An electrochemical and photophysical study of a covalently linked inorganic-organic dyad.

A molecular donor-acceptor dyad comprising a hexarhenium cluster core, Re(6)(mu(3)-Se)(8), and a fullerene moiety which are covalently linked through a pyridine ligand was synthesized and fully characterized. The electrochemical and photophysical properties are reported. The detailed study includes cyclic voltammetry, steady-state absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, radiation chemistry and transient absorption spectroscopy. A light-induced electron transfer between the inorganic cluster moiety and the fullerene can be excluded. However, a light-induced energy transfer from the rhenium cluster to the fullerene is proposed.