Isostructural cubane-shaped catalysts [Co(III)(4)(μ-O)(4)(μ-CH(3)COO)(4)(p-NC(5)H(4)X)(4)], 1-X (X = H, Me, t-Bu, OMe, Br, COOMe, CN), enable water oxidation under dark and illuminated conditions, where the primary step of photoinduced electron transfer obeys to Hammett linear free energy relationship behavior. Ligand design and catalyst optimization are instrumental for sustained O(2) productivity with quantum efficiency up to 80% at λ > 400 nm, thus opening a new perspective for in vitro molecular photosynthesis.

Photoinduced electron transfer plays key roles in many areas of chemistry. Superexchange is an effective model to rationalize photoinduced electron transfer, particularly when molecular bridges between donor and acceptor subunits are present. In this tutorial review we discuss, within a superexchange framework, the complex role played by the bridge, with an emphasis on differences between thermal and photoinduced electron transfer, oxidative and reductive photoinduced processes, charge separation and charge recombination. Modular bridges are also considered, with specific attention to the distance dependence of donor-acceptor electronic coupling and electron transfer rate constants. The possibility of transition, depending on the bridge energetics, from coherent donor-acceptor electron transfer to incoherent charge injection and hopping through the bridge is also discussed. Finally, conceptual analogies between bridge effects in photoinduced electron transfer and optical intervalence transfer are outlined. Selected experimental examples, instrumental to illustration of the principles, are discussed.

Photoinduced water oxidation to molecular oxygen takes place in systems made of [Ru(bpy)3]2+ (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) as the photosensitizer, [Co4O4(O2CMe)4(py)4] (py = pyridine) as the molecular catalyst and Na2S2O8 as the sacrificial electron acceptor. The photochemical quantum yield of the process reaches the outstanding value of 30% and depends on pH and catalyst concentration. Transient absorption spectroscopy experiments aimed to clarify the first events of the photocatalytic process are also reported.

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