| 1. |
- Tatsuno, Hideyuki, et al.
(författare)
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Hot Branching Dynamics in a Light-Harvesting Iron Carbene Complex Revealed by Ultrafast X-ray Emission Spectroscopy
- 2020
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Ingår i: Angewandte Chemie - International Edition. - : Wiley. - 1433-7851 .- 1521-3773. ; 59:1, s. 364-372
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Iron N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes have received a great deal of attention recently because of their growing potential as light sensitizers or photocatalysts. We present a sub-ps X-ray spectroscopy study of an FeIINHC complex that identifies and quantifies the states involved in the deactivation cascade after light absorption. Excited molecules relax back to the ground state along two pathways: After population of a hot 3MLCT state, from the initially excited 1MLCT state, 30 % of the molecules undergo ultrafast (150 fs) relaxation to the 3MC state, in competition with vibrational relaxation and cooling to the relaxed 3MLCT state. The relaxed 3MLCT state then decays much more slowly (7.6 ps) to the 3MC state. The 3MC state is rapidly (2.2 ps) deactivated to the ground state. The 5MC state is not involved in the deactivation pathway. The ultrafast partial deactivation of the 3MLCT state constitutes a loss channel from the point of view of photochemical efficiency and highlights the necessity to screen transition-metal complexes for similar ultrafast decays to optimize photochemical performance.
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| 2. |
- Chábera, Pavel, et al.
(författare)
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A low-spin Fe(iii) complex with 100-ps ligand-to-metal charge transfer photoluminescence
- 2017
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 543:7647, s. 695-699
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Transition-metal complexes are used as photosensitizers1, in light-emitting diodes, for biosensing and in photocatalysis2. A key feature in these applications is excitation from the ground state to a charge-transfer state3,4; the long charge-transfer-state lifetimes typical for complexes of ruthenium5 and other precious metals are often essential to ensure high performance. There is much interest in replacing these scarce elements with Earth-abundant metals, with iron6 and copper7 being particularly attractive owing to their low cost and non-toxicity. But despite the exploration of innovative molecular designs6,8,9,10, it remains a formidable scientific challenge11 to access Earth-abundant transition-metal complexes with long-lived charge-transfer excited states. No known iron complexes are considered12 photoluminescent at room temperature, and their rapid excited-state deactivation precludes their use as photosensitizers13,14,15. Here we present the iron complex [Fe(btz)3]3+ (where btz is 3,3′-dimethyl-1,1′-bis(p-tolyl)-4,4′-bis(1,2,3-triazol-5-ylidene)), and show that the superior σ-donor and π-acceptor electron properties of the ligand stabilize the excited state sufficiently to realize a long charge-transfer lifetime of 100 picoseconds (ps) and room-temperature photoluminescence. This species is a low-spin Fe(iii) d5 complex, and emission occurs from a long-lived doublet ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (2LMCT) state that is rarely seen for transition-metal complexes4,16,17. The absence of intersystem crossing, which often gives rise to large excited-state energy losses in transition-metal complexes, enables the observation of spin-allowed emission directly to the ground state and could be exploited as an increased driving force in photochemical reactions on surfaces. These findings suggest that appropriate design strategies can deliver new iron-based materials for use as light emitters and photosensitizers.
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| 3. |
- Chábera, Pavel, et al.
(författare)
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Band-selective dynamics in charge-transfer excited iron carbene complexes
- 2019
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Ingår i: Faraday Discussions. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1359-6640 .- 1364-5498. ; 216:2019, s. 191-210
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ultrafast dynamics of photoinduced charge transfer processes in light-harvesting systems based on Earth-abundant transition metal complexes are of current interest for the development of molecular devices for solar energy conversion applications. A combination of ultrafast spectroscopy and first principles quantum chemical calculations of a recently synthesized iron carbene complex is used to elucidate the ultrafast excited state evolution processes in these systems with particular emphasis on investigating the underlying reasons why these complexes show promise in terms of significantly extended lifetimes of charge transfer excited states. Together, our results challenge the traditional excited state landscape for iron-based light harvesting transition metal complexes through radically different ground and excited state properties in alternative oxidation states. This includes intriguing indications of rich band-selective excited state dynamics on ultrafast timescales that are interpreted in terms of excitation energy dependence for excitations into a manifold of charge-transfer states. Some implications of the observed excited state properties and photoinduced dynamics for the utilization of iron carbene complexes for solar energy conversion applications are finally discussed.
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| 4. |
- Chábera, Pavel, et al.
(författare)
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FeII Hexa N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complex with a 528 ps Metal-To-Ligand Charge-Transfer Excited-State Lifetime
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1948-7185. ; 9:3, s. 459-463
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The iron carbene complex [FeII(btz)3](PF6)2 (where btz = 3,3′-dimethyl-1,1′-bis(p-Tolyl)-4,4′-bis(1,2,3-Triazol-5-ylidene)) has been synthesized, isolated, and characterized as a low-spin ferrous complex. It exhibits strong metal-To-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) absorption bands throughout the visible spectrum, and excitation of these bands gives rise to a 3MLCT state with a 528 ps excited-state lifetime in CH3CN solution that is more than one order of magnitude longer compared with the MLCT lifetime of any previously reported FeII complex. The low potential of the [Fe(btz)3]3+/[Fe(btz)3]2+ redox couple makes the 3MLCT state of [FeII(btz)3]2+ a potent photoreductant that can be generated by light absorption throughout the visible spectrum. Taken together with our recent results on the [FeIII(btz)3]3+ form of this complex, these results show that the FeII and FeIII oxidation states of the same Fe(btz)3 complex feature long-lived MLCT and LMCT states, respectively, demonstrating the versatility of iron N-heterocyclic carbene complexes as promising light-harvesters for a broad range of oxidizing and reducing conditions.
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| 5. |
- Ericson, Fredric, et al.
(författare)
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Electronic structure and excited state properties of iron carbene photosensitizers - A combined X-ray absorption and quantum chemical investigation
- 2017
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Ingår i: Chemical Physics Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 0009-2614. ; 683, s. 559-566
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The electronic structure and excited state properties of a series of iron carbene photosensitizers are elucidated through a combination of X-ray absorption measurements and density functional theory calculations. The X-ray absorption spectra are discussed with regard to the unusual bonding environment in these carbene complexes, highlighting the difference between ferrous and ferric carbene complexes. The valence electronic structure of the core excited FeIII-3d5 complex is predicted by calculating the properties of a CoIII-3d6 carbene complex using the Z+1 approximation. Insight is gained into the potential of sigma-donating ligands as strategy to tune properties for light harvesting applications.
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| 6. |
- Fredin, Lisa A., et al.
(författare)
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Computational characterization of competing energy and electron transfer states in bimetallic donor-acceptor systems for photocatalytic conversion
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 145:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The rapidly growing interest in photocatalytic systems for direct solar fuel production such as hydrogen generation from water splitting is grounded in the unique opportunity to achieve charge separation in molecular systems provided by electron transfer processes. In general, both photoinduced and catalytic processes involve complicated dynamics that depend on both structural and electronic effects. Here the excited state landscape of metal centered light harvester-catalyst pairs is explored using density functional theory calculations. In weakly bound systems, the interplay between structural and electronic factors involved can be constructed from the various mononuclear relaxed excited states. For this study, supramolecular states of electron transfer and excitation energy transfer character have been constructed from constituent full optimizations of multiple charge/spin states for a set of three Ru-based light harvesters and nine transition metal catalysts (based on Ru, Rh, Re, Pd, and Co) in terms of energy, structure, and electronic properties. The complete set of combined charge-spin states for each donor-acceptor system provides information about the competition of excited state energy transfer states with the catalytically active electron transfer states, enabling the identification of the most promising candidates for photocatalytic applications from this perspective.
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| 7. |
- Fredin, Lisa A., et al.
(författare)
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Influence of Triplet Surface Properties on Excited-State Deactivation of Expanded Cage Bis(tridentate)Ruthenium(II) Complexes
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry A. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1089-5639 .- 1520-5215. ; 123:25, s. 5293-5299
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Calculations of excited-state potential energy surfaces (PESs) are useful to predict key properties relating to the deactivation cascade of transition-metal complexes. Here, we first perform full free optimizations of the relevant excited-state minima, followed by extensive two-dimensional PES calculations based on the minima of interest. Maps of the lowest triplet excited-state surfaces of two bistridentate RuII-complexes, [Ru(DQP)2]2+ and [Ru(DQzP)2]2+, are used to explain recent experimental findings including an unexpected order of magnitude difference in an excited-state lifetime. The calculations reveal significant differences in the fundamental shapes and spin transitions of the lowest triplet excited-state energy surfaces of the two complexes and, in particular, show that the metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) surface region of [Ru(DQzP)2]2+ with a shorter excited-state lifetime is significantly smaller than that of [Ru(DQP)2]2+. This leads to a minimum energy crossing between the triplet and singlet surfaces near the MLCT for [Ru(DQzP)2]2+ or near the MC for [Ru(DQP)2]2+. These results indicate that the experimentally observed difference in the excited-state lifetime is closely related to the set of energetically accessible 3MLCT conformations.
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| 8. |
- Fredin, Lisa A., et al.
(författare)
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Molecular and Interfacial Calculations of Iron(II) Light Harvesters
- 2016
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Ingår i: ChemSusChem. - : Wiley. - 1864-5631. ; 9:7, s. 667-675
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Iron-carbene complexes show considerable promise as earth-abundant light-harvesters, and adsorption onto nanostructured TiO2 is a crucial step for developing solar energy applications. Intrinsic electron injection capabilities of such promising FeII N-heterocyclic complexes (Fe-NHC) to TiO2 are calculated here, and found to correlate well with recent experimental findings of highly efficient interfacial injection. First, we examine the special bonding characteristics of Fe-NHC light harvesters. The excited-state surfaces are examined using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) to explore relaxed excited-state properties. Finally, by relaxing an Fe-NHC adsorbed on a TiO2 nanocluster, we show favorable injection properties in terms of interfacial energy level alignment and electronic coupling suitable for efficient electron injection of excited electrons from the Fe complex into the TiO2 conduction band on ∼100 fs time scales.
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| 9. |
- Freitag, Marina, et al.
(författare)
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Supramolecular Hemicage Cobalt Mediators for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
- 2016
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Ingår i: ChemPhysChem. - : Wiley. - 1439-4235 .- 1439-7641. ; 17:23, s. 3845-3852
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A new class of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using the hemicage cobalt-based mediator [Co(ttb)](2+/3+) with the highly preorganized hexadentate ligand 5,5 '', 5 ''''-((2,4,6-triethyl benzene-1,3,5-triyl)tris(ethane-2,1-diyl))tri-2,2'-bipyridine (ttb) has been fully investigated. The performances of DSSCs sensitized with organic D-p-A dyes utilizing either [Co(ttb)](2+/3+) or the conventional [Co(bpy)(3)](2+/3+) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) redox mediator are comparable under 1000 Wm(-2) AM 1.5 G illumination. However, the hemicage complexes exhibit exceptional stability under thermal and light stress. In particular, a 120-hour continuous light illumination stability test for DSSCs using [Co(ttb)](2+/3+) resulted in a 10% increase in the performance, whereas a 40% decrease in performance was found for [Co(bpy)(3)](2+/3+) electrolyte-based DSSCs under the same conditions. These results demonstrate the great promise of [Co(ttb)](2+/3+) complexes as redox mediators for efficient, cost-effective, large-scale DSSC devices.
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| 10. |
- Harlang, Tobias C. B., et al.
(författare)
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Iron sensitizer converts light to electrons with 92% yield
- 2015
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Ingår i: Nature Chemistry. - 1755-4330 .- 1755-4349. ; 7:11, s. 883-889
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Solar energy conversion in photovoltaics or photocatalysis involves light harvesting, or sensitization, of a semiconductor or catalyst as a first step. Rare elements are frequently used for this purpose, but they are obviously not ideal for large-scale implementation. Great efforts have been made to replace the widely used ruthenium with more abundant analogues like iron, but without much success due to the very short-lived excited states of the resulting iron complexes. Here, we describe the development of an iron-nitrogen-heterocyclic-carbene sensitizer with an excited-state lifetime that is nearly a thousand-fold longer than that of traditional iron polypyridyl complexes. By the use of electron paramagnetic resonance, transient absorption spectroscopy, transient terahertz spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations, we show that the iron complex generates photoelectrons in the conduction band of titanium dioxide with a quantum yield of 92% from the 3MLCT (metal-to-ligand charge transfer) state. These results open up possibilities to develop solar energy-converting materials based on abundant elements.
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