A Porphyrin-Based Organic Network Comprising Sustainable Carbon Dots for Photopolymerization

Sustainable carbon dots (CDs) based on furfuraldehyde (F-CD) resulted in a photosensitive material after pursuing the Alder-Longo reaction. The porphyrin moiety formed connects the F-CDs in a covalent organic network. This heterogeneous material (P-CD) was characterized by XPS indicating incorporation of the respective C, N and O moieties. Time resolved fluorescence including global analysis showed contribution of three linked components to the overall dynamics of the excited state. Electrochemical and photonic properties of this heterogeneous material facilitated photopolymerization in a photo-ATRP setup where either CuBr₂ /TPMA, FeBr₃ /Br^- or a metal free reaction setup activated controlled polymerization. Chain extension experiments worked in all three cases showing end group fidelity for activation of controlled block copolymerization using MMA and styrene as monomers. Traditional radical polymerization using a diaryl iodonium salt as co-initiator failed.

Solar Driven Photocatalytic Activity of Porphyrin Sensitized TiO2: Experimental and Computational Studies

The absence of a secure long-term sustainable energy supply is recognized as a major worldwide technological challenge. The generation of H₂ through photocatalysis is an environmentally friendly alternative that can help solve the energy problem. Thus, the development of semiconductor materials that can absorb solar light is an attractive approach. TiO₂ has a wide bandgap that suffers from no activity in the visible spectrum, limiting its use of solar radiation. In this research, the semiconductor absorption profile was extended into the visible region of the solar spectrum by preparing porphyrin-TiO₂ (P-TiO₂) composites of meso-tetra(4-bromophenyl)porphyrin (PP1) and meso-tetra(5-bromo-2-thienyl)porphyrin (PP2) and their In(III), Zn(II) and Ga(III) metal complexes. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations were performed on the porphyrins to gain insight into their electron injection capability. The results demonstrate that P-TiO₂ systems merit further in-depth study for applications that require efficient photocatalytic H₂ generation.

meso-Thiophenium Porphyrins and Their Zn(II) Complexes: A New Category of Cationic Photosensitizers

A new category of cationic meso-thiophenium porphyrins are introduced as possible alternatives to the popular meso-pyridinium porphyrins. Combinations of cationic porphyrins bearing meso-2-methylthiophenium and meso-4-hydroxyphenyl moieties T₂(OH)₂M (A₂B₂ type) and T(OH)₃M (AB₃ type) along with their zinc(II) complexes T₂(OH)₂MZn and T(OH)₃MZn, are reported. The increase in the number of thienyl groups attached to the meso-positions of the porphyrin derivatives (A₂B₂ frame) has been shown to impart longer fluorescence lifetimes and stronger photocytotoxicity toward A549 lung cancer cells, as evident with T₂(OH)₂M and its corresponding diamagnetic metal complex T₂(OH)₂MZn. The photoactivated T₂(OH)₂MZn imparts an early stage reactive oxygen species (ROS) upregulation and antioxidant depletion in A549 cells and contributes to the strongest oxidative stress-induced cell death mechanism in the series. The DFT calculations of the singlet-triplet energy gap (ΔE) of all the four hydrophilic thiophenium porphyrin derivatives establish the potential applicability of these cationic photosensitizers as PDT agents.

Influence of the meso-substituents on the spectral features of free-base porphyrin

The role of meso-substituents on the spectral features of free-base porphyrins is explored. Meso-tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrin is compared with meso-tetra(2-thienyl)porphyrin and meso-tetra(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin. Our results indicate that some of the asymmetric Q-bands in the free-base porphyrin tend to become symmetric relative to the adopted meso-substituent. The results show that the outlying perturbations lead the free-base quasi-degenerated Q_x1, Q_x2, Q_y1, and Q_y2 bands to be closer in energy. Combined, absorption, fluorescence and Raman spectroscopies endorse our conclusions showing that both the frequencies and the Huang-Rhys factors associated with every vibronic progression are noticeably affected by the investigated meso-substituents. Our results confirm that the B-band is also multi-featured in agreement with what is found for the Q-bands.

Investigations of Low-Symmetrical Tetraaryltetrabenzoporphyrins Produced by Mixed Condensation Reactions

Within the past decade, tetraaryltetrabenzoporphyrins (TATBPs) have gained rising attention due to their potential in various fields of materials science and medicinal chemistry. However, this class of compounds still lacks in structural diversity, especially in the case of low-symmetrical compounds. Herein, mixed condensations were utilized to generate TATBPs with different substituents either in the meso-positions or the periphery of the macrocycle with total yields of 55-58%. The separation of crude mixtures was achieved by feasible chromatographic purification. The influence of symmetry on the electronic properties of TATBPs was studied by optical spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and X-ray diffraction.

A Comprehensive Study on Tetraaryltetrabenzoporphyrins

Tetraaryltetrabenzoporphyrins (TATBPs) show, due to their optoelectronic properties, rising potential as dyes in various fields of physical and biomedical sciences. However, unlike in the case of porphyrins, the potential structural diversity of TATBPs has been explored only to little extent, owed mainly to synthetic hurdles. Herein, we prepared a comprehensive library of 30 TATBPs and investigated their fundamental properties. We elucidated structural properties by X-ray crystallography and found explanations for physical properties such as solubility. Fundamental electronic aspects were studied by optical spectroscopy as well as by electrochemistry and brought in context to the stability of the molecules. Finally, we were able to develop a universal synthetic protocol, utilizing a readily established isoindole synthon, which gives TATBPs in high yields, regardless of the nature of the used arylaldehyde and without meticulous chromatographic purifications steps. This work serves as point of orientation for scientists, that aim to utilize these molecules in materials, nanotechnological, and biomedical applications.

Pyridyl/hydroxyphenyl versus carboxyphenyl anchoring moieties in Zn - Thienyl porphyrins for dye sensitized solar cells

For developing efficient DSCs, anchoring moieties need to be understood in detail with respect to a particular dye. Herein, we have synthesized new Zn-thienyl porphyrin dyes based on pyridyl and hydroxyphenyl anchors and compared with traditional carboxyphenyl anchoring group. The effect of such variation in anchoring groups was investigated with UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy as well as electrochemical studies. The hydroxyphenyl appended dye showed higher molar extinction coefficient and red shifted emission bands. Both pyridyl and hydroxyphenyl dyes showed adsorption over TiO₂ semiconductor. The dye loading amount was found to be greater for carboxyphenyl dye due to stronger bidendate coordination of the carboxy group, as revealed by FT-IR studies. The electrochemical potentials were found to be strongly influenced by the anchoring functionality and all the dyes showed positive driving force for electron injection to the conduction band of TiO₂ and regeneration of oxidized dye by the redox electrolyte. DSC devices were fabricated for each of the dyes and characterized well. Hydroxyphenyl dye showed higher V_oc as a result of lower back reactions. Transient photovoltage decay measurments indicated lower recombination rate in hydroxyphenyl and pyridyl than the carboxyphenyl anchored thienyl porphyrins offering potential for further dye optimization.

Unsymmetrical β-functionalized ‘push–pull’ porphyrins: synthesis and photophysical, electrochemical and nonlinear optical properties

A new family of unsymmetrical β-TPA appended ‘push–pull’ porphyrins has been synthesized in good yield for the first time. They exhibited red shifted broad absorption spectral features with high dipole moments and tunable redox properties.