Magnetic Circular Dichroism of meso-Phenyl-Substituted Pd-Octaethylporphyrins

Photophysical Exploration of Two Isomers of Octaethyltrioxopyrrocorphin

The introduction of three β-oxosubstituents to octaethylporphyrin by means of an oxidation/rearrangement reaction generates the trioxopyrrocorphin chromophore. Pyrrocorphins (hexahydroporphyrins) are generally nonaromatic, but we recently demonstrated trioxopyrrocorphins to possess considerable aromatic character. This contribution explores the photophysical characteristics of these unusual chromophores. In agreement with density functional theory modeling, the UV-vis and magnetic circular dichroism spectra of the two─out of the four possible─triketone regioisomers investigated conform to the Gouterman model of porphyrinoid optical spectra, in alignment with their aromaticity. Their excited-state dynamics shed further light on the degree to which β-oxo substitutions tune the photophysical properties of porphyrinoids. Introduction of β-oxo functionalities increases the rate and yield of intersystem crossing and shortens the triplet state lifetime. Unexpectedly, the singlet oxygen generation yield of both pyrrocorphins remains relatively high, with modes of distortion from planarity likely enhancing triplet energy transfer. This work thus expands our understanding of a rare class of porphyrinoids and further characterizes them as sustaining aromatic porphyrinic π-systems. Our findings suggest triple β-oxo substitution as a viable route toward the development of novel, high-singlet oxygen yield porphyrinic photosensitizers.

Probing Through-Bond and Through-Space Interactions in Singlet Fission-Based Pentacene Dimers

Interchromophoric interactions such as Coulombic coupling and exchange interactions are crucial to the functional properties of numerous π-conjugated systems. Here, we use magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy to investigate interchromophoric interactions in singlet fission relevant pentacene dimers. Using a simple analytical model, we outline a general relationship between the geometry of pentacene dimers and their calculated MCD response. We analyze experimental MCD spectra of different covalently bridged pentacene dimers to reveal how the molecular structure of the "bridge" affects the magnitude of through-space Coulombic and through-bond exchange interactions in the system. Our results show that through-bond interactions are significant in dimers with conjugated molecules as bridging units and these interactions promote the overall electronic coupling in the system. Our generalized approach paves the way for the application of MCD in investigating interchromophoric interactions across a range of π-conjugated systems.

Accurate Prediction of the Excited States in the Fully Conjugated Porphyrin Tapes across the Full Spectral Range: A Story of the Interplay between π-π* and Intramolecular Charge-Transfer Transitions in Soft Chromophores

The ability of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) methods for the accurate prediction of the energies and oscillator strengths of the excited states in a series of fully conjugated meso-meso β-β β-β triple-linked porphyrin oligomers (porphyrin tapes 2-12) was probed in the gas phase and solution using several exchange-correlation functionals. It was demonstrated that the use of the hybrid B3LYP functional provides a good compromise for the accurate prediction of the localized π-π* and intramolecular charge-transfer transitions, thus allowing confident interpretation of the UV-vis-NIR spectra of porphyrin oligomers. The TDDFT-based sum-over-state (SOS) calculations for the porphyrin tape dimer 2 and trimer 3 as well as parent monomer 1 correctly predicted the signs and shapes of the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) signals in the low-energy region of the spectra.