zinc-naphthalocyanine and imidazole

Photoinduced electron-transfer dynamics of self-assembled donor-acceptor dyads formed by axial coordination of zinc naphthalocyanine, ZnNc, and perylenediimide (PDI) bearing either pyridine (py) or imidazole (im) coordinating ligands were investigated. The PDIim unit was functionalized with tert-octylphenoxy groups at the bay positions, which avoid aggregation providing solubility, to examine the effect of the bulky substituents at the bay positions on the rates of electron-transfer reactions. The combination between zinc naphthalocyanine and perylenediimide entities absorbs light over a wide region of the visible and near infrared (NIR) spectrum. The binding constants of the self-assembled ZnNc:PDIpy (1) and ZnNc:PDIim (2) in toluene were found to be 2.40 × 10(4) and 1.10 × 10(5) M(-1), respectively, from the steady-state absorption and emission measurements, indicating formation of moderately stable complexes. The geometric and electronic calculations by using an ab initio B3LYP/6-311G method showed the majority of the highest occupied frontier molecular orbital (HOMO) on the zinc naphthalocyanine entity, while the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) was on the perylenediimide entities, suggesting that the charge-separated states of the supramolecular dyads are ZnNc˙(+):PDI˙(-). The electrochemical results suggest the exothermic charge-separation process via the singlet states of both ZnNc and PDI entities in nonpolar toluene. Upon coordination of perylenediimide to ZnNc, the main quenching pathway involved charge separation via the singlet-excited states of ZnNc and PDIs. Clear evidence of the intramolecular electron transfer from the singlet-excited state of ZnNc to PDI within the supramolecular dyads in toluene was monitored by the femtosecond laser photolysis by observing the characteristic absorption band of the PDI radical anion (PDI˙(-)) and the ZnNc radical cation (ZnNc˙(+)) in the visible and NIR regions. The rate constants of charge-separation (k(CS)) processes of the self-assembled dyads 1 and 2 were determined to be 4.05 × 10(10) and 1.20 × 10(9) s(-1), respectively. The rate constant of charge recombination (k(CR)) and the lifetime of charge-separated states (τ(CS)) of dyad 1 were determined to be 2.34 × 10(8) s(-1) and 4.30 ns, respectively. Interestingly, a slower charge recombination (2.20 × 10(7) s(-1)) and a longer lifetime of the charge separated state (45 ns) were observed in dyad 2 in nonpolar toluene by utilizing the nanosec

Topics: Imidazoles; Imides; Ligands; Light; Macromolecular Substances; Molecular Structure; Organometallic Compounds; Perylene; Pyridines; Quantum Theory

Spectroscopic, computational, redox, and photochemical behavior of a self-assembled donor-acceptor dyad formed by axial coordination of zinc naphthalocyanine, ZnNc, and fulleropyrrolidine bearing an imidazole coordinating ligand (2-(4'-imidazolylphenyl)-fulleropyrrolidine, C60Im) was investigated in noncoordinating solvents, toluene and o-dichlorobenzene, and the results were compared to the intermolecular electron transfer processes in a coordinating solvent, benzonitrile. The optical absorption and ab initio B3 LYP/3-21G(*) computational studies revealed self-assembled supramolecular 1:1 dyad formation between the ZnNc and C60Im entities. In the optimized structure, the HOMO was found to be entirely located on the ZnNc entity while the LUMO was found to be entirely on the fullerene entity. Cyclic voltammetry studies of the dyad exhibited a total of seven one-electron redox processes in o-dichlorobenzene, with 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate. The excited-state electron-transfer processes were monitored by both optical-emission and transient-absorption techniques. Direct evidence for the radical-ion-pair (C60Im.-:ZnNC.+) formation was obtained from picosecond transient-absorption spectral studies, which indicated charge separation from the singlet-excited ZnNc to the C60Im moiety. The calculated rates of charge separation and charge recombination were 1.4 x 10(10) s-1 and 5.3 x 10(7) s-1 in toluene and 8.9 x 10(9) s-1 and 9.2 x 10(7) s-1 in o-dichlorobenzene, respectively. In benzonitrile, intermolecular electron transfer from the excited triplet state of ZnNc to C60Im occurs and the second-order rate constant (kqtriplet) for this quenching process was 5.3 x 10(8)M-1s-1.

Topics: Electrochemistry; Electron Transport; Fluorescence; Fullerenes; Imidazoles; Models, Molecular; Molecular Structure; Organometallic Compounds; Solvents; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; Time Factors; Zinc Compounds