Interpretation of the UV−vis Spectra of the meso(Ferrocenyl)-Containing Porphyrins using a TDDFT Approach: Is Gouterman’s Classic Four-Orbital Model Still in Play?

Insight into the electronic structure, optical properties, and redox behavior of the hybrid phthalocyaninoclathrochelates from experimental and density functional theory approaches

An insight into the electronic structure of several hafnium(IV), zirconium(IV), and lutetium(III) phthalocyaninoclathrochelates has been discussed on the basis of experimental UV-vis, MCD, electro- and spectroelectrochemical data as well as density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations. On the basis of UV-vis and MCD spectroscopy as well as theoretical predictions, it was concluded that the electronic structure of the phthalocyninoclathrochelates can be described in the first approximation as a superposition of the weakly interacting phthalocyanine and clathrochelate substituents. Spectroelectrochemical data and DFT calculations clearly confirm that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) in all tested complexes is localized on the phthalocyanine ligand. X-ray crystallography on zirconium(IV) and earlier reported hafnium(IV) phthalocyaninoclathrochelate complexes revealed a slightly distorted phthalocyanine conformation with seven-coordinated metal center positioned ∼1 Å above macrocyclic cavity. The geometry of the encapsulated iron(II) ion in the clathrochelate fragment was found to be between trigonal-prismatic and trigonal-antiprismatic.

Profiling energetics and spectroscopic signatures in prototropic tautomers of asymmetric phthalocyanine analogues

Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) were used to explain discrepancies in UV-vis and MCD spectra of the metal-free tribenzo[b,g,l]thiopheno[3,4-q]porphyrazine (1), substituted tribenzo[b,g,l]porphyrazine (2), and 2,3-bis(methylcarboxyl)phthalocyanine (3). On the basis of gas-phase and polarized continuum solvation model (PCM) DFT and TDDFT calculations, it was suggested that both NH tautomers contribute to the spectroscopic signature of 1, whereas the Q-band region of 2 and 3 is dominated by a single NH tautomer. For all tested compounds, it was found that the combination of the BP86 exchange-correlation functional, 6-31G(d) basis set, and TDDFT-PCM approach provides the best accuracy in energies of the Q(x)- and Q(y)-bands of the individual NH tautomers as well as correctly describes their relative energy differences, which are important in understanding of experimental spectroscopy of the target systems.

Photoinduced charge transfer in short-distance ferrocenylsubphthalocyanine dyads

Two new ferrocenylsubphthalocyanine dyads with ferrocenylmethoxide (2) and ferrocenecarboxylate (3) substituents directly attached to the subphthalocyanine ligand via the axial position have been prepared and characterized using NMR, UV-vis, and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopies as well as X-ray crystallography. The redox properties of the ferrocenyl-containing dyads 2 and 3 were investigated using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) approach and compared to those of the parent subphthalocyanine 1. CV data reveal that the first reversible oxidation is ferrocene-centered, while the second oxidation and the first reduction are localized on the subphthalocyanine ligand. The electronic structures and nature of the optical bands observed in the UV-vis and MCD spectra of all target compounds were investigated by a density functional theory polarized continuum model (DFT-PCM) and time-dependent (TD)DFT-PCM approaches. It has been found that in both dyads the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) to HOMO-2 are ferrocene-centered molecular orbitals, while HOMO-3 as well as lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and LUMO+1 are localized on the subphthalocyanine ligand. TDDFT-PCM data on complexes 1-3 are consistent with the experimental observations, which indicate the dominance of π-π* transitions in the UV-vis spectra of 1-3. The excited-state dynamics of the dyads 2 and 3 were investigated using time-correlated single photon counting, which indicates that fluorescence quenching is more efficient in dyad 3 compared to dyad 2. These fluorescence lifetime measurements were interpreted on the basis of DFT-PCM calculations.

TDDFT study of the UV-vis spectra of subporphyrazines and subphthalocyanines

The UV-vis spectra of a series of subporphyrazines, SubPz(A,R), and subphthalocyanines, SubPc(A,R) ( A = F, Cl; R = H, F, CH3, C3H7, SCH3, SC2H5 and SPh), where A is the substituent attached to the central boron atom and R is the substituent attached to the periphery of the molecule have been analyzed through the use of TD–DFT calculations in vacuum and using chloroform as a solvent. The absorption spectra depend on both, the characteristics of the substituent attached to the periphery of the molecule and the extension of the π-system on going from SubPz to the SubPc analog. These latter effects lead to a red-shift of both the Q-band and the B-band, although the effect is larger for the former, mainly due to the increase of HOMO–LUMO energy gap on going from the SubPz to the SubPc analog. The effect of the substituents R is more intricate, because the profile of the absorption spectra changes depending on whether both substituents are on the same side (uu or dd) or on opposite sides (ud) of the molecular cone. Since the three conformers are rather close in energy, the observed spectra correspond, very likely, to the sum of the spectra of all of them.