On the Nature of the Fluorescent State in β-Nitrotetraarylporphyrins

New Bis-Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes with β-Substituted Porphyrin-Arylbipyridine as the Ancillary Ligand: Electrochemical and Photophysical Insights

An efficient synthetic access to new cationic porphyrin-bipyridine iridium(III) bis-cyclometalated complexes was developed. These porphyrins bearing arylbipyridine moieties at β-pyrrolic positions coordinated with iridium(III), and the corresponding Zn(II) porphyrin complexes were spectroscopically, electrochemically, and electronically characterized. The features displayed by the new cyclometalated porphyrin-bipyridine iridium(III) complexes, namely photoinduced electron transfer process (PET), and a remarkable efficiency to generate ¹O₂, allowing us to envisage new challenges and opportunities for their applications in several fields, such as photo(catalysis) and photodynamic therapies.

A Structural Model of Nitro-Porphyrin Dyes Based on Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory

Nitro-porphyrins are an important class of commercial dyes with a range of potential applications. The nitro group is known to dramatically affect the photophysics of the porphyrin, but there are few systematic investigations of the contributing factors. To address this deficiency, we present spectroscopic studies of a series of nitro-porphyrins, accompanied by density functional theory calculations to elucidate their structures. In particular, we explore how the positions of the substituents affect the energy levels and nuclear geometry. As expected, nitro groups on the meso-phenyl rings cause small changes to the orbital energies by induction, while those at the β-pyrrole positions more strongly conjugate into the aromatic system. In addition, however, we find evidence that β-pyrrole nitro groups distort the porphyrin, creating two non-planar conformations with distinct properties. This unexpected result helps explain the anomalous photophysics of nitro-porphyrins reported throughout the literature, including inhomogeneous line broadening and biexponential fluorescence decay. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Facile Conversion of Ni(II) Cyclopropylchlorins into Novel β-Substituted Porphyrins through Acid-Catalyzed Ring-Opening Reaction

The conversion of cyclopropylchlorins into porphyrins represents a key step in the synthetic manipulation of macrocycles with tunable physical and chemical properties. Herein, we report a facile method for the synthesis of novel β-substituted porphyrins from cyclopropylchlorins. A series of Ni(II) cyclopropylchlorins was converted into the corresponding Ni(II) and free base porphyrins using TFA and H₂SO₄ under mild reaction conditions in good yields (75-86%). The new chlorins and porphyrins were characterized by various spectroscopic techniques and the single-crystal X-ray diffraction method. The reaction proceeds very fast (<5 min.) with complete conversion of chlorin into porphyrin with distinct color change. Facile conversion, shorter reaction time scale, and good yield (75-86%) without any side products are the significant features of this new protocol. These porphyrinoids exhibited red-shifted electronic spectral features with varying degrees nonplanar conformation, tunable redox properties, and porphyrin core basicity.

Nitrothienylporphyrins: Synthesis, crystal structure and, the effect of position and number of nitro groups on the spectral and electrochemical properties

This article describes the investigation on the effect of orientation of the meso thienyl groups of porphyrins in deciding the site of nitration. The thienyl rings present at the meso position is found to be more susceptible for electrophilic nitration reaction than the pyrrole β-position in the molecules where there is a better conjugation between the thienyl rings and the porphyrin π-system. Signal corresponding to the imino hydrogens in the proton NMR spectrum of meso nitrothienylporphyrins get shifted to upfield with increase in the number of nitro groups on the porphyrin. This is also due to the extended conjugation of the porphyrins π-system with the meso thienyl rings. The above observations are also supported by the redox potentials of those compounds.

Binding of the Environmental Pollutant Naphthol to Bovine Serum Albumin

The interactions between naphthol and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were investigated by spectroscopy. Our results prove the formation of complex between naphthol and BSA. Hydrophobic interaction dominates in the association reaction. The isomers stack with the aromatic residues in their binding sites with different geometries. Effects of BSA on the excited-state proton transfer and fluorescence spectra of the isomers indicate the different characters of their binding sites. 1-Naphthol inserts deeply into a hydrophobic cavity whereas 2-naphthol is in a basic environment on the surface of BSA. Naphthol statically quenches the fluorescence of BSA in a concentration-dependent manner positively deviating from the linear Stern-Volmer equation. Naphthol binds near Trp-134 in the subdomain IA of the native BSA and is accessible to Trp-212 when BSA is unfolded by naphthol. The folding pattern of the main chain is altered at high naphthol concentration as revealed by the change in the secondary structure. The binding of 1-naphthol is more cooperative than that of 2-naphthol. The extent of cooperativity was estimated by the Hill equation.

meso-Aryl-substituted subporphyrins: synthesis, structures, and large substituent effects on their electronic properties

Two synthetic methods of meso-aryl-substituted subporphyrins have been developed by means of the reaction of pyridine-tri-N-pyrrolylborane with a series of aryl aldehydes. One method relies on the condensation under Adler conditions with chloroacetic acid in refluxing 1,2-dichlorobenzene to afford subporphyrins in 1.1-3.2%, and the other is a two-step reaction consisting of the initial treatment of the two substrates with trifluoroacetic acid at 0 degrees C followed by air-oxidation in refluxing 1,2-dichlorobenzene to provide subporphyrins in up to 5.6% yield. 1H NMR studies indicate that phenyl and sterically unhindered substituents at the meso position of subporphyrins rotate rather freely even at -90 degrees C, whereas the rotation of meso-2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl substituents is strictly prohibited even at 130 degrees C. The structures of six subporphyins have been revealed by X-ray crystallographic analysis to be all cone-shaped tripyrrolic macrocycles. Dihedral angles of meso-phenyl and sterically unhindered aryl substituents to the subporphyrinic core are rather small (38.3-55.7 degrees ) compared to those of porphyrin analogues, whereas those of meso-2,4,6-trimethoxy-substituted subporphyrins are large (68.7-75.7 degrees ). These rotational features of the meso-aryl substituents lead to their large influences on the electronic properties of subporphyrins, as seen for 4-nitrophenyl-substituted subporphyrin 14e that exhibits perturbed absorption and fluorescence spectra, depending upon solvents. Large solvent-polarity dependence of the fluorescence of 14e suggests the charge-transfer character for its excited state. Electrochemical and theoretical studies are performed to understand the electronic properties. Overall, meso-aryl-substituted subporphyrins are promising chromophores in future functional devices.

Strong Two-Photon Absorption in New Asymmetrically Substituted Porphyrins: Interference between Charge-Transfer and Intermediate-Resonance Pathways

We study two-photon absorption (2PA) in two series of new free-base porphyrins with 4-(diphenylamino)stilbene or 4,4'-bis-(diphenylamino)stilbene (BDPAS) attached via pi-conjugating linkers at the porphyrin meso-position. We show that this new substitution modality increases the 2PA cross section in the Soret band region (excitation wavelength 750-900 nm) of the core porphyrin by nearly 2 orders of magnitude, from sigma(2) approximately 10 GM for the meso-phenyl-substituted analogue to sigma(2) approximately 10(3) GM for the ethynyl-linked BDPAS-porphyrin dyad. The 2PA properties are quantitatively described by considering two different and interfering 2PA quantum transition pathways. The first path involves virtual transition via intermediate one-photon resonance. The second path bypasses the intermediate resonance and occurs due to a large permanent dipole moment difference between the ground and the final electronic states. To our best knowledge, this is the first experimental observation of the combined effect of these two pathways on one particular two-photon transition, resulting in quantum-interference-modulated 2PA strength.

UV-visible and fluorescence spectral study on a pH controlled transfer process of an amphiphilic porphyrin in nonionic micelle

5,15-di(4-hydroxyphenyl)-10,20-di(hexadecyloxyphenyl) porphyrin P was solubilized in nonionic polyoxyethylene(9.5) octylphenol (Triton X-100 or TX-100) micelle solutions. By means of analyzing the UV-visible and fluorescence spectra of the synthesized amphiphilic porphyrin P in different solvent environments, and the relationship between the solubilizing location of the porphyrins in TX-100 micelle and the microenvironment polarity, P is shown to involve in a transfer process for the porphyrin moiety from inner to the outer surface of TX-100 micelle as the pH is increased. The kinetic study of porphyrin incorporate with Cu(II) shows that metalation rate of porphyrin increases with the pH increasing, indicating that metalation rate could be controlled by changing pH.