Photo-driven water oxidation performed by supramolecular photocatalysts made of Ru(II) photosensitizers and catalysts.

Two new supramolecular photocatalysts made of covalently linked Ru(II) polypyridine chromophore subunits ([Ru(bpy)3]2+-type species; bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) and [RuL(pic)2] (L = 2,2'-bipyridine-6,6'-dicarboxylic acid; pic = 4-picoline) water oxidation catalyst subunits have been prepared. The new species, 1 and 2, contain chromophore and catalyst subunits in the molecular ratios 1:1 and 1:2, respectively. The model chromophore species [Ru(bpy)2(L1)]2+ (RuP1; L1=4-[2-(4-pyridyl)-2-hydroxyethyl]-4-methyl-2,2'-bipyridine) and [Ru(bpy)2(L2)]2+ (RuP2; L2 = 4,4'-bis[2-(4-pyridyl)-2-hydroxyethyl]-2,2'-bipyridine) have also been prepared.

Photochemical synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical sensing properties of CD-AuNP nanohybrids.

Among the existing nanosystems used in electrochemical sensing, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have attracted considerable attention owing to their intriguing chemical and physical properties such as good electrical conductivity, high electrocatalytic activity, and high surface-to-volume ratio. However, despite these useful characteristics, there are some issues due to their instability in solution that can give rise to aggregation phenomena and the use of hazardous chemicals in the most common synthetic procedures. With an aim to find a solution to these issues, recently, we prepared and characterized carbon dots (CDs), from olive solid wastes, and employed them as reducing and capping agents in photo-activated AuNP synthesis, thus creating CD-Au nanohybrids.

SARS-CoV-2 and omicron variant detection with a high selectivity, sensitivity, and low-cost silicon bio-nanosensor.

The recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for novel point-of-care devices to be promptly used for a rapid and reliable large screening analysis of several biomarkers like genetic sequences and antibodies. Currently, one of the main limitations of rapid tests is the high percentage of false negatives in the presence of variants and, in particular for the Omicron one. We demonstrate in this work the detection of SARS-CoV-2 and the Omicron variant with a cost-effective silicon nanosensor enabling high sensitivity, selectivity, and fast response.

Self-assembled systems for artificial photosynthesis.

The last few decades have seen an impressive development in molecular-based artificial photosynthesis, thanks to the design of integrated light-harvesting antennae, charge separation systems, and catalysts for water oxidation or hydrogen production based on covalently linked subunits. However, in recent years, self-assembly and spontaneous aggregation of components emerged - sometimes also through serendipity - for the preparation of multicomponent systems aimed to perform the basic processes needed for artificial photosynthesis. Here we critically discuss some key articles that have recently shown the potential of self-assembly for artificial photosynthesis, ranging from self-assembly of antennae and charge separation systems to integrated antenna/catalyst assemblies, to planned co-localization of various components into restricted environments.

Synthesis and Photophysics Characterization of Boronic Styril and Distyryl BODIPYs for Water-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

In this study, two boronic acid BODIPYs are obtained through a microwave-assisted Knoevenagel reaction. The aim is to use them for the first time as dyes in a photosensitized solar cell (DSSC) to mimic chlorophyll photosynthesis, harvesting solar light and converting it into electricity. The microwave-assisted Knoevenagel reaction is a straightforward approach to extending the molecular conjugation of the dye and is applied for the first time to synthesize BODIPY's boronic acid derivatives.

Photoinduced Water Oxidation in Chitosan Nanostructures Containing Covalently Linked Ru Chromophores and Encapsulated Iridium Oxide Nanoparticles.

The luminophore Ru(bpy) (dcbpy) (bpy=2,2'-bipyridine; dcbpy=4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipyridine) is covalently linked to a chitosan polymer; crosslinking by tripolyphosphate produced Ru-decorated chitosan fibers (NS-RuCh), with a 20 : 1 ratio between chitosan repeating units and Ru chromophores. The properties of the Ru compound are unperturbed by the chitosan structure, with NS-RuCh exhibiting the typical metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) absorption and emission bands of Ru complexes. When crosslinks are made in the presence of IrO nanoparticles, such species are encapsulated within the nanofibers, thus generating the IrO ⊂NS-RuCh system, in which both Ru photosensitizers and IrO water oxidation catalysts are within the nanofiber structures.

Metal-Catalyzed Hydride Transfer from Alcohols to Photoexcited Dipyridophenazine.

Dipyridophenazine (dppz) is known to react with alcohols upon photoexcitation into an n-π* transition at 378 nm to yield dihydrodipyridophenazine (dppzH ). This process occurs via H-atom abstraction from alcohols and subsequent disproportionation of the dppzH radical species, to the final product. This reaction shows a primary kinetic isotope effect (KIE = 4.

Fast transport of HCl across a hydrophobic layer over macroscopic distances by using a Pt(II) compound as the transporter: micro- and nanometric aggregates as effective transporters.

Bis-(diethyl-dithioxamidate)platinum(ii) is able to transport HCl from the donor aqueous phase to the receiving one over a mean distance of 12 cm in about 3 minutes across an organic membrane in the bulk, without stirring of the organic phase, i.e. at a rate far exceeding the unidirectional macroscopic diffusion coefficient.

Stimuli-Responsive Internally Ion-Paired Supramolecular Polymer Based on a Bis-pillar[5]arene Dicarboxylic Acid Monomer.

A novel bis-pillar[5]arene dicarboxylic acid self-assembles in the presence of 1,12-diaminododecane to yield overall neutral, internally ion-paired supramolecular polymers. Their aggregation, binding mode, and morphology can be tuned by external stimuli such as solvent polarity, concentration, and base treatment.

Ru(ii) water oxidation catalysts with 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine and tris(pyrazolyl)methane ligands: assembly of photo-active and catalytically active subunits in a dinuclear structure.

Two mononuclear Ru(ii) complexes, i.e. [RuCl(κN-terpy)(κN-dpp)]PF ([1]PF; terpy = 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine; dpp = 2,3-bis(2'-pyridyl-pyrazine) and [RuCl(κN-tpm)(κN-dpp)]Cl ([2]Cl; tpm = tris(1-pyrazolyl)methane), and one dinuclear complex, i.

Designing expanded bipyridinium as redox and optical probes for DNA.

We report on the light-switch behaviour of two head-to-tail expanded bipyridinium species as a function of their interaction with calf thymus DNA and polynucleotides. In particular, both DNA and polynucleotides containing exclusively adenine or guanine moieties quench the luminescence of the fused expanded bipyridinium species. This behaviour has been rationalized demonstrating that a reductive photoinduced electron transfer process takes place involving both adenine or guanine moieties.

Photo-Induced Assembly of a Luminescent Tetraruthenium Square.

Self-assembly is a powerful synthetic tool that has led to the development of one-, two- and three-dimensional architectures. From MOFs to molecular flasks, self-assembled materials have proven to be of great interest to the scientific community. Here we describe a strategy for the construction and de-construction of a supramolecular structure through unprecedented photo-induced assembly and dis-assembly.

Multichromophoric hybrid species made of perylene bisimide derivatives and Ru(ii) and Os(ii) polypyridine subunits.

Herein, the synthesis and the photophysical and redox properties of a new perylene bisimide (PBI) species (L), bearing two 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) ligands at the two imide positions of the PBI, and its dinuclear Ru(ii) and Os(ii) complexes, [(bpy)Ru(μ-L)Ru(bpy)](PF) (Ru2; bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) and [(Me-bpy)Os(μ-L)Os(Me-bpy)](PF) (Os2; Me-bpy = (4,4'-dimethyl)-2,2'-bipyridine), are reported. The absorption spectra of the compounds are dominated by the structured bands of the PBI subunit due to the lowest-energy spin-allowed π-π* transition. The spin-allowed MLCT transitions in Ru2 and Os2 are inferred by the absorption at 350-470 nm, where the PBI absorption is negligible.

A heptanuclear light-harvesting metal-based antenna dendrimer with six Ru(ii)-based chromophores directly powering a single Os(ii)-based energy trap.

The novel dendritic-shaped, heptanuclear compound 1 - the first mixed Os-Ru dendrimer with tris-chelating bridging ligands - has been synthesized and its photophysics studied by fs pump-probe transient spectroscopy. In 1, all light energy absorbed by six identical Ru(ii) chromophores is funnelled to the luminescent central Os(ii) core, with a time constant of 11 ps, by Dexter energy transfer.

Charge injection into nanostructured TiO2 electrodes from the photogenerated reduced form of a new Ru(ii) polypyridine compound: the "anti-biomimetic" mechanism at work.

The charge transfer dynamics involving a new Ru(ii) polypyridine complex (1), developed to generate highly oxidizing photoholes for water oxidation, was studied by electrochemical, photoelectrochemical and spectroscopic means. Mesoporous TiO2 electrodes sensitized with complex 1, under 1 sun illumination (420 nm cut-off filter) and a moderate applied bias (0.3 V vs.

Photoinduced Charge Separation in a Donor-Spacer-Acceptor Dyad with N-Annulated Perylene Donor and Methylviologen Acceptor.

The first donor-acceptor species in which a strongly emissive N-annulated perylene dye is connected to a methylviologen electron acceptor unit via its macrocyclic nitrogen atom, is prepared by a stepwise, modular procedure. The absorption spectra, redox behavior, spectroelectrochemistry and photophysical properties of this dyad and of its model species are investigated, also by pump-probe fs transient absorption spectroscopy. Photoinduced oxidative electron transfer from the excited state of the dyad, centered on the N-annulated perylene subunit, to the appended methyviologen electron acceptor takes place in a few ps.

Photoinduced intercomponent excited-state decays in a molecular dyad made of a dinuclear rhenium(I) chromophore and a fullerene electron acceptor unit.

A novel molecular dyad, 1, made of a dinuclear {[Re2(μ-X)2(CO)6(μ-pyridazine)]} component covalently-linked to a fullerene unit by a carbocyclic molecular bridge has been prepared and its redox, spectroscopic, and photophysical properties - including pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopy in the visible and near-infrared region - have been investigated, along with those of its model species. Photoinduced, intercomponent electron transfer occurs in 1 from the thermally-equilibrated, triplet metal/ligand-to-ligand charge-transfer ((3)MLLCT) state of the dinuclear rhenium(I) subunit to the fullerene acceptor, with a time constant of about 100 ps. The so-formed triplet charge-separated state recombines in a few nanoseconds by a spin-selective process yielding, rather than the ground state, the locally-excited, triplet fullerene state, which finally decays to the ground state by intersystem crossing in about 290 ns.

A functionalized, ethynyl-decorated, tetracobalt(III) cubane molecular catalyst for photoinduced water oxidation.

A new tetracobalt(III) cubane 1, carrying functionalized peripheral ethynyl groups, was prepared. Cubane 1 catalyses photoinduced water oxidation, indicating that the ethynyl groups do not negatively affect the catalytic properties of the Co cubane assembly. In contrast, the quantum yield for water oxidation (0.

Photophysical properties of an unusual bichromophoric species constructed from a cyclometalated Pt(II) chromophore and a blue Bodipy-acetylacetonate species.

A Bodipy species bearing an acetyl-acetonate (acac) group, , has been prepared from a blue absorbing borondipyrromethene core bearing gallate substituted paraffin chains. Compound chelates a Pt(ii) center having an orthometalated 2-phenyl-pyridine anion (ppy) as an additional ligand, giving rise to a new bichromophoric Pt(ii)-Bodipy species, . The absorption spectra, redox behavior and photophysical properties of , and of the neutral Pt(ii) compound , containing ppy and an acac derivative as ligands, have been studied.

Ultrafast energy transfer in triptycene-grafted Bodipy scaffoldings.

A series of new compounds in which various Bodipy dyes are grafted logically on triptycene rigid structures are synthesized and characterized, and their absorption spectra and photophysical properties are studied, also by pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopy. The studied compounds are: the mono-Bodipy species TA, TB, and TC (where A, B, and C identify different Bodipy subunits absorbing and emitting at different wavelengths), the multichromophore species TA3 , which bears three identical A subunits, and the three multichromophoric species TAB, TBC, and TABC, all of them containing at least two different types of Bodipy subunits. The triptycene moiety plays the role of a rigid scaffold, keeping the various dyes at predetermined distances and allowing for a three-dimensional structural arrangement of the multichromophoric species.

Dinuclear Ru(II) complexes of bis-(dipyrid-2'-yl)triazine (bis-dpt) ligands as efficient electron reservoirs.

A planar bis-dipyrid-2'-yltriazine (bis-dpt) bridging ligand forms dinuclear Ru(II) complexes able to store up to eight electrons upon electrochemical reduction.

Luminescence of meso-pyrimidinylcorroles: relationship with substitution pattern and heavy atom effects.

The luminescence properties of a series of corroles containing multiple meso-pyrimidinyl groups have been studied. In particular, nine corroles containing two pyrimidinyl moieties, four corroles containing three pyrimidinyl groups and one corrole carrying a single pyrimidinyl substituent have been investigated, and their properties have been compared with some model species. The results indicate that the energy of the emissive π-π* corrole-core-based state is not significantly perturbed by the various substituents, whereas the emission lifetimes and quantum yields depend on the number of appended meso-dichloropyrimidinyl substituents.