Factors that Impact Photochemical Cage Escape Yields

The utilization of visible light to mediate chemical reactions in fluid solutions has applications that range from solar fuel production to medicine and organic synthesis. These reactions are typically initiated by electron transfer between a photoexcited dye molecule (a photosensitizer) and a redox-active quencher to yield radical pairs that are intimately associated within a solvent cage. Many of these radicals undergo rapid thermodynamically favored "geminate" recombination and do not diffuse out of the solvent cage that surrounds them. Those that do escape the cage are useful reagents that may undergo subsequent reactions important to the above-mentioned applications. The cage escape process and the factors that determine the yields remain poorly understood despite decades of research motivated by their practical and fundamental importance. Herein, state-of-the-art research on light-induced electron transfer and cage escape that has appeared since the seminal 1972 review by J. P. Lorand entitled "The Cage Effect" is reviewed. This review also provides some background for those new to the field and discusses the cage escape process of both homolytic bond photodissociation and bimolecular light induced electron transfer reactions. The review concludes with some key goals and directions for future research that promise to elevate this very vibrant field to even greater heights.

Spectroscopic studies on the intermolecular charge transfer interaction of Fe(II)- and Fe(III)-phthalocyanines with 2,3,5,6-tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone and its application in colorimetric sensing of amino acids and amines

The interactions of Fe(II)Pc and Fe(III)Pc with π-acceptor 2,3,5,6-tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (p-chloranil, p-CHL) have been investigated spectroscopically (UV/vis and FT-IR) and spectrofluorimetrically at three different temperatures. The stoichiometry of the complexes was found to be 1:1. The results of electronic spectral studies indicated that the formation constant for Fe(II)Pc-p-CHL system is found to be higher than that for Fe(III)Pc-p-CHL system. This observation is well supported by the results of fluorescence quenching studies and the association constants calculated for Fe(II)Pc-p-CHL system is 4.2 × 10(3) mol L(-1) and that for Fe(III)Pc-p-CHL system is 2.2 × 10(3) mol L(-1). The data are discussed in terms of physico-chemical parameters viz. molar extinction coefficient, oscillator strength, dipole moment, ionization potential, dissociation energy and thermodynamic parameters. The results indicated that the formation of π-π CT complex is spontaneous and endothermic. Preliminary studies indicated that the CT complex can effectively be used as a colorimetric agent for sensing amino acids and amines.