Intersystem Crossing and Electron Spin Selectivity in Anthracene-Naphthalimide Compact Electron Donor-Acceptor Dyads Showing Different Geometry and Electronic Coupling Magnitudes

Anthracene-naphthalimide (An-NI) compact electron donor-acceptor dyads were prepared, in which the orientation and distance between the two subunits were varied by direct connection or with intervening phenyl linker. Efficient intersystem crossing (ISC) and long triplet state lifetime (Φ_Δ=92 %, τ_T=438 μs) were observed for the directly connected dyads showing a perpendicular geometry (81°). This efficient spin-orbit charge transfer ISC (SOCT-ISC) takes 376 fs, inhibits the direct charge recombination (CR) to ground state (¹CT→S₀, takes 3.04 ns). Interestingly, efficient SOCT-ISC for dyads with intervening phenyl linker (Φ_Δ=40 % in DCM) was also observed, although the electron donor and acceptor adopt almost coplanar geometry (dihedral angle: 15°). Time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy shows that the electron spin polarization of the triplet state, i. e. the electron spin selectivity of ISC, is highly dependent on the dihedral angle and the linker. For the dyads showing weaker coupling between the donor and acceptors, the charge separation and the intramolecular triplet energy transfer are inhibited at 80 K (frozen solution), because both the ³An and ³NI states were observed and the ESP are same as compared to the native anthracene and naphthalimide, which unravel their origin. The dyads were used as triplet photosensitizers for triplet−triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA UC). High UC quantum yield (Φ_UC=12.9 %) as well as a large anti-Stokes shift (0.72 eV) was attained by excitation into the CT absorption band.     

High‐Potential Perfluorinated Phthalocyanine–Fullerene Dyads for Generation of High‐Energy Charge‐Separated States: Formation and Photoinduced Electron‐Transfer Studies

High oxidation potential perfluorinated zinc phthalocyanines (ZnF_nPcs) are synthesised and their spectroscopic, redox, and light‐induced electron‐transfer properties investigated systematically by forming donor–acceptor dyads through metal–ligand axial coordination of fullerene (C₆₀) derivatives. Absorption and fluorescence spectral studies reveal efficient binding of the pyridine‐ (Py) and phenylimidazole‐functionalised fullerene (C₆₀Im) derivatives to the zinc centre of the F_nPcs. The determined binding constants, K, in o‐dichlorobenzene for the 1:1 complexes are in the order of 10⁴ to 10⁵ M ^?1; nearly an order of magnitude higher than that observed for the dyad formed from zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) lacking fluorine substituents. The geometry and electronic structure of the dyads are determined by using the B3LYP/6‐31G* method. The HOMO and LUMO levels are located on the Pc and C₆₀ entities, respectively; this suggests the formation of ZnF_nPc^.+–C₆₀Im^.? and ZnF_nPc^.+–C₆₀Py^.? (n=0, 8 or 16) intra‐supramolecular charge‐separated states during electron transfer. Electrochemical studies on the ZnPc–C₆₀ dyads enable accurate determination of their oxidation and reduction potentials and the energy of the charge‐separated states. The energy of the charge‐separated state for dyads composed of ZnF_nPc is higher than that of normal ZnPc–C₆₀ dyads and reveals their significance in harvesting higher amounts of light energy. Evidence for charge separation in the dyads is secured from femtosecond transient absorption studies in nonpolar toluene. Kinetic evaluation of the cation and anion radical ion peaks reveals ultrafast charge separation and charge recombination in dyads composed of perfluorinated phthalocyanine and fullerene; this implies their significance in solar‐energy harvesting and optoelectronic device building applications.     

Distance Matters: Effect of the Spacer Length on the Photophysical Properties of Multimodular Perylenediimide–Silicon Phthalocyanine–Fullerene Triads

A multimodular donor–acceptor conjugate featuring silicon phthalocyanine (SiPc) as the electron donor, and two electron acceptors, namely tetrachloroperylenediimide (PDI) and C₆₀, placed at the opposite ends of the SiPc axial positions, was newly designed and synthesized, and the results were compared to the earlier reported PDI-SiPc-C₆₀ triad. Minimal intramolecular interactions between the entities was observed. Absorption, fluorescence, computational and electrochemical studies were performed to evaluate the excitation energy, geometry and electronic structure, and energy levels of different photoevents. Steady-state absorption, fluorescence and excitation spectral studies revealed efficient singlet–singlet energy transfer from ¹PDI* to SiPc in the PDI-SiPc dyad and the PDI-SiPc-C₆₀ triad. The measured rates for these photochemical events were found to be much higher than those reported earlier for the triad, due to closer proximity between the PDI and SiPc entities. The distance also affected the charge separation path in which involvement of PDI, and not C₆₀, in charge separation in the present triad was witnessed. The present investigation brings out the importance of donor–acceptor distances in channeling photochemical events in a multimodular system.     

Ultrafast Photoinduced Charge Separation Leading to High‐Energy Radical Ion‐Pairs in Directly Linked Corrole–C60 and Triphenylamine–Corrole‐C60 Donor–Acceptor Conjugates

Closely positioned donor–acceptor pairs facilitate electron‐ and energy‐transfer events, relevant to light energy conversion. Here, a triad system TPACor‐C₆₀ , possessing a free‐base corrole as central unit that linked the energy donor triphenylamine ( TPA ) at the meso position and an electron acceptor fullerene (C₆₀) at the β‐pyrrole position was newly synthesized, as were the component dyads TPA‐Cor and Cor‐C₆₀ . Spectroscopic, electrochemical, and DFT studies confirmed the molecular integrity and existence of a moderate level of intramolecular interactions between the components. Steady‐state fluorescence studies showed efficient energy transfer from ¹ TPA* to the corrole and subsequent electron transfer from ¹corrole* to fullerene. Further studies involving femtosecond and nanosecond laser flash photolysis confirmed electron transfer to be the quenching mechanism of corrole emission, in which the electron‐transfer products, the corrole radical cation ( Cor^?+ in Cor‐C₆₀ and TPA‐Cor^?+ in TPACor‐C₆₀ ) and fullerene radical anion (C₆₀^??), could be spectrally characterized. Owing to the close proximity of the donor and acceptor entities in the dyad and triad, the rate of charge separation, k_CS, was found to be about 10¹¹ s^?1, suggesting the occurrence of an ultrafast charge‐separation process. Interestingly, although an order of magnitude slower than k_CS, the rate of charge recombination, k_CR, was also found to be rapid (k_CR≈10¹⁰ s^?1), and both processes followed the solvent polarity trend DMF>benzonitrile>THF>toluene. The charge‐separated species relaxed directly to the ground state in polar solvents while in toluene, formation of ³corrole* was observed, thus implying that the energy of the charge‐separated state in a nonpolar solvent is higher than the energy of ³corrole* being about 1.52 eV. That is, ultrafast formation of a high‐energy charge‐separated state in toluene has been achieved in these closely spaced corrole–fullerene donor–acceptor conjugates.     

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.     

[10]CPP-Based Inclusion Complexes of Charged Fulleropyrrolidines. Effect of the Charge Location on the Photoinduced Electron Transfer

A number of non-covalently bound donor-acceptor dyads, consisting of C₆₀ as the electron acceptor and cycloparaphenylene (CPP) as the electron donor, have been reported. A hypsochromic shift of the charge transfer (CT) band in polar medium has been found in [10]CPP⊃Li⁺@C₆₀ . To explore this anomalous effect, we study inclusion complexes [10]CPP⊃Li⁺@C₆₀-MP , [10]CPP⊃C₆₀-MPH⁺ , and [10]CPP⊃C₆₀-PPyMe⁺ formed by fulleropyrrolidine derivatives and [10]CPP using the DFT/TDDFT approach. We show that the introduction of a positively charged fragment into fullerene stabilizes CT states that become the lowest-lying excited states. These charge-separated states can be generated by the decay of locally excited states on a nanosecond to picosecond time scale. The distance of the charged fragment to the center of the fullerenic cage and its accessibility to the solvent determine the strength of the hypsochromic shift.     

A Supramolecular [10]CPP Junction Enables Efficient Electron Transfer in Modular Porphyrin–[10]CPP⊃Fullerene Complexes

Efficient photoinduced electron transfer was observed across a [10]cycloparaphenylene ([10]CPP) moiety that serves as a rigid non‐covalent bridge between a zinc porphyrin and a range of fullerenes. The preparation of iodo‐[10]CPP is the key to the synthesis of a porphyrin–[10]CPP conjugate, which binds C₆₀, C₇₀, (C₆₀)₂, and other fullerenes (K_A>10⁵ m ^?1). Fluorescence and pump–probe spectroscopy revealed intramolecular energy transfer between CPP and porphyrin and also efficient charge separation between porphyrin and fullerenes, affording up to 0.5 μs lifetime charge‐separated states. The advantage of this approach towards electron donor–acceptor dyads is evident in the case of dumbbell‐shaped (C₆₀)₂, which gave intricate charge‐transfer behavior in 1:1 and 2:1 complexes. These results suggest that [10]CPP and its cross‐coupled derivatives could act as supramolecular mediators of charge transport in organic electronic devices.     

Dynamics of Photoinduced Electron‐Transfer Processes in Fullerene‐Based Dyads: Effects of Varying the Donor Strength

Two classes of fullerene‐based donor–bridge–acceptor (D–B–A) systems containing donors of varying oxidation potentials have been synthesized. These systems include fullerenes linked to heteroaromatic donor groups (phenothiazine/phenoxazine) as well as substituted anilines (p‐anisidine/p‐toluidine). In contrast to the model compound, an efficient intramolecular electron transfer is observed from the fullerene singlet excited state in polar solvents. An increase in the rate constant and quantum yield of charge separation (k_cs and Φ_cs) has been observed for both classes of dyads, with decrease in the oxidation potentials of the donor groups. This observation indicates that the rates of the forward electron transfer fall in the normal region of the Marcus curve. The long‐lived charge separation enabled the characterization of electron transfer products, namely, the radical cation of the donor and radical anion of the pyrrolidinofullerene, by using nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The small reorganization energy (λ) of C₆₀ coupled with large negative free energy changes (‐ΔG°) for the back electron transfer places the back electron process in the inverted region of Marcus curve, thereby stabilizing the electron transfer products.     

Excitation‐Wavelength‐Dependent,Ultrafast Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Bisferrocene/BF2‐Chelated‐Azadipyrromethene/Fullerene Tetrads

Donor–acceptor distance, orientation, and photoexcitation wavelength are key factors in governing the efficiency and mechanism of electron‐transfer reactions both in natural and synthetic systems. Although distance and orientation effects have been successfully demonstrated in simple donor–acceptor dyads, revealing excitation‐wavelength‐dependent photochemical properties demands multimodular, photosynthetic‐reaction‐center model compounds. Here, we successfully demonstrate donor– acceptor excitation‐wavelength‐dependent, ultrafast charge separation and charge recombination in newly synthesized, novel tetrads featuring bisferrocene, BF₂‐chelated azadipyrromethene, and fullerene entities. The tetrads synthesized using multistep synthetic procedure revealed characteristic optical, redox, and photo reactivities of the individual components and featured “closely” and “distantly” positioned donor–acceptor systems. The near‐IR‐emitting BF₂‐chelated azadipyrromethene acted as a photosensitizing electron acceptor along with fullerene, while the ferrocene entities acted as electron donors. Both tetrads revealed excitation‐wavelength‐dependent, photoinduced, electron‐transfer events as probed by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. That is, formation of the Fc⁺–ADP–C₆₀^.? charge‐separated state upon C₆₀ excitation, and Fc⁺–ADP^.?–C₆₀ formation upon ADP excitation is demonstrated.     

Role of the Bridge in Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Porphyrin–Fullerene Dyads

The role of π‐conjugated molecular bridges in through‐space and through‐bond electron transfer is studied by comparing two porphyrin–fullerene donor–acceptor (D–A) dyads. One dyad, ZnP–Ph–C₆₀ (ZnP=zinc porphyrin), incorporates a phenyl bridge between D and A and behaves very similarly to analogous dyads studied previously. The second dyad, ZnP–EDOTV–C₆₀, introduces an additional 3,4‐ethylenedioxythienylvinylene (EDOTV) unit into the conjugated bridge, which increases the distance between D and A, but, at the same time, provides increased electronic communication between them. Two essential outcomes that result from the introduction of the EDOTV unit in the bridge are as follows: 1) faster charge recombination, which indicates enhanced electronic coupling between the charge‐separated and ground electronic states; and 2) the disappearance of the intramolecular exciplex, which mediates photoinduced charge separation in the ZnP–Ph–C₆₀ dyad. The latter can be interpreted as a gradual decrease in electronic coupling between locally excited singlet states of D and A when introducing the EDOTV unit into the D–A bridge.     

Photosynthetic Antenna‐Reaction Center Mimicry with a Covalently Linked Monostyryl Boron‐Dipyrromethene–Aza‐Boron‐Dipyrromethene–C60 Triad

An efficient functional mimic of the photosynthetic antenna‐reaction center has been designed and synthesized. The model contains a near‐infrared‐absorbing aza‐boron‐dipyrromethene (ADP) that is connected to a monostyryl boron‐dipyrromethene (BDP) by a click reaction and to a fullerene (C₆₀) using the Prato reaction. The intramolecular photoinduced energy and electron‐transfer processes of this triad as well as the corresponding dyads BDP‐ADP and ADP‐C₆₀ have been studied with steady‐state and time‐resolved absorption and fluorescence spectroscopic methods in benzonitrile. Upon excitation, the BDP moiety of the triad is significantly quenched due to energy transfer to the ADP core, which subsequently transfers an electron to the fullerene unit. Cyclic and differential pulse voltammetric studies have revealed the redox states of the components, which allow estimation of the energies of the charge‐separated states. Such calculations show that electron transfer from the singlet excited ADP (¹ADP*) to C₆₀ yielding ADP^.+‐C₆₀^.? is energetically favorable. By using femtosecond laser flash photolysis, concrete evidence has been obtained for the occurrence of energy transfer from ¹BDP* to ADP in the dyad BDP‐ADP and electron transfer from ¹ADP* to C₆₀ in the dyad ADP‐C₆₀. Sequential energy and electron transfer have also been clearly observed in the triad BDP‐ADP‐C₆₀. By monitoring the rise of ADP emission, it has been found that the rate of energy transfer is fast (≈10¹¹ s^?1). The dynamics of electron transfer through ¹ADP* has also been studied by monitoring the formation of C₆₀ radical anion at 1000 nm. A fast charge‐separation process from ¹ADP* to C₆₀ has been detected, which gives the relatively long‐lived BDP‐ADP^.+C₆₀^.? with a lifetime of 1.47 ns. As shown by nanosecond transient absorption measurements, the charge‐separated state decays slowly to populate mainly the triplet state of ADP before returning to the ground state. These findings show that the dyads BDP‐ADP and ADP‐C₆₀, and the triad BDP‐ADP‐C₆₀ are interesting artificial analogues that can mimic the antenna and reaction center of the natural photosynthetic systems.     

Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Tetrathiafulvalene−Porphyrin−Fullerene Molecular Triads

The two molecular triads 1a and 1b consisting of a porphyrin (P) covalently linked to a fullerene (C₆₀) electron acceptor and tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) electron‐donor moiety were synthesized, and their photochemical properties were determined by transient absorption and emission techniques. Excitation of the free‐base‐porphyrin moiety of the TTF−P_{2 H}−C₆₀ triad 1a in tetrahydro‐2‐methylfuran solution yields the porphyrin first excited singlet state TTF−¹P_{2 H}−C₆₀, which undergoes photoinduced electron transfer with a time constant of 25 ps to give TTF−P_{2 H}^.+−C₆₀^.−. This intermediate charge‐separated state has a lifetime of 230 ps, decaying mainly by a charge‐shift reaction to yield a final state, TTF^.+−P_{2 H}−C₆₀^.−. The final state has a lifetime of 660 ns, is formed with an overall yield of 92%, and preserves ca. 1.0 eV of the 1.9 eV inherent in the porphyrin excited state. Similar behavior is observed for the zinc analog 1b . The TTF‐P_Zn^.+−C₆₀^.− state is formed by ultrafast electron transfer from the porphyrinatozinc excited singlet state with a time constant of 1.5 ps. The final TTF^.+−P_Zn−C₆₀^.− state is generated with a yield of 16%, and also has a lifetime of 660 ns. Although charge recombination to yield a triplet has been observed in related donor‐acceptor systems, the TTF^.+−P−C₆₀^.− states recombine to the ground state, because the molecule lacks low‐energy triplet states. This structural feature leads to a longer lifetime for the final charge‐separated state, during which the stored energy could be harvested for solar‐energy conversion or molecular optoelectronic applications.     

Sequential,Ultrafast Energy Transfer and Electron Transfer in a Fused Zinc Phthalocyanine-free-base Porphyrin-C60 Supramolecular Triad

A supramolecular triad composed of a fused zinc phthalocyanine-free-base porphyrin dyad (ZnPc-H₂P) coordinated to phenylimidazole functionalized C₆₀ via metal-ligand axial coordination was assembled, as a photosynthetic antenna-reaction centre mimic. The process of self-assembly resulting into the formation of C₆₀Im:ZnPc-H₂P supramolecular triad was probed by proton NMR, UV-Visible and fluorescence experiments at ambient temperature. The geometry and electronic structures were deduced from DFT calculations performed at the B3LYP/6-31G(dp) level. Electrochemical studies revealed ZnPc to be a better electron donor compared to H₂P, and C₆₀ to be the terminal electron acceptor. Fluorescence studies of the ZnPc-H₂P dyad revealed excitation energy transfer from ¹H₂P* to ZnPc within the fused dyad and was confirmed by femtosecond transient absorption studies. Similar to that reported earlier for the fused ZnPc-ZnP dyad, the energy transfer rate constant, k_ENT was in the order of 10¹² s⁻¹ in the ZnPc-H₂P dyad indicating an efficient process as a consequence of direct fusion of the two π-systems. In the presence of C₆₀Im bound to ZnPc, photoinduced electron transfer leading to H₂P-ZnPc^.+:ImC₆₀^.− charge separated state was observed either by selective excitation of ZnPc or H₂P. The latter excitation involved an energy transfer followed by electron transfer mechanism. Nanosecond transient absorption studies revealed that the lifetime of charge separated state persists for about 120 ns indicating charge stabilization in the triad.     

The influence of driving force on intramolecular electron transfer: A theoretical study of subphthalocyanine-AzaBODIPY-C60 supramolecular triad

The driving force of electron transfer is one of important factors for initializing inter- and intramolecular charge separation. In this work, the main goal is to understand how driving force determines electron transfer pathway in subphthalocyanine-AzaBODIPY-C₆₀ supramolecular triad. Experimental observations have suggested that there are only two intramolecular charge transfer states (subPC⁺-AzaBODIPY⁻-C₆₀ and subPC⁺-AzaBODIPY-C₆₀⁻) after photon absorption, where subPC is the donor. Through the calculations by using tuned long range corrected density functionals with polarizable continuum model, we find two more new intramolecular charge transfer states: subPC⁻-AzaBODIPY⁺-C₆₀ and subPC-AzaBODIPY⁺-C₆₀⁻, where AzaBODIPY is the donor. We compare the HOMO/LUMO energy of subPC, AzaBODIPY, and C₆₀ monomers to their corresponding orbital energy in the triad. The results indicate that the driving force (HOMO/LUMO energy offsets) is not enough for electron transfer from AzaBODIPY to subPC or C₆₀, which can explain why subPC⁻-AzaBODIPY⁺-C₆₀ and subPC-AzaBODIPY⁺-C₆₀⁻ intramolecular charge transfer states cannot be observed in the experiment. In addition, this work may provide a simple and practical method to find the intramolecular charge transport pathway of a supramolecule.     

Quadrupolar Ultrafast Charge Transfer in Diaminoazobenzene-Bridged Perylenediimide Triads

Strong push-pull interactions between electron donor, diaminoazobenzene (azo), and an electron acceptor, perylenediimide (PDI), entities in the newly synthesized A−D−A type triads (A=electron acceptor and D=electron donor) and the corresponding A−D dyads are shown to reveal wide-band absorption covering the entire visible spectrum. Electrochemical studies revealed the facile reduction of PDI and relatively easier oxidation of diaminoazobenzene in the dyads and triads. Charge transfer reversal using fluorescence-spectroelectrochemistry wherein the PDI fluorescence recovery upon one-electron oxidation, deterring the charge-transfer interactions, was possible to accomplish. The charge transfer state density difference and the frontier orbitals from the DFT calculations established the electron-deficient PDI to be an electron acceptor and diaminoazobenzene to be an electron donor resulting in energetically closely positioned PDI ^δ− -Azo ^δ+ -PDI ^δ− quadrupolar charge-transfer states in the case of triads and Azo ^δ+ -PDI ^δ− dipolar charge-transfer states in the case of dyads. Subsequent femtosecond transient absorption spectral studies unequivocally proved the occurrence of excited-state charge transfer in these dyads and triads in benzonitrile wherein the calculated forward charge transfer rate constants, k_f, were limited to instrument response factor, meaning >10¹² s⁻¹ revealing the occurrence of ultrafast photo-events. The charge recombination rate constant, k_r, was found to depend on the type of donor-acceptor conjugates, that is, it was possible to establish faster k_r in the case of triads (∼10¹¹ s⁻¹) compared to dyads (∼10¹⁰ s⁻¹). Modulating both ground and excited-state properties of PDI with the help of strong quadrupolar and dipolar charge transfer and witnessing ultrafast charge transfer events in the studied triads and dyads is borne out from the present study.     

Dissociative Electron Attachment to Hexachlorobenzene

Gas phase molecules of hexachlorobenzene (C₆Cl₆) were investigated by means of dissociative electron attachment spectroscopy (DEAS). Three channels of molecular negative ions decay have been identified: abstraction of Cl⁻ and Cl₂⁻ as well as electron detachment (τ_a∼250 μs at 343 K). All three channels exhibit temperature dependence. The adiabatic electron affinity estimated using a simple but typically accurate Arrhenius model (EA_a=1.6–1.9 eV) turns out to be much higher than the quantum-chemical predictions (EA_a=0.9–1.0 eV). We discuss the possible reasons behind the observed discrepancy.     

Axially Substituted Silicon Phthalocyanine as Electron Donor in a Dyad and Triad with Azafullerene as Electron Acceptor for Photoinduced Charge Separation

The synthesis of a donor–acceptor silicon phthalocyanine (SiPc)‐azafullerene (C₅₉N) dyad 1 and of the first acceptor–donor–acceptor C₅₉N‐SiPc‐C₅₉N dumbbell triad 2 was accomplished. The two C₅₉N‐based materials were comprehensively characterized with the aid of NMR spectroscopy, MALDI‐MS as well as DFT calculations and their redox and photophysical properties were evaluated with CV and steady‐state and time‐resolved absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy measurements. Notably, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy assays revealed that both dyad 1 and triad 2 undergo, after selective photoexcitation of the SiPc moiety, photoinduced electron transfer from the singlet excited state of the SiPc moiety to the azafullerene counterpart to produce the charge‐separated state, with lifetimes of 660 ps, in the case of dyad 1 , and 810 ps, in the case of triad 2 . The current results are expected to have significant implications en route to the design of advanced C₅₉N‐based donor–acceptor systems targeting energy conversion applications.     

Photoinduced Electron‐Transfer Processes in Fullerene‐Based Donor–Acceptor Systems

Photoinduced electron‐transfer processes in fullerene‐based donor–acceptor dyads (D? B? A) in homogeneous and cluster systems are summarized. Stabilization of charge has been achieved through the use of fullerene substituted‐aniline/heteroaromatic dyads with tunable ionization potentials and also by using fullerene clusters. The rate constants for charge separation (k_CS) and charge recombination (k_CR) in fullerene substituted‐aniline/heteroaromatic dyads show that forward electron transfer falls in the normal region of the Marcus curve and the back electron transfer in the inverted region of the Marcus parabola. Clustering of fullerene‐based dyads assists in effective delocalization of the separated charge and thereby slows down the back electron transfer in these cases.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in platinum(II) terpyridinyl acetylide complexes connected to a porphyrin unit

A series of six new dyads consisting of a zinc or magnesium porphyrin appended to a platinum terpyridine acetylide complex via a para-phenylene bisacetylene spacer are described. Different substituents on the 4' position of the terpyridinyl ligand were explored (OC7H15, PO3Et2, and H). The ground-state electronic properties of the dyads are studied by electronic absorption spectroscopy and electrochemistry, and they indicate some electronic interactions between the porphyrin subunit and the platinum complex. The photophysical properties of these dyads were investigated by steady-state, time-resolved, and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in N,N-dimethylformamide solution. Excitation of the porphyrin unit leads to a very rapid electron transfer (2-20 ps) to the nearby platinum complex followed by an ultrafast charge recombination, thus preventing any observation of the charge separated state. The variation in the rate of the photoinduced electron transfer in the series of dyads is consistent with Marcus theory. The results underscore the potential of the para-phenylene bisacetylene bridge to mediate a rapid electron transfer over a long donor-acceptor distance.     

A New Approach for the Photosynthetic Antenna–Reaction Center Complex with a Model Organized Around an s‐Triazine Linker

Two new artificial mimics of the photosynthetic antenna‐reaction center complex have been designed and synthesized (BDP‐H₂P‐C₆₀ and BDP‐ZnP‐C₆₀). The resulting electron‐donor/acceptor conjugates contain a porphyrin (either in its free‐base form (H₂P) or as Zn‐metalated complex (ZnP)), a boron dipyrrin (BDP), and a fulleropyrrolidine possessing, as substituent of the pyrrolidine nitrogen, an ethylene glycol chain terminating in an amino group C₆₀‐X‐NH₂ (X=spacer). In both cases, the three different components were connected by s‐triazine through stepwise substitution reactions of cyanuric chloride. In addition to the facile synthesis, the star‐type arrangement of the three photo‐ and redox‐active components around the central s‐triazine unit permits direct interaction between one another, in contrast to reported examples in which the three components are arranged in a linear fashion. The energy‐ and electron‐transfer properties of the resulting electron‐donor/acceptor conjugates were investigated by using UV/Vis absorption and emission spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Comparison of the absorption spectra and cyclic voltammograms of BDP‐H₂P‐C₆₀ and BDP‐ZnP‐C₆₀ with those of BDP‐H₂P, BDP‐ZnP and BDP‐C₆₀, which were used as references, showed that the spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of the individual constituents are basically retained, although some appreciable shifts in terms of absorption indicate some interactions in the ground state. Fluorescence lifetime measurements and transient absorption experiments helped to elucidate the antenna function of BDP, which upon selective excitation undergoes a rapid and efficient energy transfer from BDP to H₂P or ZnP. This is then followed by an electron transfer to C₆₀, yielding the formation of the singlet charge‐separated states, namely BDP‐H₂P ^.+‐ C₆₀ ^.? and BDP‐ZnP ^.+‐ C₆₀ ^{. ?}. As such, the sequence of energy transfer and electron transfer in the present models mimics the events of natural photosynthesis.