Electrochemical response of metal complexes in homogeneous solution under photoirradiation

The electrochemical detection of metal complexes in the photoexcited state is important for understanding photoinduced electron transfer (PET) processes, which play a central role in photo-energy conversion systems. In general, however, the redox potentials of excited states have been indirectly estimated by a combination of spectroscopic properties and ground-state redox potentials. To establish a simple method for directly determining the redox potentials of the photoexcited states of metal complexes, electrochemical measurements under several conditions were performed. The electrochemical response was largely influenced not only by the generation of photoexcited molecules but also by the convection induced by photoirradiation, even when the global temperature of the sample solution was unchanged. The suppression of these unfavourable electrochemical responses was successfully achieved by adopting well-established electrochemical techniques. Furthermore, as an initial demonstration, the photoexcited state of a Ru-based metal complex was directly detected, and its redox potential was determined using a thin layer electrochemical method.