越负，电子转移反应越易进行由于电子转移过程较能量传递过程进行得快，所以表现为体系中能量传递效率降低而电子转移效率增大。两种二元化合物的能量传递效率（φEnT）利和电子转移效率（φET）随溶剂的极性的变化具有相同的变化趋势     

Conformation effect of oligosilane linker on photoinduced electron transfer of tetrasilane-linked zinc porphyrin–[60]fullerene dyads

A series of zinc porphyrin–[60]fullerene dyads linked by conformation-constrained tetrasilanes and permethylated tetrasilane have been synthesized for the evaluation of the conformation effect of the tetrasilane linkers on the photoinduced electron transfer. The excited-state dynamics of these dyads have been studied using the time-resolved fluorescence and absorption measurements. The fluorescence of the zinc porphyrin moiety in each dyad was quenched by the electron transfer to the fullerene moiety. The transient absorption measurements revealed that the final state of the excited-state process was a radical ion pair with a radical cation on the zinc porphyrin moiety and a radical anion on the fullerene moiety as a result of the charge separation. The charge separation and charge recombination rates were found to show only slight conformation dependence of the tetrasilane linkers, which is characteristic for the Si-linkages.     

Competing electron-transfer pathways in hydrocarbon frameworks: short-circuiting through-bond coupling by nonbonded contacts in rigid U-shaped norbornylogous systems containing a cavity-bound aromatic pendant group

This work explores electron transfer through nonbonded contacts in two U-shaped DBA molecules 1DBA and 2DBA by measuring electron-transfer rates in organic solvents of different polarities. These molecules have identical U-shaped norbornylogous frameworks, 12 bonds in length and with diphenyldimethoxynaphthalene (DPMN) donor and dicyanovinyl (DCV) acceptor groups fused at the ends. The U-shaped cavity of each molecule contains an aromatic pendant group of different electronic character, namely p-ethylphenyl, in 1DBA, and p-methoxyphenyl, in 2DBA. Electronic coupling matrix elements, Gibbs free energy, and reorganization energy were calculated from experimental photophysical data for these compounds, and the experimental results were compared with computational values. The magnitude of the electronic coupling for photoinduced charge separation, /V(CS)/, in 1DBA and 2DBA were found to be 147 and 274 cm(-1), respectively, and suggests that the origin of this difference lies in the electronic nature of the pendant aromatic group and charge separation occurs by tunneling through the pendant group, rather than through the bridge. 2DBA, but not 1DBA, displayed charge transfer (CT) fluorescence in nonpolar and weakly polar solvents, and this observation enabled the electronic coupling for charge recombination, /V(CR)/, in 2DBA to be made, the magnitude of which is approximately 500 cm(-1), significantly larger than that for charge separation. This difference is explained by changes in the geometry of the molecule in the relevant states; because of electrostatic effects, the donor and acceptor chromophores are about 1 A closer to the pendant group in the charge-separated state than in the locally excited state. Consequently the through-pendant-group electronic coupling is stronger in the charge-separated state--which controls the CT fluorescence process--than in the locally excited state--which controls the charge separation process. The magnitude of /V(CR)/ for 2DBA is almost 2 orders of magnitude greater than that in DMN-12-DCV, having the same length bridge as for the former molecule, but lacking a pendant group. This result unequivocally demonstrates the operation of the through-pendant-group mechanism of electron transfer in the pendant-containing U-shaped systems of the type 1DBA and 2DBA.     

Photoinduced Electron Transfer in a Distyryl BODIPY–Fullerene Dyad

A novel distyryl BODIPY–fullerene dyad is prepared. Upon excitation at the distyryl BODIPY moiety, the dyad undergoes photoinduced electron transfer to give a charge‐separated state with lifetimes of 476 ps and 730 ps in polar (benzonitrile) and nonpolar (toluene) solvents, respectively. Transient absorption measurements show the formation of the triplet excited state of distyryl BODIPY in the dyad, which is populated from charge‐recombination processes in both solvents.