Intermolecular Hydrogen Abstraction from Hydroxy Group and Alkyl by T1(ππ*) of 1-Chloro-4-nitronaphthalene

Transient spectroscopic insights into nitroindole's T1 state: Elucidating its intermediates and unique photochemical properties

Indoles are notable for their distinct photophysical and photochemical properties, making them useful indicators in biological systems and promising candidates for a variety of pharmaceutical applications. While some indoles exhibit room temperature phosphorescence, such a phenomenon has not been observed in nitroindoles. Typically, adding of a nitro group into aromatic compounds promotes ultrafast intersystem crossing and increases the formation quantum yield of the lowest excited triplet (T1). Therefore, understanding the reactivity of nitroindoles' T1 states is imperative. This study investigated the physical properties and chemical reactivities of the T1 state of 6-nitroindole (3HN-6NO2) in both polar aprotic and protic solvents, using transient absorption spectroscopy. Our results demonstrate the basicity and acidity of 3HN-6NO2, emphasizing its potential for protonation and dissociation in mildly acidic and basic conditions, respectively. Furthermore, 3HN-6NO2 has a high oxidizing capacity, participating in electron transfer reactions and proton-coupled electron transfer to produce radicals. Interestingly, in protic solvents like alcohols, 3HN-6NO2 dissociates at the -NH group and forms N-H…O hydrogen-bonded complexes with the nitro group. By identifying transient absorption spectra of intermediates and quantifying kinetic reaction rate constants, we illuminate the unique properties of the T1 state nitroindoles, enriching our understanding of their photophysical and photochemical behaviors. The results of this study have significant implications for their potential application in both biological systems and materials science.

Effect of electron-donating substitution on the triplet state reactivities of 1-nitronaphthalene

Nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs), often found in polluted air, are carcinogenic and mutagenic. The nitro group increases the spin-orbit coupling and results in the lowest excited triplet (T₁) on the picosecond time scale with a high yield. The electron-donating substituents have a significant influence on the photophysics and photochemistry of nitro-PAHs. We used transient absorption spectroscopy and kinetic analysis to investigate the reactivities of the T₁ state 1-methoxy-4-nitronaphthalene (³MeO-NN) and 1-methyl-4-nitronaphthalene (³Me-NN). The results show that the methoxy and methyl substitutions have a minor effect on their hydrogen abstraction and electron accepting abilities. The main distinction is their reaction rates towards protons. The second order rate constant of ³MeO-NN towards protons is three orders of magnitude greater than that of ³Me-NN, indicating that ³MeO-NN has a stronger hydrogen bond accepting ability. The kinetic analysis reveals that the dimer of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol participates in the reaction with ³MeO-NN. These results suggest that the formation of the hydrogen-bonded complex is responsible for the unusually short lifetime of ³MeO-NN in methanol solution and the lack of hydrogen abstraction radicals during the decay of ³MeO-NN in methanol.

Hydrogen bond configuration and protonation of ground and lowest excited triplet states of 4‑amino‑4'‑nitrobiphenyl based on nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy

Intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) is an important photochemical process. In contrast to those in singlet manifold, triplet ICT states were less studied. In this paper, the lowest excited triplet state (T₁) of 4‑amino‑4'‑nitrobiphenyl (NH₂-Bp-NO₂) was recorded with nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy in acidic acetonitrile and alcoholic solutions. By employing the Kamlet-Taft model to analyze the correlation between absorption maxima and alcohol solvent properties including polarity/polarizability, abilities of hydrogen bond donating and hydrogen bond accepting, hydrogen bond configuration in the ground state (S₀) and T₁ was resolved. The results suggest that the hydrogen bond between amino H and alcohol is dominant in S₀, while in T₁, hydrogen bonds between amino H and alcohol, between nitro O and alcohol have comparable contribution. By examination of the 1‑naphthol quench effect on T₁, the hydrogen bond between nitro O and alcohol was confirmed present. Theoretical calculation results on the model of NH₂-Bp-NO₂-(MeOH)₃ also indicate that hydrogen bonds between amino H and alcohol, between nitro O and alcohol are both much stronger in T₁ than in S₀. In acidic acetonitrile solution, in S₀ of NH₂-Bp-NO₂ the amino group is protonated with pK_a of 4.5, meanwhile in T₁ the nitro group is much easier to be protonated than in S₀. Its conjugated acid was measured to have a pK_a of 3.1.