Excited state electron-transfer reactions of transition metal complexes

Abstract

The properties of excited states of transition metal complexes are briefly reviewed. The outer-sphere electron transfer reactions of the excited states of complexes containing 2,2’-bipyridine or 1,10-phenanthroline ligands are discussed in detail, with particular reference to electron vs energy transfer quenching and conversion of light into chemical energy. The kinetic aspects of outer-sphere electron transfer reactions involving excited states are examined with particular reference to the so-called “Marcus inverted behavior” which is not observed in most of the systems studied. The extension of the kinetic formalism used for electron transfer reactions to energy transfer processes yields a unified view of “classical” and “non-classical” energy transfer behavior. © IUPAC