The rational design of molecular photonic devices requires a thorough understanding of all factors affecting electronic communication among the various constituents. To explore how electronic factors mediate both excited- and ground-state electronic communication in multiporphyrin arrays, we have conducted a detailed static spectroscopic (absorption, fluorescence, resonance Raman, electron paramagnetic resonance), time-resolved spectroscopic (absorption, fluorescence), and electrochemical (cyclic and square-wave voltammetry, coulometry) study of tetraarylporphyrin dimers. The complexes investigated include both zinc-free base (ZnFb) and bis-Zn dimers in which the porphyrin constituents are linked via diphenylethyne groups at the meso positions. Comparison of dimeric arrays containing pentafluorophenyl groups at all nonlinking meso positions (F30ZnFbU and F30Zn2U) with nonfluorinated analogs (ZnFbU and Zn2U) directly probes the effects of electronic factors on intradimer communication. The major findings of the study are as follows:  (1) Energy transfer from the photoexcited Zn porphyrin to the Fb porphyrin is the predominant excited-state reaction in F30ZnFbU, as is also the case for ZnFbU. Energy transfer primarily proceeds via a through-bond process mediated by the diarylethyne linker. Remarkably, the energy-transfer rate is 10 times slower in F30ZnFbU ((240 ps)-1) than in ZnFbU ((24 ps)-1), despite the fact that each has the same diphenylethyne linker. The attenuated energy-transfer rate in the former dimer is attributed to reduced Q-excited-state electronic coupling between the Zn and Fb porphyrins. (2) The rate of hole/electron hopping in the monooxidized bis-Zn complex, [F30Zn2U]+, is ∼10-fold slower than that for [Zn2U]+. The slower hole/electron hopping rate in the former dimer reflects strongly attenuated ground-state electronic coupling. The large attenuation in excited- and ground-state electronic communication observed for the fluorine-containing dimers is attributed to a diminution in the electron-exchange matrix elements that stems from stabilization of the a2u porphyrin orbital combined with changes in the electron-density distribution in this orbital. Stabilization of the porphyrin a2u orbital results in a switch in the HOMO from a2u in ZnFbU to a1u in F30ZnFbU. This orbital reversal diminishes the electron density at the peripheral positions where the linker is appended. Collectively, our studies clarify the origin of the different energy-transfer rates observed among various multiporphyrin arrays and exemplify the interconnected critical roles of a1u/a2u orbital ordering and linker position in the design of efficient molecular photonic devices.

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The photophysical properties and their temperature dependence are reported for the sterically encumbered nonplanar zinc and free base 2,3,5,7,8,10,12,13,15,17,18,20-dodecaphenylporphyrins (ZnDPP and H2DPP), and 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrins (ZnOETPP and H2OETPP), and the zinc complex of 5,10,15,20-tetra-tert-butylporphyrin (ZnT(t-Bu)P). Compared to planar 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrins (ZnTPP and H2TPP), the above compounds exhibit reduced lifetimes of the lowest excited singlet state, reduced fluorescence yields, and large shifts between their absorption and emission maxima at room temperature. ZnT(t-Bu)P, which is known to adopt a ruffled conformation, displays dramatically altered photophysical properties including a 7 ps 1(π,π*) lifetime compared to one of ∼2 ns for ZnTPP at 296 K. Equally noteworthy is the return of the ZnT(t-Bu)P singlet lifetime to a “normal” value of 2.5 ns at 78 K. An analogous temperature dependence has been observed previously for the free base analog H2T(t-Bu)P. The other porphyrins investigated, with different modes of nonplanarity, display smaller temperature variations but also tend toward more normal properties at low temperatures. A more extreme case of perturbation to the tetrapyrrole electronic structure is found in zinc 2,3,5,5‘,7,8,12,18-octamethyl-13,17-bis(3-methoxy-3-oxopropyl)isoporphyrin perchlorate, a porphyrin tautomer with an interrupted π system. This zinc isoporphyrin also exhibits a short excited state lifetime of 130 ps at 296 K, which again increases to 0.8 ns at 78 K. The results for the various nonplanar porphyrins and for the isoporphyrin in several solvents indicate that the principal cause of the altered excited state lifetimes is the ability of the molecules to traverse multiple conformational surfaces in the excited state. These surfaces appear to be separated by only small energy barriers that vary with the types of conformational distortions and their concomitant perturbations of the electronic structures of the chromophores.

The effects of incorporating chloro groups at all ortho positions of a diphenylethyne linker that bridges the zinc and free base (Fb) components of a porphyrin dimer (ZnFbB(Cl(4))) have been investigated in detail via various static and time-resolved spectroscopic methods. The excited-state energy-transfer rate in ZnFbB(Cl(4)) ((134 ps)(-)(1)) is 5-fold slower than that in the corresponding dimer having an unsubstituted linker (ZnFbU, (24 ps)(-)(1)) but is only modestly slower than that in the dimer having o-methyl groups on the linker (ZnFbB(CH(3))(4), (115 ps)(-)(1)). The ground-state hole/electron-hopping rates in the oxidized bis-Zn analogues of all three dimers are much slower than the excited-state energy-transfer rates. There is no discernible difference between the hole/electron-hopping rates in the o-chloro- and o-methyl-substituted arrays. The similar ground- and excited-state dynamics observed for the o-chloro- and o-methyl-substituted arrays is attributed to the dominance of torsional constraints in mediating the extent of through-bond electronic communication. These constraints attenuate intradimer communication by restricting the rotation toward coplanarity of the phenyl rings of the linker and the porphyrin rings. Thus, the o-chloro groups on the linker decrease electronic communication via a steric, rather than purely electronic, mechanism.

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Static and time-resolved optical measurements have been performed on a number of free-base and zinc dodecaarylporphyrins with varying degrees of fluorination of the peripheral aryl rings. These studies were performed in a variety of solvents of differing polarity and metal-ligating ability and at room and low temperatures. All of the compounds are deduced to be nonplanar based on their perturbed photophysical properties relative to planar analogues and on the X-ray data available for these molecules. The dodecaarylporphyrins studied generally separate into two classes based on their photophysical properties and the presence or absence of meso-pentafluorophenyl rings. The photophysical properties are clearly affected by the electron-withdrawing characteristics of these fluorinated phenyl rings, but structural effects derived from the interaction of the phenyl rings with each other, the macrocycle, and the solvent are also apparent. Many of the differences in properties among the molecules studied and the perturbed photophysical properties of nonplanar porphyrins in general are associated with the ability of these molecules to undergo photoinduced conformational changes. For the dodecaarylporphyrins, the perturbed properties are also a result of the ability of these compounds to access multiple conformations in the ground-and excited-electronic states. The studies demonstrate the strong linkage that nonplanar porphyrins have between their electronic properties, structural characteristics, conformational dynamics, porphyrin-solvent interactions, and photophysical behavior. These connections are far stronger than those exhibited by planar porphyrins and lead to detailed differences in properties among the compounds studied here as well as the photophysical properties of nonplanar porphyrins as a whole.

The rational design of molecular photonic devices relies on the ability to select components with predictable electronic structure, excited state lifetimes and redox chemistry. Electronic communication in multiporphyrin arrays depends critically on the relative energies and electron density distributions of the frontier molecular orbitals, especially the energetically close highest occupied molecular orbitals (a2u and a1u). To explore how these ground and excited state properties can be modulated, we have synthesized and characterized 40 free base ( Fb ), magnesium and zinc tetraarylporphyrins. The porphyrins bear meso-substituents with the following substitution patterns: (1) four identical substituents (phenyl, o-chlorophenyl, p-chlorophenyl, o,o'-difluorophenyl, pentafluorophenyl, mesityl); (2) one, two, three or four o,o'-dichlorophenyl substituents; (3) one p-ethynylphenyl group and three mesityl or pentafluorophenyl groups; (4) one p-ethynyl-o,o″-dichlorophenyl or p-ethynyl-o,o″-dimethylphenyl and three phenyl groups. For each neutral complex the ground state electronic properties were investigated using electrochemical methods and optical absorption spectroscopy. Similarly the absorption, emission, and relaxation properties of the lowest singlet excited state were probed by time-resolved absorption and fluorescence methods. Each oxidized complex was investigated by static absorption and liquid and frozen solution EPR spectroscopy. The collective results of these investigations have provided insights into the direct (orbital overlap) and indirect (inductive/conjugative) mechanisms by which halogenated phenyl rings influence the static and dynamic electronic properties of neutral and oxidized porphyrinic chromophores. Three key findings are as follows. (1) The effective electron-withdrawing strength of halogenated phenyl rings required to reverse the ordering of the a2u and a1u HOMOs in Mg versus Zn tetraarylporphyrins has been elucidated. (2) Appropriate halogenation can significantly increase the excited state lifetime of a Zn porphyrin relative to the unsubstituted complex. (3) Halogenation can be used to modulate redox potentials in a manner that complements the enhancement of other electronic properties. The insights gained from study of this library of porphyrins provide a foundation for tuning the electronic properties of monomeric porphyrins as building blocks for multichromophoric assemblies in optoelectronics and other applications.