The absorption, electrochemical and photophysical properties of series of covalently linked porphyrin dyads containing meso-tolylporphyrin as energy donor and meso-furylporphyrin as energy acceptor with different porphyrin cores are described. The absorption and electrochemical data suggest a weak interaction between the porphyrin sub-units. The steady state and time-resolved fluorescence measurements support an efficient energy transfer from meso-tolylporphyrin to meso-furylporphyrin. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.