Synthetically tuneable biomimetic artificial photosynthetic reaction centres that closely resemble the natural system in purple bacteria. Issue 10 (14th July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Sai-Ho; Blake, Iain M.; Larsen, Allan G.; McDonald, James A.; Ohkubo, Kei; Fukuzumi, Shunichi; Reimers, Jeffrey R.; Crossley, Maxwell J.
• Is Part Of: Chemical science. Volume 7:Issue 10(2016:Oct.)
• Page Start: 6534
• Page End: 6550
• Publication Date: 2016-07-14
• Subjects: Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540.5
• DOI: 10.1039/c6sc01076h
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2041-6520

Abstract

Abstract : Synthetically flexible, rigid, tetrad molecules are shown to closely mimic structural and photochemical properties of the bacterial photosynthetic reaction centre. Abstract : Porphyrin-based photosynthetic reaction centre (PRC) mimics, ZnPQ-Q2HP-C60 andMP2 Q-Q2HP-C60 (M = Zn or 2H), designed to have a similar special-pair electron donor and similar charge-separation distances, redox processes and photochemical reaction rates to those in the natural PRC from purple bacteria, have been synthesised and extensive photochemical studies performed. Mechanisms of electron-transfer reactions are fully investigated using femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. In benzonitrile, all models show picosecond-timescale charge-separations and the final singlet charge-separations with the microsecond-timescale. The established lifetimes are long compared to other processes in organic solar cells or other organic light harvesting systems. These rigid, synthetically flexible molecules provide the closest mimics to the natural PRC so far synthesised and present a future direction for the design of light harvesters with controllable absorption, redox, and kinetics properties.