• Energy Research

The excited-state dynamics of two molecular dyads, consisting of zinc (1) and free-base (2) porphyrin connected via a peptide linker to a core-substituted naphthalenediimide (NDI) have been investigated using optical spectroscopy. These dyads exhibit rich photophysics because of the large number of electronic excited states below 3 eV. In the case of 1 in apolar solvents, excitation energy transfer from the vibrationally hot singlet excited porphyrin to the NDI takes place with a 500 fs time constant. Electronic energy ends up in the NDI-localized triplet state, which decays to the ground state on a microsecond timescale. In polar solvents, ground-state recovery is faster by 5 orders of magnitude because of the occurrence of charge separation followed by recombination. On the other hand, excitation energy transfer in 2 takes place in the opposite direction, namely from the NDI to the porphyrin, which then undergoes intersystem crossing to the triplet state, followed by triplet energy transfer back to the NDI. Therefore, four distinct local electronic excited states are consecutively populated after excitation of the NDI unit of 2, with the energy shuttling between the two ends of the dyad.

Matching matters when building supramolecular n/p-heterojunction photosystems on solid supports that excel with efficient photocurrent generation, important critical thickness, smooth surfaces, and flawless responsiveness to functional probes for the existence of operational intra- and interlayer recognition motifs.

AbstractReview: synthesis, electrochemistry, spectroscopy, supramolecular chemistry, molecular recognition and electron transport properties; 92 refs.

Exploring a catalytic reaction other than water oxidation at the photoanode of a photoelectrochemical cell is probably a key feature to more efficiently generate the electrons needed to produce solar fuels. In this framework, we describe herein the fabrication of a TiO2-based dye-sensitized photo-electrosynthesis cell (DSPEC) using a zinc porphyrin (ZnP) sensitizer and a 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidine N-oxyl (TEMPO) organo-catalyst that quite efficiently catalyzes light-driven oxidation of methoxybenzyl alcohol into aldehyde. Two dyads ZnP–TEMPO, differing by the anchoring group (carboxylic acid and hydroxamic acid) on ZnP, were prepared and their electrochemical, absorption, and emission properties were recorded and quantum chemical modeling was realized. The photovoltaic performances in dye-sensitized solar cells were first examined in order to optimize the dyeing conditions and compare the relative efficiencies of the compounds. The dyads substituted with TEMPO outperform the reference zinc porphyrin lacking TEMPO with a much higher Jsc and Voc. The photocatalytic properties after immobilization on TiO2 nanocrystalline films toward para-methoxy benzyl alcohol oxidation were explored in borate buffer and in an acetonitrile electrolyte. In borate buffer, the optimal pH was 8 and using dyad ZnP–TEMPO anchored with hydroxamic acid, para-methoxy benzaldehyde was selectively produced with an average photocurrent density of 200 μA/cm2, a Faradaic efficiency of 82%, a turnover number (TON) of 26, and a turnover frequency (TOF) of 47 h–1. In acetonitrile, in the presence of 0.1 M N-methyl-imidazole, the same dyad gives an average photocurrent density of about 100 μA/cm2, a Faradaic efficiency of 76%, a TON of 13, and a TOF of 24 h–1. The stability of the anchor is crucial in the acetonitrile electrolyte, where the dyad is quite soluble since only the dyad functionalized with hydroxamic acid is compatible with these organic solvent conditions. Overall, this study paves the way to the development of more efficient and probably more stable TiO2-based DSPECs for alcohol oxidation that could advantageously complement those devoted to water oxidation.

The excited-state dynamics of two energy donor-bridge-acceptor (D-B-A) systems consisting of a zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnP) and a free base tetraphenylporphyrin (FbP) bridged by oligo-p-phenyleneethynylene units with different substituents has been investigated using ultrafast spectroscopy. These systems differ by the location of the lowest singlet excited state of the bridge, just above or below the S(2) porphyrin states. In the first case, Soret band excitation of the porphyrins is followed by internal conversion to the local S(1) state of both molecules and by a S(1) energy transfer from the ZnP to the FbP end on the 10 ns time scale, as expected for a center-to-center distance of about 4.7 nm. On the other hand, if the bridge is excited, the energy is efficiently transferred within 1 ps to both porphyrin ends. Selective bridge excitation is not possible with the second system, because of the overlap of the absorption bands. However, the time-resolved spectroscopic data suggest a reversible conversion between the D*(S(2))-B-A and D-B*(S(1))-A states as well as a transition from the D-B*(S(1))-A to the D-B-A* states on the picosecond time scale. This implies that the local S(2) energy of the ZnP end can be transported stepwise to the FbP end, i.e., over about 4.7 nm, within 1 ps with an efficiency of more than 0.2.

The emission from two photoactive 14-membered macrocyclic ligands, 6-((naphthalen-1-ylmethyl)-amino)-trans-6,13-dimethyl-13-amino-1,4,8,11-tetraaza-cyclotetradecane (L1) and 6-((anthracen-9-ylmethyl)-amino)-trans-6,13-dimethyl-13-amino-1,4,8,11-tetraaza-cyclotetradecane (L2) is strongly quenched by a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism involving amine lone pairs as electron donors. Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC), multiplex transient grating (TG), and fluorescence upconversion (FU) measurements were performed to characterize this quenching mechanism. Upon complexation with the redox inactive metal ion, Zn(II), the emission of the ligands is dramatically altered, with a significant increase in the fluorescence quantum yields due to coordination-induced deactivation of the macrocyclic amine lone pair electron donors. For [ZnL2]2+, the substituted exocyclic amine nitrogen, which is not coordinated to the metal ion, does not quench the fluorescence due to an inductive effect of the proximal divalent metal ion that raises the ionization potential. However, for [ZnL1]2+, the naphthalene chromophore is a sufficiently strong excited-state oxidant for PET quenching to occur.

Abstract The objective with synthetic multifunctional nanoarchitecture is to create large suprastructures with interesting functions. For this purpose, lipid bilayer membranes or conducting surfaces have been used as platforms and rigid-rod molecules as shape-persistent scaffolds. Examples for functions obtained by this approach include pores that can act as multicomponent sensors in complex matrices or rigid-rod π-stack architecture for artificial photosynthesis and photovoltaics.