Time‐dependent density functional calculations on the electronic spectra of the neutral nickel complex [Ni(LISQ)2] (LISQ = 3,5‐di‐tert‐butyl‐o‐diiminobenzosemiquinonate(1−)) and its monoanion and dication

The electronic spectrum of the neutral nickel complex [Ni(L^ISQ)₂] (L^ISQ = 3,5‐di‐tert‐butyl‐o‐diiminobenzosemiquinonate(1^?)) and the spectra of its anion and dication have been calculated by means of time‐dependent density functional theory. The electronic ground state of the neutral complex exhibits an open shell singlet diradical character. The mandatory multireference problem for this electronic ground state has been treated approximately by using the unrestricted and spin symmetry broken Kohn‐Sham Slater determinant as the wave function for the noninteracting reference system in the time‐dependent density functional calculations. A reasonable agreement with observed transition energies and band intensities has been achieved. This holds also for the long wavelength transitions that are shown to be of charge transfer type. The charge distributions in the electronic ground state and the corresponding low lying excited states, however, are rather similar. Thus, the known failure of standard time‐dependent density functional theory to describe improperly long range charge transfer transitions is absent in this work. The applied computational scheme might be adequate for calculating electronic spectra of transition metal complexes with noninnocent ligands. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2009     

Conformation‐Determined Through‐Bond versus Through‐Space Electronic Communication in Mixed‐Valence Systems with a Cross‐Conjugated Urea Bridge

Bis‐triarylamine 2 and cyclometalated diruthenium 6 (PF₆)₂ with a linear trans,trans‐urea bridge have been prepared, together with the bis‐triarylamine 3 and cyclometalated diruthenium 8 (PF₆)₂ with a folded cis,cis‐N,N‐dimethylurea bridge. The linear or folded conformations of these molecules are supported by single‐crystal X‐ray structures of 2 , 3 , and other related compounds. These compounds display two consecutive anodic redox waves (N ^{. +/0} or Ru^III/II processes) with a potential separation of 110–170 mV. This suggests that an efficient electronic coupling is present between two redox termini through the cross‐conjugated urea bridge. The degree of electronic coupling has been investigated by using spectroelectrochemical measurements. Distinct intervalence charge‐transfer (IVCT) transitions have been observed for mixed‐valent (MV) compounds with a linear conformation. The IVCT transitions can also be identified for the folded MV compounds, albeit with a much weaker intensity. DFT results support that the electronic communication occurs by a through‐bond and through‐space pathway for the linear and folded compounds, respectively. The IVCT transitions of the MV compounds have been reproduced by TDDFT calculations. For the purpose of comparison, a bistriarylamine and a diruthenium complex with an imidazolidin‐2‐one bridge and a urea‐containing mono‐triarylamine and monoruthenium complex have been synthesized and studied.     

Electronic structure and microscopic charge‐transport properties of a new‐type diketopyrrolopyrrole‐based material

Recently, diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)‐based materials have attracted much interest due to their promising performance as a subunit in organic field effect transistors. Using density functional theory and charge‐transport models, we investigated the electronic structure and microscopic charge transport properties of the cyanated bithiophene‐functionalized DPP molecule (compound 1 ). First, we analyzed in detail the partition of the total relaxation (polaron) energy into the contributions from each vibrational mode and the influence of bond‐parameter variations on the local electron–vibration coupling of compound 1 , which well explains the effects of different functional groups on internal reorganization energy (λ). Then, we investigated the structural and electronic properties of compound 1 in its isolated molecular state and in the solid state form, and further simulated the angular resolution anisotropic mobility for both electron‐ and hole‐transport using two different simulation methods: (i) the mobility orientation function proposed in our previous studies (method 1); and (ii) the master equation approach (method 2). The calculated electron‐transfer mobility (0.00003–0.784 cm² V^?1 s^?1 from method 1 and 0.02–2.26 cm² V^?1 s^?1 from method 2) matched reasonably with the experimentally reported value (0.07–0.55 cm² V^?1 s^?1). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the transport parameters of compound 1 were calculated in the context of band model and hopping models, and both calculation results suggest that the intrinsic hole mobility is higher than the corresponding intrinsic electron mobility. Our calculation results here will be instructive to further explore the potential of other higher DPP‐containing quinoidal small molecules. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Precise Control of Intramolecular Charge‐Transport: The Interplay of Distance and Conformational Effects

A new series of donor–bridge–acceptor (D–B–A) compounds consisting of π‐conjugated oligofluorene (oFL) bridges between a ferrocene (Fc) electron‐donor and a fullerene (C₆₀) electron‐acceptor have been synthesized. In addition to varying the length of the bridge (i.e., mono‐ and bi‐fluorene derivatives), four different ways of linking ferrocene to the bridge have been examined. The Fc moiety is linked to oFL: 1) directly without any spacer, 2) by an ethynyl linkage, 3) by a vinylene linkage, and 4) by a p‐phenylene unit. The electronic interactions between the electroactive species have been characterized by cyclic voltammetry, absorption, fluorescence, and transient absorption spectroscopy in combination with quantum chemical calculations. The calculations reveal exceptionally close energy‐matching between the Fc and the oFL units, which results in strong electronic‐coupling. Hence, intramolecular charge‐transfer may easily occur upon exciting either the oFLs or Fcs. Photoexcitation of Fc–oFL–C₆₀ conjugates results in transient radical‐ion‐pair states. The mode of linkage of the Fc and FL bridge has a profound effect on the photophysical properties. Whereas intramolecular charge‐separation is found to occur rather independently of the distance, the linker between Fc and oFL acts (at least in oFL) as a bottleneck and significantly impacts the intramolecular charge‐separation rates, resulting in beta values between β_CS 0.08 and 0.19 Å^?1. In contrast, charge recombination depends strongly on the electron‐donor–acceptor distance, but not at all on the linker. A value of β_CR (0.35±0.01 Å^?1) was found for all the systems studied. Oligofluorenes prove, therefore, to be excellent bridges for probing how small structural variations affect charge transport in D–B–A systems.     

Metal‐Free Oxidative B−N Coupling of nido‐Carborane with N‐Heterocycles

A general method for the oxidative substitution of nido‐carborane (7,8‐C₂B₉H₁₂^?) with N‐heterocycles has been developed by using 2,3‐dichloro‐5,6‐dicyanobenzoquinone (DDQ) as an oxidant. This metal‐free B?N coupling strategy, in both inter‐ and intramolecular fashions, gave rise to a wide array of charge‐compensated, boron‐substituted nido‐carboranes in high yields (up to 97 %) with excellent functional‐group tolerance under mild reaction conditions. The reaction mechanism was investigated by density‐functional theory (DFT) calculations. A successive single‐electron transfer (SET), B?H hydrogen‐atom transfer (HAT), and nucleophilic attack pathway is proposed. This method provides a new approach to nitrogen‐containing carboranes with potential applications in medicine and materials.     

Time‐Resolved Interception of Multiple‐Charge Accumulation in a Sensitizer–Acceptor Dyad

Biomimetic models that contain elements of photosynthesis are fundamental in the development of synthetic systems that can use sunlight to produce fuel. The critical task consists of running several rounds of light‐induced charge separation, which is required to accumulate enough redox equivalents at the catalytic sites for the target chemistry to occur. Long‐lived first charge‐separated state and distinct electronic signatures for the sequential charge accumulated species are essential features to be able to track these events on a spectroscopic ground. Herein, we use a double‐excitation nanosecond pump–pump–probe experiment to interrogate two successive rounds of photo‐induced electron transfer on a molecular dyad containing a naphthalene diimide (NDI) linked to a [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺ (bpy=bipyridine) chromophore by using a reversible electron donor. We report an unprecedented long‐lived two‐electron charge accumulation (t =200 μs).     

Time‐dependent density functional theory study on direction‐dependent electron and hole transfer processes in molecular systems

We report on real‐time time‐dependent density functional theory calculations on direction‐dependent electron and hole transfer processes in molecular systems. As a model system, we focus on α‐sulfur. It is shown that time scale of the electron transfer process from a negatively charged S₈ molecule to a neighboring neutral monomer is comparable to that of a strong infrared‐active molecular vibrations of the dimer with one negatively charged monomer. This results in a strong coupling between the electrons and the nuclei motion which eventually leads to S₈ ring opening before the electron transfer process is completed. The open‐ring structure is found to be stable. The similar infrared‐active peak in the case of hole transfer, however, is shown to be very weak and hence no significant scattering by the nuclei is possible. The presented approach to study the charge transfer processes in sulfur has direct applications in the increasingly growing research field of charge transport in molecular systems. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A Promising Candidate with D‐A‐A‐A Architecture as an Efficient Sensitizer for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

A series of metal‐free organic dyes with electron‐rich (D) and electron‐deficient units (A) as π linkers have been studied theoretically by means of density functional theory (DFT) and time‐dependent DFT calculations to explore the effects of π spacers on the optical and electronic properties of triphenylamine dyes. The results show that Dye 1 with a structure of D‐A‐A‐A is superior to the typical C218 dye in various key aspects, including the maximum absorption (λ_max=511 nm), the charge‐transfer characteristics (D/Δq/t is 5.49 Å/0.818 e^?/4.41 Å), the driving force for charge‐carrier injection (ΔG_inject=1.35 eV)/dye regeneration (ΔG_regen=0.27 eV), and the lifetime of the first excited state (τ=3.1 ns). It is thus proposed to be a promising candidate in dye‐sensitized solar cell applications.     

Tunable Electronic Properties of a Proton‐Responsive N,N‐Dimethylaminoazobenzene Fullerene (C60) Dyad

A basic N,N‐dimethylaminoazobenzene–fullerene (C₆₀) dyad molecular skeleton is modelled and synthesized. In spite of the myriad use of azobenzene as a photo‐ and electrochromic moiety, the idea presented herein is to adopt a conceptually different path by using it as a bridge in a donor–bridge–acceptor single‐molecular skeleton, connecting the electron acceptor N‐methylfulleropyrrolidine with an electron donor N,N‐dimethylaniline. Addition of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) results in a drastic colour change of the dyad from yellow to pink in dichloromethane (DCM). The structure of the protonated species are established from electronic spectroscopy and time‐dependent density functional theory (TD‐DFT) calculations. UV/Vis spectroscopic investigations reveal the disappearance of the 409 nm ¹(π→π*) transition with appearance of new features at 520 and 540 nm, attributed to protonated β and α nitrogens, respectively, along with a finite weight of the C₆₀ pyrrolidinic nitrogen. Calculations reveal intermixing of n_(N?N)→π*_(N?N) and charge transfer (CT) transitions in the neutral dyad, whereas, the n_(N?N)→π*_(N?N) transition in the protonated dyad is buried under the dominant ¹(π →π*) feature and is red‐shifted upon Gaussian deconvolution. The experimental binding constants involved in the protonation of N,N‐dimethylanilineazobenzene and the dyad imply an almost equal probability of existence of both α‐ and β‐protonated forms. Larger binding constants for the protonated dyads imply more stable dyad complexes than for the donor counterparts. One of the most significant findings upon protonation resulted in frontier molecular orbital (FMO) switching with the dyad LUMO located on the donor part, evidenced from electrochemical investigations. The appearance of a new peak, prior to the first reduction potential of N‐methylfulleropyrrolidine, clearly indicates location of the first incoming electron on the donor‐centred LUMO of the dyad, corroborated by unrestricted DFT calculations performed on the monoanions of the protonated dyad. The protonation of the basic azo nitrogens thus enables a rational control over the energetics and location of the FMOs, indispensable for electron transport across molecular junctions in realizing futuristic current switching devices.     

Photoinduced Electron Transfer within a Zinc Porphyrin–Cyclobis(paraquat‐p‐phenylene) Donor–Acceptor Dyad

Understanding the mechanism of efficient photoinduced electron‐transfer processes is essential for developing molecular systems for artificial photosynthesis. Towards this goal, we describe the synthesis of a donor–acceptor dyad comprising a zinc porphyrin donor and a tetracationic cyclobis(paraquat‐p‐phenylene) (CBPQT⁴⁺) acceptor. The X‐ray crystal structure of the dyad reveals the formation of a dimeric motif through the intermolecular coordination between the triazole nitrogen and the central Zn metal of two adjacent units of the dyad. Photoinduced electron transfer within the dyad in MeCN was investigated by femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, as well as by transient EPR spectroscopy. Photoexcitation of the dyad produced a weakly coupled ZnP^+.–CBPQT^3+. spin‐correlated radical‐ion pair having a τ=146 ns lifetime and a spin–spin exchange interaction of only 0.23 mT. The long radical‐ion‐pair lifetime results from weak donor–acceptor electronic coupling as a consequence of having nine bonds between the donor and the acceptor, and the reduction in reorganization energy for electron transfer caused by charge dispersal over both paraquat units within CBPQT^3+..     

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.     

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.     

An open‐source framework for analyzing N‐electron dynamics. I. Multideterminantal wave functions

The aim of the present contribution is to provide a framework for analyzing and visualizing the correlated many‐electron dynamics of molecular systems, where an explicitly time‐dependent electronic wave packet is represented as a linear combination of N‐electron wave functions. The central quantity of interest is the electronic flux density, which contains all information about the transient electronic density, the associated phase, and their temporal evolution. It is computed from the associated one‐electron operator by reducing the multideterminantal, many‐electron wave packet using the Slater‐Condon rules. Here, we introduce a general tool for post‐processing multideterminant configuration‐interaction wave functions obtained at various levels of theory. It is tailored to extract directly the data from the output of standard quantum chemistry packages using atom‐centered Gaussian‐type basis functions. The procedure is implemented in the open‐source Python program det CI@ORBKIT, which shares and builds on the modular design of our recently published post‐processing toolbox (Hermann et al., J. Comput. Chem. 2016, 37, 1511). The new procedure is applied to ultrafast charge migration processes in different molecular systems, demonstrating its broad applicability. Convergence of the N‐electron dynamics with respect to the electronic structure theory level and basis set size is investigated. This provides an assessment of the robustness of qualitative and quantitative statements that can be made concerning dynamical features observed in charge migration simulations. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Intramolecular electronic communication in a dimethylaminoazobenzene–fullerene C60 dyad: An experimental and TD‐DFT study

An electronically push–pull type dimethylaminoazobenzene–fullerene C₆₀ hybrid was designed and synthesized by tailoring N,N‐dimethylaniline as an electron donating auxochrome that intensified charge density on the β‐azonitrogen, and on N‐methylfulleropyrrolidine (NMFP) as an electron acceptor at the 4 and 4′ positions of the azobenzene moiety, respectively. The absorption and charge transfer behavior of the hybrid donor‐bridge‐acceptor dyad were studied experimentally and by performing TD‐DFT calculations. The TD‐DFT predicted charge transfer interactions of the dyad ranging from 747 to 601 nm were experimentally observed in the UV‐vis spectra at 721 nm in toluene and dichloromethane. A 149 mV anodic shift in the first reduction potential of the N?N group of the dyad in comparison with the model aminoazobenzene derivative further supported the phenomenon. Analysis of the charge transfer band through the orbital picture revealed charge displacement from the n_(N?N) (nonbonding) and π _(N?N) type orbitals centered on the donor part to the purely fullerene centered LUMOs and LUMO+n orbitals, delocalized over the entire molecule. The imposed electronic perturbations on the aminoazobenzene moiety upon coupling it with C₆₀ were analyzed by comparing the TD‐DFT predicted and experimentally observed electronic transition energies of the dyad with the model compounds, NMFP and (E)‐N,N‐dimethyl‐4‐(p‐tolyldiazenyl)aniline (AZNME). The n_(N?N) → π*_(N?N) and π_(N?N) → π*_(N?N) transitions of the dyad were bathochromically shifted with a significant charge transfer character. The shifting of π_(N?N) → π*_(N?N) excitation energy closer to the n → π*_(N?N) in comparison with the model aminoazobenzene emphasized the predominant existence of charge separated quinonoid‐like ground state electronic structure. Increasing solvent polarity introduced hyperchromic effect in the π_(N?N) → π*_(N?N) electronic transition at the expense of transitions involved with benzenic states, and the extent of intensity borrowing was quantified adopting the Gaussian deconvolution method. On a comparative scale, the predicted excitation energies were in reasonable agreement with the observed values, demonstrating the efficiency of TD‐DFT in predicting the localized and the charge transfer nature of transitions involved with large electronically asymmetric molecules with HOMO and LUMO centered on different parts of the molecular framework. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

Photophysics of an Intramolecular Hydrogen‐Evolving Ru–Pd Photocatalyst

Photoinduced electron‐transfer processes within a precatalyst for intramolecular hydrogen evolution [(tbbpy)₂Ru(tpphz)PdCl₂]²⁺ ( RuPd ; tbbpy=4,4′‐di‐tert‐butyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine, tpphz=tetrapyrido[3,2‐a:2′,3′c:3′′,2′′,‐h:2′′′,3′′′‐j]phenazine) have been studied by resonance Raman and ultrafast time‐resolved absorption spectroscopy. By comparing the photophysics of the [(tbbpy)₂Ru(tpphz)]²⁺ subunit Ru with that of the supramolecular catalyst RuPd , the individual electron‐transfer steps are assigned to kinetic components, and their dependence on solvent is discussed. The resonance Raman data reveal that the initial excitation of the molecular ensemble is spread over the terminal tbbpy and the tpphz ligands. The subsequent excited‐state relaxation of both Ru and RuPd on the picosecond timescale involves formation of the phenazine‐centered intraligand charge‐transfer state, which in RuPd precedes formation of the Pd‐reduced state. The photoreaction in the heterodinuclear supramolecular complex is completed on a subnanosecond timescale. Taken together, the data indicate that mechanistic investigations must focus on potential rate‐determining steps other than electron transfer between the photoactive center and the Pd unit. Furthermore, structural variations should be directed towards increasing the directionality of electron transfer and the stability of the charge‐separated states.     

Quadrupolar Cyclopenta[hi]aceanthrylene‐Based Electron Donor‐Acceptor‐Donor Conjugates: Charge Transfer versus Charge Separation

Cyclopenta[hi]aceanthrylenes (CPAs) have been functionalized at two of the peripheral positions with electronically inert trimethylsilylethynyl ( 1 ), as well as with electron‐donating 4‐ethynyl‐N,N‐dimethylaniline ( 2 ), ethynyl Zn^IIphthalocyanine ( 3 ), and ethynyl Zn^IIporphyrin ( 4 ) units. Consistent with X‐ray crystal structures of 2 and 4 , analyses of absorption and fluorescence of 2 – 4 point to strong electronic communication between the CPA and the peripheral units, affording quadrupolar electron donor‐acceptor‐donor charge‐transfer conjugates. By virtue of their quadrupolar/dipolar charge‐transfer characters in the excited state, 2 – 4 exhibit fluoro‐solvatochromism. Transient absorption spectroscopy confirmed delocalized quadrupolar ground states and formation of weakly solvent stabilized quadrupolar singlet excited states. The latter transform into strongly stabilized dipolar excited states before deactivating to the ground state in 2 and give rise to a fully charge separated state in 3 and 4 .     

Role of electronic structure of ruthenium polypyridyl dyes in the photoconversion efficiency of dye‐sensitized solar cells: Semiempirical investigation

ZINDO/S calculations on cis‐Ru(4,4′‐dicarboxy‐2,2′‐bipyridine)₂(X)₂ and cis‐Ru(5,5′‐dicarboxy‐2,2′‐bipyridine)₂(X)₂ complexes where X = Cl^?, CN^?, and NCS^? reveal that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of these complexes has a large amplitude on both the nonchromophoric ligand X and the central ruthenium atom. The lowest‐energy metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transition in these complexes involves electron transfer from ruthenium as well as the halide/pseudohalide ligand to the polypyridyl ligand. The contribution of the halide/pseudohalide ligand(X) to the HOMO affects the total amount of charge transferred to the polypyridyl ligand and hence the photoconversion efficiency. The virtual orbitals involved in the second MLCT transition in 4,4′‐dicarboxy‐2,2′‐bipyridine complexes have higher electron density on the ? COOH group compared to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and hence a stronger electronic coupling with the TiO₂ surface and higher injection efficiency at shorter wavelengths. In comparison, the virtual orbitals involved in the second MLCT transition in 5,5′‐dicarboxy‐2,2′‐bipyridine complexes have lesser electron density on the ? COOH group, leading to a weaker electronic coupling with the TiO₂ surface and therefore lower efficiency for electron injection at shorter wavelengths for these complexes. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2002     

Intramolecular Charge Transfer in Kekulé‐ and Non‐Kekulé‐Bridged Bis(triarylamine) Radical Cations: Missing Key Compounds in Organic Mixed‐Valence Systems

From the viewpoint of para‐meta topological bridging effect on the electronic coupling in organic mixed‐valence (MV) systems, the optically induced and thermally assisted intramolecular charge/spin transfer (ICT/IST) processes have been investigated for three bis(triarylamine) (BTA) radical cations as missing key compounds in very basic BTA MV systems. In contrast to the case of p‐ and m‐dinitrobenzene radical anions, the difference in the strength of electronic coupling (V) was not so large for the present BTA MV radical cations, although they still fall within the paradigm of strong V for para‐linkage and weak V for meta‐linkage. Unexpectedly, it has been found that meta‐phenylenediamine radical cation has an electronic coupling comparable to those in the para‐conjugated BTA‐based MV species, and the ICT/IST rate exceeds the ESR time‐scale. This finding is very encouraging considering that sufficient electronic communication can be ensured even when the redox‐active centers are linked directly by the meta‐phenylene bridge, thus broadening the selection of π‐bridging units for molecule‐based optoelectronics.     

“Two‐Point” Self‐Assembly and Photoinduced Electron Transfer in meso‐Donor‐Carrying Bis(styryl crown ether)‐BODIPY–Bis(alkylammonium)fullerene Donor–Acceptor Conjugates

BF₂‐chelated dipyrromethene, BODIPY, was functionalized to carry two styryl crown ether tails and a secondary electron donor at the meso position. By using a “two‐point” self‐assembly strategy, a bis‐alkylammonium‐functionalized fullerene (C₆₀) was allowed to self‐assemble the crown ether voids of BODIPY to obtain multimodular donor–acceptor conjugates. As a consequence of the two‐point binding, the 1:1 stoichiometric complexes formed yielded complexes of higher stability in which fluorescence of BODIPY was found to be quenched; this suggested the occurrence of excited‐state processes. The geometry and electronic structure of the self‐assembled complexes were derived from B3LYP/3‐21G(*) methods in which no steric constraints between the entities was observed. An energy‐level diagram was established by using spectral, electrochemical, and computational results to help understand the mechanistic details of excited‐state processes originating from ¹bis‐styryl‐BODIPY*. Femtosecond transient absorbance studies were indicative of the formation of an exciplex state prior to the charge‐separation process to yield a bis‐styryl‐BODIPY ^{. +}–C₆₀ ^{. −} radical ion pair. The time constants for charge separation were generally lower than charge‐recombination processes. The present studies bring out the importance of multimode binding strategies to obtain stable self‐assembled donor–acceptor conjugates capable of undergoing photoinduced charge separation needed in artificial photosynthetic applications.     

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.