Versatility of Terpyridine‐Functionalised Aryl Tetrazoles: Photophysical Properties, Ratiometric Sensing of Zinc Cations and Sensitisation of Lanthanide Luminescence

Push-Pull Effect of Terpyridine Substituted by Triphenylamine Motive—Impact of Viscosity, Polarity and Protonation on Molecular Optical Properties

The introduction of an electron-donating triphenylamine motive into a 2,2′,6′,2′′-terpyridine (terpy) moiety, a cornerstone molecular unit in coordination chemistry, opens new ways for a rational design of photophysical properties of organic and inorganic compounds. A push-pull compound, 4′-(4-(di(4-tert-butylphenyl)amine)phenyl)-2,2′,6′,2′′-terpyridine (tBuTPAterpy), was thoroughly investigated with the use of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. Our results demonstrate that solvent parameters have an enormous influence on the optical properties of this molecule, acting as knobs for external control of its photophysics. The Intramolecular Charge Transfer (ICT) process introduces a remarkable solvent polarity effect on the emission spectra without affecting the lowest absorption band, as confirmed by DFT simulations, including solvation effects. The calculations ascribe the lowest absorption transitions to two singlet ICT excited states, S₁ and S₂, with S₁ having several orders of magnitude higher oscillator strength than the “dark” S₂ state. Temperature and viscosity investigations suggest the existence of two emitting excited states with different structural conformations. The phosphorescence emission band observed at 77 K is assigned to a localized ³terpy state. Finally, protonation studies show that tBuTPAterpy undergoes a reversible process, making it a promising probe of the pH level in the context of acidity determination.

Effect of the aromatic substituent on the para-position of pyridine-bis(oxazoline) sensitizers on the emission efficiency of their EuIII and TbIII complexes

Two efficient lanthanide ion sensitizers 2,6-bis(oxazoline)-4-phenyl-pyridine (PyboxPh, 1) and 2,6-bis(oxazoline)-4-thiophen-2-yl-pyridine (Pybox2Th, 2) were synthesized. 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c with cell parameters a = 16.3794(4) Å, b = 7.2856(2) Å, c = 11.7073(3) Å, β = 97.229(1)° and V = 1385.97(6) Å3. 2 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n with cell parameters a = 5.9472(2), b = 16.0747(6), c = 14.3716(5) Å, β = 93.503(1)° and V = 1371.35(8) Å3. Photophysical characterization of 1 shows that its triplet state energy is located at 22 250 cm-1 and efficient energy transfer is observed for EuIII and TbIII. Solutions of [Ln(PyboxPh)3]3+ in dichloromethane display an emission efficiency of 37.2% for Ln[double bond, length as m-dash]Eu and 24.0% for Ln[double bond, length as m-dash]Tb. The excited state lifetimes for EuIII and TbIII are 2.227 ms and 723 μs, respectively. The triplet state energy of 2 is located at 19 280 cm-1 and is therefore too low to efficiently sensitize TbIII emission. However, the sensitization of EuIII is effective, with an emission quantum yield of 14.5% and an excited state lifetime of 714 μs. This shows that the derivatization of the chelator is strongly influenced by the aromatic substituents on the para-position of the pyridine ring. New isostructural 1 : 1 complexes of PyboxPh with EuIII (3) and TbIII (4) were also isolated and crystallize in the triclinic space group P1[combining macron] with cell parameters a = 9.1845(2) Å, b = 10.3327(2) Å, c = 11.9654(2) Å, α = 98.419(1)°, β = 108.109(1)°, γ = 91.791(1)°, V = 1064.08(4) Å3 and a = 7.8052(1) Å, b = 11.8910(1) Å, c = 14.2668(2) Å, α = 72.557(1)°, β = 86.355(1)°, γ = 77.223(1)°, V = 1231.95(3) Å3, respectively.

Synthesis and structural, redox and photophysical properties of tris-(2,5-di(2-pyridyl)pyrrolide) lanthanide complexes

A first series of lanthanide complexes of tris(dipyridyl)pyrrolide ligands has been prepared. The [Ln(dppR1,R2)3] complexes (Ln = La(iii), Sm(iii), Eu(iii), Gd(iii) and Yb(iii); and dppR1,R2 = 2,5-di(2-pyridyl-3-(R1)-4-(R2)) pyrrolide) have been isolated and their structures and photophysical and redox properties characterised, both in the solid-state and in solution. In the complexes, the three dpp- ligands form a distorted tricapped trigonal prismatic coordination geometry about the lanthanide ions, with the antiparallel isomer observed in the solid state for non-symmetric (dppCO2Me,Me)-. However, 1H NMR spectroscopy of the diamagnetic and paramagnetic [Ln(dppR1,R2)3] complexes in d6-benzene solution reveal evidence for a statistical distribution of all possible isomers. Time-resolved luminescence studies suggest that the dpp- ligand (with triplet excited state T1 energy at 18 622 cm-1) sensitises red emission from [Eu(dppCO2Me,Me)3] and near-infrared emission from [Yb(dppCO2Me,Me)3] through the antenna effect. Cyclic voltammetry reveals three consecutive, reversible, one-electron oxidation processes for each [Ln(dppR1,R2)3] complex, corresponding to oxidations of each dpp- ligand between 0.3-0.8 V vs. E1/2 (Fc+/0), and for [Eu(dppCO2Me,Me)3] the EuIII/II couple was -2.099 V vs. E1/2 (Fc+/0).