Femtosecond fluorescence dynamics of porphyrin in solution and solid films: The effects of aggregation and interfacial electron transfer between porphyrin and TiO2

Liyang Luo, Chen Fu Lo, Ching Yao Lin*, I. Jy Chang, Eric Wei Guang Diau

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

96 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The excited-state relaxation dynamics of a synthetic porphyrin, ZnCAPEBPP, in solution, coated on a glass substrate as solid films, mixed with PMMA and coated on a glass substrate as solid films, and sensitized on nanocrystalline TiO2 films were investigated by using femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion spectroscopy with excitation in the Soret band, S2. We found that the S2→S1 electronic relaxation of ZnCAPEBPP in solution and on PMMA films occurs- in 910 and 690 fs, respectively, but it becomes extremely rapid, <100 fs, in solid films and TiO2 films due to formation of porphyrin aggregates. When probed in the Si state of porphyrin, the fluorescence transients of the solid films show a biphasic kinetic feature with the rapid and slow components decaying in 1.9-2.4 and 19-26 ps, respectively. The transients in ZnCAPEBPP/TiO2 films also feature two relaxation processes but they occur on different time scales, 100-300 fs and 0.8-4.1 ps, and contain a small offset. According to the variation of relaxation period as a function of molecular density on a TiO 2 surface, we assigned the femtosecond component of the TiO 2 films as due to indirect interfacial electron transfer through a phenylethynyl bridge attached to one of four meso positions of the porphyrin ring, and the picosecond component arising from intermolecular energy transfer among porphyrins. The observed variation of aggregate-induced relaxation periods between solid and TiO2 films is due mainly to aggregation of two types: J-type aggregation is dominant in the former case whereas H-type aggregation prevails in the latter case.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)410-419
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry B
Volume110
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2006 Jan 12

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Materials Chemistry

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