J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 5563-5567
5563
Ultrafast Photoswitched Charge Transmission through the Bridge
Molecule in a Donor-Bridge-Acceptor System
Ryan T. Hayes,† Michael R. Wasielewski,*,† and David Gosztola‡
Contribution from the Department of Chemistry, Northwestern UniVersity, EVanston, Illinois 60208-3113,
and the Chemistry DiVision, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439-4831
ReceiVed January 20, 2000
Abstract: A Donor-Bridge-Acceptor molecule, D-B-A, was synthesized to probe the effects of changing
the electronic state of the bridge molecule, B, on the rates of electron transfer within D-B-A. Selective
photoexcitation of D in a tetrahydrofuran solution of D-B-A with 400 nm, 130 fs laser pulses at t ) 0 ps
results in photoinduced electron transfer to yield the ion pair D+-B--A with τ ) 60 ps, which undergoes a
subsequent charge shift with τ ) 140 ps to yield the long-lived ion pair D+-B-A- (τ ) 700 ns). Subsequent
selective photoexcitation of B within D+-B-A- with a 520 nm, 150 fs laser pulse at t ) 500 ps results in
about 20% of the D+-B-A- population undergoing charge recombination with τ ) 100 ps. This charge
recombination rate is about 7000 times faster than the normal recombination rate of the ion pair. The results
demonstrate that formation of the lowest excited singlet state of the bridge molecule B significantly alters the
reaction pathways leading to charge recombination. Thus, D-B-A can be viewed as a molecular switch in
which the D+-B-A- state can be rapidly turned on and off using 400 and 520 nm laser pulses, respectively.
Introduction
A1- -A2. The reduced acceptor A1- possesses an intense optical
absorption that can be irradiated with a second laser pulse to
produce the excited-state D+-1*A1--A2 that is capable of
transferring an electron to the secondary acceptor A2. We have
already demonstrated that sequential application of femtosecond
laser pulses to both linear and branched systems of this type
can propagate the electron up a potential gradient in the linear
case,14 and result in an optically controlled change of electron
transport direction in the branched case.15 The second approach
recognizes that the rates of electron-transfer reactions can be
controlled through the application of electric fields. A consider-
able amount of work has been devoted to the theoretical model-
ing16-18 and experimental realization19-21 of molecular electronic
switches consisting of organic electron donor-acceptor pairs
whose operation is controlled by an external electric field. The
electric field produced by a photogenerated ion pair can have a
large effect on the electronic states of surrounding molecules.
For example, a photogenerated electric field can affect the
optical properties of a nearby molecule, or even alter the rate
of electron transfer between a second donor-acceptor pair. If
each of these processes is photodriven, logic can be developed
based on the number, sequence, and frequencies of optical pulses
used to produce a particular optical observable in these systems.
We have prepared two donor1-acceptor1-acceptor2-donor2
molecular arrays, D1-A1-A2-D2,22,23 in which photoinduced
The rates and mechanisms of electron and hole transfer
through organic molecules are topics of considerable recent
interest.1,2 One aspect of this interest is the question of whether
single molecules can act as molecular wires.3-10 In addition, as
the limits of current silicon-based technologies in electronics
are approached,11 a related question is whether molecular
systems can be used as electronic components such as ultrafast
switches.12,13 Central to both of these issues is the question of
how to control charge transmission through organic molecules.
We have developed three fundamental approaches to exerting
such control over electron-transfer pathways.
One of these strategies uses photoinduced electron transfer
to produce a radical ion pair in the donor-acceptor array: D+-
* Address correspondence to this author. E-mail at wasielew@
chem.nwu.edu.
† Northwestern University.
‡ Argonne National Laboratory.
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10.1021/ja000219d CCC: $19.00 © 2000 American Chemical Society
Published on Web 05/23/2000