Generated Radical Ion Pair Research Articles

Low-Dimensional Carbon Allotropes: Ground- and Excited-State Charge Transfer with NIR-Absorbing Heptamethine Cyanine

Summary At the focal point of our studies are mutual interactions between an anionic heptamethine cyanine and individualized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) or exfoliated nanographene (NG). Here, we report the distinct near-infrared absorption of the heptamethine cyanine, which assists in visualizing the electronic interactions in the ground state with ease and precision. In statistical Raman assays, we conclude from downshifted 2D- and G-modes for SWCNTs, as well as upshifted 2D- and downshifted G-modes for NG, that these electronic interactions result in stable n-doping of SWCNTs and NG. Key to this shift of charge density is the electron-donating character of the heptamethine cyanine. In the excited state, a complete but metastable transfer of charges is accompanied by a radical-ion-pair state that lives for several nanoseconds. Such a time domain has not yet been realized, for example, in NG to date.

Phenothiazine-BODIPY-fullerene triads as photosynthetic reaction center models: substitution and solvent polarity effects on photoinduced charge separation and recombination.

Novel photosynthetic reaction center model compounds of the type donor2 -donor1 -acceptor, composed of phenothiazine, BF2 -chelated dipyrromethene (BODIPY), and fullerene, respectively, have been newly synthesized using multistep synthetic methods. X-ray structures of three of the phenothiazine-BODIPY intermediate compounds have been solved to visualize the substitution effect caused by the phenothiazine on the BODIPY macrocycle. Optical absorption and emission, computational, and differential pulse voltammetry studies were systematically performed to establish the molecular integrity of the triads. The N-substituted phenothiazine was found to be easier to oxidize by 60 mV compared to the C-substituted analogue. The geometry and electronic structures were obtained by B3LYP/6-31G(dp) calculations (for H, B, N, and O) and B3LYP/6-31G(df) calculations (for S) in vacuum, followed by a single-point calculation in benzonitrile utilizing the polarizable continuum model (PCM). The HOMO-1, HOMO, and LUMO were, respectively, on the BODIPY, phenothiazine and fullerene entities, which agreed well with the site of electron transfer determined from electrochemical studies. The energy-level diagram deduced from these data helped in elucidating the mechanistic details of the photochemical events. Excitation of BODIPY resulted in ultrafast electron transfer to produce PTZ-BODIPY(.+) -C60 (.-) ; subsequent hole shift resulted in PTZ(.+) -BODIPY-C60 (.-) charge-separated species. The return of the charge-separated species was found to be solvent dependent. In nonpolar solvents the PTZ(.+) -BODIPY-C60 (.-) species populated the (3) C60 * prior to returning to the ground state, while in polar solvent no such process was observed due to relative positioning of the energy levels. The (1) BODIPY* generated radical ion-pair in these triads persisted for few nanoseconds due to electron transfer/hole-shift mechanism.

Donor-Linked Di(perylene bisimide)s: Arrays Exhibiting Fast Electron Transfer for Photosynthesis Mimics

The first example of donor-linked di(perylene bisimide)s is reported. UV-vis absorption spectra of these newly synthesized dyads showed intense absorption across the entire visible region, demonstrating their excellent light-harvesting activities. The severe fluorescence quenching event probed by steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy and the free-energy calculations suggested the possibility of electron transfer (ET) in these arrays upon photoexcitation. Further femtosecond transient absorption spectra clarified that the fluorescence quenching was due to fast intramolecular ET. The rate of the charge separation (CS) was found to be as high as 10(12) s(-1) in CH(2)Cl(2). It was suggested that the large ET driving forces, strong donor-acceptor electronic coupling, and relatively small reorganization energy of diPBI accounted for the rapid ET process in a synergic manner. The fate of the generated radical ion pair depended on the solvent used. Rapid charge recombination to ground state occurred for the dyads in polar CH(2)Cl(2) and for diPBI-TPA in nonpolar toluene. However, sufficient (3)diPBI* population was attained via efficient spin-orbit coupled intersystem crossing from the charge-separated state for diPBI-PdTPP in toluene. These photophysical properties are interpreted as the cooperation between thermodynamic feasibility and kinetic manipulation.

Control over Charge Transfer through Molecular Wires by Temperature and Chemical Structure Modifications

A series of electron donor-acceptor arrays containing π-conjugated oligofluorenes (oFL) of variable length between a zinc porphyrin (ZnP) as electron donor and fullerene (C(60)) as electron acceptor have been prepared by following a convergent synthesis. The electronic interactions between the electroactive species were determined by cyclic voltammetry, UV-visible, fluorescence, and femto/nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Our studies clearly confirm that, although the C(60) units are connected to the ZnP donor through π-conjugated oFL frameworks, no significant electronic interactions prevail in the ground state. Theoretical calculations predict that a long-range electron transfer occurs primarily due to a maximized π-conjugated pathway from the donor to the acceptor. Photoexcitation of ZnP-oFL(n)-C(60) results in transient absorption maxima at 715 and 1010 nm, which are unambiguously attributed to the photolytically generated radical ion pair state, [ZnP(•+)-oFL(n)-C(60)(•-)], with lifetimes in the microsecond time regime. Temperature-dependent photophysical experiments have shown that the charge-transfer mechanism is controllable by temperature. Both charge separation and charge recombination processes give rise to a molecular wire behavior of the oFL moiety with an attenuation factor (β) of 0.097 Å(-1). The correlation β to the connection pattern between the ZnP donor and the oFL linker revealed that even small alterations of the linker π-electron system break the homogeneous π-conjugation pattern, leading to higher values of β.

Photochemical Charge Separation in Supramolecular Phthalocyanine−Multifullerene Conjugates Assembled by Crown Ether-Alkyl Ammonium Cation Interactions

Self-assembled phthalocyanine-multifullerene donor-acceptor conjugates have been formed by crown ether-ammonium cation dipole-ion binding strategy to probe the photochemical charge separation. To achieve this, phthalocyanine is functionalized to possess four 18-crown-6 moieties on the macrocycle periphery, whereas fullerene is functionalized to possess an alkyl ammonium cation of short and long chain lengths. Stable donor-acceptor conjugates accommodating multifullerene entities have been obtained by the crown ether-ammonium cation inclusion complexation. From the efficient fluorescence quenching of the zinc phthalocyanine by the bound fullerene entities, the rate constants of charge separation are evaluated to be slightly larger for closely held via shorter alkyl chain length fullerene, which are also larger compared to the earlier reported analogous zinc porphyrin-multifullerene conjugate. Nanosecond transient absorption studies yielded spectral signatures corresponding to both the phthalocyanine radical cation and fullerene radical anion at the same time, providing evidence of light-induced electron transfer within the conjugates. The evaluated lifetimes of the radical ion pairs in the present phthalocyanine-fullerene conjugates are found to be hundreds of nanoseconds and are much longer compared to the earlier reported conjugate of zinc porphyrin analogue, revealing higher possible usage of the generated radical ion pairs.

Trans-2 Addition Pattern to Power Charge Transfer in Dendronized Metalloporphyrin C60 Conjugates

Coordinating different transition metals--manganese(III), iron(III), nickel(II), and copper(II)--by a dendronized porphyrin afforded a new family of redox-active metalloporphyrins to which C(60) was attached as a ground-state electron acceptor. Such a strategy introduced an additional center of redoxactivity, that is, a change of the oxidation state of the metal. Cyclic voltammetry and absorption/fluorescence measurements provided support for mutual interactions between the redox-active constituents in the ground state. In particular, slightly anodic shifted reduction potentials/cathodic shifted oxidation potentials and the occurrence of new charge transfer features in the 700-900 nm range prompt to sizable electronic coupling in the range of 300 cm(-1). Photophysical means--steady-state/time-resolved fluorescence and transient absorption measurements--shed light on the excited-state interactions. To this end, we have added pulse radiolytic investigations to characterize the radical cation (i.e., metalloporphyrins) and radical anion (i.e., fullerene) characteristics. Pi-pi stacking of the excited state electron donor and the electron acceptor is key to overcome the intrinsically fast deactivation of the excited states in these metalloporphyrins and to power an exothermic charge transfer. The lifetimes of the rapidly and efficiently generated radical ion pair states, which range from 15 to >3000 ps, revealed several important trends. First, they were found to depend on the solvent polarity. Second, the nature of the transition metal plays a similarly decisive role. It is important that the product of charge recombination, namely tripmultiplet excited states versus ground state, had a great impact. Finally, a correlation between the charge transfer rate (i.e., charge separation and charge recombination) and the free energy change for the underlying reaction reveals a parabolic dependence with parameters of the reorganization energy (0.84 eV) and electronic coupling (70 cm(-1)) closely resembling that seen for the zinc(II) and free base analogues.

Spectroscopic Characterization of Photolytically Generated Radical Ion Pairs in Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Bearing Surface-Immobilized Tetrathiafulvalenes

We succeeded in establishing for the first time a conclusive spectroscopic signature for reduced single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT), which evolves from electron donor-acceptor interactions between SWNT and electron-donating pi-extended tetrathiafulvalene (exTTF). In particular, pi-pi interactions were employed to anchor the electron donor to the surface of SWNT. New conduction band electrons, injected from photoexcited exTTF, shift the transitions that are associated with the van Hove singularities to lower energies.

Computational Study of CO2 Reduction by Amines

Calculations at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ//MPWB1K/aug-cc-pVDZ level are reported for the reduction of CO2 by amines--primarily triethylamine. A polarizable continuum model is used to represent acetonitrile solvent for the reaction. Starting from a photochemically generated radical ion pair state, the mechanism of reduction is deduced to be one in which the CO2(.-) begins to use one of its oxygens to abstract a hydrogen from an alpha carbon of the amine radical cation. During this event, and before the transition state for H transfer is reached, the system encounters a surface crossing, which provides pathways for unproductive back electron transfer and for productive reduction, with the latter involving attachment of the hydrogen to the carbon of CO2. The result of the reduction is a closed-shell iminium formate ion pair, which completes the reaction by proton transfer between the ions, to give an eneamine and formic acid. On the basis of the calculations, approaches for improving the efficiency of the reduction and increasing the wavelength of the light used to drive the reaction are discussed. One of these modifications involves the use of a bicyclic amine as reductant.

Field dependent CIDNP from photochemically generated radical ion pairs in rigid bichromophoric systems

Field dependent chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (CIDNP) spectroscopy has been used to measure the exchange interaction, J, in photochemically generated radical ion pairs of rigid donor-bridge-acceptor molecules in benzene and dioxane solution. The positive and surprisingly large values of J show an exponential dependence on the bridge length. The magnetic field dependence of CIDNP is explained via the radical pair theory and yields, besides J, the rate constants for the back electron transfer from radical ion pair singlet and triplet states. Intersystem crossing is promoted by the weak magnetic interactions of the radical ion pair and hindered by the singlet–triplet energy gap. Therefore, the overall lifetime of the species is dominated by back electron transfer from the singlet state.

Time-resolved CIDNP from photochemically generated radical ion pairs in rigid bichromophoric systems

Laser pulse photoexcitation of rigid donor–spacer–acceptor molecules in various solvents leads to chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (CIDNP) of the ground state species. This polarization is created during the simultaneous charge recombination of the intermediate ion pairs via singlet and triplet pathways. The different channels yield polarizations with opposite signs and equal magnitudes and are separated in time because the triplet contribution appears delayed. Their time dependence yields the triplet decay parameters. The CIDNP intensities depend strongly on the spacer length and on the dielectric constant of the medium. They are explained in terms of the radical pair theory combined with the known dependence of rate constants on energy gaps, and provide the exchange interaction in the ion pairs.

Magnetic field effects on the photoinduced electron transfer of 10-methylphenothiazine with 4-(4-cyanobenzoyloxy)TEMPO in fluid solutions

Magnetic field effects on both the quenching of the triplet excited state of 10-methylphenothiazine ( S=1) with 4-(4-cyanobenzoyloxy)TEMPO ( S=1/2) and the dynamic behavior of generated radical ion pairs ( S=1/2 and 3/2) were directly observed by a nanosecond laser photolysis technique. In 2-propanol, with increasing field from 0 T to 2 T, the quenching rate was decreased by (11.8±1.2)% and the yield of the escaped cation radical was increased by (90±8)%.

Effects of large magnetic fields on the dynamic behavior of radical ion pairs in a non-viscous solution at room temperature

Photochemical reactions of triplet xanthone and 2,5-dimethyl- p-benzoquinone with 2-propanol, xanthene, and N,N-diethylaniline in 2-propanol were investigated at 293 K by a nanosecond laser photolysis technique under magnetic fields of 0–10 T. In the reactions with 2-propanol and xanthene hydrogen transfer was found to occur and generated neutral radical pairs showed no or a very small magnetic field effect. On the other hand, electron transfer was found to occur in the reactions with N,N-diethylaniline and the generated radical ion pairs showed fairly large magnetic field effects. Here, reverted magnetic field effects were also observed in 2-propanol like those observed in micellar solutions.

The Importance of Alcohol Nucleophilicity in the Trapping of the Photochemically Generated Radical Ion Pair from N-Methylphthalimide and a-Methylstyrene

The Importance of Alcohol Nucleophilicity in the Trapping of the Photochemically Generated Radical Ion Pair from N-Methylphthalimide and a-Methylstyrene

Photolysis of N-(2-methyl-2-propenyl)phthalimide in methanol. Evidence supporting radical-radical coupling of a photochemically generated radical ion pair

Photolysis of N-(2-methyl-2-propenyl)phthalimide in methanol. Evidence supporting radical-radical coupling of a photochemically generated radical ion pair