Thiahelicenes

Thia[n]helicenes with long persistent phosphorescence

Helicenes with persistent luminescence have received relatively little attention, despite their demonstrated highly efficient intersystem crossing (ISC) from the excited singlet to the triplet state. Herein, we designed a series of ortho-fused aromatics by combining dithieno[2,3-b:3',2'-d]thiophene (DTT) with annulated benzene fragments, denoted as TB[n]H (n = 3-8), to achieve persistent luminescence. Wherein, thia[n]helicenes (n = 5-8) exhibited intense phosphorescence with millisecond-range lifetimes (τp) at 77 K. Particularly interesting was the observation that the odd-numbered ring helicenes displayed longer τp values than their neighboring even-numbered counterparts. Notably, TB[7]H showcased the longest τp of 628 ms. This phenomenon can be attributed to the more favorable ISC channels and stronger spin-orbital coupling (SOC) of old-numbered helicenes than even-numbered ones. Furthermore, both conformers of TB[7]H exhibited significant circularly polarized phosphorescent (CPP) responses, with luminescence dissymmetry factors (glum) of 0.015 and -0.014. These discoveries suggest that thiahelicenes may be a specific class of organic phosphorescent and CPP materials.

(BO)2 -Doped Tetrathia[7]helicene: A Configurationally Stable Blue Emitter

Helicenes combine two central themes in chemistry: extended π-conjugation and chirality. Hetero-atom doping preserves both characteristics and allows modulation of the electronic structure of a helicene. Herein, we report the (BO)₂ -doped tetrathia[7]helicene 1, which was prepared from 2-methoxy-3,3'-bithiophene in four steps. 1 is formally derived by substituting two (Mes)B-O moieties in place of (H)C=C(H) fragments in two benzene rings of the parent tetrathia[7]helicene. X-ray crystallography revealed a dihedral angle of 50.26(9)° between the two terminal thiophene rings. The (P)-/(M)-1 enantiomers were separated by chiral HPLC and are configurationally stable at room temperature. The experimentally determined enantiomerization barrier of 27.4±0.1 kcal mol^-1 is lower than that of tetrathia[7]helicene (39.4±0.1 kcal mol^-1 ). The circular dichroism spectra of (P)- and (M)-1 show a perfect mirror-image relationship. 1 is a blue emitter (λ_em =411 nm) with a photoluminescence quantum efficiency of Φ_PL =6 % (cf. tetrathia[7]helicene: λ_em ≈405 nm, Φ_PL =5 %).

The synthesis and crystal structure of pH-sensitive fluorescent pyrene-based double aza- and diaza[4]helicenes

Novel pyrene-based double aza- and diaza[4]helicenes have been prepared through a five-step synthetic sequence in overall good yields. Commercially available 2,3-dihaloazines (2,3-dibromopyridine, 2,3-dichloropyrazine and 2,3-dichloroquinoxaline) were used as starting materials. The synthesis employs electrophile-induced cyclizations of ortho-alkynyl bihetaryls as the key steps, leading to the formation of a helical skeleton. To discern the effect of merging azine and pyrene moieties within a helical skeleton, the X-ray structures, UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectra of the helicenes were investigated and compared with those of the parent [4]helicene, aza- and diaza[4]helicenes. It was found that the emission properties of the synthesized helicenes can be modulated as a function of pH. The basicity of pyrene-based double aza[4]helicenes was estimated by the direct fluorimetric titration method; the pK_a value was found to be equal to 1.4.

Synthesis, Stereochemical and Photophysical Properties of Functionalized Thiahelicenes

We report on the synthesis of a novel class of functionalized thia[6]helicenes and a thia[5]helicene, containing a benzothiophene unit and a second heteroatom embedded in the helix (i.e., nitrogen and oxygen) or a pyrene or a spirobifluorene moiety. These systems are obtained through straightforward and general procedures that involve: (i) palladium-catalyzed annulation of iodo-atropoisomers with internal alkynes and (ii) Suzuki coupling of iodo-atropoisomers with phenyl boronic acid followed by a Mallory-type reaction. Both experimental and theoretical studies on the configurational stability of some selected thia[6]helicenes confirmed their stability toward racemization at room temperature, while the pyrene-based thia[5]helicene was found to be unstable. Moreover, the configuration assignment for one representative thiahelicene was established through the comparison between experimental and theoretical circular dichroism (CD) spectra. A systematic study of the photophysical properties of both thiahelicenes and the corresponding atropoisomers has been carried out to provide a complete overview on the new molecules proposed in this work. The obtained data showed regular trends in all the thiahelicene series with spectroscopic traits in line with those previously observed for similar heterohelicenes.

Exploring the Photocyclization Pathways of Styrylthiophenes in the Synthesis of Thiahelicenes: When the Theory and Experiment Meet

The introduction of thiophene rings to the helical structure of carbohelicenes has electronic effects that may be used advantageously in organic electronics. The performance of these devices is highly dependent on the sulfur atom topology, so a precise knowledge of the synthetic routes that may afford isomeric structures is necessary. We have studied the photocyclization pathway of both 2- and 3-styrylthiophenes on their way to thiahelicenes by experiment and theory. To begin with, the synthesis of stereochemically well-defined 2- and 3-styrylthiophenes allowed us to register first, and simulate later, the UV-vis electronic spectra of these precursors. This information gave us access through time-dependent density functional theory calculations to the very nature of the excited states involved in the photocyclization step and from there to the regio- and stereochemical outcome of the reaction. For the widely known case of a 2-styrylthiophene derivative, the expected naphtho[2,1-b]thiophene type of ring fusion was predicted and experimentally observed by synthesis. On the contrary, 3-styrylthiophene derivatives have been seldom used in synthetic photocyclizations. Among the two possible structural outcomes, only the naphtho[1,2-b]thiophene type of ring fusion was found to be mechanistically sound, and this was actually the only compound observed by synthesis.

Helical nanostructures for organic electronics: the role of topological sulfur in ad hoc synthesized dithia[7]helicenes studied in the solid state and on a gold surface

As the first of a series of molecular solenoids, two classes of dithia[7]helicenes (coil-shaped molecules with sulfur atoms integrated within a helical conjugated system) have been devised and synthesized to be used in molecular electronics. We used a modular assembly of fragments using Pd catalyzed coupling reactions and a final photocyclization step for the syntheses; this strategy gave us straightforward access to helicenes bearing thiophene end rings with either exo or endo topologies. Unequivocal structural characterization was carried out by X-ray crystallography. In the solid state, their crystal architectures show little similarities; both can be considered an ensemble of heterochiral dimers (P/M) that are themselves very different in nature in light of their main pairing interactions. On a gold surface, the effect of the sulfur atom is to strengthen their binding to the electrodes, as manifested by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) performed at room temperature. Different coating patterns were observed for each class of molecule, although the most prominent finding is that we could see resolved STM images of a single molecule, with a full display of its inherent chirality under room temperature conditions.

Renaissance of Ring-Opening Chemistry of Benzotriazoles: New Wine in an Old Bottle

1,2,3-Benzotriazoles could undergo ring cleavage to form ortho-amino arenediazonium or α-diazo-imine species via a Dimroth-type equilibrium. Historically, the synthetic potential of this unique reactivity had remained underdeveloped. Recently, some new strategies have been developed to effect the ring-opening chemistry of benzotriazoles in more practical manners. A wide range of conceptually novel and synthetically useful reactions have been developed, which enable the access to diverse valuable heterocycles and ortho-amino arene derivatives. As one of the players in this field, our group has also contributed a series of intriguing transition-metal-catalyzed denitrogenative functionalizations of benzotriazoles. In this account, we aim to provide an overview of the ring-opening chemistry of benzotriazoles, with a focus on relevant works published in the past decade. In order to show a whole picture of the research field, some pioneering works in its developing history will also be discussed briefly.

Thiahelicene-based inherently chiral films for enantioselective electroanalysis

Enantiopure inherently chiral films with helicoidal stereogenicity of outstanding enantiodiscrimination potentialities for chiral redox probes and as spin filters.

Chiral electroanalysis could be regarded as the highest recognition degree in electrochemical sensing, implying the ability to discriminate between specular images of an electroactive molecule, particularly in terms of significant peak potential difference. A groundbreaking strategy was recently proposed, based on the use of “inherently chiral” molecular selectors, with chirality and key functional properties originating from the same structural element. Large differences in peak potentials have been observed for the enantiomers of different chiral molecules, also of applicative interest, using different selectors, all of them based on atropisomeric biheteroaromatic scaffolds of axial stereogenicity. However, helicene systems also provide inherently chiral building blocks with attractive features. In this paper the enantiodiscrimination performances of enantiopure inherently chiral films obtained by electrooxidation of a thiahelicene monomer with helicoidal stereogenicity are presented for the first time. The outstanding potentialities of this novel approach are evaluated towards chiral probes with different chemical nature and bulkiness, in comparison with a representative case of the so far exploited class of inherently chiral selectors with axial stereogenicity. It is also verified that the high enantiodiscrimination ability holds as well for electron spins, as for atropisomeric selectors.

Dirhenium Coordination Complex Endowed with an Intrinsically Chiral Helical-Shaped Diphosphine Oxide

A one-pot, multicomponent strategy was used to synthesize the first example of the dirhenium carbonyl coordination complex 2, in which the two metal atoms are connected through a chiral helical-shaped diphosphine oxide. Thanks to the flexibility of the helix of helicene 1, complex 2 was isolated in quite a good yield as a stable compound. It was characterized by analytical and spectroscopic techniques as well as by single-crystal X-ray analysis, which confirmed the chemical structure and the peculiar architecture of 2. In addition, computational studies were in agreement with the transitions observed in the experimental UV-vis spectrum, revealing the presence of two bands with maxima at about 520 (metal-to-ligand charge transfer) and 400 nm (IL).