Influence of the Protonatable Site in the Photo-Induced Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer between Rhenium(I) Polypyridyl Complexes and Hydroquinone

• Published in: Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society 2017-09, Vol.28 (9), p.1741-1751
• Main Authors: Prado, Fernando, Sousa, Sinval, Machado, Antonio Eduardo, Patrocinio, Antonio Otavio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
• ISSN: 0103-5053; 1678-4790
• DOI: 10.21577/0103-5053.20170022

In the present work the influence of the distance of the protonatable site of different ancillary ligands to the metal center on the luminescence quenching of ReI polypyridyl complexes by hydroquinone are evaluated by means of experimental and theoretical studies. In these systems, it is expected the occurrence of proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions upon excitation, which is a key process in solar-to-fuels energy conversion. The series fac-[Re(CO)3(2,2-bpy)(L)]PF6, L = pyridine, 1,4-pyrazine, 4,4'-bipyridyl, 1,2-bis-(4-pyridyl)ethane were synthesized and the luminescence quenching rate constant (kq) by hydroquinone in CH3CN and 1:1 CH3CN/H2O were determined by steady-state and lifetime measurements. In bare acetonitrile, the 1,4-pyrazine exhibits the higher kq (3.49 ± 0.02) × 109 L mol-1 s-1 among the species investigated, followed by 4,4'-bipyridyl (kq = 2.50 ± 0.02) × 109 L mol-1 s-1. In 1:1 CH3CN/H2O, the kq values for all complexes are very similar evidencing the role of water molecules as proton acceptor following the reductive quenching of the complexes by hydroquinone. In CH3CN, the proton release for the solvent is not spontaneous and the higher basicity of the coordinated 1,4-pyrazine and 4,4'-bipyridyl in relation to 1,2-bis-(4-pyridyl)ethane after metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excitation contributes to the proton transfer step. These results are corroborated by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations. Moreover, the low H/D kinetic isotope effect (KIE) in 3:1 CH3CN/X2O (X = H or D) confirms that the major PCET pathway is the electron transfer followed by proton transfer, but for 1,4-pyrazine and 4,4'-bipyridyl the concerted proton-electron transfer seems to play a role at high hydroquinone concentrations.