Photoredox reaction of functionalized polyelectrolytes

The electron transfer reaction from excited phenanthrene to acceptors was shown to be modified markedly when the phenanthrene unit was covalently linked to polyelectrolytes. (1) Such functionalized polyelectrolytes were shown to form hydrophobic microdomains in aqueous solution. (2) Uptake of amphiphilic acceptor substrates by the microdomain was demonstrated and was shown to accelerate the forward electron transfer reaction. (3) The electrostatic effect of microdomain was shown to effect the photoinduced charge separation. (4) The electrostatic potential of the microdomain was estimated to be comparable with that of surfactant micelles.