Phenylene−Ethynylene Macrocycles as Model Systems of Interchromophoric Interactions in π-Conjugated Macromolecules

Simulation of exciton spectra in disordered supramolecular polymers: exciton localization in cisoid indolenine squaraine hexamers

In order to understand the effects of disorder and defects in oligomers and polymers on the localization of excitons, we investigated the spectral properties of the squaraine B hexamer using long range corrected tight-binding TDDFT (lc-TDDFTB) and Frenkel-exciton model based calculations. Employing classical molecular dynamics, the cisoid indolenine squaraine hexamers helix was propagated in DCM and acetone to obtain ensembles of realistic structures, which naturally exhibit considerable disorder. The trajectories together with several model squaraine systems were studied to show the profound effects of disorder in the superstructure and disorder of the local monomer geometry on optical properties like absorption and exciton localization. We further compared lc-TDDFTB and exciton theory derived spectral data to related experimental data on absorption, exciton transfer and localization in squaraine polymers and oligomers.

Spectral Fingerprint of Excited-State Energy Transfer in Dendrimers through Polarization-Sensitive Transient-Absorption Pump-Probe Signals: On-the-Fly Nonadiabatic Dynamics Simulations

The time-resolved polarization-sensitive transient-absorption (TA) pump-probe (PP) spectra are simulated using on-the-fly surface-hopping nonadiabatic dynamics and the doorway-window representation of nonlinear spectroscopy. A dendrimer model system composed of two linear phenylene ethynylene units (2-ring and 3-ring) is taken as an example. The ground-state bleach (GSB), stimulated emission (SE), and excited-state absorption (ESA) contributions as well as the total TA PP signals are obtained and carefully analyzed. It is shown that intramolecular excited-state energy transfer from the 2-ring unit to the 3-ring unit can be conveniently identified by employing pump and probe pulses with different polarizations. Our results demonstrate that time-resolved polarization-sensitive TA PP signals provide a powerful tool for the elucidation of excited-state energy-transfer pathways, notably in molecular systems possessing several optically bright nonadiabatically coupled electronic states with different orientations of transition dipole moments.

Expanded all-phenylene molecular spoked wheels: cutouts of graphenylene-3

All-phenylene molecular spoked wheels, cutouts of graphenylene-3, have been synthesized by intramolecular Yamamoto coupling of the respective dodecabromides.

Over one century after discovery: pyrylium salt chemistry emerging as a powerful approach for the construction of complex macrocycles and metallo-supramolecules

Over one century after its discovery, pyrylium salt chemistry has been extensively applied in preparing light emitters, photocatalysts, and sensitizers. In most of these studies, pyrylium salts acted as versatile precursors for the preparation of small molecules (such as furan, pyridines, phosphines, pyridinium salts, thiopyryliums and betaine dyes) and poly(pyridinium salt)s. In recent decades, pyrylium salt chemistry has emerged as a powerful approach for constructing complex macrocycles and metallo-supramolecules. In this perspective, we attempt to summarize the representative efforts of synthesizing and self-assembling large, complex architectures using pyrylium salt chemistry. We believe that this perspective not only highlights the recent achievements in pyrylium salt chemistry, but also inspires us to revisit this chemistry to design and construct macrocycles and metallo-supramolecules with increasing complexity and desired function.

A chitosan gold nanoparticles molecularly imprinted polymer based ciprofloxacin sensor

In this work, we present a novel study on the development of an electrochemical biomimetic sensor to detect the ciprofloxacin (CIP) antibiotic. A chitosan gold nanoparticles decorated molecularly imprinted polymer (Ch-AuMIP) was used to modify the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for preparation of the sensor. The Ch-AuMIP was characterized to understand various properties like chemical composition, morphology, roughness, and conduction using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) respectively. Several experimental conditions affecting the Ch-AuMIP/GCE sensor such as the CIP removal agent, the extraction time, the volume of Ch-AuMIP drop-cast onto GCE and the rebinding time were studied and optimized. The Ch-AuMIP sensor sensitivity was studied in the concentration range of 1-100 μmol L-1 exhibiting a limit of detection of 210 nmol L-1. The synergistic combination of Au nanoparticles and Ch-MIP helps detect the CIP antibiotic with good sensitivity and selectivity, respectively. We investigated the selectivity aspect by using some possible interfering species and the developed sensing system showed good selectivity for CIP with a 66% response compared to the other compounds (≤45% response). The proposed sensing strategy showed its applicability for successful detection of CIP in real samples like tap water, mineral water, milk, and pharmaceutical formulation. The developed sensor showed good selectivity towards CIP even among the analogue molecules of Norfloxacin (NFX) and Ofloxacin (OFX). The developed sensor was successfully applied to determine the CIP in different samples with a satisfactory recovery in the range of 94 to 106%.

Anomalous Linear Dichroism in Bent Chromophores of π-conjugated Polymers: Departure from the Franck-Condon Principle

We examine the influence of bending of π-conjugated chromophores on photoluminescence (PL) by spectrally resolving the depolarization of fluorescence on the single-molecule level. The effect of excited-state mixing mediated by molecular vibrations is manifested in the departure from the usual achromatic linear dichroism of fluorescence, with the polarization anisotropy decreasing in the vibronic progression. Bent chromophores reveal an overall increase in vibronic PL intensity with polarization orthogonal to the molecular long axis. This manifestation of the Renner-Herzberg-Teller (RHT) effect illustrates the breakdown of the Franck-Condon principle in macromolecules used in organic electronics, providing information on the orientation of transition-dipole moments and the origin of spectral broadening. While some of the spectral signatures of the RHT effect appear similar to those of H aggregation in molecular dimers, discrimination between the two phenomena is straightforward since H aggregation does not induce anomalous linear dichroism.

Interference of Interchromophoric Energy-Transfer Pathways in π-Conjugated Macrocycles

The interchromophoric energy-transfer pathways between weakly coupled units in a π-conjugated phenylene-ethynylene macrocycle and its half-ring analogue have been investigated using the nonadiabatic excited-state molecular dynamics approach. To track the flow of electronic transition density between macrocycle units, we formulate a transition density flux analysis adapted from the statistical minimum flow method previously developed to investigate vibrational energy flow. Following photoexcitation, transition density is primarily delocalized on two chromophore units and the system undergoes ultrafast energy transfer, creating a localized excited state on a single unit. In the macrocycle, distinct chromophore units donate transition density to a single acceptor unit but do not interchange transition density among each other. We find that energy transfer in the macrocycle is slower than in the corresponding half ring because of the presence of multiple interfering energy-transfer pathways. Simulation results are validated by modeling the fluorescence anisotropy decay.

Defining Cyclic-Acyclic Exciton Transition at the Single-Molecule Level: Size-Dependent Conformational Heterogeneity and Exciton Delocalization in Ethynylene-Bridged Cyclic Oligothiophenes

Conformational disorder in π-conjugated cyclic systems plays a crucial role in controlling the extent of exciton delocalization in much the same way as that in linear counterparts. However, to date, there have been no detailed spectroscopic investigations on the nature of excitons in π-conjugated cyclic systems at the single-molecule level. Herein, we studied the effect of conformational disorder on the excitonic behaviors of cyclic oligothiophenes composed of 6, 8, 10, and 12 subunits (C-6T, C-8T, C-10T, and C-12T, respectively) by employing single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy. We found that, due to the cyclic symmetry constraint which suppresses S1-S0 transition, small and rigid C-6T and C-8T exhibit extremely long fluorescence lifetimes, while short lifetimes typical of linear systems are dominant in large, flexible C-10T and C-12T. Two-dimensional correlation maps between fluorescence lifetimes and spectral positions show that, by torsional defects created through continued photoexcitation, fully delocalized cyclic excitons shrink to form acyclic excitons in the case of C-10T, while localized acyclic excitons from initial states are maintained in the case of C-12T. The distribution of linear dichroism values from C-6T to C-10T gradually broadens but narrows in C-12T, suggesting a cyclic-to-acyclic transition in excitonic nature between C-10T and C-12T.

Importance of side chains and backbone length in defect modeling of poly(3-alkylthiophenes)

Geometric defects in conjugated polymers play a critical role in determining electronic structure and properties such as charge carrier mobility and band gap. Because the relative roles of individual defects are experimentally difficult to discern, computational approaches provide valuable insight if appropriate molecular models are used. Poly(3-alkylthiophenes) are often modeled with very short backbones and without their side chains. We demonstrate the shortcomings of this approach for modeling torsional disorder in poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). Using a hybrid density functional model, we identify a minimal acceptable model to comprise approximately 10 monomers with explicitly treated alkane side chains. Potential applications of this work extend to polymer electronics and optoelectronics.