A Zn(ii) porphyrin–Ir(iii) bis-terpyridine–Au(iii) porphyrin triad with a charge-separated state in the microsecond range

A photoinduced, multistep electron transfer in a triad containing a zinc porphyrin (electron donor) and a gold(III) porphyrin (electron acceptor) appended to an Ir(III) bis-terpyridine complex produces a charge separated state with a close to unity yield and a lifetime of 450 ns.