Controlled Growth of Porphyrin Wires at a Solid‐Liquid Interface

Bis(zinc porphyrin) scaffolds bearing C8 or C18 alkyl chains and imidazole end groups self‐assembled in a head‐to‐tail fashion into multi‐porphyrin assemblies on both HOPG and mica. Due to weaker molecule surface‐interactions, longer arrays formed on mica than on HOPG. In both cases, it was essential first to generate monomers that were drop casted on the surface, then to allow time for the bis(zinc porphyrins) to assemble. Although thicker fibrous assemblies were observed with the C8 alkyl substituents than with the longer chains, noncovalent assemblies up to 1 μm long were observed for each molecule. These investigations provide a reproducible, noncovalent method to grow porphyrin arrays that may be of interest in molecular electronics for charge transport

Metal-mediated linear self-assembly of porphyrins

Porphyrin derivatives are highly relevant to biological processes such as light harvesting and charge separation. Their aromatic electronic structure and their accessible HOMO−LUMO gap render porphyrins highly attractive for the development of opto- and electro-active materials. Due to the often difficult covalent synthesis of multiporphyrins, self-assembly using metal complexation as the driving force can lead to well defined objects exhibiting a controlled morphology, which will be required to analyse and understand the electronic properties of porphyrin wires. This article presents two assembly approaches, namely by peripheral coordination or by binding to a metal ion in the porphyrin core, that are efficient and well designed for future developments requiring interactions with a surface

Hydrogen bond directed molecular recognition in water in a strapped-porphyrin-cyclodextrin assembly

A water soluble, phenanthroline-strapped zinc porphyrin bearing four arylsulfonate groups formed a stable host–guest complex with two per-O-methylated β-cyclodextrin cavities. In the host–guest assembly, the zinc porphyrin was capable of binding imidazole within the cavity between the zinc(II) ion and the phenanthroline strap in an aqueous medium. The formation of a hydrogen bond between the imidazole NH and the nitrogen atoms of the phenanthroline was an essential element of the binding event, as shown by comparative binding studies with a non-strapped tetrasulfonated zinc porphyrin and with N-methylimidazole. This hydrogen bonding in an aqueous medium was possible due to the protected hydrophobic environment created by the cyclodextrins around the phenanthroline strap. This type of binding event may provide a biomimetic approach to study water soluble heme protein models

Light triggers molecular shuttling in rotaxanes: control over proximity and charge recombination

We present the synthesis of novel rotaxanes based on mechanically interlocked porphyrins and fullerene and their advanced investigations by means of photophysical measurements. To this end, a fullerene-capped dumbbell-type axle containing a central triazole was threaded through strapped (metallo)porphyrins—either a free-base or a zinc porphyrin. Femtosecond-resolved transient absorption measurements revealed charge-separation between the porphyrin and fullerene upon light excitation. Solvent polarity and solvent coordination effects induced molecular motion of the rotaxanes upon charge separation and enabled, for the first time, subtle control over the charge recombination by enabling and controlling the directionality of shuttling

Synthèse et étude d'architectures porphyriniques auto-assemblées

L objectif de ces travaux est la synthèse molécules destinées à la formation de fils moléculaires par auto-assemblage. La reconnaissance sélective d un noyau imidazole par une porphyrine de zinc à anse phénanthroline est utilisée comme outil pour l assemblage. Plusieurs variations structurales ont été apportées aux blocs d assemblage de manière à explorer différentes possibilités de contrôle sur la formation des fils moléculaires. Sont présentés dans ce document, les synthèses des molécules, ainsi qu une partie des études réalisées pour interpréter la nature des assemblages formés à la fois en solution, mais également sur des surfaces. La microscopie à force atomique a mis en évidence des espèces linéaires régulières auto-assemblées dont la formation est assistée par la surface.The selective recognition of imidazole by a phenanthroline-strapped zinc porphyrin was used as a tool for the self-assembly of molecular wires. Several structural variations on the building blocks were explored as a way to control the formation of the molecular wires. This thesis presents the synthesis of the molecules investigated and studies of the assemblies formed in solution and on surfaces. Self-assembled linear species, whose formation was assisted by the surface, were observed by atomic force microscopy.STRASBOURG-Bib.electronique 063 (674829902) / SudocSudocFranceF