Electron-donating corroles (Cor) were integrated with electron-accepting phthalocyanines (Pc) to afford two different non-covalent Cor ⋅ Pc systems. At the forefront was the coordination between a 10-meso-pyridine Cor and a ZnPc. The complexation was corroborated in a combination of NMR, absorption, and fluorescence assays, and revealed association with binding constants as high as 106 m-1 . Steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies evidenced that regardless of exciting Cor or Pc, the charge-separated state evolved efficiently in both cases, followed by a slow charge-recombination to reinstate the ground state. The introduction of non-covalent linkages between Cor and Pc induces sizeable differences in the context of light harvesting and transfer of charges when compared with covalently linked Cor-Pc conjugates.
Keywords: electron transfer; organic photovoltaics; porphyrinoids; supramolecular chemistry.
© 2022 The Authors. Chemistry - A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.