Designing photochemical molecular devices utilizing Os and Ru polyazine light absorbers and Rh and Pt reactive sites: Applications in solar energy conversion and photodynamic therapy

Mixed-metal supramolecular complexes are a promising structural motif for the construction of a wide assortment of photochemical molecular devices. Coupling of Ru or Os light absorbers to Rh or Pt reactive centers yields complexes that display an array of interesting photochemical properties. Through modification of the components used in these devices, systems that function as photoinitiated electron collection devices, photocatalysts for the production of hydrogen from water, new types of photodynamic therapy agents and chromophoric DNA binding agents, are produced. Factors impacting the selection of device components and aspects of the photochemical reactivity of these complexes are presented. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 229th ACS National Meeting (San Diego, CA 3/13-17/2005).