Reductive fluorescence quenching of the photoexcited free base meso-tetrakis (pentafluorophenyl) porphyrin by amines.

Steady state and time resolved fluorescence quenching behaviors of meso-Tetrakis (pentafluorophenyl) porphyrin (H2F20TPP) in presence of different aliphatic and aromatic amines have been executed in homogeneous dichloromethane (DCM) solution. At room temperature in DCM, free base (H2F20TPP) shows fluorescence with two distinct peaks at 640 and 711 nm and natural lifetime τ f = 9.8 ns which are very similar to that of meso-tetraphenyl porphyrin (TPP). Unlike TPP, addition of both aliphatic and aromatic amines to a solution containing H2F20TPP results in an efficient decrease in fluorescence intensity without altering the shape and peak position of fluorescence emission. Upon addition of amines there was no change in optical absorption spectra of H2F20TPP. The fluorescence quenching rate constants ranged from 1 × 109 to 4 × 109 s−1, which are one order below to the diffusion control limit, and temperature dependent quenching rate constants yield the activation energies which are found to be order of 0.1 eV. Femto second transient absorption studies reveal the existence of amine cation radical and porphyrin anion radicals with very short decay time (15 ps). The fluorescence quenching reaction follows Stern–Volmer kinetics. Steady state and time-resolved data are interpreted within general kinetic scheme of Marcus semi-classical model which attributes bimolecular electron transfer process between amines and the lowest excited singlet state of H2F20TPP. Calculated internal reorganization energies are found to be in between 0.04 and 0.22 ev. Variation of electron transfer rate as function of free energy change (∆G0) points the ET reactions in the present systems are in Marcus normal region. This is the first example of reductive fluorescence quenching of free base neutral porphyrins in homogeneous organic solvent ever known.