Effects of Orbital Ordering on Electronic Communication in Multiporphyrin Arrays

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.