Computational Investigation of the Influence of Halogen Atoms on the Photophysical Properties of Tetraphenylporphyrin and Its Zinc(II) Complexes

How the tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) and its zinc(II) complexes (ZnTPP) photophysical properties (absorption energies, singlet-triplet energy gap and spin-orbit coupling contributions) can change due to the presence of an increasing number of heavy atoms in their molecular structures has been investigated by means of density functional theory and its time-dependent formulation. Results show that the increase of the atomic mass of the substituted halogen strongly enhances the spin-orbit coupling values, allowing a more efficient singlet-triplet intersystem crossing. Different deactivation channels have been considered and rationalized on the basis of El-Sayed and Kasha rules. Most of the studied compounds possess the appropriate properties to generate cytotoxic singlet molecular oxygen (1Δg) and, consequently, they can be proposed as photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy.