Narrow Results

Four diads consisting of a free-base or zinc aryl-porphyrin associated with two ruthenium(II) bis(terdentate) complexes (non-cyclometallated Ru(N6) or cylometallated Ru(N5C)) have been synthesized. The strong electron-withdrawing properties of the Ru(N6) as compared to the Ru(N5C) complex have been illustrated by their electrochemical and spectroscopic properties. Emission spectra of the diads and the reference compounds have shown that very efficient fluorescence quenching occurs, probably by energy transfer processes from the porphyrin to the ³MLCT excited state of the ruthenium unit.

Porphyrins are the most frequently employed building blocks as electron donors and sensitizers in artificial photosynthetic models for solar energy conversion. Recently, we have reported a series of covalently linked, donor-acceptor dyads, triads and copolymers containing porphyrin analogs aiming to improve light-harvesting capacity and charge-separation efficiency with a potential application in solar cells. In this review, we would like to summarize our recent studies on these photoactive, porphyrin-containing composite systems focusing on the designs and properties of these systems based on intermolecular electro- and energy transfer.