Metalated Porphyrin Stable Free Radicals: Exploration of Electron Spin Communication and Dynamics

Switchable coupling between two qubits is important for quantum information science (QIS). As a proof of concept, a series of mesosubstituted porphyrins have been synthesized with a (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl stable free radical (SFR) appended and metalated with Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) in order to explore the interaction between the SFR doublet state and metalloporphyrin. The spin state of the porphyrin varies upon metal insertion, where Zn(II) is a diamagnetic metal, Cu(II) is paramagnetic, and Ni(II) can be switched from a diamagnetic square-planar structure to a paramagnetic octahedral state by complexation with a solvent (i.e., pyridine or tetrahydrofuran). Time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements reveal that upon photoexcitation, the Zn(II) and free-base porphyrin species demonstrate different magnetic exchange regimes between the porphyrin triplet excited states and the SFR doublet state, with the Zn derivative populating a quartet state (i.e., moderate magnetic exchange), whereas the free-base derivative remains a triplet (i.e., weak magnetic exchange). Transient absorption measurements corroborate the TREPR results, demonstrating a 66% increase in the singlet excited-state decay rate due to enhanced intersystem crossing for the Zn(II) derivative in comparison to a modest 14% enhancement for the free-base porphyrin. These results enable the realization of a switchable qubit coupler, depending upon Zn metal insertion to the free-base porphyrin, which has potential QIS applications.