Zinc Porphyrin-fullerene Dyad Research Articles

The electronic structures and excitation properties of three meso-pentafluorophenyl substituted zinc porphyrin–fullerene dyad

Understanding electronic structures and excitation properties is a fundamental issue to develop novel electron donor (D) and acceptor (A) molecular dyad that can be applied in optoelectronic systems. Here, the geometry, electronic structures, and excitation properties of three meso-pentafluorophenyl substituted zinc porphyrin fullerene ((F15P)ZnPC60) dyad were analyzed based on density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations. The geometrical parameters provide the D-A distance is about 18.19 Å. The electronic structure analysis indicates that the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital are localized in porphyrin core and C60, respectively. The transition configurations and the MOs suggest the excited states at the absorption maxima are local excited states, while the charge transfer (CT) states are transient intermediates. The population analysis supports the first singlet/triplet excited states are local excitations in porphyrin (LEP). Quasi-degeneracy of excited states between LEP and local excitation in C60 (LEC) enable the partial delocalization of eigenstates and excitation-energies over the D and A in dyad, while the quasi-degeneracy between CT and LEP generate synergistic enhancement effects for CT. The results of this work could be helpful to understand optoelectronic properties of (F15P)ZnPC60 dyad.

Charge Stabilization in High-Potential Zinc Porphyrin-Fullerene via Axial Ligation of Tetrathiafulvalene

Extending the lifetime of the charge-separated states generated during photoinduced electron transfer in a covalently linked high-potential zinc porphyrin-fullerene dyad, (F15P)Zn–C60, was accomplished by metal–ligand axial coordination of pyridine-functionalized tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) via a dual-electron-transfer/hole migration mechanism. The meso-aryl positions of the zinc porphyrin carried three penta-fluorophenyl substituents that made the zinc porphyrin ring harder to oxidize by 0.43 V compared with zinc porphyrin with meso-phenyl substituents. Two TTF derivatives, a first with a pyridine directly linked to TTF (Py-TTF) and a second with a phenyl spacer between the pyridine and TTF (Py-phTTF), were employed to vary the distance between the primary photosensitizer/electron donor, zinc porphyrin, and the secondary electron donor, TTF. Both Py-TTF and Py-phTTF coordinated via the pyridine entity to the Zn center with 1:1 molecular stoichiometry and moderate binding constants. The supramolecular triads were characterized by optical absorption and emission, electrochemistry, and computational studies. An energy-level diagram was established to realize the different photochemical events in the triads. Using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, it was possible to show that the coordinated TTF participated in electron transfer from the 1(F15P)Zn* in the case of the C60-(F15P)Zn:TTF triads to produce C60-(F15P)Zn•-:TTF•+ charge-separated state competitively with the electron transfer from the 1(F15P)Zn* to covalently linked C60 to produce C60•--(F15P)Zn•+:TTF charge-separated state. The two charge-separated states, C60-(F15P)Zn•-:TTF•+ and C60•--(F15P)Zn•+:TTF, were further involved in electron migration in the former case and hole transfer in the latter case to produce the C60•--(F15P)Zn:TTF•+ charge-separated state as the ultimate electron-transfer product. Due to distal separation of the positive and negative radical ions, long-lived charge-separated states persistent for about 0.35 μs was possible to accomplish, as shown by nanosecond transient absorption spectral studies.

Effect of the triazole ring in zinc porphyrin-fullerene dyads on the charge transfer processes in NiO-based devices.

Herein, the synthesis of three covalently linked donor-acceptor zinc porphyrin-fullerene (ZnP-C60) dyads (C60trZnPCOOH, C60trZnPtrCOOH and C60ZnPCOOH) is described, and their application as sensitizers in NiO-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) is discussed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example where covalently linked ZnP-C60 dyads have been used as chromophores in NiO-based DSCs. In an effort to examine whether the distance of the chromophore from the electron acceptor entity and/or the NiO surface affects the performance of the cells, a triazole ring was introduced as a spacer between ZnP and the two peripheral units C60 and -COOH. The triazole ring was inserted between ZnP and C60 in dyad C60trZnPCOOH, whereas both the anchoring group and C60 were connected to ZnP through triazole spacers in C60trZnPtrCOOH, and dyad C60ZnPCOOH did not contain any triazole linker. Photophysical investigation performed by ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy in solution and on the NiO surface demonstrated that all the porphyrin-fullerene dyads exhibited long-lived charge-separated states due to electron shifts from the reduced porphyrin core to C60. The transient experiments performed in solution showed that the presence of triazole ring influenced the photophysical properties of the dyads C60trZnPCOOH and C60trZnPtrCOOH and in particular, increased the lifetime of the charge-separated states compared to that of the C60ZnPCOOH dyad. On the other hand, the corresponding studies on the NiO surface proved that the triazole spacer has a rather moderate impact on the charge separation (NiO-ZnP˙+-C60˙-) and charge recombination (NiO-3*ZnP-C60) rate constants. All three dyads exhibited enhanced performance in terms of photovoltaic measurements with more than threefold increase compared to the reference compound PhtrZnPCOOH in which the C60 acceptor is absent. Two different electrolytes were examined (I3-/I- and CoIII/II) and in most cases, the presence of the triazole ring enhanced their photovoltaic performance. The best performing dyad in I3-/I- was C60trZnPCOOH (PCE = 0.076%); in CoIII/II, the best performing dyad was C60trZnPtrCOOH (PCE = 0.074%).

High Potential Zinc Porphyrin-Fullerene Dyads: Formation and Electron Transfer Studies

Supramolecular dyads of photosensitizing halogenated zinc porphyrins (and halogenated zinc phthalocyanines) and redox active fulleropyrolidine derivatives with pyridine or imidazole ligands were constructed based on metal-ligand axial coordination approach. Spectroscopic characterization accompanied by steady-state absorption and fluorescence studies confirmed the high binding affinity of the high potential zinc porphyrin towards fullerene ligands that was also supported by computational studies. Qualitative Benesi-Hildebrand plots allowed us to calculate the association constant, K of the supramolecular dyads. The redox states of the donor and acceptor entities in the dyads were established from electrochemical investigations using cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry techniques. Free energy calculations using Weller’s approach suggested exergonic photoinduced electron transfer process for all of the studied systems. Pump-probe transient absorption studies at the femtosecond and nanosecond time scale confirmed the formation of cation and anion radical ions in the donor-acceptor supramolecular dyads. The kinetics of charge separation and charge recombination evaluated from the transient absorption studies revealed occurrence of ultrafast electron transfer events.

Quantitative Analysis of Intramolecular Exciplex and Electron Transfer in a Double-Linked Zinc Porphyrin–Fullerene Dyad

Photoinduced charge transfer in a double-linked zinc porphyrin-fullerene dyad is studied. When the dyad is excited at the absorption band of the charge-transfer complex (780 nm), an intramolecular exciplex is formed, followed by the complete charge separated (CCS) state. By analyzing the results obtained from time-resolved transient absorption and emission decay measurements in a range of solvents with different polarities, we derived a dependence between the observable lifetimes and internal parameters controlling the reaction rate constants based on the semiquantum Marcus electron-transfer theory. The critical value of the solvent polarity was found to be ε(r) ≈ 6.5: in solvents with higher dielectric constants, the energy of the CCS state is lower than that of the exciplex and the relaxation takes place via the CCS state predominantly, whereas in solvents with lower polarities the energy of the CCS state is higher and the exciplex relaxes directly to the ground state. In solvents with moderate polarities the exciplex and the CCS state are in equilibrium and cannot be separated spectroscopically. The degree of the charge shift in the exciplex relative to that in the CCS state was estimated to be 0.55 ± 0.02. The electronic coupling matrix elements for the charge recombination process and for the direct relaxation of the exciplex to the ground state were found to be 0.012 ± 0.001 and 0.245 ± 0.022 eV, respectively.

Effect of halide binding on intramolecular exciplex of double-linked zinc porphyrin-fullerene dyad

The effect of chloride or bromide ion coordination to a doubly-linked zinc porphyrin-fullerene dyad was studied by quantitative analysis of the absorption band in the red and near infrared spectral range. The absorption band in question corresponds to the direct excitation to the intramolecular exciplex and it can be analyzed using the semi-quantum charge transfer theory. Compared to the nonligated compounds the energy of the exciplex decreased by ∼0.3eV and the oscillator strength of the transition increased by ∼15–20%. This is explained by the effect of the electric field created by the negative charge of the halide.

Effect of Anion Ligation on Electron Transfer of Double-Linked Zinc Porphyrin−Fullerene Dyad

The interaction between metalloporphyrins and their axial ligands plays an important role in the electron transfer (ET) processes in which the excited porphyrin participates. An efficient photoinduced ET reaction of a double-linked zinc(II) porphyrin-fullerene dyad was demonstrated in ionic environment. The chloride ion of tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBACl) electrolyte solution ligates the zinc porphyrin moiety in the dyad which results in a red shift of the absorption bands and lowers the energy of the charge-separated state by about 0.26 eV as compared to the nonligated dyad. Excitation of the porphyrin chromophore results in ET from porphyrin to fullerene in a moderately polar solvent, anisole. In nonionic and nonligating ionic environments, the ET reaction occurs through an intermediate state, an intramolecular exciplex, which has emission in the near-infrared region of the spectrum. This emission is not observed directly for the dyad in TBACl/anisole solution, but evidence of the exciplex intermediate was seen in the time-resolved measurements. The lower energy of the charge-separated state in the ligated environment explains the different ET reaction rates determined in the spectroscopic studies: the charge recombination process of the ligated dyad is about 5 times faster than that of the nonligated one.

ChemInform Abstract: Fullerenes as Novel Acceptors in Photosynthetic Electron Transfer

We propose a novel strategy using fullerenes for the construction of solar energy conversion systems that mimic the primary electron transfer events in photosynthesis. Redox-active fullerenes such as C60 and C70 were covalently bound to a porphyrin and the photophysical properties of the resulting compounds were investigated. Regardless of solvent and linkage, the charge-separated state is produced efficiently in zincporphyrin–fullerene dyads, showing that fullerenes are good electron acceptors. The most intriguing characteristic of fullerenes in electron transfer is that they accelerate photoinduced charge separation as well as charge shift and slow down charge recombination, properties that are in sharp contrast with those of conventional two-dimensional aromatic acceptors such as quinones and imides. The peculiar electron transfer properties of fullerenes can be explained by the small reorganization energies, which make it possible to optimize artificial photosynthetic multistep charge separation. A combination of the two strategies, multistep electron transfer and small reorganization energy of fullerenes, has been applied to light energy conversion systems as well as the more complex molecular systems such as triads. Highly efficient photosynthetic multistep electron transfer has been realized at gold electrodes modified with self-assembled monolayers of fullerene-containing molecules. These results will provide new principles and concepts to develop artificial photosynthetic materials as well as molecular devices.

Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Photodynamics of π-Expanded Porphyrin−Fullerene Dyads Synthesized by Diels−Alder Reaction

Free base and zinc porphyrins are linked with fullerene (C(60)) through β,β'-pyrrolic positions rather than meso-positions by Diels-Alder reaction of monoanthraporphyrins (H(2)P-mA and ZnP-mA) and C(60) to afford a π-expanded free base porphyrin-fullerene dyad (H(2)P-C(60)) and its zinc porphyrin-fullerene dyad (ZnP-C(60)) in 86 and 51% yield, respectively. The X-ray crystallographic analysis of ZnP-C(60) showed two comma-shaped swirls-like structure in a unit cell. The intramolecular center-to-center and edge-to-edge distances between the porphyrin and fullerene moieties were 11.5 and 2.5 Å, respectively. The porphyrins and fullerenes were packed in layer-by-layer structure and the porphyrins lied down in parallel. The intermolecular center-to-center distances between the neighboring fullerenes were 10.252, 10.028, and 10.129 Å, which were less than typical van der Waals distance and the π-π interaction spread two-dimensionally. The energy of the charge-separated (CS) state of ZnP-C(60) (1.11 eV) determined by differential-pulse voltammetry measurements in benzonitrile is significantly lower than those of zinc porphyrin-C(60) dyads linked at meso positions because of the low oxidation potential of the π-expanded ZnP moiety. The CS energy of ZnP-C(60) in a nonpolar solvent such as toluene (1.40 V) is lower than the triplet excited state of C(60) ((3)C(60)*), enabling us to attain a long lived triplet CS state (8.1 μs) in toluene, detected by nanosecond laser flash photolysis experiments. The distance between unpaired electrons in the triplet CS state was determined by the EPR spectrum to be 9.1 Å, which agreed with the distance between a zinc atom of the porphyrin and a carbon edge of C(60) in the crystal structure of ZnP-C(60). The rate constants of photoinduced electron transfer and back electron transfer of H(2)P-C(60) and ZnP-C(60), which were determined by femtosecond and nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurements, were analyzed in light of the Marcus theory of electron transfer.

Electron Spin Polarization Transfer to the Charge-Separated State from Locally Excited Triplet Configuration: Theory and Its Application to Characterization of Geometry and Electronic Coupling in the Electron Donor−Acceptor System

We present a theoretical model of analysis of the time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectrum of the charge-separated (CS) state generated by the photoinduced electron transfer (ET) reaction via the locally excited triplet state in an electron donor-acceptor (D-A) system with a fixed molecular orientation. We show, by the stochastic-Liouville equation, that chemically induced dynamic electron polarization (CIDEP) of the triplet mechanism is explained by lack of transfer of quantum coherence terms in the primary triplet spin state, resulting in net emissive or absorptive electron spin polarization (ESP) which is dependent on anisotropy of the singlet-triplet intersystem crossing in the precursor excited state. This disappearance of the coherence is clearly shown to occur when the photoinduced ET rate is smaller than the angular frequency of the Zeeman splitting: the transferred coherence terms are averaged to be zero due to effective quantum oscillations during the time that the chemical reaction proceeds. The above theory has been applied to elucidate the molecular geometries and spin-spin exchange interactions (2J) of the CS states for both folded and extended conformers by computer simulations of TREPR spectra of the zinc porphyrin-fullerene dyad (ZnP-C(60)) bridged by diphenyldisilane. On the extended conformation, the electronic coupling is estimated from the 2J value. It has been revealed that the coupling term is smaller than the reported electronic interactions of the porphyrin-C(60) systems bridged by diphenylamide spacers. The difference in the electronic couplings has been explained by the difference in the LUMO levels of the bridge moieties that mediate the superexchange coupling for the long-range ET reaction.

Photoinduced Electron Transfer of Dialkynyldisilane-Linked Zinc Porphyrin–[60]Fullerene Dyad

Abstract A zinc porphyrin–fullerene dyad with a disilane as a σ-conjugated linker has been newly synthesized to evaluate the electron transfer ability of the oligosilane chain. Its photoinduced processes have been studied using the time-resolved fluorescence and absorption measurements. Photoexcitation of the dyad causes the energy and/or electron transfer from the excited singlet state of the ZnP to C60 moiety in polar solvents. The charge separation takes place as a final step in the excited-state process to yield the radical-ion pair with a radical cation on the zinc porphyrin and a radical anion on the fullerene, similar to other porphyrin–fullerene dyads. Its lifetime has been estimated to be 0.43–0.52 μs on the basis of the decay rate of the fullerene radical anion in polar solvents.

Redox Active Two-Component Films of Palladium and Covalently Linked Zinc Porphyrin–Fullerene Dyad

Redox active films have been generated electrochemically by the reduction of dyads consisting of fullerene C60 covalently linked to zinc meso-tetraphenyloporphyrin, ZnPC60, and palladium acetate. The films are believed to consist of a polymeric network formed via covalent bonds between the palladium atoms and the fullerene moieties. In these films, the zinc porphyrin moiety is covalently linked to the polymeric chains through the pyrrolidine ring of the fullerene. The ZnPC60/Pt films are electrochemically active in both positive and negative potential excursions. At positive potentials, two oxidation steps for the zinc porphyrin are observed. In the negative potential range, electron transfer processes involving the zinc porphyrin and the fullerene entities are observed. Film formation is also accompanied by palladium deposition on the electrode surface. The presence of a metallic phase in the film influences its morphology, structure and electrochemical properties.

Spectral, electrochemical, and photophysical studies of a magnesium porphyrin–fullerene dyad

A covalently linked magnesium porphyrin-fullerene (MgPo-C60) dyad was synthesized and its spectral, electrochemical, molecular orbital, and photophysical properties were investigated and the results were compared to the earlier reported zinc porphyrin-fullerene (ZnPo-C60) dyad. The ab initio B3LYP/3-21G(*) computed geometry and electronic structure of the dyad predicted that the HOMO and LUMO are mainly localized on the MgP and C60 units, respectively. In o-dichlorobenzene containing 0.1 M (n-Bu)4NClO4, the synthesized dyad exhibited six one-electron reversible redox reactions within the potential window of the solvent. The oxidation and reduction potentials of the MgP and C60 units indicate stabilization of the charge-separated state. The emission, monitored by both steady-state and time-resolved techniques, revealed efficient quenching of the singlet excited state of the MgP and C60 units. The quenching pathway of the singlet excited MgP moiety involved energy transfer to the appended C60 moiety, generating the singlet excited C60 moiety, from which subsequent charge-separation occurred. The charge recombination rates, k(CR), evaluated from nanosecond transient absorption studies, were found to be 2-3 orders of magnitude smaller than the charge separation rate, k(CS). In o-dichlorobenzene, the lifetime of the radical ion-pair, MgPo*+-C60*-, was found to be 520 ns which is longer than that of ZnPo*+-C60*- indicating better charge stabilization in MgPo-C60. Additional prolongation of the lifetime of MgPo*+-C60*- was achieved by coordinating nitrogenous axial ligands. The solvent effect in controlling the rates of forward and reverse electron transfer is also investigated.

Self-assembly of a π-electronic amphiphile consisting of a zinc porphyrin–fullerene dyad: formation of micro-vesicles with a high stability

An amphiphilic zinc porphyrin-fullerene dyad appended with triethyleneglycol chains in aqueous media forms uniformly-sized multilamellar vesicles with a mean diameter of 100 nm that are thermally stable and robust against membrane lysis with surfactants.

C70 vs. C60 in zinc porphyrin-fullerene dyads: prolonged charge separation and ultrafast energy transfer from the second excited singlet state of porphyrin.

The second excited singlet (S2) state of porphyrin was efficiently quenched by the attached fullerene C70 moiety in a zinc porphyrin-C70 dyad. The quenching is largely explained by energy transfer to C70, but the possibility of additional reactions involving the S2 state of porphyrin is discussed. Singlet energy transfer was found to be an important decay pathway also for the first excited singlet (S1) state of porphyrin. In the polar solvent benzonitrile a charge-separated state was formed, and its lifetime was 890 ps, 50% longer than in the analogous porphyrin-C60 dyad.

Exciplex intermediates in photoinduced electron transfer of porphyrin-fullerene dyads.

The photoinduced electron transfer in differently linked zinc porphyrin-fullerene dyads and their free-base porphyrin analogues was studied in polar and nonpolar solvents with femto- to nanosecond absorption and emission spectroscopies. A new intermediate state, different from the locally excited (LE) chromophores and the complete charge-separated (CCS) state, was observed. It was identified as an exciplex. The exciplex preceded the CCS state in polar benzonitrile and the excited singlet state of fullerene in nonpolar toluene. The behavior of the dyads was modeled by using a common kinetic scheme involving equilibria between the exciplex and LE chromophores. The scheme is suitable for all the studied porphyrin-fullerene compounds. The rates of reaction steps depended on the type of linkage between the moieties. The scheme and Marcus theory were applied to calculate electronic couplings for sequential reactions, and consistent results were obtained.

Probing the donor-acceptor proximity on the physicochemical properties of porphyrin-fullerene dyads: "tail-on" and "tail-off" binding approach.

A new approach of probing proximity effects in porphyrin-fullerene dyads by using an axial ligand coordination controlled "tail-on" and "tail-off" binding mechanism is reported. In the newly synthesized porphyrin-fullerene dyads for this purpose, the donor-acceptor proximity is controlled either by temperature variation or by an axial ligand replacement method. In o-dichlorobenzene, 0.1 M (TBA)ClO(4), the synthesized zincporphyrin-fullerene dyads exhibit seven one-electron reversible redox reactions within the accessible potential window of the solvent and the measured electrochemical redox potentials and UV-visible absorption spectra reveal little or no ground-state interactions between the C(60) spheroid and porphyrin pi-system. The proximity effects on the photoinduced charge separation and charge recombination are probed by both steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques. It is observed that in the "tail-off" form the charge-separation efficiency changes to some extent in comparison with the results obtained for the "tail-on" form, suggesting the presence of some through-space interactions between the singlet excited zinc porphyrin and the C(60) moiety in the "tail-off" form. The charge separation rates and efficiencies are evaluated from the fluorescence lifetime studies. The charge separation via the singlet excited states of zinc porphyrin in the studied dyads is also confirmed by the quick rise-decay of the anion radical of the C(60) moiety within 20 ns. Furthermore, a long-lived ion pair with lifetime of about 1000 ns is also observed in the investigated zinc porphyrin-C(60) dyads.

A semiempirical study for the ground and excited states of free-base and zinc porphyrin–fullerene dyads

The ground and excited states of a covalently linked porphyrin–fullerene dyad in both its free-base and zinc forms (D. Kuciauskas et al., J. Phys. Chem. 100 (1996) 15926) have been investigated by semiempirical methods. The excited-state properties are discussed by investigation of the character of the molecular orbitals. All frontier MOs are mainly localized on either the donor or the acceptor subunit. Thus, the absorption spectra of both systems are best described as the sum of the spectra of the single components. The experimentally observed spectra are well reproduced by the theoretical computations. Both molecules undergo efficient electron transfer in polar but not in apolar solvents. This experimental finding is explained theoretically by explicitly considering solvent effects. The tenth excited state in the gas phase is of charge-separated character where an electron is transferred from the porphyrin donor to the fullerene acceptor subunit. This state is stabilized in energy in polar solvents due to its large formal dipole moment. The stabilization energy for an apolar environment such as benzene is not sufficient to lower this state to become the first excited singlet state. Thus, no electron transfer is observed, in agreement with experiment. In a polar environment such as acetonitrile, the charge-separated state becomes the S 1 state and electron transfer takes place, as observed experimentally. The flexible single bond connecting both the donor and acceptor subunits allows free rotation by ca. ±30° about the optimized ground-state conformation. For the charge-separated state this optimized geometry has a maximum dipole moment. The geometry of the charge-separated state thus does not change relatively to the ground-state conformation. The electron-donating properties of porphyrin are enhanced in the zinc derivative due to a reduced porphyrin HOMO–LUMO energy gap. This yields a lower energy for the charge-separated state compared to the free-base dyad.

Fullerenes as Novel Acceptors in Photosynthetic Electron Transfer

We propose a novel strategy using fullerenes for the construction of solar energy conversion systems that mimic the primary electron transfer events in photosynthesis. Redox-active fullerenes such as C60 and C70 were covalently bound to a porphyrin and the photophysical properties of the resulting compounds were investigated. Regardless of solvent and linkage, the charge-separated state is produced efficiently in zincporphyrin–fullerene dyads, showing that fullerenes are good electron acceptors. The most intriguing characteristic of fullerenes in electron transfer is that they accelerate photoinduced charge separation as well as charge shift and slow down charge recombination, properties that are in sharp contrast with those of conventional two-dimensional aromatic acceptors such as quinones and imides. The peculiar electron transfer properties of fullerenes can be explained by the small reorganization energies, which make it possible to optimize artificial photosynthetic multistep charge separation. A combination of the two strategies, multistep electron transfer and small reorganization energy of fullerenes, has been applied to light energy conversion systems as well as the more complex molecular systems such as triads. Highly efficient photosynthetic multistep electron transfer has been realized at gold electrodes modified with self-assembled monolayers of fullerene-containing molecules. These results will provide new principles and concepts to develop artificial photosynthetic materials as well as molecular devices.

Fullerenes as Novel Acceptors in Photosynthetic Electron Transfer

We propose a novel strategy using fullerenes for the construction of solar energy conversion systems that mimic the primary electron transfer events in photosynthesis. Redox-active fullerenes such as C60 and C70 were covalently bound to a porphyrin and the photophysical properties of the resulting compounds were investigated. Regardless of solvent and linkage, the charge-separated state is produced efficiently in zincporphyrin–fullerene dyads, showing that fullerenes are good electron acceptors. The most intriguing characteristic of fullerenes in electron transfer is that they accelerate photoinduced charge separation as well as charge shift and slow down charge recombination, properties that are in sharp contrast with those of conventional two-dimensional aromatic acceptors such as quinones and imides. The peculiar electron transfer properties of fullerenes can be explained by the small reorganization energies, which make it possible to optimize artificial photosynthetic multistep charge separation. A combination of the two strategies, multistep electron transfer and small reorganization energy of fullerenes, has been applied to light energy conversion systems as well as the more complex molecular systems such as triads. Highly efficient photosynthetic multistep electron transfer has been realized at gold electrodes modified with self-assembled monolayers of fullerene-containing molecules. These results will provide new principles and concepts to develop artificial photosynthetic materials as well as molecular devices.