Active oxygen species generated from photoexcited fullerene (C60) as potential medicines: O2-* versus 1O2

To characterize fullerenes (C(60) and C(70)) as photosensitizers in biological systems, the generation of active oxygen species, through energy transfer (singlet oxygen (1)O(2)) and electron transfer (reduced active oxygen radicals such as superoxide anion radical O(2)(-)* and hydroxyl radical *OH), was studied by a combination of methods, including biochemical (DNA-cleavage assay in the presence of various scavengers of active oxygen species), physicochemical (EPR radical trapping and near-infrared spectrometry), and chemical methods (nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) method). Whereas (1)O(2) was generated effectively by photoexcited C(60) in nonpolar solvents such as benzene and benzonitrile, we found that O(2)(-)* and *OH were produced instead of (1)O(2) in polar solvents such as water, especially in the presence of a physiological concentration of reductants including NADH. The above results, together with those of a DNA cleavage assay in the presence of various scavengers of specific active oxygen species, indicate that the active oxygen species primarily responsible for photoinduced DNA cleavage by C(60) under physiological conditions are reduced species such as O(2)(-)* and *OH.     

Photoinduced charge separation and charge recombination in the [60]fullerene-diphenylbenzothiadiazole-triphenylamine triad: role of diphenylbenzothiadiazole as bridge

Photoinduced electron-transfer processes of the newly synthesized [60]fullerene-diphenylbenzothiadiazole-triphenylamine (C60-PBTDP-TPA) triad in polar and nonpolar solvents have been studied by using time-resolved transient absorption and fluorescence measurements from picosecond to microsecond regions. By fluorescence lifetime measurements in picosecond time regions, excitation of the charge-transfer transition of the PBTDP-TPA moiety in C60-PBTDP-TPA induces energy transfer to the C60 moiety generating 1C60*-PBTDP-TPA, competitively with charge separation generating C60*--PBTDP-TPA*+. From 1C60*-PBTDP-TPA, which is generated directly and indirectly, charge separation occurs generating C60*--PBTDP-TPA*+ in polar solvents. The C60*--PBTDP-TPA*+ formed via the singlet excited states decayed within a few nanoseconds as revealed by the picosecond transient absorption spectra. In the nanosecond time region, C60*--PBTDP-TPA*+ is produced slowly, probably via 3C60*-PBTDP-TPA. Lifetimes of such slowly generated C60*--PBTDP-TPA*+ were longer than 1 micros, which are the longest values among the C60-bridge-TPA triad systems reported hitherto at room temperature. Roles of the PBTDP-TPA moiety with twisted intermolecular charge-transfer character playing as energy donor and electron donor in addition to the bridge have been disclosed.     

Photoinduced charge separation and charge recombination in [60]fullerene-ethylcarbazole and [60]fullerene-triphenylamines in polar solvents

Molecules of C60 covalently connected with N-ethylcarbazole (EtCz) and triphenylamine (TPA) have been synthesized. Photoinduced electron transfer in C60-EtCz and C60-TPA has been studied in polar and nonpolar solvents using time-resolved transient absorption and fluorescence measurements. From the fluorescence lifetimes, the excited singlet state of the C60 moiety (1C60) of C60-TPA generates predominantly C60*--TPA*+, which decays quickly to the ground state within 6 ns even in polar solvents. In the case of C60-EtCz, on the other hand, about half of the 1C60 moiety generates short-lived C60*--EtCz*+, while the other half of the 1C60 moiety is transferred to the 3C60 moiety via intersystem crossing in dimethylformamide, in which the energy level of C60*--EtCz*+ is lower than that of 3C60. Thus, the charge separation takes place via 3C60 generating C60*--EtCz*+, having a lifetime as long as 300 ns, probably because of the triplet spin character of C60*--EtCz*+. A special property of the EtCz moiety to stabilize the hole in the charge-separated state was revealed.     

Control over photoinduced energy and electron transfer in supramolecular polyads of covalently linked azaBODIPY-bisporphyrin 'molecular clip' hosting fullerene

A 'molecular clip' featuring a near-IR emitting fluorophore, BF(2)-chelated tetraarylazadipyrromethane (aza-BODIPY) covalently linked to two porphyrins (MP, M = 2H or Zn) has been newly synthesized to host a three-dimensional electron acceptor fullerene via a 'two-point' metal-ligand axial coordination. Efficient singlet-singlet excitation transfer from (1)ZnP* to aza-BODIPY was witnessed in the dyad and triad in nonpolar and less polar solvents, such as toluene and o-dichlorobenzene, however, in polar solvents, additional electron transfer occurred along with energy transfer. A supramolecular tetrad was formed by assembling bis-pyridine functionalized fullerene via a 'two-point' metal-ligand axial coordination, and the resulted complex was characterized by optical absorption and emission, computational, and electrochemical methods. Electron transfer from photoexcited zinc porphyrin to C(60) is witnessed in the supramolecular tetrad from the femtosecond transient absorption spectral studies. Further, the supramolecular polyads (triad or tetrad) were utilized to build photoelectrochemical cells to check their ability to convert light into electricity by fabricating FTO/SnO(2)/polyad electrodes. The presence of azaBODIPY and fullerene entities of the tetrad improved the overall light energy conversion efficiency. An incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency of up to 17% has been achieved for the tetrad modified electrode.     

Exciplex mediated photoinduced electron transfer reactions of phthalocyanine-fullerene dyads

Evidences of an intramolecular exciplex intermediate in a photoinduced electron transfer (ET) reaction of double-linked free-base and zinc phthalocyanine-C60 dyads were found. This was the first time for a dyad with phthalocyanine donor. Excitation of the phthalocyanine moiety of the dyads results in rapid ET from phthalocyanine to fullerene via an exciplex state in both polar and nonpolar solvents. Relaxation of the charge-separated (CS) state Pc(*+)-C60(*-) in a polar solvent occurs directly to the ground state in 30-70 ps. In a nonpolar solvent, roughly 20% of the molecules undergo transition from the CS state to phthalocyanine triplet state (3)Pc*-C60 before relaxation to the ground state. Formation of the CS state was confirmed with electron spin resonance measurements at low temperature in both polar and nonpolar solvent. Reaction schemes for the photoinduced ET reactions of the dyads were completed with rate constants obtained from the time-resolved absorption and emission measurements and with state energies obtained from the fluorescence, phosphorescence, and voltammetric measurements.     

Synthesis and photoinduced intramolecular processes of fulleropyrrolidine-oligothienylenevinylene-ferrocene triads

Two new triads based on N-methylfulleropyrolidine, oligothienylenevinylenes (nTV) and ferrocene (Fc), namely C(60)-nTV-Fc (n=2, 4) have been synthesized. A HOMO-LUMO gap as low as 1.09-1.11 eV was experimentally determined by cyclic voltammetry. In both polar and nonpolar solvents, photoinduced charge-separation (CS) processes in C(60)-nTV-Fc predominantly take place from the singlet excited states of C(60) and nTV; this result was indicated by steady and time-resolved emission spectroscopy. In the case of C(60)-4TV-Fc, the CS state was indicated by the nanosecond transient absorption spectra. In C(60)-2TV-Fc, although the CS process was also confirmed by the fluorescence quenching in nonpolar and polar solvents, the lifetimes of the CS states were shorter than those of C(60)-4TV-Fc. It was revealed that the introduction of Fc donor moiety at the end of the longer nTV chain in the C(60)-nTV dyad systems effectively increases the CS efficiency and the lifetimes of CS states.     

Photoinduced electron transfer competitive with energy transfer of the excited triplet state of [60]fullerene to ferrocene derivatives revealed by combination of transient absorption and thermal lens measurements

The quenching processes of the exited triplet state of fullerene (3C60) by ferrocene (Fc) derivatives have been observed by the transient absorption spectroscopy and thermal lens methods. Although 3C60 was efficiently quenched by Fc in the rate close to the diffusion controlled limit, the quantum yields (phi(et)) for the generation of the radical anion of C60 (C60*-) via 3C60 were quite low even in polar solvents; nevertheless, the free-energy changes (deltaG(et)) of electron transfer from Fc to 3C60 are sufficiently negative. In benzonitrile (BN), the phi(et) value for unsubstitued Fc was less than 0.1. The thermal lens method indicates that energy transfer from 3C60 to Fc takes place efficiently, suggesting that the excited triplet energy level of Fc was lower than that of 3C60. Therefore, energy transfer from 3C60 to ferrocene decreases the electron-transfer process from ferrocene to 3C60. To increase the participation of electron transfer, introduction of electron-donor substituents to Fc (phi(et) = 0.46 for decamethylferrocene in BN) and an increase in solvent polarity (phi(et) = 0.58 in BN:DMF (1:2) for decamethylferrocene) were effective.     

Synthesis and photoinduced energy- and electron-transfer processes of C60-oligothienylenevinylene-C70 dumbbell compounds

Unsymmetric dumbbell molecules based on N-methylpyrrolidine[60]fullerene, oligothienylenevinylenes (nTV; n=2, 4), and N-methylpyrrolidine[70]fullerene, namely, C(60) -nTV-C(70) were synthesized and their photophysical properties were studied. In nonpolar solvents, photoinduced energy-transfer process predominantly takes place from the singlet excited state of nTV to C(60) and C(70) , as was confirmed by time-resolved emission and transient absorption spectroscopy. In polar solvent, charge-separation processes take place instead of energy transfer. The generated charge-separated radical-ion pairs decay to the neutral molecules by a fast charge-recombination process; for n=4, a rate constant of 2×10(7) s(-1) and lifetime of 50 ns were evaluated.     

Control of photoinduced energy- and electron-transfer steps in zinc porphyrin-oligothiophene-fullerene linked triads with solvent polarity

The dramatic changes of the lifetimes of the charge-separated (CS) states were confirmed in zinc porphyrin (ZnP)-oligothiophene (nT)-fullerene (C(60)) linked triads (ZnP-nT-C(60)) with the solvent polarity. After the selective excitation of the ZnP moiety of ZnP-nT-C(60), an energy transfer took place from the (1)ZnP moiety to the C(60) moiety, generating ZnP-nT-(1)C(60). In polar solvents, the CS process also took place directly via the (1)ZnP moiety, generating ZnP(*+)-nT-C(60)(*-), as well as the energy transfer to the C(60) moiety. After this energy transfer, an indirect CS process took place from the (1)C(60) moiety. In the less polar solvent anisole, the radical cation (hole) of ZnP(*+)-nT-C(60)(*-) shifted to the nT moiety; thus, the nT moiety behaves as a cation trapper, and the rates of the hole shift were evaluated to be in the order of 10(8) s(-1); then, the final CS states ZnP-nT(*+)-C(60)(*-) were lasting for 6-7 mus. In the medium polar solvent o-dichlorobenzene (o-DCB), ZnP-nT(*+)-C(60)(*-) and ZnP(*+)-nT-C(60)(*-) were present as an equilibrium, because both states have almost the same thermodynamic stability. This equilibrium resulted in quite long lifetimes of the CS states (450-910 mus) in o-DCB. In the more polar benzonitrile, the generation of ZnP-nT(*+)-C(60)(*-) was confirmed with apparent short lifetimes (0.6-0.8 mus), which can be explained by the fast hole shift to more stable ZnP(*+)-nT-C(60)(*-) followed by the faster charge recombination. It was revealed that the relation between the energy levels of two CS states, which strongly depend on the solvent polarity, causes dramatic changes of the lifetimes of the CS states in ZnP-nT-C(60); that is, the most appropriate solvents for the long-lived CS state are intermediately polar solvents such as o-DCB. Compared with our previous data for H(2)P-nT-C(60), in which H(2)P is free-base porphyrin, the lifetimes of the CS states of ZnP-nT-C(60) are approximately 30 times longer than those in o-DCB.     

溶液中甲醇和二氯亚砜的化学反应

用B3LYP方法和SCIPCM模型(模拟溶剂效应)研究了甲醇和二氯亚砜在两种非极性(ε<15)和两种极性(ε>15)溶剂中的反应(最终产物为氯代甲烷和二氧化硫). 反应过程由反应(1)和反应(2)组成, CH3OS(O)Cl是反应(1)的主要产物和反应(2)的反应物. 反应(2)有“前面取代”(经过渡态TS3f)和“背后取代”(先经CH3OS(O)Cl的电离, 再经过渡态TS3b)两种机理. 计算表明, 在气相和四种溶剂中反应(1)和(2)都是放热反应, 反应(1)具有相同的反应途径(经过渡态→中间体→过渡态), 溶剂的极性对反应(2)有很大的影响. 在气相和非极性溶剂中, TS3f的能量比(CH3OSO++Cl-)离子对(中间体IM2)的能量低, 反应(2)应为前面取代机理; 在极性溶剂中, IM2和TS3b的能量都比TS3f低, 反应(2)应为背后取代机理.     

Photoinduced intramolecular electron-transfer processes in [60]fullerene and N,N-Bis(biphenyl)aniline molecular systems in solutions

Photoinduced intramolecular charge-separation and charge-recombination processes in covalently connected C(60)-(spacer)-bis(biphenyl)aniline (C(60)-sp-BBA) and C(60)-((spacer)-bis(biphenyl)aniline)(2) (C(60)-(sp-BBA)(2)) have been studied by time-resolved fluorescence and transient absorption methods. Since a flexible alkylthioacetoamide chain was employed as the spacer, the folded structures in which the BBA moiety approaches the C(60) moiety were obtained as optimized structures by molecular orbital calculations. The observed low fluorescence intensity and the short fluorescence lifetime of the C(60) moiety of these molecular systems indicated that charge separation takes place via the excited singlet state of the C(60) moiety in a quite fast rate and high efficiency even in the nonpolar solvent toluene, which was a quite new observation compared with reported dyads with different spacers. From the absorption bands at 880 and 1000 nm in the nanosecond transient absorption spectra, generations of C(60)(.-)-sp-BBA(.+) and C(60)(.-)-(sp-BBA(.+))(sp-BBA) were confirmed. The rates of charge separation and charge recombination for C(60)-(sp-BBA)(2) are faster than those for C(60)-sp-BBA, suggesting that one of the BBA moieties approaches the C(60) moiety by pushing another BBA moiety because of the flexible spacers.     

Electron transfer in porphyrin—quinone cyclophanes studied on the pico- and femto-second time scale

Electron transfer in porphyrin—quinone cyclophanes is investigated by fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy with pico- and femto-second pulses. In nonpolar solvents, the S₁ state of the porphyrin shows a lifetime from 300 ps up to several nanoseconds, depending upon the number of quinones and upon their electron affinity. Comparative measurements in polar solvents demonstrate very fast electron transfer on a time scale between 1 and 10 ps. The results are analyzed with the aid of quantum-chemical calculations which give the energy of the charge transfer states and the relevant coupling strengths. For nonpolar solvents, theory suggests fluctuation-induced charge separation and/or direct radiationless internal conversion from the porphyrin S₁ to the ground state. In polar solution, the molecules exist in a tilted configuration with strong electronic coupling and charge transfer states well below the S₁ level, resulting in fast electron transfer and subsequent charge recombination within 10–40 ps.     

卟啉-酞菁分子内能量传递和电子转移的溶剂效应

用稳态荧光光谱研究了以氧原子和哌嗪作为连接基的卟啉酞菁二元分子在不同溶剂中的分子内能量传递和电子转移过程结果表明;分子内的能量传递和电子转移是两个相互竞争的过程，在非极性溶剂中，激发单重态的能量传递是主要过程，而在极性溶剂中则以电子转移为主运用Rehm-Weller公式计算了两种二元化合物在不同溶剂中的电子转移反应的自由能变化△G0ET，表明溶剂的极性对电子转移反应的自由能变化△G0ET影响很大极性越大;体系中的电子转移反应的△G0ET、越负，电子转移反应越易进行由于电子转移过程较能量传递过程进行得快，所以表现为体系中能量传递效率降低而电子转移效率增大。两种二元化合物的能量传递效率（φEnT）利和电子转移效率（φET）随溶剂的极性的变化具有相同的变化趋势     

Energy gap law of electron transfer in nonpolar solvents

We investigate the energy gap law of electron transfer in nonpolar solvents for charge separation and charge recombination reactions. In polar solvents, the reaction coordinate is given in terms of the electrostatic potentials from solvent permanent dipoles at solutes. In nonpolar solvents, the energy fluctuation due to solvent polarization is absent, but the energy of the ion pair state changes significantly with the distance between the ions as a result of the unscreened strong Coulomb potential. The electron transfer occurs when the final state energy coincides with the initial state energy. For charge separation reactions, the initial state is a neutral pair state, and its energy changes little with the distance between the reactants, whereas the final state is an ion pair state and its energy changes significantly with the mutual distance; for charge recombination reactions, vice versa. We show that the energy gap law of electron-transfer rates in nonpolar solvents significantly depends on the type of electron transfer.     

Corrole-fullerene dyads: formation of long-lived charge-separated states in nonpolar solvents

The first example of covalently linked free-base corrole-fullerene dyads is reported. In the newly synthesized dyads, the free-energy calculations performed by employing the redox and singlet excited-state energy in both polar and nonpolar solvents suggested the possibility of electron transfer from the excited singlet state of corrole to the fullerene entity. Accordingly, steady-state and time-resolved emission studies revealed efficient fluorescence quenching of the corrole entity in the dyads. Further studies involving femtosecond laser flash photolysis and nanosecond transient absorption studies confirmed electron transfer to be the quenching mechanism, in which the electron-transfer product, the fullerene anion radical, was able to be spectrally characterized. The rate of charge separation, kCS, was found to be on the order of 10(10)-10(11) s(-1), suggesting an efficient photoinduced electron-transfer process. Interestingly, the rate of charge recombination, kCR, was slower by 5 orders of magnitude in nonpolar solvents, cyclohexane and toluene, resulting in a radical ion-pair lasting for several microseconds. Careful analysis of the kinetic and thermodynamic data using the Marcus approach revealed that this novel feature is due to appropriately positioning the energy level of the charge-separated state below the triplet states of either of the donor and acceptor entities in both polar and nonpolar solvents, a feature that was not evident in donor-acceptor dyads constructed using symmetric tetrapyrroles as electron donors.     

Photoinduced processes in a tricomponent molecule consisting of diphenylaminofluorene-dicyanoethylene-methano[60]fullerene

Photoinduced intramolecular processes in a tricomponent molecule C60(>(CN)2-DPAF), consisting of an electron-accepting methano[60]fullerene moiety (C60>) covalently bound to an electron-donating diphenylaminofluorene (DPAF) unit via a bridging dicyanoethylenyl group [(CN)2], were investigated in comparison with (CN)2-DPAF. On the basis of the molecular orbital calculations, the lowest charge-separated state of C60(>(CN)2-DPAF) is suggested to be C60*-(>(CN)2-DPAF*+) with the negative charge localized on the fullerene cage, while the upper state is C60(>(CN)2*--DPAF*+). The excited-state events of C60(>(CN)2-DPAF) were monitored by both time-resolved emission and nanosecond transient absorption techniques. In both nonpolar and polar solvents, the excited charge-transfer state decayed mainly through initial energy-transfer process to the C60 moiety yielding the corresponding 1C60, from which charge separation took place leading to the formation of C60*-(>(CN)2-DPAF*+) in a fast rate and high efficiency. In addition, multistep charge separation from C60(>(CN)2*--DPAF*+) to C60*-(>(CN)2-DPAF*+) may be possible with the excitation of charge-transfer band. The lifetimes of C60*-(>(CN)2-DPAF*+) are longer than the previously reported methano[60]fullerene-diphenylaminofluorene C60(>(C=O)-DPAF) with the C60 and DPAF moieties linked by a methanoketo group. These findings suggest an important role of dicyanoethylenyl group as an electron mediating bridge in C60(>(CN)2-DPAF).     

Thermal and photochemical reactions of biacetyl with 1,1-diethoxyethene. “Umpolung” of the reactivity of biacetyl by photochemical induced electron transfer.

The thermal and photochemical reactions of biacetyl 1 and 1,1-diethoxyethene 2 are totally complementary: 1 and 2 exclusively form the 2,2-diethoxyoxetane 4 in polar solvents at room temperature. Contrary to the literature this thermal cycloadditon proceeds uncatalyzed. 1 and 2 react photochemically under exclusive formation of the regioisomer oxetane 3 - preferably in nonpolar solvents. The inversion (“Umpolung”) of the reactivity of 1 is caused by the photoinduced electron transfer.     

Phase-selective solubility of poly(N-alkylacrylamide)s

The extent of the phase-selective solubility of poly(N-alkylacrylamide)s was studied by UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy using poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and poly(N-octadecylacrylamide) as representative polar and nonpolar poly(N-alkylacrylamide)s in a mixture of polar and nonpolar thermomorphic solvents. Phase-selective solubilities of greater than 10000:1 were seen with each labeled polymer in polar and nonpolar solvents such as heptane and DMF or heptane and 90% EtOH-H(2)O. Using a poly(N-acryloxysuccinimide) as a common precursor, a pool-split synthesis was devised to prepare a library of poly(N-alkylacrylamide)s whose members varied only in the size of their N-alkyl substituent. The solubilities of these library members were measured in both the polar and nonpolar phases of a thermomorphic heptane/90% EtOH-H(2)O mixture at 25 degrees C. Such solvent mixtures are miscible hot (70 degrees C) and biphasic cold (25 degrees C). The results show that poly(N-pentylacrylamide) is selectively soluble (>99.5%) in the polar EtOH-rich phase at rest. Poly(N-alkylacrylamide)s with larger N-alkyl groups are predominantly (C(6), 85%; C(7), 95%) or exclusively (>C(8), >99.5%) in the heptane-rich phase at rest.     

Photonic switching of photoinduced electron transfer in a dithienylethene-porphyrin-fullerene triad molecule

A dithienylethene (DTE)-porphyrin (P)-fullerene (C(60)) triad molecule in which intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer is controlled by the photochromic DTE moiety has been prepared. Irradiation of the molecule with visible light gives the open form of the dithienylethene (DTEo). Excitation of the porphyrin gives DTEo-(1)P-C(60), which undergoes photoinduced electron transfer with a time constant of 25 ps to generate DTEo-P(.+)-C(60)(.-). Irradiation with ultraviolet light produces the closed form of the dithienylethene (DTEc). Excitation of DTEc-P-C(60) yields DTEc-(1)P-C(60), whose porphyrin first excited singlet state is quenched in 2.3 ps by singlet-singlet energy transfer to DTEc, generating (1)DTEc-P-C(60) and precluding significant photoinduced electron transfer. Such highly reversible photonically controlled intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer may eventually be useful in the design of photonic or optoelectronic devices.     

Rigid dendritic donor-acceptor ensembles: control over energy and electron transduction

Several generations of phenylenevinylene dendrons, covalently attached to a C(60) core, have been developed as synthetic model systems with hierarchical, fine-tuned architectures. End-capping of these dendritic spacers with dibutylaniline or dodecyloxynaphthalene, as antennas/electron donors, yielded new donor-bridge-acceptor ensembles in which one, two, or four donors are allocated at the peripheral positions of the well-defined dendrons, while the electron accepting fullerene is placed at the focal point of the dendron. On the basis of our cyclic voltammetry experiments, which disclose a single anodic oxidation and several cathodic reduction processes, we rule out significant, long-range couplings between the fullerene core and the end-standing donors in their ground-state configuration. Photophysical investigations, on the other hand, show that upon photoexcitation an efficient and rapid transfer of singlet excited-state energy (6 x 10(10) to 2.5 x 10(12) s(-1)) controls the reactivity of the initially excited antenna portion. Spectroscopic and kinetic evidence suggests that yet a second contribution, that is, an intramolecular electron-transfer, exists, affording C(60)(.-) -dendron(.+) with quantum yields (Phi) as high as 0.76 and lifetimes (tau) that are on the order of hundreds of nanoseconds (220-725 ns). Variation of the energy gap modulates the interplay of these two pathways (i.e., competition or sequence between energy and electron transfer).