Polarity effects on the photophysics of dendrimers with an oligophenylenevinylene core and peripheral fullerene units

Highly soluble dendritic branches with fullerene subunits at the periphery and a carboxylic acid function at the focal point have been prepared by a convergent approach. They have been attached to an oligophenylenevinylene (OPV) core bearing two alcohol functions to yield dendrimers with two, four or eight peripheral C60 groups. Their photophysical properties have been systematically investigated in solvents of increasing polarity; that is, toluene, dichloromethane, and benzonitrile. Ultrafast OPV-->C60 singlet energy transfer takes place for the whole series of dendrimers, whatever the solvent. Electron transfer from the fullerene singlet is thermodynamically allowed in CH2Cl2 and benzonitrile, but not in apolar toluene. For a given solvent, the extent of electron transfer, signaled by the quenching of the fullerene fluorescence, is not the same along the series, despite the fact that identical electron transfer partners are present. By increasing the dendrimer size, electron transfer is progressively more difficult due to isolation of the central OPV core by the dendritic branches, which hampers solvent induced stabilization of charge separated couples. Compact structures of the hydrophobic dendrimers are favored in solvents of higher polarity. These structural effects are also able to rationalize the unexpected trends in singlet oxygen sensitization yields.     

Stabilization of the Charge‐Separated States of Covalently Linked Zinc Porphyrin–Triphenylamine–[60]Fullerene

Spectroscopic, redox, computational, and electron transfer reactions of the covalently linked zinc porphyrin–triphenylamine–fulleropyrrolidine system are investigated in solvents of varying polarity. An appreciable interaction between triphenylamine and the porphyrin π system is revealed by steady‐state absorption and emission, redox, and computational studies. Free‐energy calculations suggest that the light‐induced processes via the singlet‐excited porphyrin are exothermic in benzonitrile, dichlorobenzene, toluene, and benzene. The occurrence of fast and efficient charge‐separation processes (≈10¹² s^?1) via the singlet‐excited porphyrin is confirmed by femtosecond transient absorption measurements in solvents with dielectric constants ranging from 25.2 (benzonitrile) to 2.2 (benzene). The rates of the charge separation processes are much less solvent‐dependent, which suggests that the charge‐separation processes occur at the top region of the Marcus parabola. The lifetimes of the singlet radical‐ion pair (70–3000 ps at room temperature) decrease substantially in more polar solvents, which suggests that the charge‐recombination process is occurring in the Marcus inverted region. Interestingly, by utilizing the nanosecond transient absorption spectral technique we can obtain clear evidence about the existence of triplet radical‐ion pairs with relatively long lifetimes of 0.71 μs (in benzonitrile) and 2.2 μs (in o‐dichlorobenzene), but not in toluene and benzene due to energetic considerations. From the point of view of mechanistic information, the synthesized zinc porphyrin–triphenylamine–fulleropyrrolidine system has the advantage that both the lifetimes of the singlet and triplet radical‐ion pair can be determined.     

A Supramolecular Photosynthetic Model Made of a Multiporphyrinic Array Constructed around a C60 Core and a C60–Imidazole Derivative

The photophysical properties of a supramolecular fullerene–porphyrin ensemble resulting from the self‐assembly of a pyrrolidinofullerene–imidazole derivative ( F1 ) with a multimetalloporphyrin array constructed around a hexasubstituted fullerene core ( F(ZnP)₁₂ ) have been investigated. The fullerene hexa‐adduct core of the host system does not play any active role in the cascade of photoinduced events of the supramolecular ensemble, indeed no intercomponent photoinduced processes could be observed in host F(ZnP)₁₂ . In contrast, upon axial coordination with the monosubstituted fullerene guest F1 , a quantitative quenching of the fluorescence signal of the metalloporphyrins was observed for the supramolecular complex [F(ZnP)₁₂(F1) _n ] both in polar and nonpolar solvents. In toluene, the supramolecular ensemble exhibits a charge transfer emission centered around 930 nm, suggesting the occurrence of intramolecular face‐to‐face interactions of F1 with neighboring metalloporphyrin moieties within the self‐assembled photoactive array. This mechanism is supported by the fact that a one order of magnitude increase in the binding constant was observed for the supramolecular complex [F(ZnP)₁₂(F1) _n ] when compared with a reference system lacking the pyrrolidinofullerene unit. In benzonitrile, a long‐lived charge‐separated state (τ=0.3 μs) has been detected for the supramolecular adduct.     

Structure‐Dependent Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Fullerodendrimers with Light‐Harvesting Oligophenylenevinylene Terminals

Oligophenylenevinylene (OPV)‐terminated phenylenevinylene dendrons G1 – G4 with one, two, four, and eight “side‐arms”, respectively, were prepared and attached to C₆₀ by a 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides generated in situ from dendritic aldehydes and N‐methylglycine. The relative electronic absorption of the OPV moiety increases progressively along the fullerodendrimer family C₆₀G1 – C₆₀G4 , reaching a 99:1 ratio for C₆₀G4 (antenna effect). UV/Vis and near‐IR luminescence and transient absorption spectroscopy was used to elucidate photoinduced energy and electron transfer in C₆₀G1 – C₆₀G4 as a function of OPV moiety size and solvent polarity (toluene, dichloromethane, benzonitrile), taking into account the fact that the free‐energy change for electron transfer is the same along the series owing to the invariability of the donor–acceptor couple. Regardless of solvent, all the fullerodendrimers exhibit ultrafast OPV→C₆₀ singlet energy transfer. In CH₂Cl₂, the OPV→C₆₀ electron transfer from the lowest fullerene singlet level (¹C₆₀*) is slightly exergonic (ΔG_CS≈0.07 eV), but is observed, to an increasing extent, only in the largest systems C₆₀G2 – C₆₀G4 with lower activation barriers for electron transfer. This effect has been related to a decrease of the reorganization energy upon enlargement of the molecular architecture. Structural factors are also at the origin of an unprecedented OPV→C₆₀ electron transfer observed for C₆₀G3 and C₆₀G4 in apolar toluene, whereas in benzonitrile, electron transfer occurs in all cases. Monitoring of the lowest fullerene triplet state by sensitized singlet oxygen luminescence and transient absorption spectroscopy shows that this level is populated through intersystem crossing and is not involved in photoinduced electron transfer.     

First Homopolymerizable Monomer Containing [C60]Fullerene as a Monoadduct Substituent

Summary: The hydrosilylation of C₆₀ with 2,4,6,8‐tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane in the presence of platinum/carbon catalyst produced the cationically polymerizable (C₆₀HsiMeO)₄ along with [(C₆₀HsiMeO)₃SiMeO]₂C₆₀H₂ and a polymer consisting of C₆₀ and (SiMeO)₄ units. The synthesis and characterization of this first polymerizable tetracyclosiloxane ring system containing C₆₀ as a monoadduct substituent are also reported.

Synthesis and polymerization of 2,4,6,8‐tetramethyl‐2,4,6,8‐tetrafulleryl‐cyclotetrasiloxane.     

Boomerang‐Type Substitution Reaction: Reactivity of Fullerene Epoxides and a Halofullerenol

The C_s‐symmetric fullerene chlorohydrin C₆₀(Cl)(OH)(OOtBu)₄ reacts with 4‐dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) and 1,4‐diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) to yield two isomers with the formula C₆₀(O)(OOtBu)₄ in good yields. These isomers differ with respect to the location of the epoxy functionality. The one from DMAP is C_s symmetric, whereas that from DABCO is C₁ symmetric with the epoxy group on the central pentagon. Two different mechanisms are proposed to explain the chemoselectivity of these reactions. The reaction with DMAP involves single‐electron transfer as the key step; DMAP acts as the electron donor. A combination of an oxygen‐atom shift and S_N2′′ processes (boomerang substitution) are responsible for the formation of isomer with DACBO. Various related reactions support the proposed mechanisms. The structures of new fullerene derivatives were determined by spectroscopy, single‐crystal X‐ray analysis, and chemical correlation experiments.     

Amination of [60]fullerene by ammonia and by primary and secondary aliphatic amines--preparation of amino[60]fullerene peroxides

Ammonia and aliphatic amines react readily in the oxygen-rich regions of the Cs symmetric fullerene peroxides C60(O)(OOtBu)4 (1) and C60(OH)(Br)(OOtBu)4 (2 c). Michael addition-type hydroamination of the 1,4-diene moiety on the central skew-pentagon was observed when 1 was treated with ammonia or with nonbulky primary amines, while sterically demanding primary amines opened the epoxy moiety to form vicinal aminohydroxy fullerene compounds with the amino group on the central pentagon. In 2 c the bromo group was replaced under similar conditions by ammonia and primary amines. Cyclic secondary amines showed different reaction patterns, forming hydrogenation products or aminoketal-fullerenes when treated with 1 and 2 c, respectively. Single-electron transfer (SET) is the key step in all the proposed mechanisms. The compounds were characterized by their spectroscopic data, and in addition, three single-crystal X-ray structures were obtained.     

Energy and electron transfer in polyacetylene-linked zinc-porphyrin-[60]fullerene molecular wires

The synthesis and electrochemical and photophysical studies of a series of alkyne-linked zinc-porphyrin-[60]fullerene dyads are described. These dyads represent a new class of fully conjugated donor-acceptor systems. An alkynyl-fullerene synthon was synthesized by a nucleophilic addition reaction, and was then oxidatively coupled with a series of alkynyl tetra-aryl zinc-porphyrins with 1-3 alkyne units. Cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry studies confirmed that the porphyrin and fullerene are electronically coupled and that the degree of electronic interaction decreases with increasing length of the alkyne bridge. In toluene, energy transfer from the excited zinc-porphyrin singlet to the fullerene moiety occurs, affording fullerene triplet quantum yields of greater than 90 %. These dyads exhibit very rapid photoinduced electron transfer in tetrahydrofuran (THF) and benzonitrile (PhCN), which is consistent with normal Marcus behavior. Slower rates for charge recombination in THF versus PhCN clearly indicate that charge-recombination events are occurring in the Marcus inverted region. Exceptionally small attenuation factors (beta) of 0.06+/-0.005 A(-1) demonstrate that the triple bond is an effective mediator of electronic interaction in zinc-porphyrin-alkyne-fullerene molecular wires.     

Synthesis and photoinduced electron-transfer process of a novel triphenylamine-substituted polyfluorene-C60 triad

The photoinduced electron-transfer process of a newly prepared, soluble, pi-conjugated poly[9,9-bis(4-diphenylaminophenyl)-2,7-fluorene] (PDPAF), covalently bridged, C60 triad (C60-PDPAF-C60) is described. The molecular orbital calculations revealed that the majority of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) is located on the polyfluorene entity, while the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMO) are found to be entirely on the C60 entity. The excited-state electron-transfer processes were monitored by both steady-state and time-resolved emission as well as by transient absorption techniques in toluene and benzonitrile. By excitation of the polyfluorene moiety, fluorescence quenching of the singlet excited state of polyfluorene moiety was observed. The nanosecond transient spectra in near-IR region revealed the charge-separation process from the polyfluorene moieties to the C60 moiety through the excited singlet states of polyfluorene. The lifetimes of the charge separated states were evaluated to be 20-50 ns, depending on the solvent polarity.     

Fullerene Derivatives Functionalized with Diethylamino‐Substituted Conjugated Oligomers: Synthesis and Photoinduced Electron Transfer

Diethylamino‐substituted oligophenylenevinylene (OPV) building blocks have been prepared and used for the synthesis of two [60]fullerene–OPV dyads, F‐D1 and F‐D2 , which exhibit different conjugation length of the OPV fragments. The electrochemical properties of these acceptor–donor dyads have been studied by cyclic voltammetry. The first reduction is always assigned to the fullerene moiety and the first oxidation centered on the diethylaniline groups of the OPV rods, thus making these systems suitable candidates for photoinduced electron transfer. Both the OPV and the fullerene‐centered fluorescence bands are quenched in toluene and benzonitrile, which suggests the occurrence of photoinduced electron transfer from the amino‐substituted OPVs to the carbon sphere in the dyads in both solvents. By means of bimolecular quenching experiments, transient absorption spectral fingerprints of the radical cationic species are detected in the visible (670 nm) and near‐IR (1300–1500 nm) regions, along with the much weaker fullerene anion band at λ_max=1030 nm. Definitive evidence for photoinduced electron transfer in F‐D1 and F‐D2 comes from transient absorption measurements. A charge‐separated state is formed within 100 ps and decays in less than 5 ns.     

Synthesis of Amphiphilic [60]Fullerene [3:3]Hexakisadducts with Four Spherically Defined Addend Zones

New [3:3]hexakisadducts 3 , 6 , and 7 have been synthesized by a stepwise addition of two tripodal malonate tethers to pristine [60]fullerene. For the first time, [3:3]hexakisadducts of two sets of asymmetrically substituted malonate addends could be prepared as single in/out isomers by following this synthetic protocol. Thereby, four spherically defined addend zones I–IV were created with various similar degrees of latitude on the fullerene sphere. Four amphiphilic [3:3]hexakisadducts 12 , 14 , 18 , and 19 were prepared with different relative arrangements of both the hydrophilic and lipophilic moieties in the addend zones I / II and III / IV , respectively.     

Pyrazolino[60]fullerene-oligophenylenevinylene dumbbell-shaped arrays: synthesis, electrochemistry, photophysics, and self-assembly on surfaces

Symmetrically substituted oligophenylenevinylene (OPV) derivatives bearing terminal p-nitrophenylhydrazone groups have been prepared and used for the synthesis of dumbbell-shaped bis(pyrazolino[60]fullerene)-OPV systems. In these triad arrays, the OPV-type fluorescence is dramatically quenched as a consequence of ultrafast OPV-->C60 singlet energy transfer. In its turn the fullerene singlet state is quenched by pyrazoline-->C60 electron transfer, in line with the behavior of the corresponding reference fullerene molecule. The occurrence of electron transfer in the multicomponent arrays is evidenced by recovery of fullerene fluorescence at 77 K in CH2Cl2 and in toluene at 298 K. Under these conditions the OPV-->C60 energy transfer is unaffected. The rate of this process turns out to be higher for the OPV trimer than for the corresponding pentameric OPV arrays, in agreement with energy-transfer theory expectations. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning force microscopy (SFM) revealed that the bis(pyrazolino[60]fullerene)-OPV can self-assemble into ordered layered crystalline architectures on the basal plane of highly oriented pyrolitic graphite.     

Fullerene C60-perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) light-harvesting dyads: spacer-length and bay-substituent effects on intramolecular singlet and triplet energy transfer

Novel covalent fullerene C(60)-perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) (C(60)-PDI) dyads (1-4) were synthesized and characterized. Their electrochemical and photophysical properties were investigated. Electrochemical studies show that the reduction potential of PDI can be tuned relative to C(60) by molecular engineering through altering the substituents on the PDI bay region. It was demonstrated using steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy that a quantitative, photoinduced energy transfer takes place from the PDI moiety, acting as a light-harvesting antenna, to the C(60) unit, playing the role of energy acceptor. The bay-substitution (tetrachloro [1 and 2] or tetra-tert-butylphenoxy [3 and 4]) of the PDI antenna and the linkage length (C(2) [1 and 3] or C(5) [2 and 4]) to the C(60) acceptor are important parameters in the kinetics of energy transfer. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy indicates singlet-singlet energy-transfer times (from the PDI to the C(60) unit) of 0.4 and 5 ps (1), 4.5 and 27 ps (2), 0.8 and 12 ps (3), and 7 and 50 ps (4), these values being ascribed to two different conformers for each C(60)-PDI system. Subsequent triplet-triplet energy-transfer times (from the C(60) unit to the PDI) are slower and in the order of 0.8 ns (1), 6.2 ns (2), 2.7 ns (3), and 9 ns (4). Nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy of final PDI triplet states show a marked influence of the bay substitution (tetrachloro- or tetra-tert-butylphenoxy), and triplet-state lifetimes (10-20 micros) and the PDI triplet quantum yields (0.75-0.52) were estimated. The spectroscopy showed no substantial solvent effect upon comparing toluene (non-polar) to benzonitrile (polar), indicating that no electron transfer is occurring in these systems.     

Electron Transfer in a Supramolecular Associate of a Fullerene Fragment

Herein, we investigate the association of a fullerene fragment, hemifullerene C₃₀H₁₂, with an electron‐donating bowl‐shaped tetrathiafulvalene derivative (truxTTF). UV/Vis titrations and DFT calculations support formation of the supramolecular complex, for which an association constant of log K_a=3.6±0.3 in CHCl₃ at room temperature is calculated. Remarkably, electron transfer from truxTTF to C₃₀H₁₂ to form the fully charge‐separated species takes place upon irradiation of the associate with light, constituting the first example in which a fullerene fragment mimics the electron‐accepting behavior of fullerenes within a supramolecular complex.