Electron Propagator Calculations Show that Alkyl Substituents Alter Porphyrin Ionization Energies

Abstract

The effect of alkyl substituents on the four lowest vertical ionization energies of porphyrins is determined with ab initio electron propagator calculations on porphine and octamethylporphyrin. With the use of the partial third-order approximation, predicted ionization energies are in close agreement with recent photoelectron spectra. These data and the associated Dyson orbitals, which describe changes in electronic structure that accompany photoionization, enable assignment of photoelectron spectra and determination of alkyl-induced shifts. Hyperconjugation is most evident in the Dyson orbitals associated with the third and fourth ionization energies of octamethylporphyrin and is least prominent in the Dyson orbital of the second ionization energy. There is a positive correlation between the shift in an ionization energy produced by alkyl substitution and the degree of hyperconjugation in the associated Dyson orbital. Alkyl substitutions, therefore, may be employed to adjust the ionization energies of porphyrins and, consequently, their reactivity patterns that depend on charge-transfer capabilities and disposition to electrophilic attack.