Photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer and charge separation in zinc phthalocyanine-viologen linked system

Photoinduced electron transfer and charge separation processes in zinc phthalocya-nine-viologen linked system have been studied and the distance effect of donor/acceptor on electron transfer reaction is discussed. It is indicated that the fluorescence from the zinc phthalocyanine moiety is appreciably quenched and the life-time of singlet excited state is reduced by the pendant viologen. Time-resolved transient absorption spectra measurements show that intramolecular quenching of the triplet state of zinc phthalocyanine by the attached viologen results in charge separation giving reduced viologen radical alive for a rather long period with hundred microsecond duration. The effect of the carbon chain length on the electron transfer rate constant and charge separation efficiency suggests that upon excitation, the zinc phthalocyanine and viologen groups tend to take closer conformation with the increase of the carbon chain examined. The rate constant for the intramolecular electron transfer ket with n = 3     

Photodissociation of pyrene dimer radical cation during the pulse radiolysis–laser flash photolysis combined method

Photodissociation of pyrene (Py) dimer radical cation (Py ₂ ^?+ ) giving pyrene radical cation (Py^?+) and Py and subsequent regeneration of Py ₂ ^?+ by association of Py^?+ and Py were directly observed during the pulse radiolysis–laser flash photolysis combined method at room temperature. When Py ₂ ^?+ was excited at the local excitation band with the 532-nm laser flash, the rapid growth and decay of monomeric Py^?+ were observed at 460 nm. The dissociation of Py ₂ ^?+ proceeded via a one-photon process to give the ground-state Py^?+(D₀) and Py in the quantum yield (Φ_diss) of (2.9 ± 0.9) × 10^?3. It was shown that Py^?+ decayed with a time constant of several tens of nanoseconds, indicating that the association of Py^?+ with Py regenerating Py ₂ ^?+ proceeds at a diffusion-controlled rate. The photodissociation proceeded from the lowest excited state of Py ₂ ^?+ , even when Py ₂ ^?+ was excited to the higher excited state. The difference between the Φ_diss value of Py ₂ ^?+ and that previously reported for naphthalene dimer radical cation (Np ₂ ^?+ ) is discussed.     

Where does the electron go? Electron distribution and reactivity of peptide cation radicals formed by electron transfer in the gas phase

We report the first detailed analysis at correlated levels of ab initio theory of experimentally studied peptide cations undergoing charge reduction by collisional electron transfer and competitive dissociations by loss of H atoms, ammonia, and N-C alpha bond cleavage in the gas phase. Doubly protonated Gly-Lys, (GK + 2H) (2+), and Lys-Lys, (KK + 2H) (2+), are each calculated to exist as two major conformers in the gas phase. Electron transfer to conformers with an extended lysine chain triggers highly exothermic dissociation by loss of ammonia from the Gly residue, which occurs from the ground ( X ) electronic state of the cation radical. Loss of Lys ammonium H atoms is predicted to occur from the first excited ( A ) state of the charge-reduced ions. The X and A states are nearly degenerate and show extensive delocalization of unpaired electron density over spatially remote groups. This delocalization indicates that the captured electron cannot be assigned to reduce a particular charged group in the peptide cation and that superposition of remote local Rydberg-like orbitals plays a critical role in affecting the cation-radical reactivity. Electron attachment to ion conformers with carboxyl-solvated Lys ammonium groups results in spontaneous isomerization by proton-coupled electron transfer to the carboxyl group forming dihydroxymethyl radical intermediates. This directs the peptide dissociation toward NC alpha bond cleavage that can proceed by multiple mechanisms involving reversible proton migrations in the reactants or ion-molecule complexes. The experimentally observed formations of Lys z (+*) fragments from (GK + 2H) (2+) and Lys c (+) fragments from (KK + 2H) (2+) correlate with the product thermochemistry but are independent of charge distribution in the transition states for NC alpha bond cleavage. This emphasizes the role of ion-molecule complexes in affecting the charge distribution between backbone fragments produced upon electron transfer or capture.     

Energy and electron transfer reactions on silica gel and titania–silica mixed oxide surfaces

Research on Chemical Intermediates - The energy and electron transfer reactions of anthracene co-adsorbed with an electron donor on silica gel and titania–silica mixed oxides have been...     

Comment: Electron-transfer reactions in the 9-mesityl-10-methylacridinium ion: impurities, triplet states and infinitely long-lived charge-shift states?

The likelihood of an infinitely long-lived, charge-shift state being formed by the target compound is re-assessed in light of persistent claims that such chemistry is both viable and observable.     

Long-range electron and excitation energy transfer in donor–bridge–acceptor systems

Donor–bridge–acceptor (D-B-A) systems, either as supermolecules or on surfaces, have been extensively studied with respect to long-range electron (ET) and excitation energy (EET) transfer. In more recent years, the main research objective has been to develop knowledge on how to construct molecular-based devices, with predetermined electron transfer properties, intended for application in electronics and photovoltaics. At present, such construction is in general hampered for several reasons. Most importantly, the property of a D-B-A system is not a simple linear combination of properties of the individual components, but depends on the specific building blocks and how they are assembled. An important example is the ability of the bridge to support the intended transfer process. The mediation of the transfer is characterized by an attenuation factor, β, often viewed as a bridge specific constant but which also depends on the donor and the acceptor, i.e. the same bridge can either be poorly or strongly conducting depending on the donor and acceptor. This review gives an account of the experimental exploration of the attenuation factor β in a series of bis(porphyrin) systems covalently linked by bridges of the oligo(phenyleneethynylene) (OPE) type. Attenuation factors for ET as well as for both singlet and triplet EET are discussed. A report is also given on the dependence of the transfer efficiency on the energy-gap between the donor and bridge states relevant for the specific transfer process. The experimental variation of β with varying donor and acceptor components is shown for a range of conjugated bridges by representative examples from the literature. The theoretical rationalization for the observed variation is briefly discussed. Based on the Gamow tunneling model, the observed variations in β-values with varying donors and acceptors for the same bridges is simulated successfully simultaneously as the observed energy-gap dependence is modelled.     

Free radicals in photolysis of mixed phosphonium–iodonium ylides and in their reactions with acetylenes

UV irradiation of mixed phosphonium–iodonium ylide in CH₂Cl₂ leads to formation of free radicals with lifetimes of a few minutes detected by EPR. In mixtures of ylides with acetylenes, the structure of radicals changes, and their concentration and stability increase. In the presence of acetylenes, the radicals contain ylide and acetylene residues, and their EPR spectra have hyperfine coupling constants typical for ³¹P nuclei in C-radicals and for ¹H nuclei, depending on the acetylene structure. It has been demonstrated that the observed radical products are formed from short-lived primary radicals.     

Breakdown of the Born–Oppenheimer–Condon–Marcus approximation in long distance electron transfer

We consider the issue of how the breakdown of the Born–Oppenheimer–Condon–Marcus approximation affects the dependence of the electron-transfer rate k upon distance, as well as the dependences upon the driving force and temperature. For large distances, ca. r>10 Å, it is predicted that: (i) the slope of lnk vs r dependence decreases down to zero; (ii) the bell-shaped Marcus dependence upon the driving force is distorted, with the maximum shifting toward ΔG>0; and (iii) the apparent activation energy increases and the temperature dependence more and more declines from the Arrhenius form. These effects can be experimentally distinguished from similar effects due to other mechanisms, such as thermal activation of the electron transferred and temperature dependence of the reorganization parameters and driving force. Experimental data by Isied et al. [J. Phys. Chem. 97 (1993) 11456] on electron transfer between metal ions across rigid oligoproline bridges are well fitted using the present theory.     

Theoretical study on electron transfer in biological systems (Ⅲ)——Intramolecular electron transfer in metal-containing spiro π-electron system

Intramolecular electron transfer of metal-containing spiro π-electron system was studied by AM1 method in the MOPAC-ET program developed by the present group. The results indicated that with the increasing of the outer electric field F, the activation energy of the reaction decreased. When F reaches a certain threshold value, the activation energy barrier becomes zero and the rate of reaction achieves the largest value. The results also indicated that electron transfer matrix elements V_(AB) and reorganization energy λ were not obviously affected by outer electric field while the exothermicity ΔE was directly proportional to it.     

Phase diagram and dissolution studies of the fenofibrate–acetylsalicylic acid system

Enhancement of the dissolution rate of poorly soluble compounds through the formation of drug–drug eutectics was investigated using fenofibrate and acetylsalicylic acid. Solid–liquid equilibria in the system under study were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The phase diagram for the whole range of compositions was constructed. In addition, existence of a metastable polymorph of fenofibrate has been confirmed. The investigation has revealed that acetylsalicylic acid and fenofibrate form a simple eutectic mixture containing 0.958 mol fraction of fenofibrate at the eutectic point. Dissolution rate improvement of fenofibrate correlated with the phase diagram. The amount of fenofibrate released from the solid dispersions that contained fenofibrate as the eutectic mixture with acetylsalicylic acid was at least threefold higher compared to untreated fenofibrate.     

Effect of high-energy milling and thermal treatment on the solid-phase reactions in apatite–ammonium sulphate system

The phosphorous fertilizers are a product of natural sedimentary phosphorite ores. Using this raw material to produce phosphoric acid and classic phosphorous fertilizers has generated well-known ecological problems. A new and perspective way to use the same materials is creating a new type of time-delayed fertilizers applying high-energy milling (HEM) activation method. The impact of the mechanical forces over the solids is mostly revealed through the changes of the quantities being related to the energetic stability and reactivity of the solid phase. The aim of this work is to report the results from the investigation on the chemical and thermal reactions in composites of natural apatite , which are HEM activated for different times and thermally treated, (from Tunisia) and ammonium sulphate. The Tunisian phosphorite belongs to the ‘basic’ apatites having a Ca/P ratio of 1.70–1.77 and is characterized by a complex mineral composition with major component carbonate-fluorapatite. The used ammonium sulphate—(NH₄)₂SO₄ is obtained as a by-product from cleaning industrial waste gases, using e-beam technology. The composites of Tunisian phosphorite ores and ammonium sulphate, mixed in a mass ratio 1:1, were HEM activated during 10 min to 50 h with 20 mm Fe-milling bodies and temperature treated up to 1,100 °C. As a result, the chemical properties of the treated composites changed. Proofs were found for (i) formation of new phases during HEM activation such as NH₄Ca(PO₃)₃ (NH₄)₂CaH₄(P₂O₇)₂, (NH₄)₂Ca₃(P₂O₇)₂.6H₂O, CaH₂P₂O₇ and α-Ca₂P₂O₇; and (ii) decreasing of temperature intervals of phase changes in comparison to untreated composite.     

Thermodynamic and sintering studies in the CoWC system

Sintering studies of WC-11%Co samples have been performed in a dilatometer. The temperature dependence of the shrinkage and the shrinkage rate during heating and isothermal treatment has been determined using computer evaluation. The relative magnitude of the densification in the solid and liquid states, respectively, has been determined and correlated to the CoWC phase diagram. Furthermore, some structural changes occurring under decarburizing conditions have been explained. Mechanisms for solid and liquid state sintering are presented.     

Kinetics and mechanism of electron transfer processes in a hydrogen peroxide—trispicolinatoruthenate(II) system

Oxidation of trispicolinatoruthenate(II) complex by hydrogen peroxide leads to the formation of mer-trispicolinatoruthenium(III) in acidic or neutral solutions. Kinetics of the reaction were studied under a large excess of H₂O₂ at constant pH. The initial rate method gives a rate expression of the form: - d[\textRu(\textII)]/\textdt = k^II [\textH₂ \textO₂ ][\textRu(\textII)] - \hbox{d}[{\text{Ru}}({\text{II}})]/{\text{d}}t = k^{II} [{\text{H}}_{2} {\text{O}}_{2} ][{\text{Ru}}({\text{II}})] but the overall process examined till completion is far more complex. The rate of the reaction decreases with increasing pH to be practically completely retarded in alkaline media. The key step in the proposed reaction mechanism is the picolinato chelate ring opening followed by the substitution of the coordinated water by H₂O₂ and two-electron intramolecular ruthenium(II) oxidation. Formation of the final ruthenium(III) complex is assigned rather to the ruthenium(IV) reduction by H₂O₂ than ruthenium(II)–ruthenium(IV) comproportionation. The obtained results show the much slower rate of the trispicolinatoruthenate(II) oxidation by hydrogen peroxide or dioxygen than the mer-trispicolinatoruthenium(III) reduction by such bioreductants as cytochrome cII or some cobalt(II) reductants.     

Steady-state and laser flash photolysis studies on photochemical formation of 4-tert-butyl-4′-methoxydibenzoylmethane from its derivative via the Norrish Type II reaction in solution

A photochemical formation process of avobenzone (AB; 4-tert-butyl-4′-methoxydibenzoylmethane) from 1,1-(4-tert-butybenzoyl)(4′-methoxybenzoyl)butane (PrAB) is studied by steady-state and laser flash photolysis in solution. The quantum yield of the formation via the triplet state of PrAB is determined to be 0.23 in degassed acetonitrile at 295 K. The Arrhenius plots of the decay rate of triplet PrAB show that photoelimination proceeds with an activation energy of 6.0 kcal mol^?1 and the frequency factor of 4.6 × 10¹⁰ s^?1.     

Multistep energy and electron transfer processes in novel rotaxane donor–acceptor hybrids generating microsecond-lived charge separated states

A new set of [Cu(phen)₂]⁺ based rotaxanes, featuring [60]-fullerene as an electron acceptor and a variety of electron donating moieties, namely zinc porphyrin (ZnP), zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and ferrocene (Fc), has been synthesized and fully characterized with respect to electrochemical and photophysical properties. The assembly of the rotaxanes has been achieved using a slight variation of our previously reported synthetic strategy that combines the Cu(i)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction (the “click” or CuAAC reaction) with Sauvage''s metal-template protocol. To underline our results, complementary model rotaxanes and catenanes have been prepared using the same strategy and their electrochemistry and photo-induced processes have been investigated. Insights into excited state interactions have been afforded from steady state and time resolved emission spectroscopy as well as transient absorption spectroscopy. It has been found that photo-excitation of the present rotaxanes triggers a cascade of multi-step energy and electron transfer events that ultimately leads to remarkably long-lived charge separated states featuring one-electron reduced C₆₀ radical anion (C₆₀˙^–) and either one-electron oxidized porphyrin (ZnP˙⁺) or one-electron oxidized ferrocene (Fc˙⁺) with lifetimes up to 61 microseconds. In addition, shorter-lived charge separated states involving one-electron oxidized copper complexes ([Cu(phen)₂]²⁺ (τ < 100 ns)), one-electron oxidized zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc˙⁺; τ = 380–560 ns), or ZnP˙⁺ (τ = 2.3–8.4 μs), and C₆₀˙^– have been identified as intermediates during the sequence. Detailed energy diagrams illustrate the sequence and rate constants of the photophysical events occurring with the mechanically-linked chromophores. This work pioneers the exploration of mechanically-linked systems as platforms to position three distinct chromophores, which are able to absorb light over a very wide range of the visible region, triggering a cascade of short-range energy and electron transfer processes to afford long-lived charge separated states.     

Host–guest system of Vitamin B10 in β-cyclodextrin: characterization of the interaction in solution and in solid state

Conventional drugs are usually formulated for the immediate release of the medicinal substances and for obtaining the desired therapeutic effect. The aim of this paper was to investigate the possible interactions between Vitamin B10 and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), to determine the physical-chemical characteristics and the interactions present in the corresponding inclusion compound. The so-obtained compounds were characterized by X-ray diffraction, DSC and FTIR spectroscopy. ¹H NMR and UV–vis spectroscopic methods were employed to study the inclusion process in aqueous solution. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns demonstrate the inclusion compound formation, especially for the lyophilized product where the amorphous phase dominates. The existence of the inclusion compounds obtained by different methods was confirmed by comparing with DSC and FTIR data of the pure compounds and the (1:1) Vitamin B10:β-CD physical mixture (pm). ¹H NMR measurements on aqueous solutions of Vitamin B10 and β-CD in D₂O allowed us to establish the corresponding Vitamin B10’s and cyclodextrin’s protons implied in the complexation process. 2D NMR spectroscopy established the geometry of the inclusion complex. ¹H NMR, UV–Vis and fluorescence data were used to obtain the stoichiometry and the stability constant of the complex.     

Direct electron transfer process of pyrroloquinoline quinone–dependent and flavin adenine dinucleotide–dependent dehydrogenases: Fundamentals and applications

Pyrroloquinoline quinone–dependent and flavin adenine dinucleotide–dependent enzymes catalyze the oxidation of various compounds. These enzymes are large molecules, and the embedding of active sites in the insulating portion of the molecule generally make direct bioelectrocatalysis difficult. Dehydrogenases with a built-in electron transfer domain are capable of direct electron transfer (DET) to an electrode. Attempts have also been made to realize DET by artificially producing fusion proteins in which protein engineering is fully exploited to connect electron transfer domains. Furthermore, the reports of the DET of enzymes without an electron transfer domain to an electrode have started to appear. This review summarizes recent reports on fundamental findings on DET and applications using DET-enzyme electrodes.     

3-Aminoquinazoline–phosphine ligands and their ruthenium(II) complexes: application in catalytic hydrogenation and transfer hydrogenation reactions

3-Aminoquinazolinone–phosphine proligands (5a–e) and their Ru(II) complexes (6a–e) were prepared and characterized by NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ³¹P{¹H}), FTIR and microanalysis. The 3-aminoquinazolinone–phosphine ligands were found to coordinate with the Ru(II) center via their phosphorus and nitrogen atoms. The Ru(II) complexes were applied as catalysts for the hydrogenation and transfer hydrogenation of prochiral ketones. The results showed that these complexes are efficient transfer hydrogenation catalysts.