Molecular orbital assistance in the design of intramolecular and photoinduced electron transfer systems

A theoretical approach is described for the design of donor–acceptor intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) systems and for photoinduced electron transfer (PET) hybrids of fullerene, based on orbital level diagrams of the separate donor and acceptor moieties. Minimization of the HOMO–LUMO (highest occupied–lowest unoccupied orbital) gap in ICT systems, translates to a requirement for near degeneracy of the HOMO of the donor and LUMO of the acceptor, determined separately for the two moieties by density functional theory calculations. Similarly, near degeneracy of the LUMO of the donor and LUMO of the acceptor moieties would indicate the possibility of PET in the combined hybrid.