Building molecular wires from the colours of life: conjugated porphyrin oligomers

Conjugated porphyrin polymers are giant supramolecular chromophores with ex traordinary electrooptical and nonlinear optical properties. Close collabor ation between synthetic organic chemists, chemical physicists and theoretic ians has yielded new insights into the electronic structure of these remark able materials. Alkyne-linked oligomers have been most intensively investig ated. Several strands of independent work show that the unusual electronic behaviour of these materials can be attributed to strong ground state inter porphyrin conjugation, which is amplified in the excited states, and in the oxidised and reduced forms.