Bimolecular photoinduced electron transfer in imidazolium-based room-temperature ionic liquids is not faster than in conventional solvents

The fluorescence quenching of 3-cyanoperylene upon electron transfer from N,N-dimethylaniline in three room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) and in binary solvent mixtures of identical viscosity has been investigated using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. This study was stimulated by previous reports of bimolecular electron transfer reactions faster by one or several orders of magnitude in RTILs than in conventional polar solvents. These conclusions were usually based on a comparison with data obtained in low-viscous organic solvents and extrapolated to higher viscosities and not by performing experiments at similar viscosities as those of the RTILs, which we show to be essential. Our results reveal that (i) the diffusive motion of solutes in both types of solvents is comparable, (ii) the intrinsic electron transfer step is controlled by the solvent dynamics in both cases, being slower in the RTILs than in the conventional organic solvent of similar viscosity, and (iii) the previously reported reaction rates much larger than the diffusion limit at low quencher concentration in RTILs originate from a neglect of the static and transient stages of the quenching, which are dominant in solvents as viscous as RTILs.     

Bridge-dependent electron transfer in porphyrin-based donor-bridge-acceptor systems.

Photoinduced electron transfer in donor-bridge-acceptor systems with zinc porphyrin (or its pyridine complex) as the donor and gold(III) porphyrin as the acceptor has been studied. The porphyrin moieties were covalently linked with geometrically similar bridging chromophores which vary only in electronic structure. Three of the bridges are fully conjugated pi-systems and in a fourth, the conjugation is broken. For systems with this bridge, the quenching rate of the singlet excited state of the donor was independent of solvent and corresponded to the rate of singlet energy transfer expected for a F?rster mechanism. In contrast, systems with a pi-conjugated bridging chromophore show a solvent-dependent quenching rate that suggests electron transfer in the Marcus normal region. This is supported by picosecond transient absorption measurements, which showed formation of the zinc porphyrin radical cation only in systems with pi-conjugated bridging chromophores. On the basis of the Marcus and Rehm-Weller equations, an electronic coupling of 5-20 cm(-)(1) between the donor and acceptor is estimated for these systems. The largest coupling is found for the systems with the smallest energy gap between the donor and bridge singlet excited states. This is in good agreement with the coupling calculated with quantum mechanical methods, as is the prediction of an almost zero coupling in the systems with a nonconjugated bridging chromophore.     

Photo-induced intermolecular electron transfer from electron donating solvents to Coumarin dyes in bile salt aggregates: role of diffusion in electron transfer reaction

The photo-induced electron transfer between Coumarin dyes and aromatic amines has been investigated using steady state and time-resolved fluorescence quenching studies. We have observed a Marcus type inversion in the electron transfer rate in correlation of quenching constant to the free energy change occurred during reaction. To justify the "inverted region" obtained in the correlation of quenching constant versus free energy curve, we have performed anisotropy measurement and estimated the several diffusional parameters. The translational diffusion coefficients exhibit a similar picture like electron transfer rate constant when it is plotted against free energy. Thus we argued that the diffusion has played an important role in the electron transfer kinetics.     

核酸前体及其修饰结构的电子转移机理研究

应用荧光淬灭和激光光解瞬态吸收光谱技术研究了一系列核酸前体(核酸碱基、核苷及其结构修饰物)、小牛胸腺ctDNA与各种荧光探针及蛋白酶之间的瞬态、稳态电子转移作用机理。测定结果表明,它们的稳态、静态荧光淬灭作用很强,很好地符合Stern-Volmer线性方程,淬灭速率常数,k~q(s)和k~q(d),达10^10.M^-^1S^-^1,属于扩散控制,表明核酸前体的基态可作为电子受体或给体而分别与含色氨酸残基的蛋白酶、受电子型荧光探针之间发生具有电子转移性质的相互作用。对鸟嘌呤的结构修饰物进行了激光光解的瞬态吸收光谱研究,检测了几类活性中间体,论证了激发态的光致电子转移和能量转移机理。     

Comparison of the Kinetics of Electron Transfer in the Diffusion Limit for the Singlet and Triplet Quenching of Eosin Y by Quinones

Electron transfer (ET) rate constants were determined by means of lifetime measurements for the fluorescence quenching and by laser flash photolysis for the triplet quenching of the dye eosin Y by benzoquinones in acetonitrile. The results represent a new aspect of the dependence of the rate constants with the driving force in the diffusion limit region. That is, the rate constants for singlet quenching in the highly negative region of ΔG_et do not decrease as predicted by Marcus theory, but rather show a small positive dependence on the driving force. However, it is found that, in the same free energy range, the triplet rate constants are lower than those for the singlet process. They also increase with the exergonicity of the reaction, but the dependence with ΔG_et is less marked than that found for the singlet reaction. Even at a Gibbs energy change of ?1.0 eV the triplet quenching rate constants do not reach the theoretical diffusion limit. The results are analyzed using the current theories for diffusion‐mediated ET reactions.     

Quenching mechanism of Zn(salicylaldimine) by nitroaromatics

Nitroaromatics and nitroalkanes quench the fluorescence of Zn(Salophen) (H2Salophen = N,N'-phenylene-bis-(3,5-di- tert-butylsalicylideneimine); ZnL(R)) complexes. A structurally related family of ZnL(R) complexes (R = OMe, di-tBu, tBu, Cl, NO2) were prepared, and the mechanisms of fluorescence quenching by nitroaromatics were studied by a combined kinetics and spectroscopic approach. The fluorescent quantum yields for ZnL(R) were generally high (Phi approximately 0.3) with sub-nanosecond fluorescence lifetimes. The fluorescence of ZnL(R) was quenched by nitroaromatic compounds by a mixture of static and dynamic pathways, reflecting the ZnL(R) ligand bulk and reduction potential. Steady-state Stern-Volmer plots were curved for ZnL(R) with less-bulky substituents (R = OMe, NO2), suggesting that both static and dynamic pathways were important for quenching. Transient Stern-Volmer data indicated that the dynamic pathway dominated quenching for ZnL(R) with bulky substituents (R = tBu, DtBu). The quenching rate constants with varied nitroaromatics (ArNO2) followed the driving force dependence predicted for bimolecular electron transfer: ZnL* + ArNO2 --> ZnL(+) + ArNO2(-). A treatment of the diffusion-corrected quenching rates with Marcus theory yielded a modest reorganization energy (lambda = 25 kcal/mol), and a small self-exchange reorganization energy for ZnL*/ZnL(+) (ca. 20 kcal/mol) was estimated from the Marcus cross-relation, suggesting that metal phenoxyls may be robust biological redox cofactors. Electronic structure calculations indicated very small changes in bond distances for the ZnL --> ZnL(+) oxidation, suggesting that solvation was the dominant contributor to the observed reorganization energy. These mechanistic insights provide information that will be helpful to further develop ZnL(R) as sensors, as well as for potential photoinduced charge transfer chemistry.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in a protein-surfactant complex: probing the interaction of SDS with BSA

Photoinduced fluorescence quenching electron transfer from N,N-dimethyl aniline to different 7-amino coumarin dyes has been investigated in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles and in bovine serum albumin (BSA)-SDS protein-surfactant complexes using steady state and picosecond time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The electron transfer rate has been found to be slower in BSA-SDS protein-surfactant complexes compared to that in SDS micelles. This observation has been explained with the help of the "necklace-and-bead" structure formed by the protein-surfactant complex due to coiling of protein molecules around the micelles. In the correlation of free energy change to the fluorescence quenching electron transfer rate, we have observed that coumarin 151 deviates from the normal Marcus region, showing retardation in the electron transfer rate at higher negative free energy region. We endeavored to establish that the retardation in the fluorescence quenching electron transfer rate for coumarin 151 at higher free energy region is a result of slower rotational relaxation and slower translational diffusion of coumarin 151 (C-151) compared to its analogues coumarin 152 and coumarin 481 in micelles and in protein-surfactant complexes. The slower rotational relaxation and translational diffusion of C-151 are supposed to be arising from the different location of coumarin 151 compared to coumarin 152 and coumarin 481.     

Photoionization affected by chemical anisotropy

The kinetic constants of rhodamine 3B quenching by N,N-dimethyl aniline were extracted from the very beginning of the quenching kinetics, recently studied in a few solvents of different viscosities. They were well fitted with the conventional kinetic constant definition, provided the radial distribution function of simple liquids was ascribed to the reactant pair distribution and the contact electron transfer rate was different in all the cases. This difference was attributed to the chemical anisotropy averaging by the rotation of reactants, which is the faster in solvents of lower viscosity. With the proper choice of a space dependent encounter diffusion, the whole quenching kinetics was well fitted with an encounter theory, using the Marcus [J. Chem. Phys. 24, 966 (1956); 43, 679 (1965)] transfer rate instead of the contact Collins-Kimball [J. Colloid. Sci. 4, 425 (1949)] approximation. Not only the beginning and middle part of the quenching were equally well fitted, but the long time (Markovian) rate constant was also found to be the same as previously obtained. Moreover, the concentration dependencies of the fluorescence quantum yield and the Stern-Volmer constant were specified and await their experimental verification.     

FREE ENERGY DEPENDENCE OF THE QUENCHING OF CHLOROPHYLL a FLUORESCENCE BY SUBSTITUTED QUINONES*

The quenching of chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence hy a series of substituted benzoquinones. naphthoquinones and anthraquinones has been examined employing ethanol and acetonitrile as solvents. All quinones are good quenchers of fluorescence. There is an excellent linear relation between the Stern-Volmer quenching constants, K, and the polarographic half wave potentials (E₁₂) of the quinones, with more oxidizing quinones being better quenchers. The quenching data are consistent with the excited state half wave potential of ?1.31 eV predicted theoretically, demonstrating that the kinetically estimated value of the Chl a excited state reduction potential agrees with that expected on spectroscopic grounds. The results of quenching are not in agreement with the conventional Marcus theory of electron-transfer reactions, as there is no evidence of quenching constant. K_q. decrease vsΔG⁰ even for free energy changes nearly twice that expected for the onset of the Marcus inverted region. However, the kinetically estimated K_q values are in good agreement with the ones calculated by using the Rehm and Weller equation for fluorescence quenching by electron transfer. Our experimental results support the electron transfer mechanism of quenching proposed by Seely.     

Reorganization of intramolecular high frequency vibrational modes and dynamic solvent effect in electron transfer reactions

The possibility of the multichannel stochastic model to adequately describe all principal regularities observed in thermal electron transfer kinetics has been demonstrated. The most important are as follows: (i) the model predicts the solvent controlled regime in the Marcus normal region and its almost full suppression in the Marcus inverted region as well as a continuous transition between them in the vicinity of the activationless region; (ii) the suppression of dynamic solvent effect (DSE) is principally caused by the reorganization of high frequency vibrational modes; (iii) an additional factor of the DSE suppression stems from fast solvent relaxation component; (iv) in the inverted region, the multichannel stochastic model predicts the apparent activation energy to be much less than that calculated with Marcus equation. The exploration of the multichannel stochastic model has allowed one to conclude that the reorganization of high frequency vibrational modes can (i) raise the maximum rate constant above the solvent controlled limit by 2 and more orders of magnitude, (ii) shift the rate constant maximum to larger values of the free energy gap, and (iii) approach the electron transfer kinetics to the nonadiabatic regime.     

Roles of diffusion and activation barrier on the appearance of Marcus inversion behavior: a study of a photoinduced electron-transfer reaction in aqueous triblock copolymer (p123) micellar solutions

Photoinduced electron transfer (ET) reactions between amines and a series of coumarins have been investigated using fluorescence-quenching measurements in aqueous P123 triblock copolymer micellar solutions. Fluorescence spectral characteristics and fluorescence anisotropy measurements indicated a nearly similar microenvironment for all of the coumarins used in P123 micelles. Substantial quenching of coumarin fluorescence in the presence of amines has been observed. The quenching rates (k(q)(TR)) are largely reduced in the P123 micelle as compared to those in other micelles (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), Triton-X 100 (TX-100), cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), and dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB)), which is probably due to larger coumarin-amine separations in the micellar phase. The k(q)(TR) values, when plotted against free energy changes (DeltaG degrees), follow a Marcus predicted bell-shaped correlation. The estimated activation energy for the ET reactions follow an inverse bell-shaped correlation with DeltaG degrees. Present results indicate that the appearance of Marcus inversion is primarily related to the changes in the activation barrier, as predicted from the Marcus ET theory. As the k(q)(TR) values are higher than the estimated bimolecular diffusional rate constant, the role of reactant diffusion on the quenching kinetics in the P123 micelle is negligible. The appearance of Marcus inversion at unexpectedly lower exergonicity has been rationalized on the basis of slow solvent relaxation and by the application of the two-dimensional ET (2DET) theory. Critical analysis of the present results establishes that the inversion in the ET rates at high exergonicity is not due to the alteration in the diffusion parameters of the reactants, as has been suggested in some recent reports. Instead, it is evident that the inversion in quenching rates at high exergonicity is due to the alteration in the activation barrier for the ET reactions.     

Determination of the electron transfer parameters of a covalently linked porphyrin-quinone with mesogenic substituents - optical spectroscopic studies in solution

The photoinduced electron transfer (PET) of a covalently linked porphyrin-quinone with mesogenic substituents was studied using visible and near-IR (NIR) spectroscopy. Mesogenic substituents were introduced at the porphyrin moiety in order to mimic the anisotropic membrane properties of the native reaction centre of photosynthesis. Photophysical characterization of this system in homogeneous solution is a prerequisite for a better understanding of the effects occurring in anisotropic medium. For this reason, we studied the fluorescence and phosphorescence quenching and lifetime of the charge-separated state. Time-resolved fluorescence measurements indicated an effective singlet PET. The complete set of PET parameters was calculated using Marcus theory of non-adiabatic electron transfer (ET). Steady state measurement of singlet oxygen luminescence, which allows indirect access to phosphorescence quenching, indicated that no triplet PET was involved in the decay processes. Using transient absorption spectroscopy, the lifetime of the charge-separated state was found to be 1.9 ns.     

贝加因与牛血清白蛋白相互作用的分子光谱法研究

利用荧光光谱和吸收光谱研究了贝加因与牛血清白蛋白(BSA)的相互作用,由Van't Hoff方程计算了反应的热力学参数,并根据Stern-Volmer方程计算了不同温度下的结合位点和结合常数.结果表明,贝加因可静态猝灭BSA的内源荧光;二者相互作用的焓变和熵变均大于零,说明疏水作用力是二者之间的主要作用力.与此同时,贝...     

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.     

白藜芦醇与DNA相互作用的研究

在pH=7.4的Tris-HCI缓冲溶液中,采用紫外光谱、荧光光谱及粘度法研究了白藜芦醇与小牛胸腺DNA(ctDNA)的相互作用。在生理条件下,白藜芦醇可以与ctDNA相互作用形成复合物,运用双倒数法求出了白藜芦醇与ctDNA相互作用的热力学参数。白藜芦醇能有效猝灭吖啶橙(AO)-DNA体系的荧光,猝灭方式为生成复合物的静态猝灭。粘度法实验证明ctDNA溶液的粘度随着白藜芦醇浓度的增加而增大。结果表明,白藜芦醇与DNA发生了较强的相互作用,其键合模式为经典的插入方式。     

Effect of micellar environment on Marcus correlation curves for photoinduced bimolecular electron transfer reactions

Photoinduced electron transfer (ET) between coumarin dyes and aromatic amine has been investigated in two cationic micelles, namely, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and dodecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB), and the results have been compared with those observed earlier in sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and triton-X-100 (TX-100) micelles for similar donor-acceptor pairs. Due to a reasonably high effective concentration of the amines in the micellar Stern layer, the steady-state fluorescence results show significant static quenching. In the time-resolved (TR) measurements with subnanosecond time resolution, contribution from static quenching is avoided. Correlations of the dynamic quenching constants (k(q) (TR)), as estimated from the TR measurements, show the typical bell-shaped curves with the free-energy changes (DeltaG(0)) of the ET reactions, as predicted by the Marcus outersphere ET theory. Comparing present results with those obtained earlier for similar coumarin-amine systems in SDS and TX-100 micelles, it is seen that the inversion in the present micelles occurs at an exergonicity (-DeltaG(0)> approximately 1.2-1.3 eV) much higher than that observed in SDS and TX-100 micelles (-DeltaG(0)> approximately 0.7 eV), which has been rationalized based on the relative propensities of the ET and solvation rates in different micelles. In CTAB and DTAB micelles, the k(q) (TR) values are lower than the solvation rates, which result in the full contribution of the solvent reorganization energy (lambda(s)) towards the activation barrier for the ET reaction. Contrary to this, in SDS and TX-100 micelles, k(q) (TR) values are either higher or comparable with the solvation rates, causing only a partial contribution of lambda(s) in these cases. Thus, Marcus inversion in present cationic micelles is inferred to be the true inversion, whereas that in the anionic SDS and neutral TX-100 micelles are understood to be the apparent inversion, as envisaged from two-dimensional ET theory.     

The Rehm-Weller experiment in view of distant electron transfer

The driving‐force dependence of bimolecular fluorescence quenching by electron transfer in solution, the Rehm–Weller experiment, is revisited. One of the three long‐standing unsolved questions about the features of this experiment is carefully analysed here, that is, is there a diffusional plateau? New experimental quenching rates are compiled for a single electron donor, 2,5‐bis(dimethylamino)‐1,3‐benzenedicarbonitrile, and eighteen electron acceptors in acetonitrile. The data are analysed in the framework of differential encounter theory by using an extended version of the Marcus theory to model the intrinsic electron‐transfer step. Only by including the hydrodynamic effect and the solvent structure can the experimental findings be well modelled. The diffusional control region, the “plateau”, reveals the inherent distance dependence of the reaction, which is shown to be a general feature of electron transfer in solution.     

Rheology of silica-filled polystyrene: From microcomposites to nanocomposites

Rheology and viscoelastic behavior of polystyrene (PS)/silica microcomposites and nanocomposites were studied. The apparent viscosity, transient shear stress growth after startup shear flow and stress relaxation after cessation of flow at various shear rates, the complex dynamic viscosity, the storage and loss moduli at small and large strain amplitudes and various frequencies were performed. The effect of size, shape and volume concentration of silica was discussed. The maximum volume concentration, corresponding to the concentration at which the relative viscosity of mixtures goes to infinity, with respect to the hydrodynamic contribution of the particles and to polymer-filler interactions was obtained. The difference between the yield stress and residual stress is shown. The domain of equivalence between the apparent viscosity as a function of the shear rate in steady state flow and the complex dynamic viscosity as a function of the strain rate amplitude in highly nonlinear region of oscillatory flow was established. The viscoelastic behavior was interpreted based on the morphology of microcomposites and nanocomposites observed by SEM.     

SOLVENT INFLUENCES ON THE SINGLET QUENCHING OF CHLOROPHYLL a BY 2, 5-DIMETHYL-p-BENZOQUINONE

Abstract— The quenching of chlorophyll a excited singlet states by 2.5-dimethyl- p -benzoquinone has been investigated in solvents of varying viscosity and polarity. The observed singlet lifetimes showed little variation in several hydrocarbon solvents. Stern-Volmer constant K depends on the viscosity of the solvent, although cyclic and straight-chain hydrocarbons behave somewhat differently. The decrease of the K values with increase of viscosity suggests that the quenching mechanism is at least partly dynamic, although there is evidence for static quenching as well. The influence of solvent polarity on the K values was found to be insignificant, which is consistent with a very short-lived ion pair intermediate formed by electron-transfer quenching.     

Photoinduced electron transfer from N,N-dimethylaniline to 7-amino coumarins in protein-surfactant complex: slowing down of electron transfer dynamics compared to micelles

Photoinduced electron transfer from N,N-dimethylaniline to different Coumarin dyes has been investigated in dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB) micelles and in Bovine serum albumin (BSA)-DTAB protein-surfactant complex using steady-state and picosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. We observed a slower fluorescence quenching rate in the DTAB micelles and in the protein-surfactant complex as compared to that in pure acetonitrile solution. Moreover, the observed fluorescence quenching in BSA-DTAB complex was found to be slower than that in DTAB micelles. In the correlation of free-energy change with the fluorescence quenching constant we observed a deviation in the fluorescence quenching electron transfer rate for Coumarin 151 (C-151) from the normal Marcus curve. This observation is ascribed to the stronger interaction of C-151 with the surfactant molecules present in the micelles. This is evident from the slower translation diffusion (D(L)) of Coumarin 151 compared to other probe molecules.