Porphyrin-based covalently bonded nanoarchitectonics of organic donor-acceptor system for artificial photosynthesis: A review

Abstract

In the biological world, donor-acceptor (D-A) systems play an important role in natural photosynthesis, especially light harvesting-1 and -2, i.e. LH1 and LH2 systems. Scientists have been working to mimic the natural phenomenon using organic molecules called artificial photosynthesis. In D-A systems, both the donor and acceptor units are associated with π-conjugated dyes such as porphyrin, fullerene, Naphthalenediimides, perylenediimides, tetraphenylethylene, ferrocene, quinones, triphenylamine, etc. Which provide simple, effective, sensitive and selective for the development of photosynthetic reaction centres. Numerous systems have been developed to study long-lived charge separation in artificial photosynthesis. Porphyrin-based D-A systems have advantages over other systems as they are vital to natural photosynthesis. Faster energy and electron transfer, long-lived charge separation and slow recombination process and importantly, high thermal and photostability and excellent molar extinction coefficients of porphyrin analogues play a key role in the development of D-A systems for the development of artificial photosynthesis. This review brief previous two decades developments of various D-A conjugated dyads, tirades, pentads etc., which includes porphyrin as a donor and fullerene, naphthalene diimide and perylene diimide as an acceptors connected through various spacer molecules briefed from the last two decades. We also discussed optical and photophysical properties and also talk about these probes in the natural system.