title: Synthetically tuneable biomimetic artificial photosynthetic reaction centres that closely resemble the natural system in purple bacteria.
abstract: Porphyrin-based photosynthetic reaction centre (PRC) mimics,ZnPQ-Q2HP-C60andMP2Q-Q2HP-C60(M = Zn or 2H), designed to have a similar special-pair electron donor and similar charge-separation distances, redox processes and photochemical reaction rates to those in the natural PRC from purple bacteria, have been synthesised and extensive photochemical studies performed. Mechanisms of electron-transfer reactions are fully investigated using femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. In benzonitrile, all models show picosecond-timescale charge-separations and the final singlet charge-separations with the microsecond-timescale. The established lifetimes are long compared to other processes in organic solar cells or other organic light harvesting systems. These rigid, synthetically flexible molecules provide the closest mimics to the natural PRC so far synthesised and present a future direction for the design of light harvesters with controllable absorption, redox, and kinetics properties.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry F11 , The University of Sydney , 2006 , NSW , Australia . Email: maxwell.crossley@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Sai-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry F11 , The University of Sydney , 2006 , NSW , Australia . Email: maxwell.crossley@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Iain M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Blake
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry F11 , The University of Sydney , 2006 , NSW , Australia . Email: maxwell.crossley@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Allan G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry F11 , The University of Sydney , 2006 , NSW , Australia . Email: maxwell.crossley@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.affiliation: Department of Material and Life Science , Graduate School of Engineering , Osaka University , Suita , Osaka 565-0871 , Japan . Email: fukuzumi@chem.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohkubo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Nano Science , Ewha Womans University , Seoul 120-750 , Korea ; Faculty of Science and Engineering , Meijo University , Nagoya , Aichi 468-0073 , Japan.
authors.forename: Shunichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukuzumi
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry F11 , The University of Sydney , 2006 , NSW , Australia . Email: maxwell.crossley@sydney.edu.au; International Centre for Quantum and Molecular Structure , Shanghai University , 200444 , Shanghai , China . Email: reimers@shu.edu.cn; School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences , The University of Technology Sydney , 2007 , NSW , Australia . Email: jeffrey.reimers@uts.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Reimers
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry F11 , The University of Sydney , 2006 , NSW , Australia . Email: maxwell.crossley@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Maxwell J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Crossley