Di-(2-picolyl)-N- (2-quinolinylmethyl)amine-Functionalized Triarylboron: Lewis Acidity Enhancement and Fluorogenic Discrimination Between Fluoride and Cyanide in Aqueous Solution

Synthesis of triarylborane-centered N-heterocyclic carbene cages with tunable photophysical properties

Triarylborane-based discrete metal-carbene supramolecular cages [M₃(1)₂](PF₆)₃ (M = Ag, Au) were synthesized and characterized. The new hexacarbene assemblies show a significant solvatochromic effect in solvents of different polarity. Furthermore, the reversible fluoride binding property of [Au₃(1)₂](PF₆)₃ was investigated by UV-vis absorption and fluorescence titrations. This work holds promise for future developments in the area of highly emissive and stimulus-responsive NHC-metal assemblies.

Fluorination and hydrolytic stability of water-soluble platinum complexes with a borane-bridged diphosphoramidite ligand

The high fluorophilicity of borane-containing ligands offers promise for accessing new metallodrug candidates capable of bifunctional [¹⁸F]-positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, but this requires water soluble and hydrolytically stable ligands that can be fluorinated under mild conditions. Toward this goal, here we report the synthesis and characterization of water-soluble Pt(II) complexes containing a triaminoborane-bridged diphosphoramidite ligand called ^MeOTBDPhos that can be fluorinated using simple fluoride salts. NMR and XRD studies show that (^MeOTBDPhos)PtCl₂ (1) dissolves in water with cooperative H-OH addition across the bridgehead N-B bond to form 1-H2O. The B-OH bond in 1-H2O undergoes rapid displacement with fluoride (<10 min) when treated with CsF in MeCN to form 1-HF. 1-HF can also be prepared in <10 min by addition of KF to 1 in the presence Kryptofix® 222 and (HNEt₃)Cl in MeCN. In addition to using fluoride salts, we show how mononuclear 1 can be fluorinated with HBF₄·Et₂O to form dinuclear [(^MeOTBDPhos-HF)Pt(μ-Cl)]₂(BF₄)₂ (4-HF). Comparative studies show that the B-F bond in 1-HF undergoes hydrolysis as soon as it is dissolved in water or saline, but the B-F bond persists for hours when the pH of the solution is lowered to pH ≤ 2. In contrast to 1-HF, the B-F bond in dinuclear 4-HF persists for days when dissolved in water, which may be attributed to slow, sacrificial release of fluoride from the BF₄^- anion. The results show how cooperative N-B reactivity on the ligand can be leveraged to rapidly fluorinate water-soluble ^MeOTBDPhos complexes under mild conditions and afford suggestions for how to enhance hydrolytic B-F stability, as required for use in biomedical applications.

Fluorescent small molecules with alternating triarylamine-substituted selenophenothiophene and triarylborane: synthesis, photophysical properties and anion sensing studies

Two novel D-π-A fluorophores based on selenopheno[3,2-b]thiophene, possessing triphenylamine and 4,4'-dimethoxytriphenylamine units as donors and dimesitylborane as an acceptor, linked through a π-conjugated thiophene spacer (BTPAST and BOMeTPAST, respectively) were synthesized. Their photophysical properties were investigated in both solution and the state of aggregation and compared to those of their corresponding donor parts, having no dimesitylborane units (TPAST and OMeTPAST). All the compounds displayed large Stokes shifts between 100 and 140 nm with positive solvatochromism in solvents having different polarities. While BTPAST displayed both aggregation induced emission (AIE) and twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) characteristics, the others preponderated with TICT effects. The sensing abilities of BTPAST and BOMeTPAST towards different anions were studied. Both exhibited chromogenic and fluorogenic responses to small anions such as fluoride and cyanide, for which the detection limits were found to be 0.12 and 2.43 ppm with BTPAST and 0.59 and 0.92 ppm with BOMeTPAST, respectively. These results provide guidance for the development of novel fused selenophenothiophene sensors in the field of anion sensing.

Revealing the Hidden Costs of Organization in Host-Guest Chemistry Using Chloride-Binding Foldamers and Their Solvent Dependence

Preorganization is a key concept in supramolecular chemistry. Preorganized receptors enhance binding by minimizing the organization costs associated with adopting the conformation needed to orient the binding sites toward the guest. Conversely, poorly organized receptors show affinities below what is possible based on the potential of their specific binding interactions. Despite the fact that the organization energy is paid each time like a tax, its value has never been measured directly, though many compounds have been developed to measure its effects. We present a method to quantify the hidden costs of receptor organization by independently measuring the contribution it makes to chloride complexation by a flexible foldameric receptor. This method uses folding energy to approximate organization energy and relies on measurement of the coil-helix equilibrium as a function of solvent. We also rely on the finding, established with rigid receptors, that affinity is inversely related to the solvent dielectric and expect the same for the foldamer's helically organized state. Increasing solvent polarity across nine dichloromethane-acetonitrile mixtures we see an unusual V-shape in affinity (decrease then increase). Quantitatively, this shape arises from weakened hydrogen-bonding interactions with solvent polarity followed by solvent-driven folding into an organized helix. We confirm that dielectric screening impacts the stability of host-guest complexes of flexible foldamers just like rigid receptors. These results experimentally verify the canonical model of binding (affinity depends on the sum of organization and noncovalent interactions). The picture of how solvent impacts complex stability and conformational organization thereby helps lay the groundwork for de novo receptor design.

Tri-(2-picolyl)amine-modificated triarylborane: Synthesis, photophysical properties and distinguish for cyanide and fluoride anions in aqueous solution

We designed and synthesized a tri-(2-picolyl) amine (TPA) functionalized triarylborane, 1-(6-(4-(dimesitylboryl)phenyl)pyridin-2-yl)-N,N-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)methanamine (PB2). The photophysical properties of PB2 were thoroughly explored. Moreover, PB2 can capture CN^- and F^- in aqueous solution through strong chelation induced by the synergy of a boron atom and metal ion gripped by TPA to display entirely different fluorogenic responses such as fluorescence enhancement for CN^- and fluorescence quenching for F^-. The results of TOF-MS-EI analysis and theoretical calculations indicate that the complexing of PB2 with CN^- formed a 2-to-2 adduct with a stabilized configuration, resulting in strong emission. The complexing of PB2 with F^- formed a 1-to-1 adduct with a loose configuration, resulting in weak emission. In pure water, the detection limit of PB2 for CN^- is 0.79 μM, and in H₂O/THF (1:9 v/v) system, the detection limits of PB2 for CN^- and F^- can reach 0.39 and 2.12 μM, respectively, indicating its potential application for effective detection and discrimination of CN^- and F^-.