Electron and Energy Transfer in Supramolecular Complexes Designed for Artificial Photosynthesis. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 631. 50 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 91-554-5

In the society of today the need for alternative energy sources is increasing. The construction of artificial devices for the conversion of sunlight into electricity or fuel seems very attractive from an environmental point of view, since these devices are based on processes that does not necessarily generate any harmful biproducts. In the oxygen evolving photosynthetic process highly efficient energy and electron transfer reactions are responsible for the conversion of the sunlight into chemically stored energy and if the same principles can be used in an artificial device, the only electron supply required, is water. This thesis describes energy and electron transfer reactions in supramolecular complexes where the reactions are intended to mimic the basic steps in the photosynthetic process. All complexes are based on ruthenium(II)-trisbipyridine as photosensitizer, that is covalently linked to electron donors or electron or energy acceptors. The photochemical reactions were studied with time resolved transient absorption and emission measurements. In the complexes that mimic the donor side of Photosystem II, where a manganese cluster together with tyrosine catalyses the oxidation of water, intramolecular electron transfer was found to occur from Mn(II) or tyrosine to photo-oxidized Ru(III). Studies of a series of Ru(II)-Mn(II) complexes gave information of the quenching of the Ru(II) excited state by the coordinated Mn(II), which is important for the development of multi-nuclear Ru(II)-Mn complexes. In the supramolecular triad, PTZ-Ru 2+ -Q, the charge separated state, PTZ +• -Ru 2+ -Q −• , was rapidly formed, and further development where a second electron acceptor is linked to quinone is planned. Ultra fast energy transfer (τ<200 fs), was obtained between ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) in a small artificial antenna fragment. Fast and efficient energy transfer is important in larger antennas or photonic wires where a rapid energy transfer is desired over a large distance

Covalently linked ruthenium(II) - manganese(II) complexes:Distance dependence of quenching and electron transfer

Continuing our development of artificial models for photosystem II in green plants, a series of compounds have been prepared in which a Ru(bpy)32+ photosensitizer is covalently linked to a manganese(II) electron donor. In addition to a trispicolylamine ligand, two other manganese ligands, dipicolylamine and aminodiacetic acid, have been introduced in order to study ligands that are appropriate for the construction of manganese dimers with open coordination sites for the binding of water. Coordination equilibria of the manganese ions were monitored by EPR. The interactions between the ruthenium and manganese moieties were probed by flash photolysis, cyclic voltammetry and steady-state and time-resolved emission measurements. The quenching of the RuII excited state by MnII was found to be rapid in complexes with short Ru-Mn distances. Nevertheless, each RuII species could be photo-oxidized by bimolecular quenching with methylviologen, and the subsequent electron transfer from MnII to RuIII could be monitored

Binuclear ruthenium-manganese complexes as simple artificial models for photosystem II in green plants

As part of a project aimed at developing models for photosystem II (PSII) in green plants, we have prepared a series of model compounds (7, 8, and 13). In these compounds, a photosensitizer, ruthenium(II) tris(bipyridyl) complex (to mimic the function of P-680 in PSII), was covalently linked to a manganese(II) ion through different bridging ligands. The structures of the compounds were characterized by electron paramagnetic resonance measurements and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The interaction between the ruthenium and manganese moieties within the complex was probed by steady-state and time-resolved emission measurements. When the binuclear complexes are exposed to flash photolysis in the presence of an electron acceptor such as methylviologen (MV2+), it could be shown that after the initial electron transfer from the excited state of Ru(II) in compound 7, forming Ru(III) and MV+., an intramolecular electron transfer from coordinated Mn(II) to the photogenerated Ru(III) occurred with a first-order rate constant of 1.8 x 10(5) s(-1), regenerating Ru(II). This is believed to be the first supramolecular system where a manganese complex has been used as an electron donor to a photo-oxidized photosensitizer, Possible extensions to develop the manganese donor, and thus to approach the function of reaction center in PSII, are indicated

High-valent Ruthenium-Manganese Complexes for Solar Energy Production.

We present progress in the development of artificial photosynthesis, as a means to harvesting and storage of solar energy. The plan is to compose molecular systems that combine known photochemistry with emerging functional model compounds. A photochemical device for solar energy conversion contains a photosensitizer, an electron acceptor system and a donor system that prevents charge recombination. Our goal is to utilize water as sacrificial electron donor, which will allow a net production of reducing equivalents, and the ultimate production of fuel. The only light-driven molecular catalyst for water oxidation exists in Photosystem II (PSII), which has a tetranuclear Mn-cluster in the active site. Here we present several Mn-compounds, that we have developed for the purpose of creating water-oxidizing catalysts. Our idea is to link Ru-tris(bipyridine) derivatives, which mimicks the function of the primary donor in PS II, with manganese complexes, mimicking the tetra-Mn cluster on the PSII donor side. We have constructed a number of heteronuclear complexes, containing a Ru-photosensitizer and various Mn-complexes. The compounds have been characterized with regards to their photophysical and photochemical properties, redox potentials and structure. The most promising compounds are capable of undergoing several electron transfers from the Mn-complex to the photosensitizer, leaving 3 to 4 oxidizing equivalents on the Mn. In the latest development, we have constructed ligands that stabilize higher oxidation states in Mn, in order to promote formation of Mn(V) which many believes is an intermediate in the water oxidation mechanism