Generation Dependent Ultrafast Charge Separation and Recombination in a Pyrene-Viologen Family of Dendrons

The ability of a dendritic network to intercept electrons and extend the lifetime of a short-lived photoinduced charge separated (CS) state was investigated in a homologous family of methyl viologen (MV2+) dendrons spanning four generations, G0 through G3. The CS state in the parent pyrene–methylene–viologen G0 system with a single acceptor exhibits an extremely short lifetime of τ = 0.72 ps. The expansion of the viologen network introduces slower components to the recombination kinetics by allowing the injected electron to migrate further away from the donor. The long-lived fraction of the population increases monotonically in the order G3 > G2 > G1 > G0, while the respective recombination rates decrease. In the highest generation of the dendron ∼14% of the CS state population experiences a 10-fold or greater lifetime extension. Long range tunneling across multiple viologen units and sequential site-to-site hopping both contribute to the overall effect. The large excess energy deposited in the apical viologen upon charge separation and the presence of an extended network of low lying π-orbitals likely facilitate shuttling the electron further down the dendron.