No abstract

A combination of picosecond time-resolved infrared spectroscopy, picosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, and nanosecond flash photolysis was used to elucidate the nature and dynamics of a manifold of the lowest excited states in Pt(phen-NDI)Cl 2 ( 1), where NDI = strongly electron accepting 1,4,5,8-naphthalene-diimide group. 1 is the first example of a Pt (II)-diimine-diimide dyad. UV/vis/IR spectroelectrochemistry and EPR studies of electrochemically generated anions confirmed that the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) in this system is localized on the NDI acceptor group. The lowest allowed electronic transition in Pt(phen-NDI)Cl 2 is charge-transfer-to-diimine of a largely Pt-->phen metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) character. Excitation of 1 in the 355-395 nm range initiates a series of processes which involve excited states with the lifetimes of 0.9 ps ( (1)NDI*), 3 ps ( (3)MLCT), 19 ps (vibrational cooling of "hot" (3)NDI and of "hot" NDI ground state), and 520 mus ( (3)NDI). Excitation of 1 with 395 nm femtosecond laser pulses populates independently the (1)MLCT and the (1)NDI* excited states. A thermodynamically possible decay of the initially populated (1)MLCT to the charge-transfer-to-NDI excited state, [Pt (III)(phen-NDI (-*))Cl 2], is not observed. This finding could be explained by an ultrafast ISC of the (1)MLCT to the (3)MLCT state which lies about 0.4 eV lower in energy than [Pt (III)(phen-NDI (-*))Cl 2]. The predominant decay pathway of the (3)MLCT is a back electron transfer process with approximately 3 ps lifetime, which also causes partial population of the vibrationally hot ground state of the NDI fragment. The decay of the (1)NDI* state in 1 populates vibrationally hot ground state of the NDI, as well as vibrationally hot (3)NDI. The latter relaxes to form (3)NDI state, that is, [Pt(phen- (3)NDI)Cl 2]*, which possesses a remarkably long lifetime for a Pt (II) complex in fluid solution of 520 mus. The IR signature of this excited state includes the nu(CO) bands at 1607 and 1647 cm (-1), which are shifted considerably to lower energies if compared to their ground-state counterparts. The assignment of the vibrational bands is supported by the density-functional theory calculations in CH 2Cl 2. Pt(phen-NDI)Cl 2 acts as a modest photosensitizer of singlet oxygen.

A macrocycle-appended naphthalimide derivative and its Eu(III) complex show triple luminescence from isolated naphthalimide (blue), aggregated naphthalimide excimers (green) and Eu centres (red) with the balance being sensitive to the degree of aggregation, allowing white light emission to be obtained from a single molecule.

Cationic porphyrins have an affinity for DNA and potential for applications in the fields of photodynamic therapy and cellular imaging. This report describes a new dicationic porphyrin, 5,15-dimethyl-10,20-di(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin, abbreviated H2tMe2D4. Although tetrasubstituted, H2tMe2D4 presents modest steric requirements and forms in reasonable yield by a "2+2" synthetic method. Accordingly, studies of the zinc(II)- and copper(II)-containing derivatives, Zn(tMe2D4) and Cu(tMe2D4), have also been possible. Methods used to characterize DNA-binding motifs include absorption, emission, linear, and circular dichroism spectroscopies, as well as viscometry. An unusually detailed picture of porphyrin uptake emerges. As the ratio of DNA to porphyrin increases during a typical titration, H2tMe2D4 or Cu(tMe2D4) initially aggregates on the host and then shifts to intercalative binding at close quarters before finally dispersing into non-interacting intercalation sites of the host. Emission studies of the copper(II) porphyrin have been very valuable. The existence of a measurable signal is diagnostic of intercalative binding, and the saturation behavior establishes that internalization typically monopolizes approximately three base pairs. In the moderate loading regime, emission data are most telling because dipole-dipole interactions between near-neighbor porphyrins tend to confuse other spectroscopic assays. The third ligand, Zn(tMe2D4), behaves differently in that the uptake is a strictly cooperative process. The mode of binding also varies with the base content of the DNA host. When the DNA is rich in A=T base pairs, the porphyrin remains five-coordinate and binds externally; however, Zn(tMe2D4) loses its axial ligand and binds by intercalation if the host contains only G[triple bond]C base pairs.