Photoinduced Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer in Supramolecular SnIV Di(L-tyrosinato) Porphyrin Conjugates

Proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) plays a key role in many biological processes, and a thorough comprehension of its subtle mechanistic complexity requires the synthesis and characterization of suitable artificial systems capable of mimicking this fundamental, elementary step. Herein, we report on a detailed photophysical investigation of conjugate 1, based on a tin(IV) tetraphenylporphyrin (SnTPP) chromophore bound to two L-tyrosinato amino acids, in CH2Cl2 in combination with organic bases of different strength and the preparation of a novel conjugate 3, based on a tin(IV) octaethylporphyrin (SnOEP) in place of the tetraphenyl analogue, and its photophysical characterization in CH2Cl2 in the presence of pyrrolidine. In the case of compound 1 with all bases examined, quenching of both the singlet and triplet excited states is observed and attributed to the occurrence of concerted proton-electron transfer (CPET). Rates and quenching yields decrease with the strength of the base used, consistent with the decrease of the driving force for the CPET process. Conjugate 3 with pyrrolidine is quenched only at the triplet level by CPET, albeit with slower rates than its parent compound 1, ascribable to the smaller driving force as a result of SnOEP being more difficult to reduce than SnTPP. For both systems, the quenching mechanism is confirmed by suitable blank experiments, specific kinetic treatments, and the observation of kinetic isotope effects (KIEs). Differently from what has been previously proposed, a detailed reinvestigation of the triplet quenching of 1 with pyrrolidine shows that no long-lived radical pair state is formed, as diradical recombination is always faster than formation. This is true for both 1 and 3 and for all bases examined. The kinetics of the CPET pathways can be well described according to Marcus theory and point toward the involvement of substantial reorganization energy as typically observed for PCET processes of concerted nature.