Photoinduced electron transfer in non-covalent free-base octaethylporphyrin and 2-nitrofluorene donor-acceptor system: A combined experimental and quantum chemical study

Photosynthetic reaction center functions through non-covalent incorporation into a well-defined transmembrane proteins. In the context of exploring photoinduced electron transfer (PET) in non-covalent donor-acceptor systems, we have investigated electron transfer from free-base octaethylporphyrin (OEP) donor to 2-nitrofluorene (2NF) acceptor in acetonitrile (ACN), a polar solvent. Steady-state and time-resolved emission spectroscopic studies in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) calculations were employed to explore the electron transfer process. Quenching of the fluorescence emission intensity as well as fluorescence lifetime of the OEP upon excitation at the Q band of OEP at 300 K, is attributed to the PET from OEP to 2NF. Our DFT [wB97XD functional and 6-31G (d,p) basis set] calculations also support the interaction between donor and acceptor and also reveals the co-facial π-π interaction energy of −24.6 kcal/mol with intermolecular distance <4 Å. Our results are expected to shed light on PET in non-covalent donor acceptor systems.