title: Ultrafast dynamics in multifunctional Ru(II)-loaded polymers for solar energy conversion.
abstract: The use of sunlight to make chemical fuels (i.e., solar fuels) is an attractive approach in the quest to develop sustainable energy sources. Using nature as a guide, assemblies for artificial photosynthesis will need to perform multiple functions. They will need to be able to harvest light across a broad region of the solar spectrum, transport excited-state energy to charge-separation sites, and then transport and store redox equivalents for use in the catalytic reactions that produce chemical fuels. This multifunctional behavior will require the assimilation of multiple components into a single macromolecular system. A wide variety of different architectures including porphyrin arrays, peptides, dendrimers, and polymers have been explored, with each design posing unique challenges. Polymer assemblies are attractive due to their relative ease of production and facile synthetic modification. However, their disordered nature gives rise to stochastic dynamics not present in more ordered assemblies. The rational design of assemblies requires a detailed understanding of the energy and electron transfer events that follow light absorption, which can occur on time scales ranging from femtoseconds to hundreds of microseconds, necessitating the use of sophisticated techniques. We have used a combination of time-resolved absorption and emission spectroscopies with observation times that span 9 orders of magnitude to follow the excited-state evolution within polymer-based molecular assemblies. We complement experimental observations with molecular dynamics simulations to develop a microscopic view of these dynamics. This Account provides an overview of our work on polymers decorated with pendant Ru(II) chromophores, both in solution and on surfaces. We have examined site-to-site energy transport among the Ru(II) complexes, and in systems incorporating π-conjugated polymers, we have observed ultrafast formation of a long-lived charge-separated state. When attached to TiO2, these assemblies exhibit multifunctional behavior in which photon absorption is followed by energy transport to the surface and electron injection to produce an oxidized metal complex. The oxidizing equivalent is then transferred to the conjugated polymer, giving rise to a long-lived charge-separated state.
authors: †Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.
authors: Zachary A
authors: ZA
authors: Morseth
authors: †Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Wang
authors: §Department of Chemistry, Center for Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States.
authors: Egle
authors: E
authors: Puodziukynaite
authors: §Department of Chemistry, Center for Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States.
authors: Gyu
authors: G
authors: Leem
authors: †Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.
authors: Alexander T
authors: AT
authors: Gilligan
authors: †Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.
authors: Thomas J
authors: TJ
authors: Meyer
authors: §Department of Chemistry, Center for Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States.
authors: Kirk S
authors: KS
authors: Schanze
authors: ‡School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.
authors: John R
authors: JR
authors: Reynolds
authors: †Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.
authors: John M
authors: JM
authors: Papanikolas