Supramolecular nanoarchitectures for light energy conversion

Fabrication and properties of Sn(iv) porphyrin-linked porous organic polymer for environmental applications

A robust porous organic polymer cross-linked by Sn(iv) porphyrin (SnPOP) was fabricated by reacting trans-dihydroxo-[5,15,10,20-tetrakis(phenyl)porphyrinato]tin(iv) (SnP) with fluorinated polyimide (FPI) via sol-gel formation, followed by supercritical CO2 drying. The structural and porous properties of SnPOP were characterized using FT-IR, UV-vis, and fluorescence spectroscopies, along with field-emission scanning electron microscopy and gas sorption experiments. The reaction between the SnP's oxophilic Sn(iv) center and FPI's carboxylic acid moiety resulted in a controllable cross-linked porous texture. This material features the desirable physical properties of porphyrin and exhibits mesoporous structures with a relatively high surface area. SnPOP is thermally stable at temperatures up to 600 °C and highly resistant to boiling water, strong acids, and bases, owing to its assembly via formation of covalent bonds instead of typically weaker hydrogen bonds. The modified chemical and morphological structures of SnPOP showed an impressive CO2 uptake capacity of 58.48 mg g-1 at 273 K, with a preference for CO2 over N2. SnPOP showed significant efficiency in removing pollutant dyes, such as methylene blue and methyl orange, from dye-contaminated water. Additionally, SnPOP was a photocatalyst for fabricating silver nanoparticles of regular shape and size. All these properties make SnPOP a potential candidate for environmental applications like pollutant removal, gas storage, and separation.

Singlet Oxygen Generation in Peripherally Modified Platinum and Palladium Porphyrins: Effect of Triplet Excited State Lifetimes and meso-Substituents on 1 O2 Quantum Yields

A series of meso-substituted with aromatic (=tolyl, pyrenyl, fluorenyl, naphthyl, and triphenylamine) substituents, platinum (Pt), and palladium (Pd) porphyrins have been synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic and single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies to probe structure-reactivity aspects on the electrochemical redox potentials, and phosphorescence quantum yields and lifetimes. In the X-ray structures, the aromatic meso-substituents were rotated to some extent from the planarity of the porphyrin ring to minimize steric hindrance. Both Pt and Pd porphyrins revealed higher electrochemical redox gaps as compared to their free-base porphyrin analogs as a result of the harder oxidation and reduction processes. The ability of both Pt and Pd porphyrins to generate singlet oxygen was probed by monitoring the photoluminescence of 1 O2 at 1270 nm. Higher quantum yields for both triplet sensitizers compared to their free-base analogs were witnessed. Singlet oxygen quantum yields close to unity were possible to achieve in the case of Pt and Pd porphyrins bearing triphenylamine substituents at the meso-position. The present study brings out the importance of different meso-substituents on the triplet porphyrin sensitizers in governing singlet oxygen quantum yields; a key property of photosensitizers needed for photodynamic therapy, chemical synthesis, and other pertinent applications.

Self-Assembled Materials Incorporating Functional Porphyrins and Carbon Nanoplatforms as Building Blocks for Photovoltaic Energy Applications

As a primary goal, this review highlights the role of supramolecular interactions in the assembly of new sustainable materials incorporating functional porphyrins and carbon nanoplatforms as building blocks for photovoltaics advancements.

Common Defects Accelerate Charge Separation and Reduce Recombination in CNT/Molecule Composites: Atomistic Quantum Dynamics

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are appealing candidates for solar and optoelectronic applications. Traditionally used as electron sinks, CNTs can also perform as electron donors, as exemplified by coupling with perylenediimide (PDI). To achieve high efficiencies, electron transfer (ET) should be fast, while subsequent charge recombination should be slow. Typically, defects are considered detrimental to material performance because they accelerate charge and energy losses. We demonstrate that, surprisingly, common CNT defects improve rather than deteriorate the performance. CNTs and other low dimensional materials accommodate moderate defects without creating deep traps. At the same time, charge redistribution caused by CNT defects creates an additional electrostatic potential that increases the CNT work function and lowers CNT energy levels relative to those of the acceptor species. Hence, the energy gap for the ET is decreased, while the gap for the charge recombination is increased. The effect is particularly important because charge acceptors tend to bind near defects due to enhanced chemical interactions. The time-domain simulation of the excited-state dynamics provides an atomistic picture of the observed phenomenon and characterizes in detail the electronic states, vibrational motions, inelastic and elastic electron-phonon interactions, and time scales of the charge separation and recombination processes. The findings should apply generally to low-dimensional materials, because they dissipate defect strain better than bulk semiconductors. Our calculations reveal that CNT performance is robust to common defects and that moderate defects are essential rather than detrimental for CNT application in energy, electronics, and related fields.

Diels-Alder Cycloaddition to the Bay Region of Perylene and Its Derivatives as an Attractive Strategy for PAH Core Expansion: Theoretical and Practical Aspects

PAHs (polycyclic aromatics hydrocarbons), the compound group that contains perylene and its derivatives, including functionalized ones, have attracted a great deal of interest in many fields of science and modern technology. This review presents all of the research devoted to modifications of PAHs that are realized via the Diels–Alder (DA) cycloaddition of various dienophiles to the bay regions of PAHs, leading to the π-extension of the starting molecule. This type of annulative π-extension (APEX) strategy has emerged as a powerful and efficient synthetic method for the construction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their functionalized derivatives, nanographenes, and π-extended fused heteroarenes. Then, [4 + 2] cycloadditions of ethylenic dienophiles, -N=N-, i.e., diazo-dienophiles and acetylenic dienophiles, are presented. This subject is discussed from the organic synthesis point of view but supported by theoretical calculations. The possible applications of DA cycloaddition to PAH bay regions in various science and technology areas, and the prospects for the development of this synthetic method, are also discussed.

Fullerene Nanoarchitectonics with Shape-Shifting

This short review article introduces several examples of self-assembly-based structural formation and shape-shifting using very simple molecular units, fullerenes (C60, C70, and their derivatives), as fullerene nanoarchitectonics. Fullerene molecules are suitable units for the basic science of self-assembly because they are simple zero-dimensional objects with only a single elemental component, carbon, without any charged or interactive functional groups. In this review article, self-assembly of fullerene molecules and their shape-shifting are introduced as fullerene nanoarchitectonics. An outline and a background of fullerene nanoarchitectonics are first described, followed by various demonstrations, including fabrication of various fullerene nanostructures, such as rods on the cube, holes in the cube, interior channels in the cube, and fullerene micro-horns, and also a demonstration of a new concept, supramolecular differentiation.

Triplet photosensitizer-nanotube conjugates: synthesis, characterization and photochemistry of charge stabilizing, palladium porphyrin/carbon nanotube conjugates

The ability of a triplet photosensitizer to generate long-lived charge separated states, in contrast to traditionally used singlet photosensitizers, in covalently functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube hybrids has been investigated. Enriched single-walled carbon nanotubes with two diameters, namely (6,5) and (7,6), were covalently modified to carry a charge-stabilizing triplet photosensitizer derived from a palladium porphyrin. The nanohybrids were fully characterized and the presence of intramolecular interactions between the porphyrin and nanotubes was established from various spectroscopic, imaging, electrochemical and thermochemical studies. Photoluminescence of palladium porphyrin was found to be quantitatively quenched in the presence of covalently appended SWCNTs and this quenching is due to excited state charge separation and has been established by femtosecond transient absorption studies. Owing to the presence of the triplet photosensitizer, the charge separated states lasted over 3 ns, i.e., much longer than those reported earlier for singlet photosensitizer-derived nanotube hybrids. The nanohybrids also exhibited efficient photocatalytic behavior in experiments involving electron pooling of one-electron reduced methyl viologen in the presence of a sacrificial electron donor. Higher yields of photoproducts were achieved from the present donor-acceptor nanohybrids when compared with those of singlet photosensitizer-derived nanohybrids, more so for (6,5) nanotube derived hybrids compared to (7,6) nanotube derived hybrids. The present findings highlight the importance of triplet photosensitizer derived nanohybrids in artificial photosynthesis of charge separation and photocatalytic applicatons.

Aggregation behavior of aqu/nC60 produced via extended mixing: Influence of sunlight and agitation intensity

Aggregation of C₆₀, as an important process governing its mobility and toxicity, has been quantitatively investigated. However, effects of sunlight and agitation intensity on the aggregation behavior of aqu/nC₆₀ produced via extended mixing, have not been clarified. Therefore, in the present study, the aggregation behavior of aqu/nC₆₀ produced at 500 and 800 rpm in the absence and presence of sunlight was investigated. Aggregation with increasing concentrations could be accelerated, while changes of Z_ave and zeta potential were not obvious. Critical coagulation concentrations (CCCs) of aqu/nC₆₀ obtained at 800 rpm in the absence/presence of sunlight and that at 500 rpm under sunlight were 330, 205 and 170 mM NaCl, and 10.0, 2.6 and 3.1 mM CaCl₂, respectively. These CCCs indicated that the aqu/nC₆₀ prepared by the extended mixing were more stable than those produced by other methods. Salt-induced aggregation occurred more easily for aqu/nC₆₀ formed under sunlight than that formed in the dark. Extra surface oxidation induced by high agitation intensity remarkably increased the stability of aqu/nC₆₀ in NaCl solutions. In contrast, in CaCl₂ solutions, aqu/nC₆₀ formed at high agitation intensity had similar stability or even inadequate stability to that obtained at low agitation intensity due to the charge neutralization and cross-link bridging.

Sulphonic acid functionalized porphyrin anchored with a meso-substituted triazolium ionic liquid moiety: a heterogeneous photo-catalyst for metal/base free C–C cross-coupling and C–N/C–H activation using aryl chloride under visible light irradiation

We report an easy process to synthesize sulphonic acid functionalized porphyrin with meso-substituted triazolium ionic liquid moiety for metal/base free C–C cross-coupling and C–N/C–H activation using aryl chloride under visible light irradiation.

Push-Pull Porphyrins via β-Pyrrole Functionalization: Evidence of Excited State Events Leading to High-Potential Charge-Separated States

A new set of free-base and zinc(II)-metallated, β-pyrrole-functionalized unsymmetrical push-pull porphyrins were designed and synthesized via β-mono- and dibrominated tetraphenylporphyrins using Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions. The ability of donors and acceptors on the push-pull porphyrins to produce high-potential charge separated states was investigated. The porphyrins were functionalized at the opposite β,β'-pyrrole positions of porphyrin ring bearing triphenylamine push groups and naphthalimide pull groups. Systematic studies involving optical absorption, steady-state and time-resolved emission revealed existence of intramolecular type interactions both in the ground and excited states. The push-pull nature of the molecular systems was supported by frontier orbitals generated on optimized structures, wherein delocalization of HOMO over the push group and LUMO over the pull group connecting the porphyrin π-system was witnessed. Electrochemical studies were performed to visualize the effect of push and pull groups on the overall redox potentials of the porphyrins. Spectroelectrochemical studies combined with frontier orbitals helped in characterizing the one-electron oxidized and reduced porphyrins. Finally, by performing transient absorption studies in polar benzonitrile, the ability of push-pull porphyrins to produce charge-separated states upon photoexcitation was confirmed and the measured rates were in the range of 10⁹  s^-1 . The lifetime of the final charge separated state was around 5 ns. This study ascertains the importance of push-pull porphyrins in solar energy conversion and diverse optoelectronic applications, for which high-potential charge-separated states are warranted.

Covalent Cross-Linking of Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Organogels with Polydiacetylenes

A new strategy toward functional materials with novel properties and well-defined structures has been developed through the topochemical polymerization of diacetylene-containing diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivatives. In order to enable the efficient photopolymerization and cross-linking of the materials, a rational design of DPP-based derivatives has been performed to incorporate amide moieties, thus enabling the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds and the formation of an organogel. The new materials showed good gelation properties in aromatic solvents, resulting in the formation of a dense fibrous network in the gel state. Upon UV irradiation, the supramolecular self-assemblies obtained were shown to be efficiently cross-linked through the conversion of diacetylene into polydiacetylene. A detailed investigation of new resulting materials was performed by a combination of morphological characterization tools, including X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Our results demonstrate that the topochemical polymerization of diacetylene-containing DPP-based compounds is a promising strategy toward new electroactive and well-defined materials, without the use of catalysts or additives, thus creating new opportunities for the preparation and processing of π-conjugated materials.

Paddle-Wheel BODIPY-Hexaoxatriphenylene Conjugates: Participation of Redox-Active Hexaoxatriphenylene in Excited-State Charge Separation to Yield High-Energy Charge-Separated States

Hexaoxatriphenylene, a scaffold linker often utilized in building covalent organic frameworks, is shown to be electroactive and a useful entity to build light energy-harvesting donor-acceptor systems. To demonstrate this, new donor-acceptor conjugates have been synthesized by employing BODIPY as a sensitizer. Excited-state electron transfer leading to high-energy charge-separated states, useful to drive energy-demanding photocatalytic reactions, from the electron-rich hexaoxatriphenylene to ¹BODIPY*, in the synthesized tri-BODIPY-hexaoxatriphenylene "paddle-wheel" conjugates, has been successfully demonstrated using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The measured rate of charge separation was in the range of ∼3-10 × 10¹¹ s^-1, revealing ultrafast charge separation.

Fluoride-ion-binding promoted photoinduced charge separation in a self-assembled C60 alkyl cation bound bis-crown ether-oxoporphyrinogen supramolecule

A bis-crown ether-oxoporphyrinogen was newly synthesized and self-assembled concurrently with C₆₀ alkyl ammonium cations at the crown ether sites and F^- anions (through hydrogen bonding) at the oxoporphyrinogen core. Ultrafast photoinduced charge transfer processes within the donor-acceptor conjugate were promoted by fluoride ion binding and this was established using various spectroscopic methods and transient absorption studies.

Multimolecular assemblies on high surface area metal oxides and their role in interfacial energy and electron transfer

High surface area metal oxides offer a unique substrate for the assembly of multiple molecular components at an interface.

Concentration-dependent photophysical switching in mixed self-assembled monolayers of pentacene and perylenediimide on gold nanoclusters

The precise control and switching of photophysical processes such as singlet fission, electron transfer and excimer were performed using mixed SAMs of pentacene and perylenediimide units on Au nanoclusters.

Controlling electron and energy transfer paths by selective excitation in a zinc porphyrin-BODIPY-C60 multi-modular triad

A multi-modular donor-acceptor triad composed of zinc porphyrin, BF₂-chelated dipyrromethene (BODIPY), and C₆₀ was newly synthesized, with the BODIPY entity at the central position. Using absorbance and emission spectral, electrochemical redox, and computational optimization results, energy level diagrams for the ZnP-BODIPY dyad and ZnP-BODIPY-C₆₀ triad were constructed to envision the different photochemical events upon selective excitation of the BODIPY and ZnP entities. By transient absorption spectral studies covering a wide femtosecond-to-millisecond time scale, evidence for the different photochemical events and their kinetic information was secured. Efficient singlet-singlet energy transfer from ¹BODIPY* to ZnP with a rate constant k_ENT = 1.7 × 10¹⁰ s^-1 in toluene was observed in the case of the ZnP-BODIPY dyad. Interestingly, in the case of the ZnP-BODIPY-C₆₀ triad, the selective excitation of ZnP resulted in electron transfer leading to the formation of the ZnP˙⁺-BODIPY-C₆₀˙^- charge-separated state. Owing to the distal separation of the radical cation and radical anion species (edge-to-edge distance of 18.7 Å), the radical ion-pair persisted for microseconds. By contrast, the selective excitation of BODIPY resulted in an ultrafast energy transfer to yield ZnP-BODIPY-¹C₆₀* as the major product. The ¹C₆₀* populated the low-lying ³C₆₀* via intersystem crossing prior to returning to the ground state. The present study successfully demonstrates the importance of supramolecular geometry and selection of excitation wavelength in regulating the different photoprocesses.

Redispersion and Self-Assembly of C60 Fullerene in Water and Toluene

This work aims at assessing the influence of two different solvents, bidistilled water and toluene, on dispersions of carbon-based engineered nanomaterials, namely, fullerenes, and their self-assembly behavior. The obtained self-assembled carbon-based materials were characterized using UV-vis spectrophotometry and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The results obtained were unexpected when toluene was used for dispersing fullerene C₆₀, with the formation of two different types of self-assembled structures: fullerene C₆₀ nanowhiskers (FNWs) and a type of quasispherical nanostructure. The FNWs ranged between 1 and 6 μm in length, whereas the quasispherical fullerene C₆₀ nanoaggregates ranged between 10 and 50 nm in diameter. Aggregates obtained in toluene showed a well-formed crystal structure. When using water, the obtained aggregates were amorphous and showed a no well-defined shape. Their sizes ranged between 20 and 40 nm for nanosized structures and between 0.4 and 4.8 μm for micron-sized self-aggregates.

Photoinduced charge separation in single-walled carbon nanotube/protein integrated systems

Zinc-substituted cytochrome c (Zn-cyt c) is noncovalently bound to single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), causing the Zn-cyt c fluorescence to be quenched by up to 95%, primarily due to photoinduced charge transfer. Deposition of Zn-cyt c/SWNT films onto conductive oxides allows for harvesting of photoexcited electrons with an internal quantum efficiency of over 5%.

Scanning probe microscopy studies on the adsorption of selected molecular dyes on titania

Titanium dioxide, or titania, sensitized with organic dyes is a very attractive platform for photovoltaic applications. In this context, the knowledge of properties of the titania-sensitizer junction is essential for designing efficient devices. Consequently, studies on the adsorption of organic dyes on titania surfaces and on the influence of the adsorption geometry on the energy level alignment between the substrate and an organic adsorbate are necessary. The method of choice for investigating the local environment of a single dye molecule is high-resolution scanning probe microscopy. Microscopic results combined with the outcome of common spectroscopic methods provide a better understanding of the mechanism taking place at the titania-sensitizer interface. In the following paper, we review the recent scanning probe microscopic research of a certain group of molecular assemblies on rutile titania surfaces as it pertains to dye-sensitized solar cell applications. We focus on experiments on adsorption of three types of prototypical dye molecules, i.e., perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA), phtalocyanines and porphyrins. Two interesting heteromolecular systems comprising molecules that are aligned with the given review are discussed as well.

Ultrafast electron transfer in all-carbon-based SWCNT-C60 donor-acceptor nanoensembles connected by poly(phenylene-ethynylene) spacers

Building all-carbon based functional materials for light energy harvesting applications could be a solution to tackle and reduce environmental carbon output. However, development of such all-carbon based donor-acceptor hybrids and demonstration of photoinduced charge separation in such nanohybrids is a challenge since in these hybrids part of the carbon material should act as an electron donating or accepting photosensitizer while the second part should fulfil the role of an electron acceptor or donor. In the present work, we have successfully addressed this issue by synthesizing covalently linked all-carbon-based donor-acceptor nanoensembles using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as the donor and C60 as the acceptor. The donor-acceptor entities in the nanoensembles were connected by phenylene-ethynylene spacer units to achieve better electronic communication and to vary the distance between the components. These novel SWCNT-C60 nanoensembles have been characterized by a number of techniques, including TGA, FT-IR, Raman, AFM, absorbance and electrochemical methods. The moderate number of fullerene addends present on the side-walls of the nanotubes largely preserved the electronic structure of the nanotubes. The thermodynamic feasibility of charge separation in these nanoensembles was established using spectral and electrochemical data. Finally, occurrence of ultrafast electron transfer from the excited nanotubes in these donor-acceptor nanohybrids has been established by femtosecond transient absorption studies, signifying their utility in building light energy harvesting devices.

A High-Energy Charge-Separated State of 1.70 eV from a High-Potential Donor-Acceptor Dyad: A Catalyst for Energy-Demanding Photochemical Reactions

A high potential donor-acceptor dyad composed of zinc porphyrin bearing three meso-pentafluorophenyl substituents covalently linked to C60 , as a novel dyad capable of generating charge-separated states of high energy (potential) has been developed. The calculated energy of the charge-separated state was found to be 1.70 eV, the highest reported for a covalently linked porphyrin-fullerene dyad. Intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer leading to charge-separated states of appreciable lifetimes in polar and nonpolar solvents has been established from studies involving femto- to nanosecond transient absorption techniques. The high energy stored in the form of charge-separated states along with its persistence of about 50-60 ns makes this dyad a potential electron-transporting catalyst to carry out energy-demanding photochemical reactions. This type of high-energy harvesting dyad is expected to open new research in the areas of artificial photosynthesis especially producing energy (potential) demanding light-to-fuel products.

An enzyme-coupled artificial photosynthesis system prepared from antenna protein-mimetic tyrosyl bolaamphiphile self-assembly

An artificial photosynthesis system coupled with an enzyme was constructed using the nanospherical self-assembly of tyrosyl bolaamphiphiles, which worked as a host matrix exhibiting an antenna effect that allowed enhanced energy transfer to the ZnDPEG photosensitizer. The excited electrons from the photosensitizer were transferred to NAD+ to produce NADH, which subsequently initiated the conversion of an aldehyde to ethanol by alcohol dehydrogenase. Production of NADH and ethanol was enhanced by increasing the concentration of tyrosyl bolaamphiphiles. Spectroscopic investigations proved that the photosensitizer closely associated with the surface of the bolaamphiphile assembly through hydrogen bonds that allowed energy transfer between the host matrix and the photosensitizer. This study demonstrates that the self-assembly of bolaamphiphiles could be applicable to the construction of biomimetic energy systems exploiting biochemical activity.

Control of local structures and photophysical properties of zinc porphyrin-based supramolecular assemblies structurally organized by regioselective ligand coordination

Nano- and micro-sized molecular assemblies of zinc porphyrins [5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrinato-zinc(II) (ZnTCPP)] utilizing bridging nitrogen ligands such as diazabicycro[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) were prepared to demonstrate the regioselective coordination by two different synthetic strategies such as (I) the solvothermal method and (II) the colloidal metal organic framework (MOF) method. The initial organization process is a planar checkerboard patterned formation (2D platform) of zinc porphyrins organized by paddlewheel secondary building units (PSBUs) between carboxylate and zinc ions. Then, DABCO moieties are decorated on zinc atoms in the metal centres of the porphyrin rings (m-cPDC) in the solvothermal method, whereas the metal centres in the porphyrin rings (n-uPDC) remain uncoordinated in the colloidal MOF method. These internal structural changes between m-cPDC and n-uPDC are in sharp contrast with the corresponding reference systems using ZnTCPP and a 4,4'-bipyridine (BPY) ligand (i.e., m-cPBC and n-cPBC). Concretely, the metal centres of zinc porphyrins in n-uPDC were unsaturated and uncoordinated with the DABCO ligands, which was confirmed by XRD and steady-state spectroscopic measurements. These different coordination features have great effect on the spectroscopic and photophysical properties. For example, the average fluorescence lifetime of m-cPDC is much smaller than that of n-uPDC because of the acceleration of nonradiative processes, which are highly related with the coordination of DABCO to the Zn(II) centre of the ZnTCPP unit. Finally, fluorescence quenching experiments via photoinduced electron transfer (PET) utilizing an electron acceptor: benzoquinone (BQ) were performed. The apparent association constant (Kapp) of n-uPDC is larger than that of m-cPDC. This suggested that the unsaturated ZnTCPP units embedded in n-uPDC easily accommodate guest molecules as compared to the other systems.

Modulating the generation of long-lived charge separated states exclusively from the triplet excited states in palladium porphyrin-fullerene conjugates

This study demonstrates molecular engineering of a series of donor-acceptor systems to allow control of the lifetime and initial spin multiplicity of the charge-separated state. By tuning the rate of intersystem crossing (ISC) and the donor-acceptor distance, electron transfer can be made to occur exclusively from the triplet excited state of the electron donor resulting in long-lived charge separation. To achieve this, three new palladium porphyrin-fullerene donor-acceptor systems were synthesized. The heavy Pd atom enhances the rate of ISC in the porphyrin and the rates of electron and energy transfer are modulated by varying the redox potential of the porphyrin and the porphyrin-fullerene distance. In the case of the meso-tris(tolyl)porphyrinato palladium(ii)-fulleropyrrolidine, the donor-acceptor distance is relatively long (13.1 Å) and the driving force for electron transfer is low. As a result, excitation of the porphyrin leads to rapid ISC followed by triplet-triplet energy transfer to fullerene. When the fullerene is bound directly to the porphyrin shortening the donor-acceptor distance to 2.6 Å electron transfer from the singlet excited palladium porphyrin leading to the generation of a short-lived charge separated state is the main process. Finally, when the palladium porphyrin is substituted with three electron rich triphenylamine entities, the lower oxidation potential of the porphyrin and appropriate donor-acceptor distance (∼13 Å), lead to electron transfer exclusively from the triplet excited state of palladium porphyrin with high quantum yield. The results show that when electron transfer occurs from the triplet state, its increased lifetime allows the distance between the donor and acceptor to be increased which results in a longer lifetime for the charge separated state.

Photocurrent in Multilayered Assemblies of Porphyrin-Fullerene Covalent Dyads: Evidence for Channels for Charge Transport

Specially designed porphyrin-fullerene dyads have been synthesized to verify literature predictions based on quantum chemistry calculations that certain porphyrin-fullerene dyads are able to self-arrange into specific structures providing channels for charge transport in a bulk mass of organic compound. According to AFM and SEM data, the newly synthesized compounds were indeed prone to some kind of self-arrangement, although to a lesser degree than was expected. A dispersion corrected DFT study of the molecular non-covalent interactions performed at the DFT-D3 (B3LYP, 6-31G*) level of theory showed that the least energy corresponded to head-to-head dimers, with close contacts of porphyrin-porphyrin and fullerene-fullerene fragments, thus providing a unit building block of the channel for charge transport. Experimental proof for the existence of channels for charge transport was obtained by observing a photocurrent in a simple photovoltaic cell.

Syntheses, Charge Separation, and Inverted Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cell Application of Phenothiazine-Fullerene Dyads

A series of phenothiazine-fulleropyrrolidine (PTZ-C60) dyads having fullerene either at the C-3 aromatic ring position or at the N-position of phenothiazine macrocycle were newly synthesized and characterized. Photoinduced electron transfer leading to PTZ(•+)-C60(•-) charge-separated species was established from studies involving femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Because of the close proximity of the donor and acceptor entities, the C-3 ring substituted PTZ-C60 dyads revealed faster charge separation and charge recombination processes than that observed in the dyad functionalized through the N-position. Next, inverted organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells were constructed using the dyads in place of traditionally used [6,6]-phenyl-C61- butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and an additional electron donor material poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). The performance of the C-3 ring substituted PTZ-C60 dyad having a polyethylene glycol substituent produced a power conversion efficiency of 3.5% under inverted bulk heterojunction (BHJ) configuration. This was attributed to optimal BHJ morphology between the polymer and the dyad, which was further promoted by the efficient intramolecular charge separation and relatively slow charge recombination promoted by the dyad within the BHJ structure. The present finding demonstrate PTZ-C60 dyads as being good prospective materials for building organic photovoltaic devices.

Long-Lived Triplet Excited States of Bent-Shaped Pentacene Dimers by Intramolecular Singlet Fission

Intramolecular singlet fission (ISF) is a promising photophysical process to construct more efficient light energy conversion systems as one excited singlet state converts into two excited triplet states. Herein we synthesized and evaluated bent-shaped pentacene dimers as a prototype of ISF to reveal intrinsic characters of triplet states (e.g., lifetimes of triplet excited states). In this study, meta-phenylene-bridged TIPS-pentacene dimer (PcD-3Ph) and 2,2'-bipheynyl bridged TIPS-pentacene dimer (PcD-Biph) were newly synthesized as bent-shaped dimers. In the steady-state spectroscopy, absorption and emission bands of these dimers were fully characterized, suggesting the appropriate degree of electronic coupling between pentacene moieties in these dimers. In addition, the electrochemical measurements were also performed to check the electronic interaction between two pentacene moieties. Whereas the successive two oxidation peaks owing to the delocalization were observed in a directly linked-pentacene dimer (PcD) by a single bond, the cyclic voltammograms in PcD-Biph and PcD-3Ph implied the weaker interaction compared to that of p-phenylene-bridged TIPS-pentacene dimer (PcD-4Ph) and PcD. The femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectra clearly revealed the slower ISF process in bent-shaped pentacene dimers (PcD-Biph and PcD-3Ph), more notably, the slower relaxation of the excited triplet states in PcD-Biph and PcD-3Ph. Namely, the quantum yields of triplet states (ΦT) by ISF approximately remain constant (ca. 180-200%) in all dimer systems, whereas the lifetimes of the triplet excited states became much longer (up to 360 ns) in PcD-Biph as compared to PcD-4Ph (15 ns). Additionally, the lifetimes of the corresponding triplet states in PcD-Biph and PcD-3Ph were sufficiently affected by solvent viscosity. In particular, the lifetimes of PcD-Biph triplet state in THF/paraffin (1.0 μs) increased up to approximately three times as compared to that in THF (360 ns), whereas those of PcD-4Ph were quite similar in both solvent.

Photoinduced charge separation in wide-band capturing, multi-modular bis(donor styryl)BODIPY–fullerene systems

A new series of multi-modular, wide-band capturing donor–acceptor systems capable of exhibiting photoinduced charge separation have been designed, synthesized and characterized using various techniques.

“Bottom-up” self-assembly and “cold crystallization” of butterfly shaped tetrabenzofluorene molecules

We report the unprecedented “cold crystallization” in polycyclic aromatic molecules and a unique “bottom-up” self-assembly process in butterfly-shaped molecules.