Oxidation of an electron-rich olefin induced by singlet oxygen: mechanism for tetraphenylethylene

Photoinduced Delamination of Metal-Organic Framework Thin Films by Spatioselective Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) built from different building units offer functionalities going far beyond gas storage and separation. In connection with advanced applications, e.g., in optoelectronics, hierarchical MOF-on-MOF structures fabricated using sophisticated methodologies have recently become particularly attractive. Here, we demonstrate that the structural complexity of MOF-based architectures can be further increased by employing highly spatioselective photochemistry. Using a layer-by-layer, quasi-epitaxial synthesis method, we realized a photoactive MOF-on-MOF hetero-bilayer consisting of a porphyrinic bottom layer and a tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-based top layer. Illumination of the monolithic thin film with visible light in the presence of oxygen gas results in the generation of reactive oxygen species (¹O₂) in the porphyrinic bottom layer, which lead to a photocleavage of the TPE units at the internal interface. We demonstrate that this spatioselective photochemistry can be utilized to delaminate the top layers, yielding two-dimensional (2D) MOF sheets with well-defined thickness. Experiments using atomic force microscopy (AFM) demonstrate that these platelets can be transferred onto other substrates, thus opening up the possibility of fabricating planar MOF structures using photolithography.

Generation and suppression of singlet oxygen in hair by photosensitization of melanin

We have studied the spectroscopic properties of hair (white, blond, red, brown, and black) under illumination with visible light, giving special emphasis to the photoinduced generation of singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)). Irradiation of hair shafts (λ(ex)>400 nm) changed their properties by degrading the melanin. Formation of C3 hydroperoxides in the melanin indol groups was proven by (1)H NMR. After 532-nm excitation, all hair shafts presented the characteristic (1)O(2) emission (λ(em)=1270 nm), whose intensity varied inversely with the melanin content. (1)O(2) lifetime was also shown to vary with hair type, being five times shorter in black hair than in blond hair, indicating the role of melanin as a (1)O(2) suppressor. Lifetime ranged from tenths of a nanosecond to a few microseconds, which is much shorter than the lifetime expected for (1)O(2) in the solvents in which the hair shafts were suspended, indicating that (1)O(2) is generated and suppressed inside the hair structure. Both eumelanin and pheomelanin were shown to produce and to suppress (1)O(2), with similar efficiencies. The higher amount of (1)O(2) generated in blond hair and its longer lifetime is compatible with the stronger damage that light exposure causes in blond hair. We propose a model to explain the formation and suppression of (1)O(2) in hair by photosensitization of melanin with visible light and the deleterious effects that an excess of visible light may cause in hair and skin.

Giant vesicles under oxidative stress induced by a membrane-anchored photosensitizer

We have synthesized the amphiphile photosensitizer PE-porph consisting of a porphyrin bound to a lipid headgroup. We studied by optical microscopy the response to light irradiation of giant unilamellar vesicles of mixtures of unsaturated phosphatidylcholine lipids and PE-porph. In this configuration, singlet oxygen is produced at the bilayer surface by the anchored porphyrin. Under irradiation, the PE-porph decorated giant unilamellar vesicles exhibit a rapid increase in surface area with concomitant morphological changes. We quantify the surface area increase of the bilayers as a function of time and photosensitizer molar fraction. We attribute this expansion to hydroperoxide formation by the reaction of the singlet oxygen with the unsaturated bonds. Considering data from numeric simulations of relative area increase per phospholipid oxidized (15%), we measure the efficiency of the oxidative reactions. We conclude that for every 270 singlet oxygen molecules produced by the layer of anchored porphyrins, one eventually reacts to generate a hydroperoxide species. Remarkably, the integrity of the membrane is preserved in the full experimental range explored here, up to a hydroperoxide content of 60%, inducing an 8% relative area expansion.

Photocatalytic Oxygenation of Anthracenes and Olefins with Dioxygen via Selective Radical Coupling Using 9-Mesityl-10-methylacridinium Ion as an Effective Electron-Transfer Photocatalyst

Visible light irradiation of the absorption band of 9-mesityl-10-methylacridinium ion (Acr+-Mes) in an O2-saturated acetonitrile (MeCN) solution containing 9,10-dimethylanthracene results in formation of oxygenation product, i.e., dimethylepidioxyanthracene (Me2An-O2). Anthracene and 9-methylanthracene also undergo photocatalytic oxygenation with Acr+-Mes to afford the corresponding epidioxyanthracenes under the photoirradiation. In the case of anthracene, the further photoirradiation results in formation of anthraquinone as the final six-electron oxidation product, via 10-hydroxyanthrone, accompanied by generation of H2O2. When anthracene is replaced by olefins (tetraphenylethylene and tetramethylethylene), the photocatalytic oxygenation of olefins affords the corresponding dioxetane, in which the O-O bond is cleaved to yield the corresponding ketones. The photocatalytic oxygenation of anthracenes and olefins is initiated by photoexcitation of Acr+-Mes, which results in formation of the electron-transfer state: Acr*-Mes*+, followed by electron transfer from anthracenes and olefins to the Mes*+ moiety together with electron transfer from the Acr* moiety to O2. The resulting anthracene and olefin radical cations undergo the radical coupling reactions with O2*- to produce the epidioxyanthracene (An-O2) and dioxetane, respectively.