Synthesis and characterizations of star-shaped octupolar triazatruxenes-based two-photon absorption chromophores

Arylation of benzazoles at the 4 positions by activation of their 2-methylsulfinyl groups

Treatment of 2-methylsulfinylbenzazoles with triflic anhydride in the presence of phenols yields the corresponding 4-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-methylsulfanylbenzazoles. This regioselective dehydrative C-H/C-H coupling arylation represents a rare example of functionalizations on the benzene rings of benzo-fused azoles.

Ferrocenyl-Substituted Triazatruxenes: Synthesis, Electronic Properties, and the Impact of Ferrocenyl Residues on Directional On-Surface Switching on Ag(111)

We report on seven new ferrocenyl-(1, 3)- and ferrocenylethynyl-modified N,N',N″-triethyltriazatruxenes (EtTATs) 4-7 as well as the dodecyl counterpart 2 of compound 1 and their use as molecular switching units when deposited on a Ag(111) surface. Such functional units may constitute a new approach to molecule-based high-density information storage and processing. Besides the five compounds 1-3, 6, and 7, where the 3-fold rotational symmetry of the triazatruxene (TAT) template is preserved, we also included 2-ethynylferrocenyl-TAT 4 and 2,2'-di(ethynylferrocenyl)-TAT 5, whose mono- and disubstitution patterns break the 3-fold symmetry of the TAT core. Voltammetric studies indicate that the ferrocenyl residues of compounds 1-7 oxidize prior to the oxidation of the TAT core. We have noted strong electrostatic effects on TAT oxidation in the 2,2',2″-triferrocenyl-TAT derivatives 1 and 2 and the 3,3',3″-isomer 3. The oxidized complexes feature multiple electronic excitations in the near-infrared and the visible spectra, which are assigned to dδ/δ* transitions of the ferrocenium (Fc+) moieties, as well as TAT → Fc+ charge-transfer transitions. The latter are augmented by intervalence charge-transfer contributions Fc → Fc+ in mixed-valent states, where only a part of the available ferrocenyl residues is oxidized. EtTAT was previously identified as a directional three-level switching unit when deposited on Ag(111) and constitutes a trinary-digit unit for on-surface information storage. The symmetrically trisubstituted compound 6 retains this property, albeit at somewhat reduced switching rates due to the additional interaction between the ferrocenyl residues and the Ag surface. In particular, the high directionality at low bias and the inversion of the preferred sense of the on-surface rocking motion with either a clockwise or counterclockwise switching sense, depending on the identity of the surface enantiomer, are preserved. Unsymmetrical substitution in mono- and diferrocenylated 4 and 5 alters the underlying ratchet potential in a manner such that a two-state switching between the two degenerate surface conformations of 4 or a pronounced suppression of switching (5) is observed.

π-Extended Octupolar Cyclized Indole Tetramer and Trimer Derivatives with Second- and Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Properties

Several aromatic-fused octupolar tetraindole (TTI) and triindole (TI) derivatives have been synthesized via POCl₃-promoted cyclopolymerization of the aromatic-fused oxindoles. As a result, the terminal phenyls of TTI and TI are fused with the phenyl group, indenyl group, and benzothienyl group separately in the π-extended target compounds TTIp and TIp, TTIid and TIid, and TTIbt and TIbt (including pairs of syn- and anti-isomers). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction disclosed that the tetramer syn-TTIbt keeps an S₄-symmetric architecture and crystallizes in the P4₂/n space group. With the extension of the π-conjugation, the absorption and emission bands of the above tetramers and trimers are remarkably red-shifted. The second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) coefficients (β value) of syn-TTIbt and anti-TTIbt have been calculated to be 1.5 and 2.1 times that of their parent compound TTI, respectively. In the domain of the third-order NLO, the two-photon absorption sections (δ value) of syn-TIbt and anti-TIbt have been measured to be 37 and 102 times that of TI, respectively. These results indicate that the π-extension strategy here is successful, and the anti-isomers have better NLO properties and better π-conjugation than their corresponding syn-isomers.

Novel red light-emitting two-photon absorption compounds with large Stokes shifts for living cell imaging

Three novel donor-π-acceptor two-photon absorption compounds (1PZPy, 2PZIm, 3CZPy) bearing the 10-butyl-10H-phenothiazine (9-butyl-9H-carbazole) donor, the pyridinium (benzimidazolium) acceptor, and the 2,5-divinylthiophene π-bridge were synthesized and fully characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, FT-IR, and HRMS. The linear and nonlinear photophysical properties were systematically investigated. Their absorption properties show a strong solvent dependence, while the emission properties are nearly independent of solvent polarity. All of them possess large Stokes shifts (Δλ=149-190 nm in H₂O). 1PZPy and 3CZPy exhibit red fluorescence emission centered at about 635 and 660 nm, respectively. The two-photon absorption cross-sections measured by the open aperture Z-scan technique are determined to be 486 (1PZPy), 601 (2PZIm), and 753 GM (3CZPy) in DMF. The density functional theory calculations were further carried out to reveal their electronic structures. All the target compounds are verified to have low cytotoxicity in the working solution and good capability for one- and two-photon excitation fluorescence imaging, suggesting their potential application in bioimaging. Moreover, they show the organelle targeting ability in living cells with the high Pearson's coefficients above 0.94 for the endoplasmic reticulum.

From truxenes to heterotruxenes: playing with heteroatoms and the symmetry of molecules

As a result of the modification of truxene, we can change the electronic structure or create multidimensional materials. Thus, the use of truxenes is very wide.

Functionalization at Nonperipheral Positions of Triazatruxene: Modular Construction of 1,6,11-Triarylated-Triazatruxenes for Potentially Organic Electronics and Optoelectronics

Functionalization from nonperipheral positions of triazatruxene is representing a challenge. Triarylation of the nonperipheral positions (1, 6, and 11) in triazatruxene scaffold has been achieved for the first time via two approaches. The transformations involve arylation/cyclotrimerization and cyclotrimerization/arylation sequences. POCl₃-mediated direct cyclotrimerization of oxindoles containing electron-deficient substituents on the aryl group at the C7-position resulted in the formation of 2-chloroindoles, whereas oxindoles containing electron-donating substituents gave the triazatruxenes. Furthermore, desired triazatruxenes were achieved through cyclotrimerization of 7-bromooxindole followed by coupling with arylboronic acids. NMR structural analysis exhibited that two of the suitably substituted oxindole and triazatuxene may have atropisomerism at room temperature. As a representative triazatruxene scaffold, the optoelectronic properties of 9a have also been studied via ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra of 9a thin films. Also, density functional theory calculation was realized to get knowledge about frontier molecular orbitals. In the light of the information obtained, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) device utilizing 9a as an emissive layer was applied to obtain white emission. In brief, this study provides the first examples of the synthesis of triazatruxenes bearing aryl substituents at the nonperipheral positions as candidate compounds for organic electronics, optoelectronics, and material chemistry.

High capacity gas capture and selectivity properties of triazatruxene-based ultramicroporous hyper-crosslinked covalent polymer

Tuning the selective sorption features of microporous organic networks is of great importance for subsequent applications in gas uptake and hiding, while it is more attractive in terms of being both time and cost effective to realize these optimizations without using functional groups in the core and linker. “Knitting” is one of the easiest and most used method to obtain a broad scope of hyper-crosslinked polymers on a large scale from aromatic structures that do not contain functional groups for polymerization. By the use of Knitting method, a hypercrosslinked covalent ultramicroporous organic polymer was obtained via stepwise process from using triazatruxene (TAT) as core -a planar indole trimer- through anhydrous FeCl₃ catalyzed Friedel–Crafts alkylation using dimethoxybenzene as a linker. The resulting microporous polymer, namely TATHCCP was completely identified by analytical and spectral techniques after examined for gas properties (CO₂, CH₄, O₂, CO, and H₂) and selectivity (CO₂/N₂, CO₂/O₂, for CO₂/CO and CO₂/CH₄) up to 1 bar and increased temperatures (273 K, 296 K and 320 K). Although it has a relatively low (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) BET specific surface area around 557 m²/g, it was seen to have a high CO₂ capture capacity approaching 10% wt. at 273 K. In accordance with (ideal adsorbed solution theory) IAST computations, it was revealed that interesting selectivity features hitting up to 60 for CO₂/N₂, 45 for CO₂/O₂, 35 for CO₂/CO, 13 for CO₂/CH₄ at lower temperatures revealed that the material has much better selectivity values than many HCP (hyper-crosslinked polymer) derivatives in the literature even from its most similar analog dimethoxymethane derivative TATHCP, which has a surface area of 950 m²/g.

Branched Electron-Donor Core Effect in D-π-A Star-Shaped Small Molecules on Their Properties and Performance in Single-Component and Bulk-Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells †

Star-shaped donor-acceptor molecules are full of promise for organic photovoltaics and electronics. However, the effect of the branching core on physicochemical properties, charge transport and photovoltaic performance of such donor-acceptor materials in single-component (SC) and bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells has not been thoroughly addressed. This work shows the comprehensive investigation of six star-shaped donor-acceptor molecules with terminal hexyldicyanovinyl blocks linked through 2,2′-bithiophene π-conjugated bridge to different electron-donating cores such as the pristine and fused triphenylamine, tris(2-methoxyphenyl)amine, carbazole- and benzotriindole-based units. Variation of the branching core strongly impacts on such important properties as the solubility, highest occupied molecular orbital energy, optical absorption, phase behavior, molecular packing and also on the charge-carrier mobility. The performance of SC or BHJ organic solar cells are comprehensively studied and compared. The results obtained provide insight on how to predict and fine-tune photovoltaic performance as well as properties of donor-acceptor star-shaped molecules for organic solar cells.

Direct Tracking Excited-State Intramolecular Charge Redistribution of Acceptor-Donor-Acceptor Molecule by Means of Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy

Symmetric quadrupolar molecules generally exhibit apolar ground states and dipolar excited states in a polar environment, which is explained by the excited state evolution from initial charge delocalization over all molecules to localization on one branch of the molecules after a femtosecond pulse excitation. However, direct observation of excited-state charge redistribution (delocalization/localization) is hardly accessible. Here, the intramolecular charge delocalization/localization character of a newly synthesized acceptor-donor-acceptor molecule (ADA) has been intensively investigated by femtosecond stimulated Raman scattering (FSRS) together with femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA) spectroscopy. By tracking the excited state Raman spectra of the specific alkynyl (-C≡C-) bonds at each branch of ADA, we found that the nature of the relaxed S₁ state is strongly governed by solvent polarity: symmetric delocalized intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) characters occurred in apolar solvent, whereas the asymmetric localized ICT characters appeared in polar solvent because of solvation. The solvation dynamics of ADA extracted from fs-TA is consistent with the time constants obtained by FSRS, but the FSRS clearly tracks the excited state intramolecular charge transfer delocalization/localization.

Study of the Photoluminescence Characteristics of 4,4'-((1E,1'E)-Quinoxaline-2,3-diylbis(ethene-2,1-diyl))bis(N,N-dimethylaniline)

A comparative investigation on the photophysical properties of a quinoxaline derivative 4,4'-((1E,1'E)-quinoxaline-2,3-diylbis(ethene-2,1-diyl))bis(N,N-dimethylaniline) (QDMA2) was performed by employing many spectroscopies. Based on the pump-dump/push-probe measurement, it is found that a solvent-stabilized charge-transfer state can participate in the relaxation of excited QDMA2 with increasing solvent polarity. Meanwhile, the aggregated QDMA2 molecules were engineered into the organic light-emitting diode test, which showed a correlated color temperature value of 1875 K. With the help of a diamond anvil cell, the pressure-dependent photoluminescence of aggregated QDMA2 shows that the intermolecular interaction can affect the color and intensity of photoluminescence through adjusting the band gap and irradiative channel of the aggregated molecules. These results are important for understanding the structure-property relationships and the rational design of functional materials for optoelectronic applications.

Scanning Ultrafast Spectral Dynamics of Triphenylamine-Modified Vinylbenzothiazole Derivative: Role of Solvent Polarity and Temperature

The photophysical properties of a donor-acceptor compound based on triphenylamine-modified vinylbenzothiazole derivative (BTTM) are investigated by multispectral techniques. Based on the pump-probe and pump-dump/push-probe technique, it is found that the hybridized localized excited (LE) and charge transfer (CT) state (HLCT) participates in the relaxation process of excited BTTM. The excited state is the LE-dominated HLCT state in cyclohexane; then it evolves to the CT-dominated HLCT state in a high polarity solvent. Meanwhile, a new intermediate state named the HLCT' state also exists in a high polar solvent. When the temperature of BTTM film drops, the increasing photoluminescence (PL) lifetime and PL quantum yield are assigned to the nonradiative recombination inactivation. The pump-probe data show that exciton-exciton annihilation originating from exciton collision gradually increases owing to the weakening of phonon-exciton scattering at low temperature. Our results provide comprehensive insight into the optoelectronic properties of organic molecules.

How To Make Nitroaromatic Compounds Glow: Next-Generation Large X-Shaped, Centrosymmetric Diketopyrrolopyrroles

Red‐emissive π‐expanded diketopyrrolopyrroles (DPPs) with fluorescence reaching λ=750 nm can be easily synthesized by a three‐step strategy involving the preparation of diketopyrrolopyrrole followed by N‐arylation and subsequent intramolecular palladium‐catalyzed direct arylation. Comprehensive spectroscopic assays combined with first‐principles calculations corroborated that both N‐arylated and fused DPPs reach a locally excited (S₁) state after excitation, followed by internal conversion to states with solvent and structural relaxation, before eventually undergoing intersystem crossing. Only the structurally relaxed state is fluorescent, with lifetimes in the range of several nanoseconds and tens of picoseconds in nonpolar and polar solvents, respectively. The lifetimes correlate with the fluorescence quantum yields, which range from 6 % to 88 % in nonpolar solvents and from 0.4 % and 3.2 % in polar solvents. A very inefficient (T₁) population is responsible for fluorescence quantum yields as high as 88 % for the fully fused DPP in polar solvents.

Toward Soluble 5,10-Diheterotruxenes: Synthesis and Reactivity of 5,10-Dioxatruxenes, 5,10-Dithiatruxenes, and 5,10-Diazatruxenes

The following work presents three general approaches allowing, for the first time, the synthesis of 5,10-diheterotruxene derivatives containing two identical heteroatoms, namely, oxygen OOC, nitrogen NNC, or sulfur SSC. Two of described pathways involve the photocyclization of the corresponding triene 2 as a key step leading to a heptacyclic aromatic system. The third approach is based on the acidic condensation between ninhydrin 14 and benzo[b]heteroole 15. Typical functionalizations of the 5,10-diheterotruxene core have also been presented. In addition, the article discusses the advantages and limitations of the three suggested paths for receiving specific 5,10-diheterotruxene derivatives because the universal method suitable for obtaining molecules with any type of heteroatoms is not known so far.

An overview on synthetic strategies for the construction of star-shaped molecules

Strategies for the synthesis of star-shaped molecules have been in high demand in the last decades due to the importance of those compounds in various fields. The distinctly different properties of these compounds compared to their linear analogues make them versatile building blocks for the formation of mesophases of interesting mesomorphic and photophysical properties. Moreover, the applications of star-shaped molecules as building units for dendrimers as well as in supramolecular host-guest chemistry have also been recently studied. The star-shaped molecules mentioned in this review are classified according to the central core as well as the type of side arms. The properties and applications of these compounds are described in the appropriate contexts. This report summarizes the recent advances in this area.

Molecular engineering of anchoring groups for designing efficient triazatruxene-based organic dye-sensitized solar cells

Triazatruxene with designed anchoring groups provides better photovoltaic activities.

Synthesis, photophysical and biological properties of a new oxazolone fluorescent probe for bioimaging: an experimental and theoretical study

In this study, a new oxazolone derivative 4-{N,N-bis[2-phenyl-4-benzylidene-1,3-oxazol-5(4H)-one]amino}benzaldehyde (PB3) was synthesized and investigated as a fluorescent dye. The spectroscopic properties in different solvents were thoroughly studied. The experimental data were supported by quantum-chemical calculations using density functional theory. Measurements and theoretical calculations showed that the PB3 dye is characterized by non-monotonic solvatochromism, a strongly polar charge transfer excited state, a large Stokes' shift, a high fluorescence quantum yield and a high fluorescence lifetime. Bioconjugate complexes (PB3-concanavalin A) were studied by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The results showed that the secondary structure of concanavalin A was not significantly influenced by the PB3-fluorophore. Conventional fluorescence microscopy imaging of Candida albicans cells, incubated with the PB3-concanavalin A, was demonstrated. The results from cytochemistry experiments demonstrate that the PB3 dye has valuable advantages compared to the other long-wavelength dyes in typical fluorescence-based cell labeling applications. In vitro tolerance was evaluated by the MTT method in the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line HT29. The PB3 and bioconjugate complexes (PB3-concanavalin A), in the range of concentrations tested, were not considerably toxic. The AutoDock simulations showed LYS46 as the most likely active site for covalent bond formation during PB3-concanavalin A conjugation. In addition, theoretical studies have shown that PB3 is characterized by good bioavailability and absorption/transmission across the cell membrane. This molecule will not bioaccumulate in living organisms and should be excreted in urine without interacting with other drugs. This work provided promising results for the red fluorescent probe (PB3) as a valuable alternative to commercial probes designed for cellular labeling in biological and biomedical research.

The role of intramolecular charge transfer and symmetry breaking in the photophysics of pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole-dione

This paper reveals structurally unique π-expanded pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole and its non-typical photophysical behaviour.

Insights into the effect of donor ability on photophysical properties of dihydroindeno[2,1-c]fluorene-based imide derivatives

The photophysical properties of dihydroindeno[2,1-c]fluorene-based imide (DHIFI) derivatives were investigated by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy as well as quantum chemical calculations.

Small water-soluble pyrimidine hexafluorophosphate derivatives with high two-photon absorption activities in the near-IR region and their biological applications

Two imidazole–pyrimidine hexafluorophosphate derivatives (6P and 10P) are synthesized. The 2PA cross-section values (σ) were obtained by Z-scan and two-photon excited fluorescence methods. 6P and 10P can be used to quantify and image organelles in living cells and tissues.

Triazatruxene radical cation: a trigonal class III mixed valence system

The highly symmetric and stable triazatruxene radical cation was generated chemically for the first time.

Nonplanar Butterfly-Shaped π-Expanded Pyrrolopyrroles

Large aza-analogues of curved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with a double-helicene structure present unique features for molecular photonics. We present the preparation and characterization of three such structures. The synthesis of these heterocyclic nanographenes involves only a few high-yield steps that use readily available starting materials. X-ray analysis revealed that each of these new dyes has three conformational isomers: one diastereoisomer in a meso form and two enantiomers in twisted forms [(P,P)] and [(M,M)]. The low energy barriers between the conformers, however, prevent their separation by using chiral HPLC, and the NMR spectra show only one set of signals for each of these curved compounds. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations quantify the small energy difference and the small energy barriers between the chiral and meso forms, which fully supports the experimental results. Their optical absorption lacks any sensitivity to the solvent environment, whereas their fluorescence features exhibit pronounced solvatochromism. This rarely observed solvatofluorochromism of centrosymmetric molecules without either electron-withdrawing groups or -donating substituents was probed by using time-resolved spectroscopy. These studies suggest that, similar to 9,9'-bianthryl, the nonpolar locally excited state shows negligible solvatochromism, whereas the charge-transfer state is sensitive to solvent polarity.

Design, synthesis, linear and nonlinear photophysical properties of novel pyrimidine-based imidazole derivatives

Novel pyrimidine imidazole derivatives with flexible ether chains have been synthesised and evaluated for their cell imaging performanceviaphotophysical investigations and theoretical calculations.

Multi-substituted triazatruxene-functionalized pyrene derivatives as efficient organic laser gain media

A set of pyrene derivatives substituted with multiple triazatruxenes were synthesized and explored as efficient gain media for organic lasers.

Photophysical properties of octupolar triazatruxene-based chromophores

The intramolecular charge transfer properties of tribranched chromophores related to their TPA properties are explored by estimating the TPA essential factors.

Conformationally Locked Tolans, β-Sheet Structures, and Photophysical Properties

Conformationally locked tetrasubstituted tolans were synthesized by introducing a tether on the tolan. To demonstrate the utilities of these motifs, a β-hairpin structure (15) was synthesized, and its additional stabilizing effects were evaluated. Moreover, the photophysical properties of cyclic tolans and their β-sheet structure were investigated. The fluorescence quantum yield of cyclic tolan 12 is >1000 times stronger than its congener 1 in CH3CN.

χ-Shaped bis(areno)-1,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrroles generated by oxidative aromatic coupling

A synthesis of dihydropyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrroles fused with two peripheral arenes or heterocyclic units has been realized through the concise route. These nearly planar compounds were prepared starting from assembling the central core via condensation of 2-aryl or 2-heteroarylbenzaldehydes with aromatic amines and diacetyl, followed by double intramolecular oxidative aromatic coupling. This two-step procedure afforded the desired products in overall yields of 5-36%, and it tolerates structural diversity of starting materials. All the final dyes exhibit strong blue fluorescence in solution.

Synthesis, crystal structures and two-photon absorption properties of triphenylamine cyanoacetic acid derivative and its organooxotin complexes

Three novel organooxotin complexes (Z1, Z2 and Z3) exhibit large 2PA cross-section per molecular weight and can be used as potential anti-tumor agents.

A series of Zn(ii) terpyridine complexes with enhanced two-photon-excited fluorescence for in vitro and in vivo bioimaging

TPA cross sections are enhanced for the complexes containing D–A type ligandL1.1exhibits specificity in two-photon fluorescence imaging.

Vertically-expanded imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine via dehydrogenative coupling

The intramolecular dehydrogenative coupling mediated by potassium constitutes the general methodology leading to weakly emitting π-expanded heterocycles.