Hopping and superexchange are generally considered to be alternative electron-transfer mechanisms in molecular systems. In this work we used mixed-valence radical cations as model systems for the investigation of electron-transfer pathways. We show that substituents attached to a conjugated bridge connecting two triarylamine redox centres have a marked influence on the near-infrared absorption spectra of the corresponding cations. Spectral analysis, followed by evaluation of the electron-transfer parameters using the Generalized Mulliken-Hush theory and simulation of the potential energy surfaces, indicate that hopping and superexchange are not alternatives, but are both present in the radical cation with a dimethoxybenzene bridge. We found that the type of electron-transfer mechanism depends on the bridge-reorganization energy as well as on the bridge-state energy. Because superexchange and hopping follow different distance laws, our findings have implications for the design of new molecular and polymeric electron-transfer materials.

This paper presents an analysis of the visible/near-infrared (vis/NIR) spectra of four bis(triarylamine) radical cation mixed valence systems with varying bridge units in the framework of the generalized Mulliken−Hush theory. We outline how to apply a three-level model by using both computational AM1-CI derived as well as experimental transition moments and energies in order to extract electronic coupling matrix elements. The most important outcome is that the much simpler two-level model is a good approximation only if the adiabatic dipole moment difference between the terminal states is large compared to the transition moments associated with the bridge state. This implies that the two-level model is only applicable to mixed valence compounds in the Robin−Day class II with strongly localized redox states if qualitative correct values are desired. We demonstrate that both the spectral features and the potential energy surface of the mixed valence compounds can solely be tuned by bridge state modification reaching from asymmetrically localized to symmetrically localized and from a single minimum potential to a triple minimum potential. For the particular case of an anthracene bridge, we show that solvent induced symmetry breaking has a dramatic influence on the spectral characteristics.

We have investigated three organic mixed-valence systems that possess nearly identical inter-redox site distances and differ by the nature of the bridging units benzene, naphthalene, and anthracene: the N,N,N',N'-tetra(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,4-phenylenene-diamine radical cation (1+), the 1,4-bis(N,N-di(4-methoxyphenyl)-amino)naphthalene radical cation (2+), and the 9,10-bis(N,N-di(4-methoxyphenyl)amino)anthracene radical cation (3+). The electronic interactions in these systems have been studied by means of gas-phase ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, vis/NIR spectroscopy, and electronic-structure calculations. The experimental and theoretical results concur to indicate that the strength of electronic interaction decreases in the following order of bridging units: benzene > naphthalene > anthracene. This finding contradicts the usual expectation that anthracene is superior to benzene as a driving force for electronic communication. We explain these results in terms of a super-exchange mechanism and its strong dependence on steric interactions.