Triiodide quenching of ruthenium MLCT excited state in solution and on TiO2 surfaces: an alternate pathway for charge recombination

The excited states of [Ru(bpy)2(deeb)](PF6)2, where bpy is 2,2-bipyridine and deeb is 4,4'-(CO2CH2CH3)2-2,2'-bipyridine, were found to be efficiently quenched by triiodide (I3-) in acetonitrile and dichloromethane. In dichloromethane, I3- was found to quench the excited states by static and dynamic mechanisms; Stern-Volmer analysis of the time-resolved and steady-state photoluminescence data produced self-consistent estimates for the I3- + Ru(bpy)2(deeb)2+ <==> [Ru(II)(bpy)2(deeb)2+,(I3-)]+ equilibrium, K = 51,000 M(-1), and the bimolecular quenching rate constant, kq = 4.0 x 10(10) M(-1) s(-1). In acetonitrile, there was no evidence for ion pairing and a dynamic quenching rate constant of k(q) = 4.7 x 10(10) M(-1) s(-1) was calculated. Comparative studies with Ru(bpy)2(deeb)2+ anchored to mesoporous nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films also showed efficient excited-state dynamic quenching by I3- in both acetonitrile and dichloromethane, kq = 1.8 x 10(9) and 3.6 x 10(10) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. No reaction products for the excited-state quenching processes were observed by nanosecond transient absorption measurements from 350 to 800 nm under any experimental conditions. X-ray crystallographic, IR, and Raman data gave evidence for interactions between I3- and the bpy and deeb ligands in the solid state.     

Nonequilibrium charge recombination from the excited adiabatic state of donor-acceptor complexes

A model of nonequilibrium charge recombination from an excited adiabatic state of a donor-acceptor complex induced by the nonadiabatic interaction operator is considered. The decay of the excited state population prepared by a short laser pulse is shown to be highly nonexponential. The influence of the excitation pulse carrier frequency on the ultrafast charge recombination dynamics of excited donor-acceptor complexes is explored. The charge recombination rate constant is found to decrease with increasing excitation frequency. The variation of the excitation pulse carrier frequency within the charge transfer absorption band of the complex can alter the effective charge recombination rate by up to a factor 2. The magnitude of this spectral effect decreases strongly with increasing electronic coupling.     

The remarkable reactivity of high oxidation state ruthenium and osmium polypyridyl complexes

There is a remarkable redox chemistry of higher oxidation state M(IV)-M(VI) polypyridyl complexes of Ru and Os. They are accessible by proton loss and formation of oxo or nitrido ligands, examples being cis-[RuIV(bpy)2(py)(O)]2+ (RuIV=O2+, bpy=2,2'-bipyridine, and py=pyridine) and trans-[OsVI(tpy)(Cl)2(N)]+ (tpy=2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine). Metal-oxo or metal-nitrido multiple bonding stabilizes the higher oxidation states and greatly influences reactivity. O-atom transfer, hydride transfer, epoxidation, C-H insertion, and proton-coupled electron-transfer mechanisms have been identified in the oxidation of organics by RuIV=O2+. The Ru-O multiple bond inhibits electron transfer and promotes complex mechanisms. Both O atoms can be used for O-atom transfer by trans-[RuVI(tpy)(O)2(S)]2+ (S=CH3CN or H2O). Four-electron, four-proton oxidation of cis,cis-[(bpy)2(H2O)RuIII-O-RuIII(H2O)(bpy)2]4+ occurs to give cis,cis-[(bpy)2(O)RuV-O-RuV(O)(bpy)2]4+ which rapidly evolves O2. Oxidation of NH3 in trans-[OsII(tpy)(Cl)2(NH3)] gives trans-[OsVI(tpy)(Cl)2(N)]+ through a series of one-electron intermediates. It and related nitrido complexes undergo formal N- transfer analogous to O-atom transfer by RuIV=O2+. With secondary amines, the products are the hydrazido complexes, cis- and trans-[OsV(L3)(Cl)2(NNR2)]+ (L3=tpy or tpm and NR2-=morpholide, piperidide, or diethylamide). Reactions with aryl thiols and secondary phosphines give the analogous adducts cis- and trans-[OsIV(tpy)(Cl)2(NS(H)(C6H4Me))]+ and fac-[OsIV(Tp)(Cl)2(NP(H)(Et2))]. In dry CH3CN, all have an extensive multiple oxidation state chemistry based on couples from Os(VI/V) to Os(III/II). In acidic solution, the OsIV adducts are protonated, e.g., trans-[OsIV(tpy)(Cl)2(N(H)N(CH2)4O)]+, and undergo proton-coupled electron transfer to quinone to give OsV, e.g., trans-[OsV(tpy)(Cl)2(NN(CH2)4O)]+ and hydroquinone. These reactions occur with giant H/D kinetic isotope effects of up to 421 based on O-H, N-H, S-H, or P-H bonds. Reaction with azide ion has provided the first example of the terminal N4(2-) ligand in mer-[OsIV(bpy)(Cl)3(NalphaNbetaNgammaNdelta)]-. With CN-, the adduct mer-[OsIV(bpy)(Cl)3(NCN)]- has an extensive, reversible redox chemistry and undergoes NCN(2-) transfer to PPh3 and olefins. Coordination to Os also promotes ligand-based reactivity. The sulfoximido complex trans-[OsIV(tpy)(Cl)2(NS(O)-p-C6H4Me)] undergoes loss of O2 with added acid and O-atom transfer to trans-stilbene and PPh3. There is a reversible two-electron/two-proton, ligand-based acetonitrilo/imino couple in cis-[OsIV(tpy)(NCCH3)(Cl)(p-NSC6H4Me)]+. It undergoes reversible reactions with aldehydes and ketones to give the corresponding alcohols.     

Photophysical properties of ligand localized excited state in ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes: a combined effect of electron donor-acceptor ligand

We have synthesized ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes (1) Ru(II)(bpy)(2)(L(1)), (2) Ru(II)(bpy)(2)(L(2)) and (3) Ru(II)(bpy)(L(1))(L(2)), where bpy = 2,2'-bipyridyl, L(1) = 4-[2-(4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridinyl-4-yl)vinyl]benzene-1,2-diol) and L(2) = 4-(N,N-dimethylamino-phenyl)-(2,2'-bipyridine) and investigated the intra-ligand charge transfer (ILCT) and ligand-ligand charge transfer (LLCT) states by optical absorption and emission studies. Our studies show that the presence of electron donating -NMe(2) functionality in L(2) and electron withdrawing catechol fragment in L(1) ligands of complex 3 introduces low energy LLCT excited states to aboriginal MLCT states. The superimposed LLCT and MLCT state produces redshift and broadening in the optical absorption spectra of complex 3 in comparison to complexes 1 and 2. The emission quantum yield of complex 3 is observed to be extremely low in comparison to that of complex 1 and 2 at room temperature. This is attributed to quenching of the (3)MLCT state by the low-emissive (3)LLCT state. The emission due to ligand localized CT state (ILCT and LLCT) of complexes 2 and 3 is revealed at 77 K in the form of a new luminescence band which appeared in the 670-760 nm region. The LLCT excited state of complex 3 is populated either via direct photoexcitation in the LLCT absorption band (350-700 nm) or through internal conversion from the photoexcited (3)MLCT (400-600 nm) states. The internal conversion rate is determined by quenching of the (3)MLCT state in a time resolved emission study. The internal conversion to LLCT and ILCT excited states are observed to be as fast as ～200 ps and ～700 ps for complexes 3 and 2, respectively. The present study illustrates the photophysical property of the ligand localized excited state of newly synthesized heteroleptic ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes.     

Deactivation pathways for metal-to-ligand charge-transfer excited states of ruthenium polypyridyl complexes with triphenylphosphine as a ligand

Emission, excitation spectra, quantum yields, and emission lifetimes are reported for the mixed-ligand, bis(2.2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) complexes, cis-[Ru(bpy)(2)(PPh(3))X](n+) with X = Cl(-), Br(-), CN(-), and NO(2)(-) (n = 1) and pyridine (py), 4-aminopyridine (NH(2)py), 4,4'- bipyridine (4,4'-bpy), NH(3), and MeCN (n = 2) in EtOH-MeOH, 4:1 (v:v), at 77 K. Radiative, k(r), and nonradiative, k(nr), decay rate constants were determined for the series of complexes, and a linear dependence of ln k(nr) on E(00), with E(00) being the 0-0 energy gap determined by emission spectral fitting, was obtained with a slope of -(0.6 ± 0.1) × 10(-3). On the basis of emission quantum yields and apparent k(r) values, possible metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) deactivation by direct population of excited (1)dd states from initially excited (1)MLCT states is discussed.     

Slow cation transfer follows sensitizer regeneration at anatase TiO2 interfaces

After rapid photoinduced electron injection into TiO2 and regeneration by a donor, D, such as iodide or phenothiazine, sensitizers are present in an environment distinctly different from that prior to light absorption. Significantly, the absorption spectrum of the Ru(II) sensitizer in this new environment is one that is known to be less favorable for excited-state electron injection. The transient absorption features were found to report on photoinduced variations in the local electronic environment of the Ru(II) sensitizer-TiO2 interface that were induced by ion transfer. The data demonstrate that slow (micros to ms) cation transfer follows regeneration to yield the sensitizer that was initially photoexcited.     

Ground and excited state communication within a ruthenium containing benzimidazole metallopolymer

Emission spectroscopy and electrochemistry has been used to probe the electronic communication between adjacent metal centres and the conjugated backbone within a family of imidazole based metallopolymers, [Ru(bpy)(2)(PPyBBIM)(n)](2+), in the ground and excited states, bpy is 2,2'-bipyridyl, PPyBBIM is poly[2-(2-pyridyl)-bibenzimidazole] and n = 3, 10 or 20. Electronic communication in the excited state is not efficient and upon optical excitation dual emission is observed, i.e., both the polymer backbone and the metal centres emit. Coupling the ruthenium moiety to the imidazole backbone results in a red shift of approximately 50 nm in the emission spectrum. Luminescent lifetimes of up to 120 ns were also recorded. Cyclic voltammetry was also utilized to illustrate the distance dependence of the electron hopping rates between adjacent metal centres with ground state communication reduced by up to an order of magnitude compared to previously reported results when the metal to backbone ratio was not altered. D(CT) and D(e) values of up to 3.96 × 10(-10) and 5.32 × 10(-10) cm(2) S(-1) were observed with corresponding conductivity values of up to 2.34 × 10(-8) S cm(-1).     

Underlying spin-orbit coupling structure of intervalence charge transfer bands in dinuclear polypyridyl complexes of ruthenium and osmium

The mixed-valence systems meso- and rac-[{M(bpy)2}2(mu-BL)]5+ {M = Ru, Os; BL = a series of polypyridyl bridging ligands such as 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)benzoquinoxaline (dpb)} are characterized by multiple intervalence charge transfer (IVCT) and interconfigurational (IC) bands in the mid-infrared and near-infrared (NIR) regions. Differences in the relative energies of the IC transitions for the fully oxidized (+6) states of the osmium systems demonstrate that stereochemical effects lead to fundamental changes in the energy levels of the metal-based dpi orbitals, which are split by spin-orbit coupling and ligand-field asymmetry. An increase in the separation between the IC bands as BL is varied reflects the increase in the degree of electronic coupling through the series of ruthenium and osmium complexes. The increase in the IVCT bandwidths for the former is therefore attributed to the increase in the separation of the three underlying components of the bands. Stark effect measurements reveal small dipole moment changes accompanying IVCT excitation in support of the localized-to-delocalized or delocalized classification for the dinuclear ruthenium and osmium systems.     

Computational study of the lowest triplet state of ruthenium polypyridyl complexes used in artificial photosynthesis

The potential energy surfaces of the first excited triplet state of some ruthenium polypyridyl complexes were investigated by means of density functional theory. Focus was placed on the interaction between the geometrical changes accompanying the photoactivity of these complexes when used as antenna complexes in artificial photosynthesis and dye-sensitized solar cells and the accompanying changes in electronic structure. The loss process (3)MLCT --> (3)MC can be understood by means of ligand-field splitting, traced down to the coordination of the central ruthenium atom.     

New dicarboxylic acid bipyridine ligand for ruthenium polypyridyl sensitization of TiO2

An ambidentate dicarboxylic acid bipyridine ligand, (4,5-diazafluoren-9-ylidene) malonic acid (dfm), was synthesized for coordination to Ru(II) and mesoporous nanocrystalline (anatase) TiO(2) thin films. The dfm ligand provides a conjugated pathway from the pyridyl rings to the carbonyl carbons of the carboxylic acid groups. X-ray crystal structures of [Ru(bpy)(2)(dfm)]Cl(2) and the corresponding diethyl ester compound, [Ru(bpy)(2)(defm)](PF(6))(2), were obtained. The compounds displayed intense metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) absorption bands in the visible region (ε > 11,000 M(-1) cm(-1) for [Ru(bpy)(2)(dfm)](PF(6))(2) in acetonitrile). Significant room temperature photoluminescence, PL, was absent in CH(3)CN but was observed at 77 K in a 4:1 EtOH:MeOH (v:v) glass. Cyclic voltammetry measurements revealed quasi-reversible Ru(III/II) electrochemistry. Ligand reductions were quasi-reversible for the diethyl ester compound [Ru(bpy)(2)(defm)](2+), but were irreversible for [Ru(bpy)(2)(dfm)](2+). Both compounds were anchored to TiO(2) thin films by overnight reactions in CH(3)CN to yield saturation surface coverages of 3 × 10(-8) mol/cm(2). Attenuated total reflection infrared measurements revealed that the [Ru(bpy)(2)(dfm)](2+) compound was present in the deprotonated carboxylate form when anchored to the TiO(2) surface. The MLCT excited states of both compounds injected electrons into TiO(2) with quantum yields of 0.70 in 0.1 M LiClO(4) CH(3)CN. Micro- to milli-second charge recombination yielded ground state products. In regenerative solar cells with 0.5 M LiI/0.05 M I(2) in CH(3)CN, the Ru(bpy)(2)(dfm)/TiO(2) displayed incident photon-to-current efficiencies of 0.7 at the absorption maximum. Under the same conditions, the diethylester compound was found to rapidly desorb from the TiO(2) surface.     

Photoinduced charge injection from excited triplet hypocrellin B into TiO_2 colloid in ethanol

Photosensitization of TiO2 colloid by hypocrellin B (HB),a natural photodynamic pigment with extremely high photosta-bility,has been studied by surface enhanced Raman spec-troscopy (SERS),laser flash photolysis and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques.The photoseiisitization of TiO2 occurred practically from the excited triplet dye and the electron injection rate constant is 1.3×106 s-1.The influences of donor and acceptor on the electron injection were investigated.     

Slow charge recombination in dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSC) using Al2O3 coated nanoporous TiO2 films

The conformal growth of an overlayer of Al2O3 on a nanocrystalline TiO2 film is shown to result in a 4-fold retardation of interfacial charge recombination, and a 30% improvement in photovoltaic device efficiency.     

Towards ruthenium(II) polypyridine complexes with prolonged and predetermined excited state lifetimes

The excited state lifetime of a Ru(bpy)3-motif is linearly related to the number of appended pyrenyl chromophores, but independent of connectivity; values for nine complexes range from 0.8 to 18.1 microseconds.     

The role of hydrogen bonding in excited state intramolecular charge transfer

Intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) that occurs upon photoexcitation of molecules is a vital process in nature and it has ample applications in chemistry and biology. The ICT process of the excited molecules is affected by several environmental factors including polarity, viscosity and hydrogen bonding. The effect of polarity and viscosity on the ICT processes is well understood. But, despite the fact that hydrogen bonding significantly influences the ICT process, the specific role of hydrogen bonding in the formation and stabilization of the ICT state is not unambiguously established. Some literature reports predicted that the hydrogen bonding of the solvent with a donor promotes the formation of a twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) state. Some other reports stated that it inhibits the formation of the TICT state. Alternatively, it was proposed that the hydrogen bonding of the solvent with an acceptor favors the TICT state. It is also observed that a dynamic equilibrium is established between the free and the hydrogen bonded ICT states. This perspective focuses on the specific role played by hydrogen bonding of the solvent with the donor and the acceptor, and by proton transfer in the ICT process. The utility of such influence in molecular recognition and anion sensing is discussed with a few recent literature examples in the end.     

Electronic and geometrical manipulation of the excited state of bis-terdentate homo- and heteroleptic ruthenium complexes

This work describes the synthesis and characterization of two new bis-terdentate Ru(II) complexes. Compound 1 is a homoleptic complex containing two CNC N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) based ligands, whereas compound 2 bears one CNC ligand and an ancillary terpyridine ligand. The redox and photophysical properties of both compounds have been investigated and their X-ray crystal structures determined. Complex 1 displays a close-to-perfect octahedral coordination geometry and is not luminescent at room temperature while complex 2 features room temperature and 77 K luminescence despite its partially distorted geometry. The presence of the NHC moieties brings a significant amount of electronic density to the metal centre therefore lowering its oxidation potential with respect to that of analogous polypyridyl complexes.     

Designing interfaces that function to facilitate charge injection in organic light-emitting diodes

Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of triarylamine (TAA)-containing polymers has been applied for anode functionalizations in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Surface work function of the ITO electrodes was significantly altered with the functionalizations, and the values changed depending on electron affinity of the substituents (X) on the TAA units. When the functionalized ITO electrodes were utilized for the conventional TPD/Alq OLED, the multilayers of P1 (X = 4-OMe) and P2 (X = none) were found to promote better energy matching at the ITO/TPD interface to reduce the hole injection barrier. Furthermore, the multilayers having heterodeposited structure of several TAA polymers provided stepped and graded electronic profiles to facilitate hole mobility from ITO to TPD, so that the resulting OLED devices can exhibit appreciably reduced turn-on voltage and higher luminous intensities.