Excited-state dynamics of organic dyes at liquid/liquid interfaces

Photoinduced Electron Transfer in a Porphyrin-Fullerene Dyad at a Liquid Interface

The excited-state properties of an amphiphilic porphyrin-fullerene dyad and of its porphyrin analogue adsorbed at the dodecane/water interface are investigated by using surface second-harmonic generation. Although the porphyrin is formally centrosymmetric, the second-harmonic spectra of both compounds are dominated by the intense Soret band of the porphyrin. Polarization-selective measurements and molecular dynamics simulations suggest an angle of about 45° between the donor-acceptor axis and the interfacial plane, with the porphyrin interacting mostly with the nonpolar phase. Time-resolved measurements reveal a marked concentration dependence of the dynamics of both compounds upon Q-band excitation, indicating the occurrence of intermolecular quenching processes. The significant differences in dynamics and spectra between the dyad and the porphyrin analogue are explained by a self-quenching of the excited dyad via an intermolecular electron transfer.

Probing Liquid Interfaces with Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids Using the Excited-State Dynamics of a Cationic Dye

Interfaces with room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) play key roles in many applications of these solvents, but our understanding of their properties is still limited. We investigate how the addition of ILs in the aqueous subphase affects the adsorption of the cationic dye malachite green at the dodecane/water interface using stationary and time-resolved surface second harmonic generation. We find that the interfacial concentration of malachite green depends crucially on the nature of both anionic and cationic constituents. This concentration reports on the overall charge of the interface, which itself depends on the relative interfacial affinity of the ions. Our results reveal that the addition of ILs to the aqueous subphase has similar effects to the addition of conventional salts. However, the IL cations have a significantly higher propensity to adsorb than small inorganic cations. Furthermore, the IL constituents show a synergistic effect, as the interfacial concentration of each of them also depends on the interfacial affinity of the other.

Recent developments in photoredox-catalyzed remote ortho and para C-H bond functionalizations

In recent years, the research area of direct C-H bond functionalizations was growing exponentially not only due to the ubiquity of inert C-H bonds in diverse organic compounds, including bioactive natural and nonnatural products, but also due to its impact on the discovery of pharmaceutical candidates and the total synthesis of intricate natural products. On the other hand, more recently, the field of photoredox catalysis has become an indispensable and unparalleled research topic in modern synthetic organic chemistry for the constructions of challenging bonds, having the foremost scope in academia, pharmacy, and industry. Therefore, the development of green, simpler, and effective methodologies to accomplish direct C-H bond functionalization is well overdue and highly desirable to the scientific community. In this review, we mainly highlight the impact on, and the utility of, photoredox catalysts in inert ortho and para C-H bond functionalizations. Although a surge of research papers, including reviews, demonstrating C-H functionalizations have been published in this vital area of research, to our best knowledge, this is the first review that focuses on ortho and para C-H functionalizations by photoredox catalysis to provide atom- and step-economic organic transformations. We are certain that this review will act as a promoter to highlight the application of photoredox catalysts for the functionalization of inert bonds in the domain of synthetic organic chemistry.

Interfacial Generation of a Carbanion: The Key Step of PTC Reaction Directly Observed by Second Harmonic Generation

We present the first unambiguous evidence of the interfacial mechanism of phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) by direct observation of the formation of carbanions in the interfacial region between the aqueous and the organic phase by using a surface-sensitive spectroscopic method known as second harmonic generation (SHG). Ion exchange of carbanions adsorbed at the surface after addition of lipophilic tetraalkylammonium salts (TAA) to organic phase and transport of the lipophilic ion-pairs to the organic phase is observed. Results allow for the formulation of a more detailed mechanism of PTC.

Exploring Fluorescent Dyes at Biomimetic Interfaces with Second Harmonic Generation and Molecular Dynamics

The adsorption of a DNA fluorescent probe belonging to the thiazole orange family at the dodecane/water and dodecane/phospholipid/water interfaces has been investigated using a combination of surface second harmonic generation (SSHG) and all-atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Both approaches point to a high affinity of the cationic dye for the dodecane/water interface with a Gibbs free energy of adsorption on the order of -45 kJ/mol. Similar affinity was observed with a monolayer of negatively charged DPPG (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-rac-(1-glycerol)) lipids. On the other hand, no significant adsorption could be found with the zwitterionic DPPC (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) lipids. This was rationalized in terms of Coulombic interactions between the monolayer surface and the cationic dye. The similar affinity for the interface with and without DPPG, despite the favorable Coulombic attraction in the latter case, could be explained after investigating the interfacial orientation of the dye. In the absence of a monolayer, the dye adsorbs with its molecular plane almost flat at the interface, whereas in the presence of DPPG it has to intercalate into the monolayer and adopt a significantly different orientation to benefit from the electrostatic stabilization.

Complementary surface second harmonic generation and molecular dynamics investigation of the orientation of organic dyes at a liquid/liquid interface

The second-order nonlinear response of two dyes adsorbed at the dodecane/water interface was investigated by surface second harmonic generation (SSHG). These dyes consist of the same chromophoric unit, 2-pyridinyl-5-phenyloxazole, with an alkyl chain located at the two opposite ends. The analysis of the polarization dependence of the SSHG intensity as usually performed points to similar tilt angles of the two dyes with respect to the interface but does not give information on the absolute direction. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations reveal that both dyes lie almost flat at the interface but have opposite orientations. A refined SSHG data analysis with the width of the orientational distribution yields tilt angles that are in very satisfactory agreement with the MD simulations.

Excited-state dynamics of charged dyes at alkane/water interfaces in the presence of salts and ionic surfactants

The excited-state dynamics of the cationic dye malachite green (MG) and of the dianionic dye eosin B at the dodecane/water interface has been investigated using femtosecond time-resolved surface second harmonic generation (TR-SSHG). By using different probe wavelengths, the contributions of monomeric and aggregated MG to the signal could be spectroscopically distinguished. The effect of the addition of a small amount of surfactants was found to strongly depend on the relative charges of surfactant and dye. For surfactant/dye pairs with opposite charges, the TR-SSHG signal is dominated by the contribution from aggregates, whereas for pairs with the same charges, the signal intensity becomes vanishingly small. These effects are explained in terms of electrostatic interactions between surfactants and dyes that favor either attraction of the dye toward the interface or its repulsion toward the bulk. As a very similar behavior is observed with MG upon addition of NaSCN, we conclude that, in this case, this effect reflects the affinity of SCN¯ for the interface. On the other hand, the guanidinium cation was found to have a different effect than that of a positively charged surfactant on the SSHG signal of MG, indicating this cation does not accumulate in the interfacial region.

Molecular dynamics simulations of liquid phase interfaces: understanding the structure of the glycerol/water-dodecane system

Modern spectroscopic techniques such as time-resolved second-harmonic-generation spectroscopy allow molecules to be examined selectively directly at phase interfaces. Two-phase systems formed by glycerol/water and alkane layers have previously been studied by time-resolved second-harmonic-generation spectroscopic measurements. In this molecular dynamics study, a triphenylmethane dye was inserted at the glycerol/water-alkane interface and was used as a probe for local properties such as viscosity. We now show how extensive simulations over a wide range of concentrations can be used to obtain a detailed view of the molecular structure at the glycerol/water-alkane interface. Glycerol is accumulated in a double layer adjacent to the alkane interface, which results in increased viscosity of the glycerol/water phase in the direct vicinity of the interface. We also show that conformational ensembles created by classical molecular-dynamics simulations can serve as input for QM/MM calculations, yielding further information such as transition dipoles, which can be compared with spectroscopic measurements.

LSPR properties of metal nanoparticles adsorbed at a liquid-liquid interface

Unlike the solid-air and solid-liquid interfaces, the optical properties of metal nanoparticles adsorbed at the liquid-liquid interface have not been theoretically exploited to date. In this work, the three dimensional finite difference time domain (3D-FDTD) method is employed to clarify the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) based optical properties of gold nanoparticles (NPs) adsorbed at the water-oil interface, including near field distribution, far field absorption and their relevance. The LSPR spectra of NPs located at a liquid-liquid interface are shown to differ significantly from those in a uniform liquid environment or at the other interfaces. The absorption spectra exhibit two distinct LSPR peaks, the positions and relative strengths of which are sensitive to the dielectric properties of each liquid and the exact positions of the NPs with respect to the interface. Precise control of the particles' position and selection of the appropriate wavelength of the excitation laser facilitates the rational design and selective excitation of localized plasmon modes for interfacial NPs, a necessary advance for the exploration of liquid-liquid interfaces via surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). According to our calculations, the SERS enhancement factor for Au nanosphere dimers at the water-oil interface can be as high as 10(7)-10(9), implying significant promise for future investigations of interfacial structure and applications of liquid-liquid interfaces towards chemical analysis.