Fluorescence studies on a supramolecular porphyrin bearing anthracene donor moieties

Abstract

A tetraphenylporhyrin bearing four anthracene donor moieties (5,10,15,20-tetra(3-(9-methyloxyanthracenyl)phenyl)porphyrin, I) was synthesized and fully characterized. Spectroscopic and electrochemical data and results of metallation and intermolecular fluorescence quenching experiments suggest that there is no appreciable interaction between the porphyrin and anthracene moieties in I. Although intermolecular quenching of anthracene fluorescence by 5,10,15,20-(tetraphenyl)porphyrin is not obvious, the fluorescence of the anthracene donors in I is quenched by more than 90%. On the basis of the fluorescence excitation pectral data, the quenching observed is attributed to intramolecular singlet-singlet energy transfer from anthracene to the porphyrin. However, neither Förster's dipole-dipole formalism nor Dexter's electron exchange mechanism can explain adequately this intramolecular energy transfer. Thermodynamic considerations and solvent-dependent fluorescence data indicate that photoinduced electron transfer from singlet anthracene to the porphyrin can compete with energy transfer in this supramolecular system.