Time-resolved transient optical absorption and EPR (TREPR) spectroscopies are used to probe the interaction of the lowest excited singlet state of perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) ((1*)PDI) with a stable tert-butylphenylnitroxide radical ((2)BPNO(*)) at specific distances and orientations. The (2)BPNO(*) radical is connected to the PDI with the nitroxide and imide nitrogen atoms either para (1) or meta (3) to one another, as well as through a second intervening p-phenylene spacer (2). Transient absorption experiments on 1-3 reveal that (1*)PDI undergoes ultrafast enhanced intersystem crossing and internal conversion with tau approximately = 2 ps to give structurally dependent 8-31% yields of (3*)PDI. Energy- and electron-transfer quenching of (1*)PDI by (2)BPNO(*) are excluded on energetic and spectroscopic grounds. TREPR experiments at high magnetic fields (3.4 T, 94 GHz) show that the photogenerated three-spin system consists of the strongly coupled unpaired electrons confined to (3*)PDI, which are each weakly coupled to the unpaired electron on (2)BPNO(*) to form excited doublet (D(1)) and quartet (Q) states, which are both spectrally resolved from the (2)BPNO(*) (D(0)) ground state. The initial spin polarizations of D(1) and Q are emissive for 1 and 2 and absorptive for 3, which evolve over time to the opposite spin polarization. The subsequent decays of D(1) and Q to ground-state spin polarize D(0). The rates of polarization transfer depend on the molecular connectivity between PDI and (2)BPNO(*) and can be rationalized in terms of the dependence on molecular structure of the through-bond electronic coupling between these species.

A stable 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxyl (TEMPO) radical was covalently attached at its 4-position to the imide nitrogen atom of a perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) (PDI) to produce TEMPO-PDI, 1, having a well-defined distance and orientation between TEMPO and PDI. Transient optical absorption experiments in toluene following selective photoexcitation of the PDI chromophore in TEMPO-PDI show that enhanced intersystem crossing occurs with tau = 45 +/- 1 ps, resulting in formation of TEMPO-(3*)PDI, while the same experiment in THF shows that the electron-transfer reaction TEMPO-(1*)PDI --> TEMPO(+*)-PDI(-*) occurs with tau = 1.2 +/- 0.2 ps and thus competes effectively with enhanced intersystem crossing. Time-resolved EPR (TREPR) spectroscopy on the photogenerated three-spin system TEMPO-(3*)PDI in toluene at 295 K initially shows a broad signal assigned to spin-polarized (3*)PDI, which thermalizes at longer times and is accompanied by formation of an emissively polarized TEMPO radical. No signals are observed in THF at 295 K. The TREPR spectrum of TEMPO-(3*)PDI at 85 K in toluene shows an emissive/absorptive signal due to TEMPO and a broad triplet signal due to (3*)PDI having a spin polarization pattern characteristic of overpopulation of its T(0) sublevel. This unusual spin polarization pattern does not result from radical pair intersystem crossing because electron transfer does not occur at 85 K. The observed spin polarization of (3*)PDI cannot be readily explained by mechanisms discussed previously, leading us to propose a new spin polarization mechanism, which requires that the radical and attached triplet are in the weak exchange regime.

A series of donor-bridge-acceptor (D-B-A) triads have been synthesized in which the donor, 3,5-dimethyl-4-(9-anthracenyl)julolidine (DMJ-An), and the acceptor, naphthalene-1,8:4,5-bis(dicarboximide) (NI), are linked by p-oligophenylene (Ph(n)) bridging units (n = 1-5). Photoexcitation of DMJ-An produces DMJ(+*)-An(-*) quantitatively, so that An(-*) acts as a high potential electron donor, which rapidly transfers an electron to NI yielding a long-lived spin-coherent radical ion pair (DMJ(+*)-An-Ph(n)-NI(-*)). The charge transfer properties of 1-5 have been studied using transient absorption spectroscopy, magnetic field effects (MFEs) on radical pair and triplet yields, and time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy. The charge separation (CS) and recombination (CR) reactions exhibit exponential distance dependencies with damping coefficients of beta = 0.35 A(-1) and 0.34 A(-1), respectively. Based on these data, a change in mechanism from superexchange to hopping was not observed for either process in this system. However, the CR reaction is spin-selective and produces the singlet ground state and both (3*)An and (3*)NI. A kinetic analysis of the MFE data shows that superexchange dominates both pathways with beta = 0.48 A(-1) for the singlet CR pathway and beta = 0.35 A(-1) for the triplet CR pathway. MFEs and TREPR experiments were used to measure the spin-spin exchange interaction, 2J, which is directly related to the electronic coupling matrix element for CR, V(CR)(2). The magnitude of 2J also shows an exponential distance dependence with a damping coefficient alpha = 0.36 A(-1), which agrees with the beta values obtained from the distance dependence for triplet CR. These results were analyzed in terms of the bridge molecular orbitals that participate in the charge transport mechanism.

The distance over which two photogenerated charges are separated in electron donor-acceptor systems for artificial photosynthesis depends on the structure of the system, while the lifetime of the charge separation and, ultimately, its ability to carry out useful redox chemistry depend on the electronic coupling between the oxidized donor and reduced acceptor. The radical ions produced by charge separation are frequently delocalized over the pi systems of the final oxidized donor and reduced acceptor, so that there is often significant uncertainty as to the average distance between the separated charges, especially in low dielectric constant media, where the Coulomb attraction of the ions may be significant and the charge distribution of the ions may be distorted, so that the average distance between them may be shorter than that implied by their chemical structures. The charge separation distances between photogenerated radical ions in three donor-acceptor molecules having different donor-acceptor distances were measured directly from their dipolar spin-spin interactions using out-of-phase electron spin echo envelope modulation (OOP-ESEEM). The measured distances in toluene at 85 K compare favorably to the calculated distances between the centroids of the spin distributions of the radical ions within the radical ion pairs. These results show that despite the intrinsically nonpolar nature of medium, the spin (and charge) distributions of the RPs are not significantly distorted by Coulomb attraction over these long distances. This study shows that OOP-ESEEM is well-suited for probing the detailed structural features of charge-separated intermediates that are essential to understanding how to design molecular structures that prolong and control charge separation for artificial photosynthesis.

tert-Butylphenylnitroxide (BPNO(•)) and α,γ-bisdiphenylene-β-phenylallyl (BDPA(•)) stable radicals are each attached to zinc meso-tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) at a fixed distance using one of the ZnTPP phenyl groups. BPNO(•) and BDPA(•) are oriented para (1 and 3, respectively) or meta (2 and 4, respectively) relative to the porphyrin macrocycle. Following photoexcitation of 1-4, transient optical absorption spectroscopy is used to observe excited state quenching of (1)*ZnTPP by the radicals and time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy is used to monitor the spin dynamics of the paramagnetic product states. The presence of BPNO(•) or BDPA(•) accelerates the intersystem crossing rate of (1)*ZnTPP about 10- to 500-fold in 1-4 depending on the structure compared to that of (1)*ZnTPP itself. In addition, the lifetime of (3)*ZnTPP in 1 is shorter than that of (3)*ZnTPP itself as a result of enhanced intersystem crossing (EISC) from (3)*ZnTPP to the ground state. The TREPR spectra of the three unpaired spins produced within 1 and 2 show spin-polarized excited doublet (D(1)) and quartet (Q) states and subsequent formation of a spin-polarized ground state radical (D(0)). All three signals are absorptive for 1 and emissive for 2. Polarization inversion of the Q state is observed on a tens of nanoseconds time scale in 2, while no polarization inversion is observed for 1. The lack of polarization inversion in 1 is attributed to the short lifetime of the doublet-quartet manifold as a result of the very large exchange interaction. The TREPR spectra of 3 and 4 show ground state radical polarization at X-band (9.5 GHz) at room temperature, but not at 85 K, and similarly no polarization is observed at W-band (94 GHz). No evidence of excited doublet or quartet states is observed, indicating that the exchange interaction is both weak and temperature dependent. These results show that although ultrafast EISC produces (3)*ZnTPP within 1-4, the magnitude of the exchange interactions between the three relevant spins in the resulting (3)*ZnTPP-BPNO(•) and (3)*ZnTPP-BDPA(•) systems dramatically alters their spin dynamics.