<i>J</i>-aggregation of chlorophyll-<i>a</i> derivatives inserting fluorinated phenylene linker

Abstract Chlorophyll-a derivatives inserting an ethynylene and fluorinated phenylene linker between the chlorin π-skeleton and hydroxymethyl group were prepared as chlorosomal chlorophyll models. The self-aggregation of these derivatives was investigated by means of electronic absorption and circular dichroism spectroscopy. The spectroscopic results revealed that the electronic interactions between the chlorin core and the peripheral fluorinated aromatic π-systems had a large effect on the optical properties of the synthetic chlorophyll-a derivative self-assemblies.