Conjugated chromophore arrays with unusually large hole polaron delocalization lengths.

We report variable temperature X-band EPR spectroscopic data for the cation radical states of meso-to-meso ethyne-bridged (porphinato)zinc(II) (PZnn) oligomers. These [PZn2-PZn7]+ species span an average 18-75 A length scale and display peak-to-peak EPR line widths (DeltaBp-p) that diminish with conjugation length. Analysis of these EPR data show that PZnn+ structures possess the largest hole polaron delocalization lengths yet measured; experiments carried out over a 4-298 K temperature domain demonstrate remarkably that the charge delocalization length remains invariant with temperature. These cation radical EPR data are well described by a stochastic, near barrierless, one-dimensional charge hopping model developed by Norris for N equivalent sites on a polymer chain, where the theoretical EPR line width is given by DeltaBp-p(N-mer) = (1/N1/2)DeltaBp-p(monomer); PZnn+ oligomers are the first such systems to verify a Norris-type hole delocalization mechanism over a substantial ( approximately 75 A) length scale. Given the time scale of the EPR measurement, these data show that either (i) Franck-Condon effects are incapable of driving charge localization in [PZn2-PZn7]+, resulting in cation radical wave functions which are globally delocalized over a spatial domain that is large with respect to established benchmarks for hole-doped conjugated materials, or (ii) polaron hopping rates in these oligomers exceed 107 s-1, even at 4 K. Finally, this study demonstrates that polymeric building blocks having low magnitude inner sphere reorganization energies enable the development of electronic materials having long polaron delocalization lengths.

Duke Scholars

Author Michael J. Therien Chemistry