Nature's modular chemistry paradigm involves small sets of building blocks that are joined covalently into larger structures, which subsequently self-assemble into supramolecular assemblies. We have been developing a modular chemistry employing synthetic porphyrin building blocks for creating bioorganic model systems and molecular photonic devices, an approach inspired by biology but differing both in implementation and in molecular structure. Design of a modular chemistry must consider issues including the linker properties, joining chemistry, solubility, diversity of components, and analytical methods for target molecule characterization. Combining porphyrins with different redox, photophysical, and catalytic functions into arrays enables the design of molecular devices for diverse functions such as light-harvesting, energy transduction, and molecular-scale information processing.
展开▼
