American Chemical Society, The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 25(117), p. 5314-5325, 2013
DOI: 10.1021/jp4045012
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A series of donor-chromophore-acceptor-stable radical (D-C-A-R•) molecules having well-defined molecular structures were synthesized to study the factors affecting electron spin polarization transfer from the photogenerated D+•-C-A-• spin-correlated radical pair (RP) to the stable radical R•. Theory suggests that the magnitude of this transfer depends on the spin-spin exchange interaction (2JDA) of D+•-C-A-•. Yet, the generality of this prediction has never been demonstrated. In the D-C-A-R• molecules described here, D = 4-methoxyaniline (MeOAn), 2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin-6-amine (DioxAn), or benzobisdioxole aniline (BDXAn), C = 4-aminonaphthalene-1,8-dicarboximide, and A = naphthalene-1,8:4,5-bis(dicarboximide) (1A,B-3A,B) or pyromellitimide (4A,B-6A,B). The terminal imide of the acceptors is functionalized with either a hydrocarbon (1A-6A) or a 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxyl radical (R•) (1B-6B). Photoexcitation of C with 416 nm laser pulses results in two-step charge separation to yield D+•-C-A-•-(R•). Time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy using continuous (CW) microwaves at both 295 and 85 K and pulsed microwaves at 85 K (electron spin echo detection) are used to probe the initial formation of the spin-polarized RP and the subsequent polarization of the attached R• radical. The TREPR spectra show that |2JDA| for D+•-C-A-• decreases in the order MeOAn+• > DioxAn+• > BDXAn+• as a result of their spin density distributions, while the spin-spin dipolar interaction (dDA) remains nearly constant. Given this systematic variation in |2JDA|, electron spin echo detected EPR spectra of 1B-6B at 85 K show that the magnitude of the spin polarization transferred from the RP to R• depends on |2JDA|.