Effects of linker torsional constraints on the rate of ground-state hole transfer in porphyrin dyads

  • Christopher J. Hondros
  • , Kunche Aravindu
  • , James R. Diers
  • , Dewey Holten
  • , Jonathan S. Lindsey
  • , David F. Bocian

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Understanding hole/electron-transfer processes among interacting constituents of multicomponent molecular architectures is central to the fields of artificial photosynthesis and molecular electronics. Herein, we utilize a recently demonstrated 203Tl 205Tl hyperfine "clocking" strategy to probe the rate of hole/electron transfer in the monocations of a series of three thallium-chelated porphyrin dyads, designated Tl 2-U, Tl 2-M, and Tl 2-B, that are linked via diarylethynes wherein the number of ortho-dimethyl substituents on the aryl group of the linker systematically increases (none, one, and two, respectively). Variable-temperature (160-340 K) EPR studies on the monocations of the three dyads were used to examine the thermal activation behavior of the hole/electron-transfer process and reveal the following: (1) Hole/electron transfer at room temperature (295 K) slows as torsional constraints are added to the diarylethyne linker [k(Tl 2-U) > k(Tl 2-M) > k(Tl 2-B)], with rate constants that correspond to time constants in the 2-5 ns regime. (2) As the temperature decreases, the hole/electron-transfer rates for the monocations of the three types of dyads converge and then cross over. At the lowest temperatures examined (160-170 K), the trend in the hole/electron-transfer rates is essentially reversed [k(Tl 2-B) > k(Tl 2-M)k(Tl 2-U)]. The trends in the temperature dependence of hole/electron-transfer among the three dyads are consistent with torsional motions of the aryl rings of the linker providing for thermal activation of the process at higher temperatures in the case of the less torsionally constrained dyads, Tl 2-U and Tl 2-M. In the case of the most torsionally constrained dyad, Tl 2-B, the hole/electron-transfer process is activationless at all temperatures studied. The reversal in rates of hole/electron transfer among the three dyads at low temperature is qualitatively explained by the results of density functional theory calculations, which predict that static electronic factors could dominate the hole/electron-transfer process when torsional dynamics are thermally diminished.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)11076-11086
Number of pages11
JournalInorganic Chemistry
Volume51
Issue number20
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 15 2012

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