Abstract— A new molecule consisting of a carotenoid polyene covalently linked to a pyropheophorbide has been prepared. This molecule exists in solution in an extended conformation with the carotenoid moiety relatively far from the tetrapyrrole π‐electron system. The compound shows negligible antenna function (singlet energy transfer from carotenoid to pyropheophorbide), but substantial photoprotection from singlet oxygen production (due to rapid triplet energy transfer from pyropheophorbide to carotenoid). The photochemical properties of this molecule parallel those of conformationally similar carotenoporphyrins. Thus, carotenoporphyrins appear to be valid synthetic systems for modeling in vivo carotenoid‐chlorophyll interactions.
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