The photophysical properties of Cu(II) complexes with 5,10,15,20-meso-tetrakis(phenyl)porphyrin and 5,10,15,20-meso-tetrakis(N-methylpyridium-4-yl)porphyrin are examined via the luminescence and femtosecond time-resolved absorbance methods, respectively. These studies are supported by DFT and TD-DFT calculations, which highlight the important role played by ligand-to-metal charge-transfer states in directing the system toward either intersystem crossing to the triplet hypersurface or coordinative expansion to a five-coordinate quasi-stable intermediate. The latter processes occur when the porphyrin is photolyzed in the presence of suitably located Lewis bases. Femtosecond time-resolved absorbance measurements of Cu(II)-5,10,15,20-meso-tetrakis(N-methylpyridium-4-yl)porphyrin confirm that the coordinative expansion in water occurs in approximately 700 fs, while crossing to the triplet hypersurface takes approximately 140 fs in the same solvent. These processes are mutually exclusive, although both can occur simultaneously depending on the environment of the porphyrin. The ratio of the two processes depends on the relative orientation of the Lewis base with respect to the copper atom at the time of excitation. As a consequence, copper porphyrins such as these are excellent probes in the environment of the porphyrin and can be used to identify the location of the porphyrin when interacting with DNA fragments.
Keywords: DFT; TD-DFT; copper; femtosecond; luminescence; photophysics; porphyrin; transient absorption.