| Metallo-tetrapyrroles (MTP) are highly stable macrocyclic pi-systems that display interesting properties that make them potential candidates for various applications. Among these applications are optoelectronics, magnetic materials, photoconductive materials, non-linear optical materials and photo tumor therapeutic drugs. These applications are generally related to their high stability and efficient light absorption ability in the visible and near-infrared region of the optical spectrum. Metallo porphyrins are well known and widely studied representatives of metallotetrapyrroles.; Electron deficient substituents in the meso positions are well known to greatly influence the interaction between the metal d-orbitals and the nitrogen orbitals of the tetrapyrrole macrocycle. In this work, a series of electron deficient porphyrins has been studied to gain some knowledge about the change in the excited state dynamics with structural and electronic modifications. Among these porphyrins is nickel and iron modified species bearing perfluoro-, perprotio-, p-nitrophenyl- and perfluorophenyl-meso substituents. Ultrafast transient absorption spectrometry has been used as the main research instrument along with other spectroscopic and electrochemical methods.; A new technique has been employed to study the photophysical properties of zinc (II) tetraphenylporphine cation radical. It employs a combination of controlled potential coulometry and femtosecond absorption spectrometry. The fast transient lifetime of 17 ps of the pi-cation species originates in very efficient mixing of the a2u HOMO cation orbital that places electronic density mainly on pyrrolic nitrogens and metal d-orbitals. That explains the lack of any emission of the cationic species. This non-radiative decay process might elucidate the processes taking place in photosynthetic systems when electron is removed from porphyrinic moiety and the hole is produced. In this work zinc(II) meso-tetraphenylporphine radial cation species has been formed electrochemically in situ and studied by means of femtosecond absorption spectrometry to prove that this new technique could be used to elucidate the photophysical behavior of open shell species. |
