Long-lived, charge-shift states in heterometallic, porphyrin-based dendrimers formed via click chemistry

A series of multiporphyrin clusters has been synthesized and characterized in which there exists a logical gradient for either energy or electron transfer between the porphyrins. A central free-base porphyrin (FbP), for example, is equipped with peripheral zinc(II) porphyrins (ZnP) which act as ancillary light harvesters and transfer excitation energy to the FbP under visible light illumination. Additional energy-transfer steps occur at the triplet level, and the series is expanded by including magnesium(II) porphyrins and/or tin(IV) porphyrins as chromophores. Light-induced electron transfer is made possible by incorporating a gold(III) porphyrin (AuP(+)) into the array. Although interesting by themselves, these clusters serve as control compounds by which to understand the photophysical processes occurring within a three-stage dendrimer comprising an AuP(+) core, a second layer formed from four FbP units, and an outer layer containing 12 ZnP residues. Here, illumination into a peripheral ZnP leads to highly efficient electronic energy transfer to FbP, followed by charge transfer to the central AuP(+). Charge recombination within the resultant charge-shift state is intercepted by secondary hole transfer to the ZnP, which occurs with a quantum yield of around 20%. The final charge-shift state survives for some microseconds in fluid solution at room temperature.     

Photodriven Electron and Energy Transfer from Copper Phenanthroline Excited States

Electron and energy transfer from copper 1,10-phenanthroline excited states is observed at room temperature in organic solvents. The copper phenanthroline excited states are metal-to-ligand charge-transfer in nature and have lifetimes of approximately 70-250 ns in dichloromethane solution if methyl or phenyl substituents are placed in the 2- and 9-positions of the phenanthroline ligand. The unsubstituted cuprous compound Cu(phen)(2)(PF(6)) is nonemissive under these conditions, and the excited state lifetime is <20 ns. The rate and efficiency of energy transfer to anthracene or electron transfer to viologens is reported. The cage escape efficiency of [Cu(dpp)(2)(2+), MV(+)(*)], where dpp is 2,9-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, is close to unity within experimental error. Back electron transfer to ground state products occurs at the diffusion limit, 2 x 10(10) M(-)(1) s(-)(1).     

Tuning charge recombination rate constants through inner-sphere coordination in a copper(I) donor-acceptor compound

The coordination compounds [Cu(bpy-MV2+)(PPh3)2](PF6)3, where bpy-MV2+ is the 1-(4-(4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridin-4-yl)butyl)-1'-methyl-4, 4'-bipyridinediium(2+) cation, and [Cu(dmb)(PPh3)2](PF6), where dmb is 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine, have been prepared and characterized. Visible light (417 nm) excitation of [Cu(bpy-MV2+)(PPh3)2]3+ at room temperature leads to rapid intramolecular electron transfer, kcs > 1 x 10(8) s-1, to form a charge-separated state with an electron localized on the pendant viologen group and a copper(II) metal center, abbreviated [CuII-bpy-MV.+]. This state recombines to ground-state products with first-order rate constants that can be tuned with solvent over a approximately 10(7)-10(5) s-1 range. The activation parameters were determined from temperature-dependent electron-transfer data with Arrhenius analysis. A model is proposed wherein a solvent molecule is coordinated to Cu(II) in the charge-separated state, [(S)CuII-bpy-MV.+]. Visible light excitation of [Cu(dmb)(PPh3)2](PF6) in argon-saturated dichloromethane produces long-lived photoluminescent excited states, tau = 80 ns, that are dynamically quenched by the addition of Lewis basic solvents. The measured quenching constants each correlate well with the lifetime of the charge-separated state measured after excitation of [Cu(bpy-MV2+)(PPh3)2]3+ in the corresponding solvent.     

Solvent dependence of intramolecular electron transfer in a helical oligoproline assembly

The helical oligoproline assembly CH3-CO-Pro-Pro-Pro-Pra(Ptzpn)-Pro-Pro-Pra(RuIIb2m2+ -Pro-Pro-Pra(Anq)-Pro-Pro-Pro-NH2, having a spatially ordered array of functional sites protruding from the proline backbone, has been prepared. The 13-residue assembly formed a linear array containing a phenothiazine electron donor, a tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chromophore, and an anthraquinone electron acceptor with the proline II secondary structure as shown by circular dichroism measurements. Following RuII --> b2m metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) excitation at 457 nm, electron-transfer quenching occurs, ultimately to give a redox-separated (RS) state containing a phenothiazine (PTZ) radical cation at the Pra(Ptzpn) site and an anthraquinone (ANQ) radical anion at the Pra(Anq) site. The redox-separated state was formed with 33-96% efficiency depending on the solvent, and the transient stored energy varied from -1.46 to -1.71 eV at 22 +/- 2 degrees C. The dominant quenching mechanism is PTZ reductive quenching of the initial RuIII(b2m*-) MLCT excited state which is followed by m*- --> ANQ electron transfer to give the RS state. Back electron transfer is highly exergonic and occurs in the inverted region. The rate constant for back electron transfer is solvent dependent and varies from 5.2 x 10(6) to 7.7 x 10(6) s-1 at 22 +/- 2 degrees C. It is concluded that back electron transfer occurs by direct ANQ*- --> PTZ*+ electron transfer. Based on independently evaluated kinetic parameters, the electron-transfer matrix element is HDA approximately 0.13 cm-1.     

Synthesis and photoinduced electron transfer processes of rotaxanes bearing [60]fullerene and zinc porphyrin: effects of interlocked structure and length of axle with porphyrins

Three rotaxanes, with axles with two zinc porphyrins (ZnPs) at both ends penetrating into a necklace pending a C60 moiety, were synthesized with varying interlocked structures and axle lengths. The intra-rotaxane photoinduced electron transfer processes between the spatially positioned C60 and ZnP in rotaxanes were investigated. Charge-separated (CS) states (ZnP*+, C60*-)rotaxane are formed via the excited singlet state of ZnP (1ZnP*) to the C60 moiety in solvents such as benzonitrile, THF, and toluene. The rate constants and quantum yields of charge separation via 1ZnP decrease with axle length, but they are insensitive to solvent polarity. When the axle becomes long, charge separation takes place via the excited triplet state of ZnP (3ZnP*). The lifetime of the CS state increases with axle length from 180 to 650 ns at room temperature. The small activation energies of charge recombination were evaluated by temperature dependence of electron-transfer rate constants, probably reflecting through-space electron transfer in the rotaxane structures.     

Testing electron transfer within molecular associates built around anionic C60 and C70 dendrofullerenes and a cationic zinc porphyrin

Mono- and bis-functionalized C(60) and C(70) fullerene derivatives (DF, 1-10) that carry one or two oligoanionic dendritic termini in their malonate addends and an oligocationic octapyridinium zinc porphyrin salt (ZnP) were found to self-assemble in buffered aqueous solution to yield a novel series of 1:1 and/or 1:2 electron transfer hybrid associates. Remarkably high association constants-typically on the order of 10(8) M(-1)-were derived that corroborate stable complex formations. A combination of electrostatic and charge-transfer interactions that are operative between the electron-accepting DF and the electron-donating ZnP is considered to contribute to the uniquely high complex stability. First insight into intracomplex excited state interactions came from steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence quenching experiments that were performed with the molecular ZnP/DF hybrid associates. Excited state quenching processes are, for example, evident in form of a bi-exponential fluorescence decay of ZnP-corresponding to a distribution of associated and non-associated ZnP. Unambiguous evidence for an intracomplex electron transfer quenching, namely, formation of ZnP(.+)/C(60) (.-) and ZnP(.+)/C(70) (.-) radical ion pairs, was gathered in time-resolved transient absorption measurements. Lifetimes of these radical ion-pairs range from nanoseconds to a few microseconds.     

Metal ion-dependent fluorescent dynamics of photoexcited zinc-porphyrin and zinc-myoglobin modified with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

The reconstituted zinc-myoglobin (ZnMb) dyads, ZnMb-[M(II)(edta)], have been prepared by incorporating a zinc-porphyrin (ZnP) cofactor modified with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (H(4)edta) into apo-Mb. In case of the monomeric ZnP(edta) cofactor coordinated by one pyridine molecule, ZnP(py)(edta), a spontaneous 1:1 complex with a transient metal ion was formed in an aqueous solvent, and the photoexcited singlet state of ZnP, (1)(ZnP)*, was quenched by the [Cu(II)(edta)] moiety through intramolecular photoinduced electron-transfer (ET) reaction. The rate constant for the intramolecular quenching ET (k(q)) at 25 degrees C was successfully obtained as k(q) = 5.1 x 10(9) s(-1). In the case of Co(2+), Ni(2+), and Mn(2+), intersystem crossing by paramagnetic effect was mainly considered between (1)(ZnP)* and the [M(II)(edta)] complex. For the ZnMb-[M(II)(edta)] systems, the intramolecular ET reaction between the excited singlet state of (1)(ZnMb)* and the [Cu(II)(edta)] moieties provided the slower quenching rate constant, k(q) = 2.1 x 10(8) s(-1), compared with that of the ZnP(py)(edta) one. Kinetic studies also presented the efficient fluorescence quenching of the (1)(ZnMb)*-[Co(II)(edta)] dyad. Our study clearly demonstrates that wrapping of the ZnP cofactor by the apoprotein matrix and synthetic manipulation at the Mb surface ensure metal ion-sensitive fluorescent dynamics of ZnMb and provides valuable information to elucidate the complicated mechanism of the biological photoinduced ET reactions of hemoproteins.     

Luminescence quenching by DNA-bound viologens: effect of reactant identity on efficiency and dynamics of electron transfer in DNA

Photoinduced electron transfer from two intercalating photoactive donors, Ru(phen)2dppz2+ and ethidium, to intercalating viologen acceptors of the N,N'-dialkyl-6-(2'-pyridiniumyl)phenanthridinium family has been investigated through steady-state and time-resolved luminescence quenching measurements. Efficient quenching of the emission from these donors bound to DNA is observed at low concentrations of acceptor (1-10 eq.), and in time-resolved emission experiments it is determined that electron transfer occurs on the nanosecond time scale. Furthermore, transient absorption measurements confirm that the quenching is the result of a charge-transfer process; upon photoreaction of intercalated Ru(phen)2dppz2+ with a viologen acceptor, an intermediate with spectral properties resembling the expected charge-separated pair is observed. The quenching yields and kinetics obtained with this quencher are in marked contrast to those observed with these same donors paired with Rh(phi)2bpy3+ as an acceptor. The differing efficiencies of electron transfer for these donor/acceptor pairs bound to DNA as compared to others previously described are discussed qualitatively in terms of the structural and electronic properties of the different reactants.     

Long-lived charge-separated state generated in a ferrocene-meso,meso-linked porphyrin trimer-fullerene pentad with a high quantum yield

A meso,meso-linked porphyrin trimer, (ZnP)3, as a light-harvesting chromophore, has been incorporated for the first time into a photosynthetic multistep electron-transfer model including ferrocene (Fc) as an electron donor and fullerene (C60) as an electron acceptor, to construct the ferrocene-meso,meso-linked porphyrin trimer-fullerene system Fc-(ZnP)3-C60. Photoirradiation of Fc-(ZnP)3-C60 results in photoinduced electron transfer from both the singlet and triplet excited states of the porphyrin trimer, 1(ZnP)3* and 3(ZnP)3*, to the C60 moiety to produce the porphyrin trimer radical cation-C60 radical anion pair, Fc-(ZnP)3*+-C60*-. Subsequent formation of the final charge-separated state Fc+-(ZnP)3-C60*- was confirmed by the transient absorption spectra observed by pico- and nanosecond time-resolved laser flash photolysis. The final charge-separated state decays, obeying first-order kinetics, with a long lifetime (0.53 s in DMF at 163 K) that is comparable with that of the natural bacterial photosynthetic reaction center. More importantly, the quantum yield of formation of the final charge-separated state (0.83 in benzonitrile) remains high, despite the large separation distance between the Fc+ and C60*- moieties. Such a high quantum yield results from efficient charge separation through the porphyrin trimer, whereas a slow charge recombination is associated with the localized porphyrin radical cation in the porphyrin trimer. The light-harvesting efficiency in the visible region has also been much improved in Fc-(ZnP)3-C60 because of exciton coupling in the porphyrin trimer as well as an increase in the number of porphyrins.     

Stepwise charge separation and charge recombination in ferrocene-meso,meso-linked porphyrin dimer-fullerene triad

A meso,meso-linked porphyrin dimer [(ZnP)(2)] as a light-harvesting chromophore has been incorporated into a photosynthetic multistep electron-transfer model for the first time, including ferrocene (Fc), as an electron donor and fullerene (C(60)) as an electron acceptor to construct the ferrocene-meso,meso-linked porphyrin dimer-fullerene system (Fc-(ZnP)(2)-C(60)). Photoirradiation of Fc-(ZnP)(2)-C(60) results in photoinduced electron transfer from the singlet excited state of the porphyrin dimer [(1)(ZnP)(2)] to the C(60) moiety to produce the porphyrin dimer radical cation-C(60) radical anion pair, Fc-(ZnP)(2)(*+)-C(60)(*-). In competition with the back electron transfer from C(60)(*-) to (ZnP)(2)(*+) to the ground state, an electron transfer from Fc to (ZnP)(2)(*+) occurs to give the final charge-separated (CS) state, that is, Fc(+)-(ZnP)(2)-C(60)(*-), which is detected as the transient absorption spectra by the laser flash photolysis. The quantum yield of formation of the final CS state is determined as 0.80 in benzonitrile. The final CS state decays obeying first-order kinetics with a lifetime of 19 micros in benzonitrile at 295 K. The activation energy for the charge recombination (CR) process is determined as 0.15 eV in benzonitrile, which is much larger than the value expected from the direct CR process to the ground state. This value is rather comparable to the energy difference between the initial CS state (Fc-(ZnP)(2)(*+)-C(60)(*-)) and the final CS state (Fc(+)-(ZnP)(2)-C(60)(*-)). This indicates that the back electron transfer to the ground state occurs via the reversed stepwise processes,that is, a rate-limiting electron transfer from (ZnP)(2) to Fc(+) to give the initial CS state (Fc-(ZnP)(2)(*+)-C(60)(*-)), followed by a fast electron transfer from C(60)(*-) to (ZnP)(2)(*+) to regenerate the ground state, Fc-(ZnP)(2)-C(60). This is in sharp contrast with the extremely slow direct CR process of bacteriochlorophyll dimer radical cation-quinone radical anion pair in bacterial reaction centers.     

Synthesis and photophysical properties of fullerene-phthalocyanine-porphyrin triads and pentads

The synthesis and photophysical properties of several fullerene-phthalocyanine-porphyrin triads (1-3) and pentads (4-6) are described. The three photoactive moieties were covalently connected in an one-step synthesis through 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to C(60) of the corresponding azomethine ylides generated in situ by condensation reaction of a substituted N-porphyrinylmethylglycine derivative and an appropriated formyl phthalocyanine or a diformyl phthalocyanine derivative, respectively. ZnP-C(60)-ZnPc (3), (ZnP)(2)-ZnPc-(C(60))(2) (6), and (H(2)P)(2)-ZnPc-(C(60))(2) (5) give rise upon excitation of their ZnP or H(2)P components to a sequence of energy and charge-transfer reactions with, however, fundamentally different outcomes. With (ZnP)(2)-ZnPc-(C(60))(2) (6) the major pathway is an highly exothermic charge transfer to afford (ZnP)(ZnP(.+))-ZnPc-(C(60)(.-))(C(60)). The lower singlet excited state energy of H(2)P (i.e., ca. 0.2 eV) and likewise its more anodic oxidation (i.e., ca. 0.2 V) renders the direct charge transfer in (H(2)P)(2)-ZnPc-(C(60))(2) (5) not competitive. Instead, a transduction of singlet excited state energy prevails to form the ZnPc singlet excited state. This triggers then an intramolecular charge transfer reaction to form exclusively (H(2)P)(2)-ZnPc(.+)-(C(60)(.-))(C(60)). A similar sequence is found for ZnP-C(60)-ZnPc (3).     

Bonded exciplexes. A new concept in photochemical reactions

Charge-transfer quenching of the singlet excited states of cyanoaromatic electron acceptors by pyridine is characterized by a driving force dependence that resembles those of conventional electron-transfer reactions, except that a plot of the log of the quenching rate constants versus the free energy of electron transfer is displaced toward the endothermic region by 0.5-0.8 eV. Specifically, the reactions with pyridine display rapid quenching when conventional electron transfer is highly endothermic. As an example, the rate constant for quenching of the excited dicyanoanthracene is 3.5 x 10(9) M(-1)s(-1), even though formation of a conventional radical ion pair, A*-D*+, is endothermic by approximately 0.6 eV. No long-lived radical ions or exciplex intermediates can be detected on the picosecond to microsecond time scale. Instead, the reactions are proposed to proceed via formation of a previously undescribed, short-lived charge-transfer intermediate we call a "bonded exciplex", A- -D+. The bonded exciplex can be formally thought of as resulting from bond formation between the unpaired electrons of the radical ions A*- and D*+. The covalent bonding interaction significantly lowers the energy of the charge-transfer state. As a result of this interaction, the energy decreases with decreasing separation distance, and near van der Waals contact, the A- -D+ bonded state mixes with the repulsive excited state of the acceptor, allowing efficient reaction to form A- -D+ even when formation of a radical ion pair A*-D*+ is thermodynamically forbidden. Evidence for the bonded exciplex intermediate comes from studies of steric and Coulombic effects on the quenching rate constants and from extensive DFT computations that clearly show a curve crossing between the ground state and the low-energy bonded exciplex state.     

Ultrafast excitation transfer and charge stabilization in a newly assembled photosynthetic antenna-reaction center mimic composed of boron dipyrrin, zinc porphyrin and fullerene

A self-assembled supramolecular triad as a model to mimic the light-induced events of the photosynthetic antenna-reaction center, that is, ultrafast excitation transfer followed by electron transfer ultimately generating a long-lived charge-separated state, has been accomplished. Boron dipyrrin (BDP), zinc porphyrin (ZnP) and fullerene (C(60)), respectively, constitute the energy donor, electron donor and electron acceptor segments of the antenna-reaction center imitation. Unlike in the previous models, the BDP entity was placed between the electron donor, ZnP and electron acceptor, C(60) entities. For the construction, benzo-18-crown-6 functionalized BDP was synthesized and subsequently reacted with 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl functionalized ZnP through the central boron atom to form the crown-BDP-ZnP dyad. Next, an alkyl ammonium functionalized fullerene was used to self-assemble the crown ether entity of the dyad via ion-dipole interactions. The newly formed supramolecular triad was fully characterized by spectroscopic, computational and electrochemical methods. Steady-state fluorescence and excitation studies revealed the occurrence of energy transfer upon selective excitation of the BDP in the dyad. Further studies involving the pump-probe technique revealed excitation transfer from the (1)BDP* to ZnP to occur in about 7 ps, much faster than that reported for other systems in this series of triads, as a consequence of shorter distance between the entities. Upon forming the supramolecular triad by self-assembling fullerene, the (1)ZnP(*) produced by direct excitation or by energy transfer mechanism resulted in an initial electron transfer to the BDP entity. The charge recombination resulted in the population of the triplet excited state of C(60), from where additional electron transfer occurred to produce C(60)(?-):crown-BDP-ZnP(?+) ion pair as the final charge-separated species. Nanosecond transient absorption studies revealed the lifetime of the charge-separated state to be ~100 μs, the longest ever reported for this type of antenna-reaction center mimics, indicating better charge stabilization as a result of the different disposition of the entities of the supramolecular triad.     

Photochemistry of monochloro complexes of copper(II) in methanol probed by ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy

Ultrafast transient absorption spectra in the deep to near UV range (212-384 nm) were measured for the [Cu(II)(MeOH)(5)Cl](+) complexes in methanol following 255-nm excitation of the complex into the ligand-to-metal charge-transfer excited state. The electronically excited complex undergoes sub-200 fs radiationless decay, predominantly via back electron transfer, to the hot electronic ground state followed by fast vibrational relaxation on a 0.4-4 ps time scale. A minor photochemical channel is Cu-Cl bond dissociation, leading to the reduction of copper(II) to copper(I) and the formation of MeOH·Cl charge-transfer complexes. The depletion of ground-state [Cu(II)(MeOH)(5)Cl](+) perturbs the equilibrium between several forms of copper(II) complexes present in solution. Complete re-equilibration between [Cu(II)(MeOH)(5)Cl](+) and [Cu(II)(MeOH)(4)Cl(2)] is established on a 10-500 ps time scale, slower than methanol diffusion, suggesting that the involved ligand exchange mechanism is dissociative.     

Photoinduced electron transfer across oligo-p-phenylene bridges. Distance and conformational effects in Ru(II)-Rh(III) dyads

A series of rodlike ruthenium(II)-rhodium(III) polypyridine dyads based on modular oligo-p-phenylene bridges, of the general formula [(Me2phen)2Ru-bpy-(ph)n-bpy-Rh(Me2bpy)]5+ (Me2phen=4,7-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline; bpy=2,2'-bipyridine; ph=1,4-phenylene; n=1-3), have been synthesized and their photophysical properties investigated. The dyad [(Me2bpy)2Ru-bpy-(ph)3'-bpy-Rh(Me2bpy)]5+ with the central phenylene unit bearing two hexyl chains has also been studied. The metal-to-metal distance reaches 24 A for the longest (n=3) spacer in the series. For all of the dyads in a room-temperature CH3CN solution, quenching of the typical metal-to-ligand charge-transfer luminescence of the Ru-based chromophoric unit is observed, indicating that an efficient intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer from the excited Ru moiety to the Rh-based unit takes place. The rate constants for the electron-transfer process have been determined by time-resolved emission and absorption spectroscopy in the nanosecond and picosecond time scale. An exponential dependence of experimental transfer rates on the bridge length is observed, consistent with a superexchange mechanism. An attenuation factor beta of 0.65 A(-1) is determined, in line with the behavior of other systems containing oligo-p-phenylene spacers. Interestingly, for n=3, the presence/absence of hexyl substituents in the central p-phenylene ring causes a 10-fold difference in the rates between otherwise identical dyads. This comparison highlights the importance of the twist angle between adjacent spacers on the overall through-bond donor-acceptor coupling.     

Simple Cu(I) complexes with unprecedented excited-state lifetimes.

This report describes new, readily accessible copper(I) complexes that can exhibit unusually long-lived, high quantum yield emissions in fluid solution. The complexes are of the form [Cu(NN)(POP)]+ where NN denotes 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (dmp) or 2,9-di-n-butyl-1,10-phenanthroline (dbp) and POP denotes bis[2-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl] ether. Modes of characterization include X-ray crystallography and cyclic voltammetry. The complexes each have a pseudotetrahedral coordination geometry and a Cu(II)/Cu(I) potential upward of +1.2 V vs Ag/AgCl. In room-temperature dichloromethane solution, charge-transfer excited states of the dmp and dbp derivatives exhibit respective emission quantum yields of 0.15 and 0.16 and corresponding excited-state lifetimes of 14.3 and 16.1 mus, respectively. Despite the fact that coordinating solvents usually quench charge-transfer emission from copper systems, the photoexcited dmp (dbp) complex retains a lifetime of 2.4 mus (5.4 mus) in methanol.     

Versatile coordination chemistry towards multifunctional carbon nanotube nanohybrids

Dispersible single-walled carbon nanotubes grafted with poly(4-vinylpyridine), SWNT-PVP, were tested in coordination assays with zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnP). Kinetic and spectroscopic evidence corroborates the successful formation of a SWNT-PVPZnP nanohybrid. Within this SWNT-PVPZnP nanohybrid, static electron-transfer quenching (2.0+/-0.1) x 10(9) s(-1) converts the photoexcited-ZnP chromophore into a radical-ion-pair state with a microsecond lifetime, namely one-electron oxidized-ZnP and reduced-SWNT.     

One-electron oxidation of alcohols by the 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene radical cation in the excited state during two-color two-laser flash photolysis

One-electron oxidation of alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol by 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene radical cation (TMB*+) in the excited state (TMB*+*) was observed during the two-color two-laser flash photolysis. TMB*+ was formed by the photoinduced bimolecular electron-transfer reaction from TMB to 2,3,5,6-tetrachlorobenzoquinone (TCQ) in the triplet excited-state during the first 355-nm laser flash photolysis. Then, TMB*+* was generated from the selective excitation of TMB*+ during the second 532 nm laser flash photolysis. Hole transfer rate constants from TMB*+* to methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol were calculated to be (5.2 +/- 0.5) x 10(10), (1.4 +/- 0.3) x 10(11), and (3.2 +/- 0.6) x 10(11) M-1 s-1, respectively. The order of the hole transfer rate constants is consistent with oxidation potentials of alcohol. Formation of TCQH radical (TCQH*) with a characteristic absorption peak at 435 nm was observed in the microsecond time scale, suggesting that deprotonation of the alcohol radical cation occurs after the hole transfer and that TCQ radical anion (TCQ*-), generated together with TMB*+ by the photoinduced electron-transfer reaction, reacts with H+ to give TCQH*.     

Energy-transfer processes in neon-hydrogen mixtures excited by electron beams

Energy- and charge-transfer processes in neon-hydrogen mixtures (500-1400 hPa neon and 0.001-3 hPa hydrogen partial pressures) excited by a pulsed low-energy (approximately 10 keV) electron beam were investigated using time-resolved spectroscopy. Time spectra of the hydrogen Lyman-alpha line, neon excimer emission (second continuum), and neon atomic lines (3p-3s transitions) were recorded. The time-integrated intensity of the Lyman-alpha emission was measured for the same range of gas mixtures. It is shown that direct energy transfer from Ne*2 excimers and neon atoms in the four lowest excited states as well as recombination of H3+ ions are the main channels populating atomic hydrogen in the n=2 state. A rate constant of (4.2+/-1.4)x10(-11) cm3 s(-1) was obtained for the charge transfer from Ne2+ ions to molecular hydrogen. A lower limit for the depopulation rate constant of Ne*2 excimers by molecular hydrogen (combination of energy transfer and ionization) was found to be 1.0 x 10(-10) cm3 s(-1).     

Catalytic effects of dioxygen on intramolecular electron transfer in radical ion pairs of zinc porphyrin-linked fullerenes.

Dioxygen accelerates back electron transfer (BET) processes between a fullerene radical anion (C60) and a radical cation of zinc porphyrin (ZnP) in photolytically generated ZnP.+-C60.- and ZnP.+-H2P-C60.- radical ion pairs. The rate constant of BET increases linearly with increasing oxygen concentration without, however, forming reactive oxygen species, such as singlet oxygen or superoxide anion. When ferrocene (Fc) is used as a terminal electron donor moiety instead of ZnP (i.e., Fc-ZnP-C60), no catalytic effects of dioxygen were, however, observed for the BET in Fc+-ZnP-C60.-, that is, from C60.- to the ferricenium ion. In the case of ZnP-containing C60 systems, the partial coordination of O2 to ZnP.+ facilitates an intermolecular electron transfer (ET) from C60.- to O2. This rate-determining ET step is followed by a rapid intramolecular ET from O2.- to ZnP.+ in the corresponding O2.--ZnP.+ complex and hereby regenerating O2. In summary, O2 acts as a novel catalyst in accelerating the BET of the C60.--ZnP.+ radical ion pairs.