Photoinduced Electron-Transfer Functions of π-Electron Donor–Acceptor Supramolecular Complexes

Abstract

This chapter describes the recent development of supramolecular π-electron donor–acceptor complexes linked by noncovalent bonds for light harvesting and charge separation. Carbon nanomaterials such as carbon nanohorns and graphene oxides act as π-electron donors to construct π-electron donor–acceptor supramolecular nanohybrids linked with π-electron acceptors such as fullerenes and perylenediimide, which undergo efficient charge separation. Multiple reaction center models have been constructed using multiporphyrin assemblies (porphyrin dendrimers and porphyrin polypeptides), which are noncovalently linked with π-electron acceptors, affording efficient energy migration, followed by long-lived charge separation. Bimolecular charge recombination of charge-separated states has been prohibited in supramolecular complexes between cationic and anionic porphyrins, affording the long-lived charge-separated states in solution. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015.