A combination of noble-metal free components, a water soluble porphyrin photosensitizer zinc meso-tetrakis(1-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin chloride [ZnTMPyP(4+)]Cl4 (1) with cobaloxime complex [Co(III)(dmgH)2(py)Cl] (2) as a catalyst, creates an efficient system for photochemical hydrogen production acting under visible light with 280 TONs. This is the first example of a water soluble porphyrin acting as a photosensitizer for cobaloxime catalysed H2 production.

The boron dipyrrin (Bodipy) chromophore was combined with either a free-base or a Zn porphyrin moiety (H(2)P and ZnP respectively), via an easy synthesis involving a cyanuric chloride bridging unit, yielding dyads Bodipy-H(2)P (4) and Bodipy-ZnP (5). The photophysical properties of Bodipy-H(2)P (4) and Bodipy-ZnP (5) were investigated by UV-Vis absorption and emission spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The comparison of the absorption spectra and cyclic voltammograms of dyads Bodipy-H(2)P (4) and Bodipy-ZnP (5) with those of their model compounds Bodipy, H(2)P, and ZnP shows that the spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of the constituent chromophores are essentially retained in the dyads indicating negligible interaction between them in the ground state. In addition, luminescence and transient absorption experiments show that excitation of the Bodipy unit in Bodipy-H(2)P (4) and Bodipy-ZnP (5) into its first singlet excited state results in rapid Bodipy to porphyrin energy transfer-k(4) = 2.9 × 10(10) s(-1) and k(5) = 2.2 × 10(10) s(-1) for Bodipy-H(2)P (4) and Bodipy-ZnP (5), respectively-generating the first porphyrin-based singlet excited state. The porphyrin-based singlet excited states give rise to fluorescence or undergo intersystem crossing to the corresponding triplet excited states. The title complexes could also be used as precursors for further substitution on the third chlorine atom on the cyanuric acid moiety.

Approaches to enhance the performance of recent sensitizers employed in dye-sensitized NiO photocathodes for DSC and DSPEC devices are described.

This review summarizes the recent advances in light driven catalytic H2 evolution and CO2 reduction systems towards the production of solar fuels, utilizing porphyrin or phthalocyanine derivatives.

Artificial light-harvesting systems have until now not been able to self-assemble into structures with a large photon capture cross-section that upon a stimulus reversibly can switch into an inactive state. Here we describe a simple and robust FLFL-dipeptide construct to which a meso-tetraphenylporphyrin has been appended and which self-assembles to fibrils, platelets or nanospheres depending on the solvent composition. The fibrils, functioning as quenched antennas, give intense excitonic couplets in the electronic circular dichroism spectra which are mirror imaged if the unnatural FDFD-analogue is used. By slightly increasing the solvent polarity, these light-harvesting fibres disassemble to spherical structures with silent electronic circular dichroism spectra but which fluoresce. Upon further dilution with the nonpolar solvent, the intense Cotton effects are recovered, thus proving a reversible switching. A single crystal X-ray structure shows a head-to-head arrangement of porphyrins that explains both their excitonic coupling and quenched fluorescence.

In this report we describe the synthesis of multichromophore arrays consisting of two Bodipy units axially bound to a Sn(IV) porphyrin center either via a phenolate (3) or via a carboxylate (6) functionality. Absorption spectra and electrochemical studies show that the Bodipy and porphyrin chromophores interact weakly in the ground state. However, steady-state emission and excitation spectra at room temperature reveal that fluorescence from both the Bodipy and the porphyrin of 3 are strongly quenched suggesting that, in the excited state, energy and/or electron transfer might occur. Indeed, as transient absorption experiments show, selective excitation of Bodipy in 3 results in a rapid decay (τ ≈ 2 ps) of the Bodipy-based singlet excited state and a concomitant rise of a charge-separated state evolving from the porphyrin-based singlet excited state. In contrast, room-temperature emission studies on 6 show strong quenching of the Bodipy-based fluorescence leading to sensitized emission from the porphyrin moiety due to a transduction of the singlet excited state energy from Bodipy to the porphyrin. Emission experiments at 77 K in frozen toluene reveal that the room-temperature electron transfer pathway observed in 3 is suppressed. Instead, Bodipy excitation in 3 and 6 results in population of the first singlet excited state of the porphyrin chromophore. Subsequently, intersystem crossing leads to the porphyrin-based triplet excited state.

The covalent grafting through a rigid ester bond of a dimeric porphyrin [(H 2 P) 2 ] and carbon nanohorns (CNHs) was accomplished. The newly formed CNH−(H 2 P) 2 hybrid was found to be soluble or dispersible in several organic solvents. Application of diverse spectroscopic techniques verified the successful formation of the CNH−(H 2 P) 2 hybrid material. In addition, thermogravimetric analysis revealed the amount of (H 2 P) 2 loading onto CNHs, and TEM studies showed the characteristic secondary spherical superstructure morphology of the hybrid material. Efficient fluorescence quenching of (H 2 P) 2 in the CNH−(H 2 P) 2 hybrid suggests that photoinduced events occur from the photoexcited (H 2 P) 2 to CNHs. Nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy revealed the formation of transient species such as (H 2 P) 2•+ and CNH •− by photoinduced charge separation in CNH−(H 2 P) 2 . Additional proof for the photoinduced charge-separated state CNH •− −(H 2 P) 2•+ was obtained, from which the electron mediates to added hexyl viologen dication (HV 2+ ). Finally, the CNH−(H 2 P) 2 was adsorbed on nanostructured SnO 2 electrode, to construct a photoactive electrode, which reveals photocurrent and photovoltage responses with an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency value as large as 9.6%, without the application of any bias voltage.

We report on the synthesis of hybrid molecules consisting of a porphyrin or corrole chromophore axially coordinated to a [CoIII(dmgH)2(Cl)]±0 (dmg = dimethylglyoxime) unit via a pyridine group as potential hydrogen forming entities in H2O/THF medium. Photophysical, electrochemical, and pulse radiolysis studies on the hybrids and/or their separate components show that selective excitation of the porphyrin or corrole chromophore in its first singlet excited state leads to fast charge separation due to chromophore to cobalt electron transfer. However, this charge separation is followed by even faster charge recombination thereby preventing the accumulation of a reduced cobalt species which would lead to hydrogen production. It is important, nevertheless, that addition of a sacrificial electron donor slows the charge recombination down. In light of the latter it comes as hardly surprising that the photocatalysis experiments in the presence of a sacrificial electron donor (i.e., triethylamine) show modest rates of hydrogen production.