Photooxidation of chlorins by quinones studied by nuclear magnetic resonance techniques.

The reactions of photo-excited chlorophylls and pheophytins with quinones have been investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. In slightly alkaline solutions the quinone signals showed line broadening which is explained by degenerate electron transfer between semiquinone radical ions and their benzoquinone parents. In neutral solutions, chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization was observed which is ascribed to the pair, chlorophyll cation-semiquinone anion. A kinetic analysis of the dependence of these effects upon the quinone concentration suggests that only the reactions of triplet-chlorophyll with the quinones give rise to chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization effects.