New strategy for band-gap tuning in semiconductor nanocrystals

In the last decade, the main efforts have focused on the preparation of different sized binary II–VI group semiconductor nanocrystals to obtain different color-emitting luminescence. However, the tuning of physical and chemical properties by changing the particle size could cause problems in many applications, in particular if unstable small particles are used. Recent advances have led to the exploration of tunable optical properties by changing their constituent stoichiometries in ternary alloy nanocrystals. High-quality Zn _x Cd_1?x Se alloy nanocrystals have been successfully prepared at high temperature by incorporating stoichiometric amounts of Zn and Se into pre-prepared CdSe nanocrystals or embryonic CdSe nuclei. With increasing Zn content, a composition-tunable emission across the whole visible spectrum has been demonstrated by a systematic blue-shift in emission wavelength. High-quality alloy Zn _x Cd_1?x S nanocrystals have been obtained by the conucleation and co-growth of the constituents through the reaction of a mixture of CdO- and ZnO-oleic acid complexes with sulfur at elevated temperatures. The obtained Zn _x Cd_1?x S alloy nanocrystals possess superior optical properties with photoluminescence quantum yields of 25–50%, especially the extremely narrow emission spectral width (fwhm=14 nm).     

Photoinduced electron transfer in some photosensitive molecules-incorporated semiconductor/zeolites: New photocatalytic systems

An intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) molecule,p-N,N-dimethyl-aminobenzoic acid (DMABA) has been studied in zeolite and colloidal media. The ratio of ICT to normal emission (ICT/LE) is greatly enhanced in zeolites compared to that in polar solvents. The ICT emission of DMABA was quenched by increasing the concentration of TiO₂ colloids, while the normal emission was slightly enhanced. Upon illumination of the heteropoly acid (HPA) incorporated TiO₂ colloids, interfacial electron transfer takes place from the conduction band of TiO₂ to the incorporated HPA which is also excited to catalyze the photoreduction of Methyl Orange. It is found that the interfacial electron transfer mechanism of HPA/TiO₂ is quite analogous to the Z-scheme mechanism for plant photosynthetic systems. In DMABA-adsorbed TiO₂/Y-zeolite the ICT/LE ratio of DMABA is quite small implying that electron transfer takes place from DMABA to the conduction band of TiO₂. This results in drastic enhancement in the photocatalytic activity of DMABA-adsorbed TiO₂/Y-zeolite compared to free TiO₂/Y-zeolite.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in bisporphyrin-diimide complexes

The bisporphyrin host ZnH was synthesized, and its complexation with two aromatic diimide guest molecules, bis(pyridyl)naphthalenediimide NIN and bis(pyridyl)phenyldiimide PIN, was investigated by (1)H NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The diimide guests were complexed simultaneously with both metalloporphyrins of the host, with association constants on the order of 10(8)M(-1). The processes occurring in the complex after excitation of the porphyrinic host were studied by steady-state and time-resolved emission and transient absorption spectroscopy. Complexation alters the photophysical properties of the host ZnH; the luminescence bands shift to the red by 30 nm in the complexed forms, while the emission quantum yield and the lifetime decrease. Comparison of a complex between ZnH and a model guest unable to undergo photoinduced processes allowed us to establish that, in the diimide complexes, quenching of the porphyrinic luminescence occurs with a rate of 1.1 x 10(10)s(-1). The process is identified as an electron transfer from the excited singlet of the porphyrinic host to the imide guest, which yields charge-separated states with a lifetime of 710 ps for ZnH(+)-NIN(-) and 260 ps for ZnH(+)-PIN(-).     

Photoinduced electron transfer in photozyme systems

Photozymes are novel water-soluble polymers usually constructed by copolymerization of a mixture of water-soluble and water-insoluble comonomers, some of which contain chromophores capable of absorbing light and transmitting the excitation energy by means of the antenna effect to selected traps. The interactions between the hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups in the polymer with water cause the formation of hypercoiled pseudomicellar conformations of the polymer coil, leading to hydrophobic regions or pockets in the interior of the macromolecular coil. If the water contains hydrophobic organic molecules, they will locate preferentially in these hydrophobic polymer microdomains, and in the presence of light they can be photochemically transformed into useful products with high efficiency and selectivity. This paper reviews some recent results on photochemical reactions initiated by photoinduced electron transfer in these novel systems, and their possible commercial applications to pollution abatement, and solar production of hydrogen from water.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in pyromellitimide-bridged porphyrins

The kinetics of intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer in a series of pyromellitimide-bridge porphyrins have been studied using transient absorption and fluoresence techniques. The dependence of both charge separation and recombination rates on connecting chain length, metallation state, coordination state, conformation, solvent and temperature have been systematically measured and found to be broadly in agreement with theoretical predictions. In particular, the inverted region is observed at large exoergicity. Also, in the inverted region, when the porphyrin to pyromellitimide separation is large the electron transfer rate can be faster than at small separations; this is also explained by theory. At low temperatures, temperature-independent nuclear tunnelling limits the electron transfer rate, while in solvents having a slow dielectric relaxation this solvent reorientation also limits the rate. Fluorescence data provide evidence of multiple conformations in the free base compounds but in the longer-chained Zn and Mg derivatives, where the pyromellitimide oxygen atoms can bond to the metal, molecular conformations are limited. On addition of basic ligands, this metal to oxygen bonding is released and the electron transfer is switched off.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in double-bridged porphyrin-fullerene triads

Electron and energy transfer reactions of porphyrin-porphyrin-fullerene triads (P2P1C) with controllable sandwich-like structures have been studied using spectroscopic and electrochemical methods. The stabile, stacked structure of the molecules was achieved applying a two-linker strategy developed previously for porphyrin-fullerene dyads. Different triad structures with altered linker positions, linker lengths, and center atoms of the porphyrin rings were studied. The final charge-separated (CS) state and the different transient states of the reactions have been identified and energies of the states estimated based on the experimental results. In particular, a complete CS state P2(+) P1C- was achieved in a zinc porphyrin-free-base porphyrin-fullerene triad (ZnP2t9P1C) in both polar (benzonitrile) and nonpolar (toluene) solvents. The lifetime of this state was longer living in the nonpolar solvent. An outstanding feature of the ZnP2t9P1C triad is the extremely fast formation of the final CS state, P2(+) P1C-. This state is formed after primary excitation of either zinc porphyrin or free-base porphyrin chromophores in less than 200 fs. Although the intermediate steps between the locally excited states and the final CS state were not time-resolved for this compound, the process is clearly multistep and the fastest ever observed for porphyrin-based compounds.     

二苯磷酰基取代四苯基硅的合成及在构筑宽禁带聚合物中的应用

设计并合成了二苯磷酰基取代的四苯基硅基团,并将其作为宽禁带聚合物母体材料构筑基元,通过Suzuki反应偶连3,6位取代的咔唑合成了聚合物SiCzP.对聚合物的结构进行了系统的表征.与模型聚合物SiCz相比,二苯磷酰基的强吸电子能力,降低聚合物母体材料的LUMO能级,更有利于电子的注入.SiCzP与SiCz的玻璃化转变温度分别为219与227℃,失重5%时的分解温度分别为441与426℃.二者均具有良好的成膜性,掺杂器件初步结果表明,二苯磷酰基的引入使器件的亮度和效率都得到提高,其最大流明效率和功率效率比SiCz分别提高了98%和75%.     

Photoinduced proton-coupled electron transfers in biorelevant phenolic systems

Proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions have received much attention over the past 10 years, from an experimental as well as from a theoretical point of view. At the heart of many chemical and biological processes, such reactions are of particular interest in energy conversion and enzymatic processes. Among the numerous examples of PCET reactions, photosynthesis and particularly reactions inside the Photosystem II (PSII) subunit, involving a global four electrons and four protons process to perform water oxidation and respiration, is the most emblematic one. This review focuses on the photochemical approaches of PCET reactions involving phenolic molecules. Indeed, a significant part of photochemical PCET studies were conducted on tyrosine or phenol relevant to PSII and charge transport in enzymes. The mechanisms of these reactions, sequential or concerted, with particular emphasis on the influence of pH, temperature, solvent nature and H-bonding pattern are presented based on photochemical techniques and related theoretical analysis.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in a mesogenic donor-acceptor-donor system

A novel donor-acceptor-donor molecule consisting of two oligo(p-phenylene vinylene) (OPV4) units attached to a central perylene bisimide (PERY) core is described. This OPV4-PERY-OPV4 is the first mesogenic molecule that incorporates both p- and n-type semiconducting properties and possesses a liquid-crystalline mesophase, in which donor and acceptor functionalities self-assemble into an ordered material. Upon photoexcitation of the donor, a subpicosecond electron-transfer reaction occurs in OPV4-PERY-OPV4, both in solution and in (ordered) thin solid films. The lifetime of the charge-separated state is significantly longer in (ordered) thin films than in solution as a result of a reduction of geminate recombination by migration and spatial separation of charges in the film.     

Photoinduced electron and energy transfer in phenylene oligomers

Phenylene oligomers represent a borderline case between very strongly π-conjugated molecular wires such as oligo-p-phenylene vinylenes and saturated molecular bridges. Even subtle chemical modifications of phenylene oligomers can therefore have a strong impact on charge transfer rates and mechanisms. On the basis of recently published selected case studies, this tutorial review discusses the key factors that affect charge transfer kinetics in phenylene oligomers with particular focus on the role of donor-bridge energy matching. Selected examples of triplet-triplet energy transfer reactions across phenylene oligomers are also discussed.     

Photoinduced electron transfer dynamics in porphyrin donor dyads

Intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer (PET) processes occurring in dyads with a free base porphyrin-tetraazaanthracene donor (P) and either a tetracyanonaphthoquinidodimethane (TCQ) or benzoquinone (BQ) acceptor linked by a rigid six σ-bond polynorbornane bridge ([6]) have been investigated. For P[6]BQ, PET in the polar solvent benzonitrile (_s = 25.9) occurs with a rate constant (k_PET) of 1.6 × 10⁸ s⁻¹ but is not evident in solvents less polar than tetrahydrofuran (_s = 7.52). For P[6]TCQ, highly efficient forward PET occurs in both polar and non-polar solvents (k_PET > 2 × 10¹⁰ s⁻¹). For P[6]TCQ the lifetime of the resulting charge-separated state decreases markedly with increasing solvent polarity. The results are discussed in the context of the likely mechanisms for electronic coupling and current theories for PET processes in such linked molecular systems.     

Photoinduced electron transfer processes in 1,8-naphthalimide-linker-phenothiazine dyads

Photoinduced electron transfer (PET) processes of 1,8-naphthalimide-linker-phenothiazine (NI-L-PTZ) dyads have been investigated using the nanosecond- and picosecond-transient absorption measurements. Two kinds of linker were introduced, i.e., polymethylene-linked dyad (NI-C8-PTZ and NI-C11-PTZ) and a poly(ethyl ether)-linked one (NI-O-PTZ). The 355 nm pulsed laser excitation of NI-C8-PTZ, NI-C11-PTZ, and NI-O-PTZ in acetonitrile produced NI radical anion (NI*-) and PTZ radical cation (PTZ*+) with the absorption bands around 420 and 520 nm, respectively, through charge transfer from PTZ to NI in the singlet excited state (NI(S1)) as well as in the triplet excited states (NI(T1)) in acetonitrile. On the other hand, the charge transfer process occurred only from NI(S1) in nonpolar solvents. The rates of charge transfer and charge recombination processes largely depended on the solvent polarity and they are affected by the length of linkers and electronic coupling through polyether linker. The PET mechanism is discussed in terms of the free energy change for the charge transfer.     

Photoinduced electron transfer reaction in polymer-surfactant aggregates: Photoinduced electron transfer between N,N-dimethylaniline and 7-amino coumarin dyes

Photoinduced electron transfer between coumarin dyes and N,N-dimethylaniline has been investigated by using steady state and picosecond time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy in sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) micelles and PVP-polyvinyl pyrrolidone (SDS) polymer-surfactant aggregates. A slower rate of electron transfer is observed in PVP-SDS aggregates than in polymer-free SDS micelles. A Marcus type inversion is observed in the correlation of free energy change in comparison with the electron transfer rate. The careful investigation reveals that C-151 deviates from the normal Marcus inverted region compared to its analogs C-152 and C-481 due to slower rotational relaxation and smaller translational diffusion coefficient.     

Photoinduced electron transfer of chlorophyll in lipid bilayer system

Photoinduced electron transfer from chlorophyll-a throughtheinterface of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) headgroup of the lipid bilayers was studied with electron magnetic resonance (EMR). The photoproduced radicals were identified with electron spin resonance (ESR) and radical yields of chlorophyll-a were determined by double integration ESR spectra. The formation of vesicles was identified by changes in measured λ_max values from diethyl ether solutions to vesicles solutions indirectly, and observed directly with SEM and TEM images. The efficiency of photosynthesis in model system was determined by measuring the amount of chlorophyll-a radical yields which were obtained from integration of ESRspectra.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in coaggregates of dicyanonaphthalene and pyrazoline

The photophysical properties of mixed coaggregates containing 1,4-dicyanonaphthalene (DCN) and 1,3,5-triphenyl-2-pyrazoline (TPP) have been studied. The absorption spectra of mixed coaggregates indicate that a charge-transfer complex is not formed in the ground state between DCN and TPP. The fluorescence of TPP in the mixed coaggregates is quenched by DCN, accompanied with a broad and structureless emission at about 560 nm from an exciplex between DCN and TPP. The color of the emission from mixed coaggregates is tunable by changing the DCN content. The excited-state properties of the TPP-DCN molecule pair are investigated theoretically with a quantum chemistry method. The theoretical results have also confirmed that the broad emission at about 560 nm in the mixed coaggregates originates from the exciplex rather than from the charge-transfer complex.     

Photoinduced bimolecular electron transfer kinetics in small unilamellar vesicles

Photoinduced electron transfer (ET) from N,N-dimethylaniline to some coumarin derivatives has been studied in small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) of the phospholipid, DL-alpha-dimyristoyl-phosphatidylcholine, using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence quenching, both below and above the phase transition temperature of the vesicles. The primary interest was to examine whether Marcus inversion [H. Sumi and R. A. Marcus, J. Chem. Phys. 84, 4894 (1986)] could be observed for the present ET systems in these organized assemblies. The influence of the topology of SUVs on the photophysical properties of the reactants and consequently on their ET kinetics has also been investigated. Absorption and fluorescence spectral data of the coumarins in SUVs and the variation of their fluorescence decays with temperature indicate that the dyes are localized in the bilayer of the SUVs. Time-resolved area normalized emission spectra analysis, however, reveals that the dyes are distributed in two different microenvironments in the SUVs, which we attribute to the two leaflets of the bilayer, one toward bulk water and the other toward the inner water pool. The microenvironments in the two leaflets are, however, not indicated to be that significantly different. Time-resolved anisotropy decays were biexponential for all the dyes in SUVs, and this has been interpreted in terms of the compound motion model according to which the dye molecules can experience a fast wobbling-in-cone type of motion as well as a slow overall rotating motion of the cone containing the molecule. The expected bimolecular diffusion-controlled rates in SUVs, as estimated by comparing the microviscosities in SUVs (determined from rotational correlation times) and that in acetonitrile solution, are much slower than the observed fluorescence quenching rates, suggesting that reactant diffusion (translational) does not play any role in the quenching kinetics in the present systems. Accordingly, clear inversions are observed in the correlation of the fluorescence quenching rate constants k(q) with the free energy change, DeltaG(0) of the reactions. However, the coumarin dyes, C152 and C481 (cf. Scheme 1), show unusually high k(q) values and high activation barriers, which is not expected from Marcus ET theory. This unusual behavior is explained on the basis of participation of the twisted intramolecular charge transfer states of these two dyes in the ET kinetics.     

Photoinduced electron transfer from electron donor to bis-carbocyanine dye in excited triplet state

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Photoinduced electron transfer in Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers of porphyrin-fullerene dyads

A series of electron donor-acceptor (DA) dyads, composed of a porphyrin donor and a fullerene acceptor covalently linked with two molecular chains, were used to fabricate solid molecular films with the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. By means of the LB technique, the DA molecules can be oriented perpendicular to the plane of the substrate. In DHD6ee and its zinc derivative hydrophilic groups are attached to the phenyl moieties in the porphyrin end of the molecule; while in the other three dyads, TBD6a, TBD6hp, and TBD4hp, the hydrophilic groups are in the fullerene end of the molecule. This makes it possible to alternate the orientation of the molecules in two opposite directions with respect to the air-water interface and to fabricate molecular assemblies in which the direction of the primary photoinduced vectorial electron transfer can be controlled both by the deposition direction of the LB monolayer and by the selection of the used DA molecule. This was proved by the time-resolved Maxwell displacement charge measurements. The spectroscopic properties of the DA films were studied with the steady-state absorption and fluorescence methods. In addition, the time correlated single photon counting technique was used to determine the fluorescence properties of the dyad films.     

Photoinduced electron transfer and solvation in iodide-doped acetonitrile clusters

We have used ultrafast time-resolved photoelectron imaging to measure charge transfer dynamics in iodide-doped acetonitrile clusters I(-)(CH(3)CN)(n) with n = 5-10. Strong modulations of vertical detachment energies were observed following charge transfer from the halide, allowing interpretation of the ongoing dynamics. We observe a sharp drop in the vertical detachment energy (VDE) within 300-400 fs, followed by a biexponential increase that is complete by approximately 10 ps. Comparison to theory suggests that the iodide is internally solvated and that photodetachment results in formation of a diffuse electron cloud in a confined cavity. We interpret the initial drop in VDE as a combination of expansion of the cavity and localization of the excess electron on one or two solvent molecules. The subsequent increase in VDE is attributed to a combination of the I atom leaving the cavity and rearrangement of the acetonitrile molecules to solvate the electron. The n = 5-8 clusters then show a drop in VDE of around 50 meV on a much longer time scale. The long-time VDEs are consistent with those of (CH(3)CN)(n)(-) clusters with internally solvated electrons. Although the excited-state created by the pump pulse decays by emission of a slow electron, no such decay is seen by 200 ps.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in a hexaphenylbenzene-based self-assembled porphyrin-fullerene triad

A hexaphenylbenzene-based zinc porphyrin dyad forms a 1:1 complex with a fullerene bearing two pyridyl groups via coordination of the pyridyl nitrogens with the zinc atoms. The fullerene is symmetrically located between the two zinc porphyrins. The binding constant for the complex is 7.3 x 10(4) M(-1) in 1,2-difluorobenzene. Photoinduced electron transfer from a porphyrin first excited singlet state to the fullerene occurs with a time constant of 3 ps, and the resulting charge-separated state has a lifetime of 230 ps. This self-assembled construct should form a basis for the construction of more elaborate model photosynthetic antenna-reaction center systems.