Effects of Substituents on Synthetic Analogs of Chlorophylls. Part 1: Synthesis, Vibrational Properties and Excited‐state Decay Characteristics

Understanding the effects of substituents on the spectra of chlorins is essential for a wide variety of applications. Recent developments in synthetic methodology have made possible systematic studies of the properties of the chlorin macrocycle as a function of diverse types and patterns of substituents. In this paper, the spectral, vibrational and excited‐state decay characteristics are examined for a set of synthetic chlorins. The chlorins bear substituents at the 5,10,15 (meso) positions or the 3,13 (β) positions (plus 10‐mesityl in a series of compounds) and include 24 zinc chlorins, 18 free base (Fb) analogs and one Fb or zinc oxophorbine. The oxophorbine contains the keto‐bearing isocyclic ring present in the natural photosynthetic pigments (e.g. chlorophyll a). The substituents cause no significant perturbation to the structure of the chlorin macrocycle, as evidenced by the vibrational properties investigated using resonance Raman spectroscopy. In contrast, the fluorescence properties are significantly altered due to the electronic effects of substituents. For example, the fluorescence wavelength maximum, quantum yield and lifetime for a zinc chlorin bearing 3,13‐diacetyl and 10‐mesityl groups (662 nm, 0.28, 6.0 ns) differ substantially from those of the parent unsubstituted chlorin (602 nm, 0.062, 1.7 ns). Each of these properties of the lowest singlet excited state can be progressively stepped between these two extremes by incorporating different substituents. These perturbations are associated with significant changes in the rate constants of the decay pathways of the lowest excited singlet state. In this regard, the zinc chlorins with the red‐most fluorescence also have the greatest radiative decay rate constant and are expected to have the fastest nonradiative internal conversion to the ground state. Nonetheless, these complexes have the longest singlet excited‐state lifetime. The Fb chlorins bearing the same substituents exhibit similar fluorescence properties. Such combinations of factors render the chlorins suitable for a range of applications that require tunable coverage of the solar spectrum, long‐lived excited states and red‐region fluorescence.