Publication

Abstract : The basic skeleton of perylenequinone is surprisingly ubiquitous in several naturally occurring pigments, such as Hypocrellins, Cercosporin, etc. to name a few. Several of these molecules and their derivatives are also experimentally characterized as potent candidates for photodynamic therapy and are predicted to be aiding the formation singlet Oxygen. Theoretical calculations that unravel the mystery behind the perylenequinone motif in these bio-molecules. Perylenequinone framework has a unique frontier MOs that aid in facile intersystem crossing of the π-π* excitation. The resulting triplet state remarkably resists phosphorescence that presumably leads to high quantum yield of singlet oxygen production. The excitation assisted change in the nature of conjugation and the attendant out-of-plane distortion of the perylene framework is found to be the general characteristic of all these systems and the substituents at the bay region favourably assist the excited state behavior as shown by time dependent/ independent DFT calculations.