Abstract
A one flask synthesis of cis‐substituted amphipathic porphyrins is reported. These porphyrins were used to study electrostatic effects on photoinduced electron transfer across the lipid bilayer‐water interface. A neutral porphyrin undergoes only dynamic interfacial electron transfer reactions irrespective of charge of the acceptor, although ionic strength effects indicate a negative charge on the porphyrin donor species. A dianionic porphyrin forms an interfacial static complex with a dicationic electron acceptor, methyl viologen, at low ionic strength. The electron transfer rate within the complex is slow, 10 5 ∼ 10 6 s ‐1 , which is attributed to a near orthogonal orientation between the donor and the acceptor ∼ orbitals. Copyright © 1994, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved