Clicked BODIPY-Fullerene-Peptide Assemblies: Studies of Electron Transfer Processes in Self-Assembled Monolayers on Gold Surfaces.

Two BODIPY-C ₆₀ -peptide assemblies were synthesized by CuAAC reactions of BODIPY-C ₆₀ dyads and a helical peptide functionalized with a terminal alkyne group and an azide group, respectively. The helical peptide within these assemblies was functionalized at its other end by a disulfide group, allowing formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold surfaces. Characterizations of these SAMs, as well as those of reference molecules (BODIPY-C ₆₀ -alkyl, C ₆₀ -peptide and BODIPY-peptide), were carried out by PM-IRRAS and cyclic voltammetry. BODIPY-C ₆₀ -peptide SAMs are more densely packed than BODIPY-C ₆₀ -alkyl and BODIPY-peptide based SAMs. These findings were attributed to the rigid peptide helical conformation along with peptide-peptide and C ₆₀ -C ₆₀ interactions within the monolayers. However, less dense monolayers were obtained with the target assemblies compared to the C ₆₀ -peptide, as the BODIPY entity likely disrupts organization within the monolayers. Finally, electron transfer kinetics measurements by ultra-fast electrochemistry experiments demonstrated that the helical peptide is a better electron mediator in comparison to alkyl chains. This property was exploited along with those of the BODIPY-C ₆₀ dyads in a photo-current generation experiment by converting the resulting excited and/or charge separated states from photo-illumination of the dyad into electrical energy.
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