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Light-harvesting porphyrazines to enable


Cite this: Nanoscale, 2019, 11, 22286
intramolecular singlet fission†
Diana-Paola Medina,‡a Ilias Papadopoulos,‡b Giulia Lavarda,a Henrik Gotfredsen,c
Parisa R. Rami,d Rik R. Tykwinski, *d M. Salomé Rodríguez-Morgade, *a,e
Dirk M. Guldi *b and Tomás Torres *a,e,f

A porphyrazine featuring complementary absorption to a pentacene dimer was chosen to fill the absorp-
tion gap of the latter in the range of 450 to 600 nm to realize panchromatic absorption through the
visible region out to ca. 700 nm. Of even greater relevance is the quantitative intramolecular Förster reso-
Received 22nd September 2019, nance energy transfer (i-FRET) to funnel energy to the pentacene moieties, where efficient intramolecular
Accepted 31st October 2019
singlet fission (i-SF) converts the singlet excited state into the corresponding triplet excited states.
DOI: 10.1039/c9nr08161e Remarkably, the triplet quantum yield either via direct excitation or via indirect i-FRET is up to 200% ±
rsc.li/nanoscale 20% in polar solvents.

Introduction panchromatic light harvesting have only been rarely addressed.


To this end, we have recently reported a series of subphthalo-
Singlet fission (SF) is the spin-allowed transition of a singlet cyanine–pentacene conjugates (SubPc–Pnc2), in which SubPc
excited state (S1S0) into a pair of correlated triplet excited plays the role of an energy donor and, thus, enhances the per-
states 1(T1T1).1–3 In contrast to intersystem crossing, the formance of SF in Pnc2.16 The strong absorption of the SubPc
singlet multiplicity is maintained throughout the process of chromophore in the visible range of the solar spectrum results
SF. By virtue of this property, SF has the potential to surpass in, after irradiation, intramolecular Förster resonance energy
the Shockley–Queisser limit of single junction solar cells.4–6 As transfer (i-FRET) from SubPc to Pnc2 on the subpicosecond
a matter of fact, the last decade has seen numerous efforts to timescale, followed by subsequent intramolecular SF (i-SF) on
identify new SF materials, namely acenes,1,2,7,8 rylenes,9–11 and the timescale of tens of picoseconds. The synergy of the two
diketopyrrolopyrroles,12,13 as well as studies directed towards chromophores improves the overall light response of the
deciphering the mechanistic intricacies of the singlet to triplet SubPc–Pnc2 conjugates in terms of SF. The properties of SubPc
transitions during SF.14,15 Considering the tremendous pro- are, however, relatively difficult to tune by peripheral substi-
gress toward understanding the various mechanistic facets of tution.17 Therefore, the study of alternative “antennae”
SF, the lack of efforts in finding ways for enhancing the SF chromophores is essential.
response is rather surprising. For example, the improvement In the current work, we have built on the concept of syner-
of chromophore stability and, in particular, the efficient/ gistic light absorption and used zinc porphyrazines (ZnPz)
(Fig. 1) to complement the pentacene chromophore. Our
a
choice of the porphyrazine chromophore is guided by two
Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid,
Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain. E-mail: salome.rodriguez@uam.es,
main design criteria. One, the absorption profile of peripher-
tomas.torres@uam.es ally alkyl-substituted metal porphyrazines (MPzs) includes
b
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy & Interdisciplinary Center for Molecular strong maxima in the region of 580–600 nm that could mini-
Materials (ICMM), University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Egerlandstraße 3, mize the spectral crosstalk of the ZnPz–Pnc2 conjugate.18–20
91058 Erlangen, Germany. E-mail: dirk.guldi@fau.de
c
Two, FRET is extremely sensitive to the separation distance
Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5,
DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
between fluorophores, and the attachment of a Pnc2 dimer to
d
Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G2, the periphery of ZnPz provides a structural orientation of the
Canada. E-mail: rik.tykwinski@ualberta.ca donor–acceptor pair that is quite different from that of the pre-
e
Institute for Advanced Research in Chemical Sciences (IAdChem), vious SubPc–Pnc2 conjugates. Additional motivation comes
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
f
from a recently reported series of A3B-type ZnPzs endowed
IMDEA-Nanociencia, c/ Faraday 9, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/
with a carboxylic acid functional group that is directly amen-
c9nr08161e able to chemical manipulation to link to a Pnc2 dimer.21
‡ These authors contributed equally to this work. Hexapropyl substitution showed appropriate electronic fea-

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Scheme 1 Synthesis of conjugate 1 and Pz1.

Fig. 1 Structures of ZnPz–Pnc2 conjugates 1 and 2.

tures among the reported ZnPzs,18,21 which would allow the


required spectral overlap between the donor and acceptor for
FRET. With very few exceptions,22 FRET has not been exploited
using Pzs. Inspired by the considerations highlighted above,
we have designed two different ZnPz–Pnc2 conjugates 1 and 2
(Fig. 1), in which ZnPz and Pnc2 are connected through an iso-
meric carboxylic ester linkage. In conjugate 1, the carbonyl
moiety of the linker is attached to the pentacene dimer, with
ZnPz bearing the alkoxy fragment, whereas in conjugate 2,
ZnPz has the carbonyl group, while pentacene features the
alkoxy functionality. This subtle structural difference between
1 and 2 is expected to slightly modulate the electronic features
of the two components, i.e. ZnPz and Pnc2, with a consequent
influence on the FRET–SF cascade. Therefore, we report the
synthesis and characterization of 1 and 2, together with an in-
depth photophysical investigation, by which we gained valu-
able insight into the application of ZnPzs in SF materials, as
Scheme 2 Synthesis of conjugate 2 and Pz2.
well as the efficiencies of i-FRET and i-SF in 1 and 2.

Results and discussion PzCOOH, could be obtained by the reduction of a common


Pz intermediate containing a butyl ester moiety (5, see
Synthesis Scheme S1†) via either reduction with LiAlH4 in THF or basic
Conjugates 1 and 2 were prepared by esterification reactions of hydrolysis, respectively.18 The characterization of 1, 2, Pz1, and
PzOH with Pnc2COOH 23 (Scheme 1) and PzCOOH 18 with Pz2 was carried out by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and UV-Vis spec-
Pnc2OH 24 (Scheme 2), respectively, in a 1 : 1 mixture of THF troscopy, as well as MS (MALDI-TOF and HR MALDI-TOF).
and DMF, in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl- The MS spectra of 1 and 2 (Fig. S10 and S12†) show the iso-
aminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) and DMAP. topic clusters corresponding to the expected molecular ions
Under similar reaction conditions, two ZnPz reference com- [M]+ at m/z 1772–1781, while HRMS MALDI-TOF shows the
pounds were synthesized, namely Pz1 (Scheme 1) and Pz2 corresponding ions at m/z 1772.8027 for 1 and 1772.8038 for 2
(Scheme 2). It is noteworthy that both precursors, PzOH and (calculated for C116H116N8O2Si2Zn = 1772.8046). Fig. S8† shows

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the 1H NMR spectra of 1 and 2. The most important differ-


ences between the two conjugates are observed in the moieties
that are directly attached to the carboxylate linker, in particu-
lar, the three signals corresponding to the ZnPz isoindole and
the two signals assigned to the arylene spacer connecting the
two pentacene fragments. For 1, the former appear more
shielded at 9.65, 9.53 and 8.51 ppm, while the latter are
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detected at 8.86 and 8.81 ppm, shifted downfield as a result of


the carbonyl substituent. In contrast, 2 shows the isoindole
signals at 10.26, 9.59 and 9.08 ppm, deshielded by the carbo-
nyl substituent, with the two signals of the arylene ring
appearing at 8.68 and 8.48 ppm. In addition, the resonance
corresponding to the benzyl protons appears more deshielded
in 1 (6.18 ppm), when it is connected to the ZnPz fragment,
than in 2 (5.98 ppm), when it is attached to the arylene spacer.
Similar effects have been observed in the 1H NMR spectra of
Pz1 and Pz2 (Fig. S13†). Specifically, the isoindole signals
appear at 9.50, 9.39 and 8.29 ppm for Pz1 and at 10.05, 9.44
and 8.83 ppm for Pz2. Two doublets at 8.29 and 8.16 ppm for
Pz1 and at 7.69 and 7.49 ppm for Pz2 account for the phenyl-
ene ring, while the benzyl singlets appear at 5.95 ppm for Pz1
and at 5.60 ppm for Pz2.

Photophysics Fig. 2 (a) Normalized steady-state absorption spectra of Pz1 (grey),


Pnc2COOH (light grey), and 1 (black) in toluene. (b) Normalized steady-
Steady-state spectroscopic measurements were performed first state fluorescence spectra of Pz1 (grey), Pnc2COOH (light grey), and 1
to investigate the ground- and excited-state interactions (black) in toluene. Pnc2COOH centered absorption (∼660 nm) and Pz1
between the ZnPz and Pnc2 fragments (Fig. 2 and S18–S20).† centered fluorescence (∼626.5 nm) are used as points of normalization,
respectively.
The absorption spectra of Pnc2COOH and Pnc2OH revealed
the characteristic vibrational fingerprints of pentacene in the
short-wavelength region, that is, between 300 and 450 nm and
in the long-wavelength region, that is, between 550 and ZnPz fluorescence at 625 nm. From fluorescence quantum
750 nm. For Pz1 and Pz2, a broad B-band absorption and a set yields of approximately 0.01, we achieve 90% quenching.
of Q-band absorptions are observed at around 350 nm and in Simultaneously, the fluorescence characteristic of the Pnc2
the range from 500 to 650 nm, respectively.§ The absorption group is observed, centered at 665 nm. Performing time-corre-
spectra of the conjugates 1 and 2 are a linear superimposition lated single photon counting (TCSPC) measurements, with an
of the spectra of individual chromophores, from which we con- excitation at the associated ZnPz Q-band and detection at the
clude that there are no, or only weak, ground-state interactions Pnc2 centered emission at 665 nm, corroborated efficient
between ZnPzs and Pnc2. i-FRET, through which singlet excited-state energy is funneled
By shifting our focus to steady-state fluorescence measure- from ZnPz to Pnc2. At the same time, the ZnPz fluorescence
ments, we are able to examine the excited-state interactions. lifetime in 1 and 2 is as short as 100 ps. A summary of the
Regardless of the solvent polarity, exciting Pnc2COOH and most relevant photophysical properties of Pz1/Pz2 and
Pnc2OH at the long-wavelength absorption region results in fluo- Pnc2COOH/Pnc2OH, as well as conjugates 1 and 2, in toluene
rescence maxima at about 665 nm and fluorescence quantum is given in Table 1.
yields (ΦF) of about 0.02 and 0.01, respectively. Upon excitation To gain deeper insights into the excited-state deactivation,
of Pz1 and Pz2 into their Q-band region in toluene, we find fluo- femtosecond (fsTA) and nanosecond (nsTA) transient absorp-
rescence maxima at 625 nm, fluorescence quantum yields of tion experiments were conducted. For Pz1, Pz2, 1, and 2,
0.21/0.26, respectively, and fluorescence lifetimes of 2.52/2.89 570 nm was selected as the excitation wavelength, while
ns, respectively. Increasing the solvent polarity by using benzo- 633 nm was the excitation wavelength for experiments with
nitrile leads to only minor changes (see Fig. S18–S20†).¶ Pnc2COOH and Pnc2OH. Exemplary fsTA and nsTA spectra are
In stark contrast, excitation of 1 and 2 into the ZnPz given for Pz1 and Pnc2COOH in toluene in Fig. 3 and 4. In the
Q-band region results in nearly quantitative quenching of the case of Pz1 and Pz2 (Fig. S21†), a two-species kinetic model
was employed to fit the transient data.
§ Pz1 shows a subtle splitting of the 615 nm Q-band absorption in toluene.
The first species formed is the ZnPz singlet excited state
1
¶ Fluorescence quantum yields are 0.20 (Pz1) and 0.25 (Pz2), while fluorescence (S1)Pz, with maxima at ca. 508 and 670 nm and ground-state
lifetimes are 2.51 ns (Pz1) and 2.88 ns (Pz2). bleaching (GSB) between 555 and 645 nm. All of the aforemen-

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Table 1 Summary of the photophysical properties of Pz1/Pz2 and and GSB in the range from 555 to 645 nm. Turning to
Pnc2COOH/Pnc2OH, as well as conjugates 1 and 2 in toluene Pnc2COOH and Pnc2OH (Fig. S22†), a three-species kinetic
model is required. Initially, the immediate population of the
λabs/nm λem/nm
ϕF τF singlet excited state 1(S1S0)Pnc2 is noted, which features
Compounds ZnPz Pnc2 ZnPz Pnc2 ZnPza ZnPza maxima at 450, 508, and 1375 nm, as well as GSB between 550
and 750 nm, in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) region. The
Pnc2COOH — 660 — 666.5 ∼0.02b <200 psb,c
Pnc2OH — — ∼0.01b <100 psb features of 1(S1S0)Pnc2 are rapidly replaced by those of the
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659 664.5
Pz1 607 — 626.5 — 0.21 2.52 ns singlet correlated triplet pair state (1(T1T1)Pnc2) as the final
Pz2 617 — 624 — 0.26 2.89 ns
species. Most important is the GSB intensification, which
1 609.5 661 628 667.5 <0.01 <100 psc
2 617.5 659 625.5 666 <0.01 <200 psc goes hand-in-hand with the formation of maxima at 473 and
a
505 nm. All this takes place on a time scale of >200 ps, from
Values refer to the zinc porphyrazine (ZnPz) centered fluorescence, if
not stated otherwise. b Values refer to the pentacene (Pnc2) centered which we conclude the formation of more than one triplet
fluorescence. c The lifetime is below the resolution limit of our time- excited state per Pnc2 and from which we confirm that SF is
correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) setup. operative en route toward the Pnc2 triplet excited state for-
mation. The (1(S1S0)Pnc2) to (1(T1T1)Pnc2) transition proceeds
in line with previous studies via an intermediate singlet
tioned are populated simultaneously with the 570 nm excited state with a charge transfer (CT) character
photoexcitation. (CT(S1S0)Pnc2). Inspection of the fsTA measurements (Fig. 5)
Following the formation of the ZnPz singlet excited state carried out with 1 and 2 (Fig. S23†) reveals characteristics
1
(S1)Pz, intersystem crossing (ISC) slowly produces a triplet stemming from the Pz1/Pz2 and Pnc2COOH/Pnc2OH refer-
excited state 3(T1)Pz, with maxima at around 480 and 650 nm ence compounds.25

Fig. 3 (a) Differential absorption spectra obtained from fsTA experiments (570 nm) of Pz1 in toluene with several time delays between 0 and
5250 ps at rt, with the inset showing kinetics at the respective wavelengths. (b) Evolution associated spectra of the transient absorption data of Pz1
shown in (a), with the initially formed singlet excited state 1(S1)Pz1 (black) and triplet excited state 3(T1)Pz1 (orange). The inset shows the relative popu-
lations of the respective states. (c) Differential absorption spectra obtained from nsTA experiments (570 nm) of Pz1 in toluene with several time
delays between 0 and 400 μs at rt, with the inset showing kinetics at the respective wavelengths. (d) Evolution associated spectra of the transient
absorption data of Pz1 shown in (c), with the initially formed singlet excited state 1(S1)Pz1 (black) and triplet excited state 3(T1)Pz1 (orange). The inset
shows the relative populations of the respective states.

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Fig. 4 (a) Differential absorption spectra obtained from fsTA experi-


ments (633 nm) of Pnc2COOH in toluene with several time delays Fig. 5 (a) Differential absorption spectra obtained from fsTA experi-
between 0 and 5250 ps at rt, with the inset showing kinetics at the ments (570 nm) of 1 in toluene with several time delays between 0 and
respective wavelengths. (b) Evolution associated spectra of the transient 5250 ps at rt, with the inset showing kinetics at the respective wave-
absorption data of Pnc2COOH shown in (a), with the initially formed lengths. (b) Evolution associated spectra of the transient absorption data
singlet excited state 1(S1S0)Pnc2COOH (red), intermediate state of 1 shown in (a), with the initially formed ZnPz singlet excited state
1
CT
(S1S0)Pnc2COOH (blue), and singlet correlated triplet pair state (S1)Pz1 (black), the Pnc2 singlet excited state 1(S1S0)Pnc2,1 (red), intermedi-
1
(T1T1)Pnc2COOH (green). The inset shows the relative populations of the ate state CT(S1S0)Pnc2,1 (blue), and singlet correlated triplet pair state
1
respective states. (T1T1)Pnc2,1 (green). The inset shows the relative populations of the
respective states.

To fit the fsTA data, a four-species kinetic model was devel-


oped and applied. The first species is the singlet excited state toluene. A comparison of the solvent polarity and analyses of
1
(S1)Pz, as found in experiments with Pz1 and Pz2. Most its influence on the overall kinetics and TQYs confirm that
notable are maxima at 508 and 670 nm and GSB at 555 to more polar solvents favor higher TQYs and shorter-lived
645 nm. In conjugates 1 and 2, however, 1(S1)Pz is short-lived 1
(S1)Pz/1(S1S0)Pnc2 states (Table S2†). This is well in line with the
and replaced by 1(S1S0)Pnc2 within less than 5 ps. As a matter of previous work on SubPc–Pnc2 conjugates, as well as phenyl-
fact, maxima at 450, 508, and 1375 nm, as well as GSB ene- and bicyclo[2.2.2]octane-spaced pentacene dimers.26 As
between 550 and 750 nm, resemble the findings made with such, it is considered as independent evidence for the CT char-
the Pnc2COOH/Pnc2OH reference compounds. Following its acter of the intermediate CT(S1S0)Pnc2 state; specifically, more
population, 1(S1S0)Pnc2 deactivates sequentially via the inter- polar solvents stabilize the CT(S1S0)Pnc2 state and, in turn, facili-
mediate CT(S1S0)Pnc2 and singlet correlated triplet pair tate 1(T1T1)Pnc2 population. All corresponding fsTA and nsTA
1
(T1T1)Pnc2 states, as third and fourth species, respectively. spectra in benzonitrile are shown in Fig. S24–S29.† Finally, we
Repopulation of the electronic ground state is governed by took a closer look at the FRET rate constants (kFRET) for 1 and
intramolecular triplet–triplet annihilation. In short, the 2 and compared them with those previously observed for the
initially formed ZnPz centered singlet excited state 1(S1)Pz in 1 SubPc-based conjugates. Similar to the kinetics and TQYs, the
and 2 is subject to i-FRET from ZnPz to Pnc2, which then leads rate constants are higher in benzonitrile than in toluene; the
to i-SF. In Table 2, all the lifetimes and all the triplet quantum highest value of 12.99 × 1011 s−1 was obtained for 2. FRET is
yields (TQYs) are summarized for measurements performed in ca. 1.7 times faster in 2 than in 1 and ∼3.2 times faster than in

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Table 2 Summary of kinetic data and triplet quantum yields (TQYs) of Pz1/Pz2 reference compounds, Pnc2COOH/Pnc2OH reference compounds,
as well as conjugates 1 and 2 in toluene

fsTA nsTA
1 1 CT 1
Compounds (S1)ZnPz (S1S0)Pnc2 (S1S0)Pnc2 (T1T1)Pnc2 TQYa,b 1
(S1)ZnPz 1
(T1)ZnPz

Pz1 2.23 ns — — — — 2.53 ns 128.01 μs


Pz2 — — — — 112.94 μs
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2.78 ns 2.83 ns
Pnc2COOH — 7.86 ps 75.57 ps 3.25 ns 124% ± 20% — —
Pnc2OH — 16.03 ps 88.75 ps 2.51 ns 150% ± 20% — —
1 1.51 ps 21.22 ps 89.95 ps 3.04 ns 167% ± 20% n.r.c —
2 1.14 ps 32.88 ps 167.87 ps 3.27 ns 136% ± 20% n.r. —
a
Determined by following the intensification of the transient bleaching of the Pnc2 moiety and comparing the relative intensification of the evolu-
tion-associated spectra for the 1(S1S0)Pnc2 and 1(T1T1)Pnc2 states, respectively. b An error margin in the range of ±20% may be considered when
determining the TQYs. c n.r. = not resolvable. Lifetimes are either too long to be resolved with fsTA or too short to be resolved with nsTA.

Table 3 Summary of the parameters used for the FRET rate constant calculation as well as an overview of the resulting values for the FRET rate
constants

τDA/ps (TA) τD/ns (TCSPC) εA/M−1 cm−1 a ϕF D J/M−1 cm−1 nm4 R0/Å R/Å KFRET/1011 s−1

Tol
1 1.51 2.52 51 495 0.21 4.30 × 1015 46.83 13.60 6.61
2 1.14 2.89 68 625 0.26 4.62 × 1015 49.11 13.30 8.77
BN
1 1.34 2.51 50 335 0.20 4.14 × 1015 45.52 12.97 7.45
2 0.77 2.88 51 535 0.25 3.78 × 1015 46.53 11.81 12.99
a
For εA, the extinction coefficients at the long-wavelength maxima of the pentacene dimers (Pnc2COOH and Pnc2OH) are taken, respectively.

cating a closer proximity of the respective energy donors and


acceptors. A summary of the parameters used for the FRET
rate constant calculation, as well as the resulting FRET rate
constants, is given in Table 3. The major advantage of ZnPz in
terms of FRET efficiency is the superior spectral overlap
between ZnPz and Pnc2 compared to SubPc and Pnc2 due to
red-shifted absorption and fluorescence. A better spectral
overlap and a faster FRET are, however, compensated for by a
limited absorption throughout the visible range of the solar
spectrum. Overall, it shows the delicate balance that is
required when designing light-harvesting systems.

Conclusions
In conclusion, a set of novel ZnPz–Pnc2 conjugates have been
Fig. 6 Quantitative energy diagram showing the deactivation cascade successfully synthesized and characterized by means of steady-
of the ZnPz–Pnc2 conjugates 1 and 2 (λex = 570 nm). The initial popu- state and time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy. An
lation of the ZnPz singlet excited state (1(S1)) is followed by FRET to the
efficient sequence of i-FRET from ZnPz to Pnc2 and sub-
singlet excited state of Pnc2 (1(S1S0)). Population of the intermediate
state (CT(S1S0)), subsequent SF to yield the multiexcitonic state (1(T1T1)),
sequent i-SF is observed. The qualitative deactivation cascade
and TTA back to the Pnc2 ground state conclude the deactivation is shown in Fig. 6: Ultrafast i-FRET funnels excited-state energy
process. The energy levels of CT(S1S0) and 1(T1T1) are obtained from the from the singlet excited state of ZnPz to the ground state of
literature.27 Pnc2, populating the Pnc2 singlet excited state. The latter is
subsequently converted into an intermediate state by means of
mixing of singlet excited state and CT character, which finally
the SubPc-based analogs. This is mirrored in the calculated transitions into a pair of correlated triplet excited states. The
relative distance R, which is shorter in the ZnPz conjugates 1 process depends on the solvent polarity, reaching, in benzo-
and 2 than in the previously described SubPc conjugates, indi- nitrile, triplet quantum yields and FRET rate constants as high

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as 200% ± 20% and 12.99 × 1011 s−1, respectively. With this 13 P. E. Hartnett, E. A. Margulies, C. M. Mauck, S. A. Miller,
design in hand, we have been able to increase FRET rate con- Y. Wu, Y.-L. Wu, T. J. Marks and M. R. Wasielewski, J. Phys.
stants by a factor of ∼3.2, when compared to previously Chem. B, 2016, 120, 1357.
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X.-Y. Zhu, Chem. Rev., 2019, 119, 4261.
15 S. N. Sanders, A. B. Pun, K. R. Parenti, E. Kumarasamy,
Conflicts of interest L. M. Yablon, M. Y. Sfeir and L. M. Campos, Chem, 2019, 5,
Published on 31 October 2019. Downloaded by Universidad Autonoma de Madrid on 12/2/2019 11:17:12 PM.

1988.
There are no conflicts to declare. 16 G. Lavarda, J. Zirzlmeier, M. Gruber, P. R. Rami,
R. R. Tykwinski, T. Torres and D. M. Guldi, Angew. Chem.,
Int. Ed., 2018, 57, 16291.
Acknowledgements 17 C. G. Claessens, D. Gonzalez-Rodríguez, M. S. Rodríguez-
Morgade, A. Medina and T. Torres, Chem. Rev., 2014, 114,
Financial support from the Spanish MICINN (CTQ2017-85393- 2192.
P) is acknowledged. IMDEA Nanociencia acknowledges 18 J. Fernández-Ariza, M. Urbani, M. Grätzel, M. S. Rodríguez-
support from the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres of Morgade, M. K. Nazeeruddin and T. Torres,
Excellence in R&D (MINECO, Grant SEV2016- ChemPhotoChem, 2017, 1, 164.
0686). R. R. T. acknowledges funding from the Natural 19 N. Kobayashi, Meso-Azaporphyrins and their Analogues, in
Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada The Porphyrin Handbook, ed. K. M. Kadish, K. M. Smith and
(NSERC, grant no. RGPIN-2017-05052) and the Canadian R. Guilard, Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 2000, vol. 2, pp.
Foundation for Innovation (CFI). D. P. M. thanks 301–360; T. Fukuda and N. Kobayashi, UV-Visible
“Convocatoria 617 – Doctorados en el exterior”, COLCIENCIAS, Absorption Spectroscopic Properties of Phthalocyanines
Government of Colombia, for a doctoral fellowship. H. G. and Related Macrocycles, in Handbook of Porphyrin Science,
thanks the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science ed. K. Kadish, K. Smith and R. Guilard, 2010, vol. 9; Y. Rio,
for an EliteForsk travel scholarship. M. S. Rodríguez-Morgade and T. Torres, Org. Biomol.
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20 M. S. Rodríguez-Morgade and P. A. Stuzhin, J. Porphyrins
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