Self-assembled via axial coordination magnesium porphyrin-imidazole appended fullerene dyad: spectroscopic, electrochemical, computational, and photochemical studies

Spectroscopic, redox, and electron transfer reactions of a self-assembled donor-acceptor dyad formed by axial coordination of magnesium meso-tetraphenylporphyrin (MgTPP) and fulleropyrrolidine appended with an imidazole coordinating ligand (C(60)Im) were investigated. Spectroscopic studies revealed the formation of a 1:1 C(60)Im:MgTPP supramolecular complex, and the anticipated 1:2 complex could not be observed because of the needed large amounts of the axial coordinating ligand. The formation constant, K(1), for the 1:1 complex was found to be (1.5 +/- 0.3) x 10(4) M(-1), suggesting fairly stable complex formation. The geometric and electronic structures of the dyads were probed by ab initio B3LYP/3-21G() methods. The majority of the highest occupied frontier molecular orbital (HOMO) was found to be located on the MgTPP entity, while the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) was on the fullerene entity, suggesting that the charge-separated state of the supramolecular complex is C(60)Im(*-):MgTPP(*+). Redox titrations involving MgTPP and C(60)Im allowed accurate determination of the oxidation and reduction potentials of the donor and acceptor entities in the supramolecular complex. These studies revealed more difficult oxidation, by about 100 mV, for MgTPP in the pentacoordinated C(60)Im:MgTPP compared to pristine MgTPP in o-dichlorobenzene. A total of six one-electron redox processes corresponding to the oxidation and reduction of the zinc porphyrin ring and the reduction of fullerene entities was observed within the accessible potential window of the solvent. The excited state events were monitored by both steady state and time-resolved emission as well as transient absorption techniques. In o-dichlorobenzene, upon coordination of C(60)Im to MgTPP, the main quenching pathway involved electron transfer from the singlet excited MgTPP to the C(60)Im moiety. The rate of forward electron transfer, k(CS), calculated from the picosecond time-resolved emission studies was found to be 1.1 x 10(10) s(-1) with a quantum yield, Phi(CS), of 0.99, indicating fast and efficient charge separation. The rate of charge recombination, k(CR), evaluated from nanosecond transient absorption studies, was found to be 8.3 x 10(7) s(-1). A comparison between k(CS) and k(CR) suggested an excellent opportunity to utilize the charge-separated state for further electron-mediating processes.     

Supramolecular electron transfer by anion binding

Anion binding has emerged as an attractive strategy to construct supramolecular electron donor-acceptor complexes. In recent years, the level of sophistication in the design of these systems has advanced to the point where it is possible to create ensembles that mimic key aspects of the photoinduced electron-transfer events operative in the photosynthetic reaction centre. Although anion binding is a reversible process, kinetic studies on anion binding and dissociation processes, as well as photoinduced electron-transfer and back electron-transfer reactions in supramolecular electron donor-acceptor complexes formed by anion binding, have revealed that photoinduced electron transfer and back electron transfer occur at time scales much faster than those associated with anion binding and dissociation. This difference in rates ensures that the linkage between electron donor and acceptor moieties is maintained over the course of most forward and back electron-transfer processes. A particular example of this principle is illustrated by electron-transfer ensembles based on tetrathiafulvalene calix[4]pyrroles (TTF-C4Ps). In these ensembles, the TTF-C4Ps act as donors, transferring electrons to various electron acceptors after anion binding. Competition with non-redox active substrates is also observed. Anion binding to the pyrrole amine groups of an oxoporphyrinogen unit within various supramolecular complexes formed with fullerenes also results in acceleration of the photoinduced electron-transfer process but deceleration of the back electron transfer; again, this is ascribed to favourable structural and electronic changes. Anion binding also plays a role in stabilizing supramolecular complexes between sulphonated tetraphenylporphyrin anions ([MTPPS](4-): M = H(2) and Zn) and a lithium ion encapsulated C(60) (Li(+)@C(60)); the resulting ensemble produces long-lived charge-separated states upon photoexcitation of the porphyrins.     

Rigid dendritic donor-acceptor ensembles: control over energy and electron transduction

Several generations of phenylenevinylene dendrons, covalently attached to a C(60) core, have been developed as synthetic model systems with hierarchical, fine-tuned architectures. End-capping of these dendritic spacers with dibutylaniline or dodecyloxynaphthalene, as antennas/electron donors, yielded new donor-bridge-acceptor ensembles in which one, two, or four donors are allocated at the peripheral positions of the well-defined dendrons, while the electron accepting fullerene is placed at the focal point of the dendron. On the basis of our cyclic voltammetry experiments, which disclose a single anodic oxidation and several cathodic reduction processes, we rule out significant, long-range couplings between the fullerene core and the end-standing donors in their ground-state configuration. Photophysical investigations, on the other hand, show that upon photoexcitation an efficient and rapid transfer of singlet excited-state energy (6 x 10(10) to 2.5 x 10(12) s(-1)) controls the reactivity of the initially excited antenna portion. Spectroscopic and kinetic evidence suggests that yet a second contribution, that is, an intramolecular electron-transfer, exists, affording C(60)(.-) -dendron(.+) with quantum yields (Phi) as high as 0.76 and lifetimes (tau) that are on the order of hundreds of nanoseconds (220-725 ns). Variation of the energy gap modulates the interplay of these two pathways (i.e., competition or sequence between energy and electron transfer).     

Study of electron donor-acceptor complexes of tri-n-octyl amine with [60]- and [70]fullerenes and some other electron acceptors by absorption spectrophotometric method

Electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complexes of tri-n-octylamine (TOA) with [60]- and [70]fullerenes and some other electron acceptors have been studied in chloroform medium by absorption spectrophotometric technique. Charge transfer (CT) absorption bands are observed in the visible region. Vertical ionization potential of TOA was determined utilizing CT transition energy. Oscillator strengths, transition dipole strengths and resonance energies for all the complexes have been calculated. [60]Fullerene/TOA and [70]fullerene/TOA complexes are found to decay slowly with time. Kinetics of these reactions have been studied and activation energies for such processes have been estimated. Ab initio calculations suggest that complexation of [70]fullerene with TOA is enthalpy favoured.     

Charge transfer in the electron donor-acceptor complex BH3NH3

As a simple yet strongly binding electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex, BH(3)NH(3) serves as a good example to study the electron pair donor-acceptor complexes. We employed both the ab initio valence bond (VB) and block-localized wave function (BLW) methods to explore the electron transfer from NH(3) to BH(3). Conventionally, EDA complexes have been described by two diabatic states: one neutral state and one ionic charge-transferred state. Ab initio VB self-consistent field (VBSCF) computations generate the energy profiles of the two diabatic states together with the adiabatic (ground) state. Our calculations evidently demonstrated that the electron transfer between NH(3) and BH(3) falls in the abnormal regime where the reorganization energy is less than the exoergicity of the reaction. The nature of the NH(3)-BH(3) interaction is probed by an energy decomposition scheme based on the BLW method. We found that the variation of the charge-transfer energy with the donor-acceptor distance is insensitive to the computation levels and basis sets, but the estimation of the amount of electron transferred heavily depends on the population analysis procedures. The recent resurgence of interest in the nature of the rotation barrier in ethane prompted us to analyze the conformational change of BH(3)NH(3), which is an isoelectronic system with ethane. We found that the preference of the staggered structure over the eclipsed structure of BH(3)NH(3) is dominated by the Pauli exchange repulsion.     

How close can you get? Studies of ultrafast light-induced processes in ruthenium-[60] fullerene dyads with short pyrazolino and pyrrolidino links

Two pyrazoline- and one pyrrolidine-bridged Ru(II)bipyridine-[60]fullerene dyads have been prepared and studied by ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy. A silver-assisted synthesis route, in which Ag(I) removes the chlorides from the precursor complex Ru(bpy) 2Cl 2 facilitates successful coordination of the [60]fullerene-substituted third ligand. Upon light excitation of the ruthenium moiety, the emission was strongly quenched by the fullerene. The main quenching mechanism is an exceptionally fast direct energy transfer ( k obs > 1 x 10 (12) s (-1) in the pyrazoline-bridged dyads), resulting in population of the lowest excited triplet state of fullerene. No evidence for electron transfer was found, despite the extraordinarily short donor-acceptor distance that could kinetically favor that process. The observations have implications on the ongoing development of devices built from Ru-polypyridyl complexes and nanostructured carbon, such as C 60 or nanotubes.     

Study of the formation equilibria of electron donor-acceptor complexes between [60]fullerene and methylbenzenes by absorption spectrometric method.

The electron donor-acceptor (EDA) interaction between [60]fullerene and three methylbenzenes, viz., durene, pentamethylbenzene and hexamethylbenzene has been studied in carbon tetrachloride medium at a number of temperatures. It has been found that these methylbenzenes form stable 1:1 EDA complexes with [60]fullerene. Charge transfer (CT) absorption bands of the complexes in the 410-460 nm region are more intense than the usual 420-700 nm absorption band of C60. The CT transition energies (hvCT) of the complexes change systematically with change in the number and position of the methyl groups in the donor molecules (methylbenzenes) and also with the donor ionisation potentials. From an analysis of this variation the electron affinity of C60 has been found to be 2.30 eV and also an inductive effect Hückel parameter of the methyl group has been determined. Formation constants (K) have been determined at three different temperatures from which the enthalpies and entropies of formation of the complexes have been determined.     

Fluorinated fullerenes: sources of donor-acceptor dyads with [18]trannulene acceptors for energy- and electron-transfer reactions

Fine-tuned control over the donor strength in a series of trannulenes-based donor-acceptor ensembles is used to alter the deactivation path of the photoexcited-state chromophore and to modulate the rates of intramolecular electron transfer. For the first time, a detailed analysis of emission spectra, time-dependent spectroscopic measurements, and electrochemistry prove spectroscopically and kinetically that trannulenes can serve, in a manner similar to C(60) and C(60) monoadducts, as both electron and also as energy acceptor in donor-acceptor ensembles, producing widely different electron-transfer regimes. This investigation also shows that the integration of trannulenes, as a versatile electron-acceptor building block, consistently produces charge recombination in the inverted Marcus region.     

Combining Zinc Phthalocyanines,Oligo(p-Phenylenevinylenes), and Fullerenes to Impact Reorganization Energies and Attenuation Factors

A study on electron transfer in three electron donor-acceptor complexes is reported. These architectures consist of a zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) as the excited-state electron donor and a fullerene (C₆₀) as the ground-state electron acceptor. These complexes are brought together by axial coordination at ZnPc. The key variable in our design is the length of the molecular spacer, namely, oligo-p-phenylenevinylenes. The lack of appreciable ground-state interactions is in accordance with strong excited-state interactions, as inferred from the quenching of ZnPc centered fluorescence and the presence of a short-lived fluorescence component. Full-fledged femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy assays corroborated that the ZnPc ⋅ ⁺-C₆₀ ⋅ ⁻ charge-separated state formation comes at the expense of excited-state interactions following ZnPc photoexcitation. At a first glance, the ZnPc ⋅ ⁺-C₆₀ ⋅ ⁻ charge-separated state lifetime increased from 0.4 to 86.6 ns as the electron donor-acceptor separation increased from 8.8 to 29.1 Å. A closer look at the kinetics revealed that the changes in charge-separated state lifetime are tied to a decrease in the electronic coupling element from 132 to 1.2 cm⁻¹, an increase in the reorganization energy of charge transfer from 0.43 to 0.63 eV, and a large attenuation factor of 0.27 Å⁻¹.     

Theoretical investigation of electron transfer transition in tetracyanoethylene-contained organic complexes

In this work, the authors use complete active space self-consistent field method to investigate the photoinduced charge-separated states and the electron transfer transition in complexes ethylene-tetracyanoethylene and tetramethylethylene-tetracyanoethylene. Geometries of isolated tetracyanoethylene, ethylene, and tetramethylethylene have been optimized. The ground state and the low-lying excited states of ethylene and tetracyanoethylene have been optimized. The state energies in the gas phase have been obtained and compared with the experimentally observed values. The torsion barrier of tetracyanoethylene has been investigated through the state energy calculation at different conformations. Attention has been particularly paid to the charge-separated states and the electron transfer transition of complexes. The stacked conformations of the donor-acceptor complexes have been chosen for the optimization of the ground and low-lying excited states. Equilibrium solvation has been considered by means of conductor-like screening model both in water and in dichloromethane. It has been found that the donor and tetracyanoethylene remain neutral in complexes in ground state (1)A(1) and in lowest triplet state (3)B(1), but charge separation appears in excited singlet state (1)B(1). Through the correction of nonequilibrium solvation energy based on the spherical cavity approximation, pi-->pi* electron transfer transition energies have been obtained. Compared with the experimental measurements in dichloromethane, the theoretical results in the same solvent are found higher by about 0.5 eV.     

Ion atmosphere relaxation and percolative electron transfer in Co bipyridine DNA molten salts

Polypyridyl complexes of Co decorated with 350-Da polyether chains (Co(350)(2+)) form molten phases of nucleic acids when paired with DNA counterions (Co(350)DNA) or 25-mer oligonucleotides. Analysis of voltammetry and chronoamperometry of mixtures of these phases with complexes having ClO(4)(-) counterions (Co(350)(ClO(4))(2)) and no other diluent provides charge transport rates from the oxidation and reduction currents for the complexes. As the mole fraction of the Co(350)(ClO(4))(2) complex in the mixture is varied from ca. 0.25 to 1, the physical diffusion constants derived from the Co(III/II) wave increase from 1 x 10(-11) cm(2)/s to 5 x 10(-10) cm(2)/s, and apparent diffusion constants dominated by the Co(II/I) electron self-exchange increase from 1 x 10(-10) cm(2)/s to 2 x 10(-8) cm(2)/s. Pure Co(350)DNA melts, containing no Co(350)(ClO(4))(2) complex, do not exhibit recognizable voltammetric waves; DNA suppresses the Co(II/I) electron transfer reactions of Co complexes for which it is the counterion. There are therefore two microscopically distinct kinds of Co(350) complexes, those with DNA and those with ClO(4)(-) counterions, with respect to their Co(II/I) electron-transfer dynamics, leading to percolative behavior in their mixtures. The electron-transfer rates of the Co(II/I) couple are controlled by the diffusive relaxation of the ionic atmosphere around the reaction pair, and the inactivity of the bound Co complexes can be attributed to the very low mobility of the anionic phosphate groups in the DNA counterion. Substitution of sulfonated polystyrene for DNA produced similar results, suggesting that this phenomenon is general to other polymer counterions of low mobility. We conclude that the measured Co(II/I) charge transport and electron-transfer rate constants reflect more the diffusive mobility of the perchlorate counterion than the intrinsic Co(II/I) electron hopping rate.     

Subphthalocyanines: tuneable molecular scaffolds for intramolecular electron and energy transfer processes

A series of four subphthalocyanine-C(60) fullerene dyads have been prepared through axial functionalization of the macrocycle with m-hydroxybenzaldehyde and a subsequent dipolar cycloaddition reaction. The subphthalocyanine moiety has been peripherally functionalized with substituents of different electronic character, namely fluorine or iodine atoms and ether or amino groups, thus reaching a control over its electron-donating properties. This is evidenced in cyclic voltammetry experiments by a progressive shift to lower potentials, by ca. 200 mV, of the first oxidation event of the SubPc unit in the dyads. As a consequence, the energy level of the SubPc(*)(+)-C(60)(*)(-) charge-transfer state may be tuned so as to compete with energy transfer deactivation pathways upon selective excitation of the SubPc component. For instance, excitation of those systems where the level of the radical pair lies high in energy triggers a sequence of exergonic photophysical events that comprise (i) nearly quantitative singlet-singlet energy transfer to the C(60) moiety, (ii) fullerene intersystem crossing, and (iii) triplet-triplet energy transfer back to the SubPc. On the contrary, the stabilization of the SubPc(*)(+)-C(60)(*)(-) radical pair state by increasing the polarity of the medium or by lowering the donor-acceptor redox gap causes charge transfer to dominate. In the case of 1c in benzonitrile, the thus formed radical pair has a lifetime of 0.65 ns and decays via the energetically lower lying triplet excited state. Further stabilization is achieved for dyad 1d, whose charge-transfer state would lie now below both triplets. The radical pair lifetime consequently increases in more than 2 orders of magnitude with respect to 1c and presents a significant stabilization in less polar solvents, revealing a low reorganization energy for this kind of SubPc-C(60) systems.     

Optical energy transport and interactions between the excitations in a coumarin-perylene bisimide dendrimer

Energy transfer properties of novel coumarin-perylene bisimide dendrimer are studied by means of steady state and time-resolved UV/vis spectroscopy. At low donor excitation density fast (transfer rate approximately 10 ps(-1)) and efficient (quantum yield approximately 99.5%) donor-acceptor energy transfer is observed. The random distributions of donor-acceptor orientations and distances result in nonexponential energy transfer kinetics. The energy transfer remains independent of excitation density up to densities corresponding to one absorbed photon per 10 dendrimer molecules. At higher excitation densities the transfer rate is found to increase due to excitation of multiple donors per dendrimer. Control of the donor-acceptor energy transfer rate is achieved by pre-excitation of the acceptor and monitored by prepump-pump-probe experiments, which show that the energy transfer rate can be decreased by a factor of 2. The relative orientations of transition dipole moments in the donor and acceptor molecules are found to be one of the key factors determining the energy transfer dynamics at high excitation densities.     

Solvent dependence of intramolecular electron transfer in a helical oligoproline assembly

The helical oligoproline assembly CH3-CO-Pro-Pro-Pro-Pra(Ptzpn)-Pro-Pro-Pra(RuIIb2m2+ -Pro-Pro-Pra(Anq)-Pro-Pro-Pro-NH2, having a spatially ordered array of functional sites protruding from the proline backbone, has been prepared. The 13-residue assembly formed a linear array containing a phenothiazine electron donor, a tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chromophore, and an anthraquinone electron acceptor with the proline II secondary structure as shown by circular dichroism measurements. Following RuII --> b2m metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) excitation at 457 nm, electron-transfer quenching occurs, ultimately to give a redox-separated (RS) state containing a phenothiazine (PTZ) radical cation at the Pra(Ptzpn) site and an anthraquinone (ANQ) radical anion at the Pra(Anq) site. The redox-separated state was formed with 33-96% efficiency depending on the solvent, and the transient stored energy varied from -1.46 to -1.71 eV at 22 +/- 2 degrees C. The dominant quenching mechanism is PTZ reductive quenching of the initial RuIII(b2m*-) MLCT excited state which is followed by m*- --> ANQ electron transfer to give the RS state. Back electron transfer is highly exergonic and occurs in the inverted region. The rate constant for back electron transfer is solvent dependent and varies from 5.2 x 10(6) to 7.7 x 10(6) s-1 at 22 +/- 2 degrees C. It is concluded that back electron transfer occurs by direct ANQ*- --> PTZ*+ electron transfer. Based on independently evaluated kinetic parameters, the electron-transfer matrix element is HDA approximately 0.13 cm-1.     

Ligand structure, conformational dynamics, and excited-state electron delocalization for control of photoinduced electron transfer rates in synthetic donor-bridge-acceptor systems

Synthesis, ground-, and excited-state properties are reported for two new electron donor-bridge-acceptor (D-B-A) molecules and two new photophysical model complexes. The D-B-A molecules are [Ru(bpy)2(bpy-phi-MV)](PF6)4 (3) and [Ru(tmb)2(bpy-phi-MV)](PF6)4 (4), where bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine, tmb is 4,4',5,5'-tetramethyl-2,2'-bipyridine, MV is methyl viologen, and phi is a phenylene spacer. Their model complexes are [Ru(bpy)2(p-tol-bpy)](PF6)2 (1) and [Ru(tmb)2(p-tol-bpy)](PF6)2 (2), where p-tolyl-bpy is 4-(p-tolyl)-2,2'-bipyridine. Photophysical characterization of 1 and 2 indicates that 2.17 eV and 2.12 eV are stored in their respective (3)MLCT (metal-to-ligand charge transfer) excited state. These values along with electrochemical measurements show that photoinduced electron transfer (D*-B-A-->D (+)-B-A(-)) is favorable in 3 and 4 with DeltaG degrees(ET)=-0.52 eV and -0.62 eV, respectively. The driving force for the reverse process (D(+)-B-A(-) --> D-B-A) is also reported: DeltaG degrees(BET)=-1.7 eV for 3 and -1.5 eV for 4. Transient absorption (TA) spectra for 3 and 4 in 298 K acetonitrile provide evidence that reduced methyl viologen is observable at 50 ps following excitation. Detailed TA kinetics confirm this, and the data are fit to a model to determine both forward (k(ET)) and back (k(BET)) electron transfer rate constants: k(ET)=2.6 x 10(10) s(-1) for 3 and 2.8 x 10(10) s(-1) for 4; k(BET)=0.62 x 10(10) s(-1) for 3 and 1.37 x 10(10) s(-1) for 4. The similar rate constants k ET for 3 and 4 despite a 100 meV driving force (DeltaG degrees(ET)) increase suggests that forward electron transfer in these molecules in room temperature acetonitrile is nearly barrierless as predicted by the Marcus theory. The reduction in electron transfer reorganization energy necessary for this barrierless reactivity is attributed to excited-state electron delocalization in the (3)MLCT excited states of 3 and 4, an effect that is made possible by excited-state conformational changes in the aryl-substituted ligands of these complexes.     

Charge transfer absorption for pi-conjugated polymers and oligomers mixed with electron acceptors

Pi-conjugated polymers and oligomers show charge transfer (CT) absorption bands when mixed with electron acceptors in chloroform solution. This is attributed to the formation of (ground state) donor-acceptor complexes in solution. By varying the concentration of the donor and acceptor, the extinction coefficient for the CT absorption and the association constant of donor and acceptor are estimated. The spectral position of the CT bands correlates with the electrochemical oxidation potential of the pi-conjugated donor and the reduction potential of the acceptor.     

Screening electronic communication through ortho-, meta- and para-substituted linkers separating subphthalocyanines and C60

We have prepared two complementary series of SubPc-C(60) (SubPc=subphthalocyanine) electron/energy donor-acceptor systems, in which the two constituents are linked through ortho-, meta-, or para-substituted phenoxy spacers. In one of the series (1 a) the SubPc units bear iodine atoms, while in the other series (1 b) diphenylamino groups are linked to the SubPc macrocycles. The iodine atoms and diphenylamino groups both influence the resulting oxidation potentials of the electron-donating SubPc. They also modulate the outcome of excited state interactions, namely, energy and/or charge transfer. In addition, we have studied the impact that the substitution pattern in the phenoxy spacer exerts onto intramolecular processes in the ground and excited states. Although some of these processes are governed by the spatial separation between both components, the different electronic coupling through ortho-, meta-, or para- connections also plays decisive roles in some cases.     

p-Phenyleneethynylene molecular wires: influence of structure on photoinduced electron-transfer properties

A series of donor-acceptor arrays (exTTF-oPPE-C60) containing pi-conjugated oligo(phenyleneethynylene) wires (oPPE) of different length between pi-extended tetrathiafulvalene (exTTF) as electron donor and fullerene (C60) as electron acceptor has been prepared by following a convergent synthesis. The key reaction in these approaches is the bromo-iodo selectivity of the Hagihara-Sonogashira reaction and the deprotecting of acetylenes with different silyl groups to afford the corresponding donor-acceptor conjugates in moderate yields. The electronic interactions between the three electroactive species were determined by using UV-visible spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Our studies clearly confirm that, although the C60 units are connected to the exTTF donor through pi-conjugated oPPE frameworks, no significant electronic interactions are observed in the ground state. Theoretical calculations predict how a simple exchange from C=C double bonds (i.e., oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) to C triple chemical bond C triple bonds (i.e., oPPE) in the electron donor-acceptor conjugates considerably alters long-range electron transfer. Photoexcitation of exTTF-oPPE-C60 leads to the following features: a transient photoproduct with maxima at 660 and 1000 nm, which are unambiguously attributed to the photolytically generated radical-ion-pair state, [exTTF*+-oPPE-C60*]. Both charge-separation and charge-recombination processes give rise to a molecular-wire behaviour of the oPPE moiety with an attenuation factor (beta) of (0.2+/-0.05) A(-1).     

Proton-coupled electron transfer in soybean lipoxygenase

The proton-coupled electron transfer reaction catalyzed by soybean lipoxygenase-1 is studied with a multistate continuum theory that represents the transferring hydrogen nucleus as a quantum mechanical wave function. The inner-sphere reorganization energy of the iron cofactor is calculated with density functional theory, and the outer-sphere reorganization energy of the protein is calculated with the frequency-resolved cavity model for conformations obtained with docking simulations. Both classical and quantum mechanical treatments of the proton donor-acceptor vibrational motion are presented. The temperature dependence of the calculated rates and kinetic isotope effects is in agreement with the experimental data. The weak temperature dependence of the rates is due to the relatively small free energy barrier arising from a balance between the reorganization energy and the reaction free energy. The unusually high deuterium kinetic isotope effect of 81 is due to the small overlap of the reactant and product proton vibrational wave functions and the dominance of the lowest energy reactant and product vibronic states in the tunneling process. The temperature dependence of the kinetic isotope effect is strongly influenced by the proton donor-acceptor distance with the dominant contribution to the overall rate. This dominant proton donor-acceptor distance is significantly smaller than the equilibrium donor-acceptor distance and is determined by a balance between the larger coupling and the smaller Boltzmann probability as the distance decreases. Thus, the proton donor-acceptor vibrational motion plays a vital role in decreasing the dominant donor-acceptor distance relative to its equilibrium value to facilitate the proton-coupled electron transfer reaction.     

Determination of the structural features of a long-lived electron-transfer state of 9-mesityl-10-methylacridinium ion

Extensive efforts have been devoted to developing electron donor-acceptor systems that mimic the utilization of solar energy that occurs in photosynthesis. X-ray crystallographic analysis shows how absorbed photon energy is stabilized in those compounds by structural changes upon photoinduced electron transfer (ET). In this study, structural changes of a simple electron donor-acceptor dyad, 9-mesityl-10-methylacridinium cation (Acr(+)-Mes), upon photoinduced ET were directly observed by laser pump and X-ray probe crystallographic analysis. The N-methyl group in Acr(+) was bent, and a weak electrostatic interaction between Mes and a counteranion in the crystal (ClO(4)) was generated by photoinduced ET. These structural changes correspond to reduction and oxidation due to photoinduced ET and directly elucidate the mechanism in Acr(+)-Mes for mimicking photosynthesis efficiently.