Synthesis of Luminescent 2-(2′-Hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole (HBO) Borate Complexes

A Bipyridine-Promoted Csp3 -Csp3 Coupling of beta-Chlorophenones

A novel, direct Csp³ -Csp³ coupling reaction of β-chlorophenone with alkanes using 2-(tert-butylperoxy)-2-methylpropane (DTBP) as the oxidant and 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) as the effective additive was developed. A variety of β-chloropropiophenones were well tolerated, and afforded alkylated products in moderate to good yields. A mechanistic study indicated a free radical pathway was involved in this alkyl-alkyl cross-coupling reaction.

Recent Advances in BODIPY Compounds: Synthetic Methods, Optical and Nonlinear Optical Properties, and Their Medical Applications

Organoboron compounds are attracting immense research interest due to their wide range of applications. Particularly, low-coordinate organoboron complexes are receiving more attention due to their improbable optical and nonlinear optical properties, which makes them better candidates for medical applications. In this review, we summarize the various synthetic methods including multicomponent reactions, microwave-assisted and traditional pathways of organoboron complexes, and their optical and nonlinear properties. This review also includes the usage of organoboron complexes in various fields including biomedical applications.

Boranils: Versatile Multifunctional Organic Fluorophores for Innovative Applications

Multifunctional stimuli-responsive fluorophores showing bright environment-sensitive emissions have fueled intense research due to their innovative applications in the fields of biotechnologies, optoelectronics, and materials. A strong structural diversity is observed among molecular materials, which has been enriched over the years with a growing responsiveness to stimuli. Boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes have long been the flagship of emissive boron complexes due to their outstanding properties until a decade ago when analogues based on N^O, N^N, or N^C π-conjugated chelates emerged. The finality of developing borate dyes was to compensate for BODIPYs’ lack of solid-state fluorescence and small Stokes shifts while keeping their excellent optical properties in solution. Among them, the borate complexes based on a salicylaldimine ligand, called by the acronym boranils appear as the most promising, owing to their facile synthesis and dual-state emission properties. Boranil dyes have proven to be good alternatives to BODIPY dyes and have been applied in applications such as bioimaging, bioconjugation, and detection of biosubstrates. Meanwhile, ab initio calculations have rationalized experimental results and provided insightful feedback for future designs. This review article aims at providing a concise yet representative overview of the chemistry around the boranil core with the subsequent applications.

Double 3-Ethyl-2,4-dimethylpyrrole Configured Fluorescent Dye with Fluorine-Boron as the Bridge

Dipyrrolydiketones BF₂ complex was synthesized and characterized by NMR, HRMS, and single crystal diffraction. In non-polar environment, this BF₂ containing dye emitted bright blue-green fluorescence. No significant spectra shift was observed both in absorption and emission spectra, which indicates the insensitivity of absorption/emission toward environment. The alkyl substituted pyrrole rings lead to its highly emission character in solid state by enhancing the distance between dye molecules. Absolute quantum yields were determined to be 0.51-0.78/0.36 in selected organic medium and solid state, respectively. The emission dynamics was investigated by fluorescence lifetime and both monoexponential and bi-exponential decay was observed.

Benzimidazole-Based N,O Boron Complexes as Deep Blue Solid-State Fluorophores

Benzimidazole-based boranils were designed and synthesized in order to assess the influence of halogen substituents on their optoelectronic properties. All compounds are photoluminescent in solution and solid state. Compared to the free ligands, the new boranils emit at a lower wavelength, by elimination of the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer observed with the ligands. In the solid state, some of the boranils exhibit a deep blue emission, presenting Commission Internationale de l’Éclairage (CIE) coordinates with an x-component of less than 0.16 and a y-component smaller than 0.04, highly desired values for the development of blue emitting materials.

The mechanism of the excited-state proton transfer of Salicylaldehyde azine and 2,2'-[1,4-Phenylenebis{(E)- nitrilomethylidyne}] bisphenol: Via single or double proton transfer

The Salicylaldehyde azine (H₂SA) and 2,2'-[1,4-Phenylenebis{(E)-nitrilomethylidyne}] bisphenol (H₂SPA) with double proton transfer characteristics were synthesized recently (Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2018, 20, 23,762). However, the detailed theoretical interpretation of proton transfer (PT) mechanism is inadequate. In the present work, density functional theory (DFT) and time-density functional theory (TDDFT) are employed to study the proton transfer mechanism of H₂SA and H₂SPA in detail. Bond parameters, infrared (IR) spectra and frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) calculated by PBE0/TZVP method indicate the strength of hydrogen bond is enhanced in S₁ state, which can be visualized by the reduced density gradient (RDG) analysis. The potential energy surfaces (PESs) of H₂SA and H₂SPA are also constructed. The small barriers indicate that both the single proton transfer and double proton transfer of H₂SA and H₂SPA are more likely to occur in the S₁ state. In addition, the properties of H₂SA and H₂SPA after chelation with Li⁺ have also been theoretically characterized. According to the calculated fluorescence spectra of compounds (H₂SA-Li⁺ and H₂SPA-Li⁺), it was found that only the planar structure of H₂SA-Li⁺ can form metallogel, which verified the experimental results.

Synthesis and fluorescent properties of boroisoquinolines, a new family of fluorophores

First representatives of a new family of isoquinolines, so called boroisoquinolines, were synthesized and characterized. The synthesis was based on the insertion of the difluoroboranyl group into the 1-methylidene-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline core. The optimization of the 2-difluoroboranyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline-1(2H)-ylidene core led to efficient fluorescence in a range of 400-600 nm with outstanding (>100 nm) Stokes shifts. The compounds might be suitable for reversible or irreversible labelling of proteins, particularly the cannabinoid receptor CB₂.

Benzo[4,5]thiazolo[3,2- c][1,3,5,2]oxadiazaborinines: Synthesis, Structural, and Photophysical Properties

A family of highly emissive benzo[4,5]thiazolo[3,2- c][1,3,5,2]oxadiazaborinines, conjugated with the donor 4-dimethylaminophenyl group, was designed and synthesized. Their photophysical, both in solution and in the solid state, and structural properties were investigated. The influence of donor and acceptor substituents (R) in the benzothiazole unit on photophysical properties of complexes was found out. The tetrafluorobenzothiazole analogue exhibits nonbonded nuclear spin-spin coupling between fluorines from the BF₂ group and α-fluorine atom at the benzene ring. Additionally, this boron complex demonstrates a comparatively high solid-state fluorescence quantum yield (Φ = 0.34).

Fluorescence light-up detection of cyanide in water based on cyclization reaction followed by ESIPT and AIEE

Schiff base 1 (2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-((2-hydroxyphenyl-imino)-methyl)phenol) containing two hydroxyl groups could undergo an oxidative cyclization reaction and then generate hydroxyphenylbenzoxazole (HBO) 2 when CN^- was present as a catalyst. The multistep cyclization reaction was proved by spectroscopy, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and mass spectra. C[double bond, length as m-dash]N isomerization is the predominant decay process of the excited states, so sensor 1 is weakly emissive in solution at ambient temperature. When 1 reacts with CN^-, the emission is remarkably enhanced, where 1 is converted to 2. The cyclization product HBO 2 displays bright green luminescence in micellar due to the ESIPT (excited-state intramolecular proton transfer) as well as AIEE (aggregation-induced emission enhancement) effect. The detection limit is 5.92 × 10^-7 M, lower than the WHO guideline of CN^- in drinking water (1.9 μM). The selective and competitive experiments reveal that sensor 1 shows high sensing selectivity and sensitivity for CN^- over other anions. Test papers containing absorbed 1 were prepared and applied for practical application of cyanide detection.

N,O π-Conjugated 4-Substituted 1,3-Thiazole BF2 Complexes: Synthesis and Photophysical Properties

A series of 1,3-thiazole-based organoboron complexes has been designed and synthesized by acylation of 2-amino 4-subsituted 1,3-thiazoles with (4-dimethylamino)benzoyl chloride and the subsequent BF₂ complexation reaction. The influence of substituents in position 4 of the thiazole ring on photophysical properties of the complexes has been investigated. Synthesized thiazolo[3,2-c][1,3,5,2]oxadiazaborinines mainly showed intensive fluorescence in solutions. Complex with a 4,5-unsubstituted thiazole unit demonstrated an aggregation induced emission (AIE) effect and a very high fluorescent quantum yield (94%) in the solid state because of the inhibition of π-π/π-n interactions in the molecular packing.

Concerted Mechanisms of Excited-State Proton Intramolecular Transfer for Bis-2,4-(2-benzoxazolyl)-hydroquinone and Its Derivatives

The concerted mechanisms of excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) of bis-2,4-(2-benzoxazolyl)-hydroquinone (BBHQ') and its derivatives (BBHQ'^- and DHBO') have been investigated using the density functional theory (DFT) and the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The calculated absorption and emission spectra of BBHQ' and its derivatives are in good agreement with the experimental results. The calculated bond lengths, bond angles, and IR vibrational spectra linked with hydrogen bond of molecular BBHQ' in the S₀ and S₁ states demonstrate that the hydrogen bond is strengthened in the S₁ state. Compared to BBHQ', BBHQ'^- has a weak change of hydrogen bond between the S₁ and S₀ states. The calculation results show that there are three stable structures of BBHQ' in the S₁ state. We find that the structure corresponding to the 481 nm fluorescence spectrum corresponds to BBHQ'-A rather than BBHQ'^--K (Tetrahedron Lett., 2016, 57, 3518). The calculated frontier molecular orbitals (MOs) indicate the nature of the charge distribution and the trend of proton transfer of BBHQ'-A. The constructed potential energy surfaces of BBHQ' and DBHO' further elucidate the proposed mechanism that one-proton or two-proton transfer can happen (stepwise or synchronous) in the S₁ states. The proposed ESIPT mechanism can provide a good explanation of the phenomenon of fluorescence quenching of BBHQ' and its derivatives. Finally, the weak interaction types are discriminated through the reduced density gradient (RDG) analyses of BBHQ' and BBHQ'^-.

Fluorescent mesogenic boron difluoride complexes derived from heterocyclic benzoxazoles

One new series of boron difluoride complexes 1 derived from heterocyclic benzoxazoles 2 was reported, and their mesomorphic and optical properties were also investigated. One single crystal of the mesogenic BF₂ complex 1a (m = 12, n = 8) was obtained, and its single crystal and molecular structure were resolved. The geometry coordination at the central boron atom is tetrahedral. It crystallizes in a triclinic space group P1[combining macron] with Z = 4. The overall molecular shape was described as slightly bent Z-shapes, and the molecular length was ca. 34.06 Å. Weak intramolecular and intermolecular H-bonds observed in the crystal lattice were attributed to the formation of mesophases. The results indicated that benzoxazoles 2a (n = 6, 8, 12) formed monotropic SmA phases, while boron difluoride complexes 1a (n = 6, 8, 12, 16) exhibited monotropic SmC mesophases. In contrast, all compounds of 2b and 1b (m = 1, n = 12 for all) were not mesogenic. Boron complexes 1 emitted a pronounced violet emission at λ_max = 399 nm in solution at room temperature.

Competitive excited-state single or double proton transfer mechanisms for bis-2,5-(2-benzoxazolyl)-hydroquinone and its derivatives

The excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) mechanisms of 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole (HBO), bis-2,5-(2-benzoxazolyl)-hydroquinone (BBHQ) and 2,5-bis(5'-tert-butyl-benzoxazol-2'-yl)hydroquinone (DHBO) have been investigated using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The calculated vertical excitation energies based on the TDDFT method reproduced the experimental absorption and emission spectra well. Three kinds of stable structures were found on the S1 state potential energy surface (PES). A new ESIPT mechanism that differs from the one proposed previously (Mordzinski et al., Chem. Phys. Lett., 1983, 101, 291. and Lim et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128, 14542.) is proposed. The new mechanism includes the possibility of simultaneous double proton transfer, or successive single transfers, in addition to the accepted single proton transfer mechanism. Hydrogen bond strengthening in the excited state was based on primary bond lengths, angles, IR vibrational spectra and hydrogen bond energy. Intramolecular charge transfer based on the frontier molecular orbitals (MOs) also supports the proposed mechanism of the ESIPT reaction. To further elucidate the proposed mechanism, reduced dimensionality PESs of the S0 and S1 states were constructed by keeping the O-H distance fixed at a series of values. The potential barrier heights among the local minima on the S1 surface imply competitive single and double proton transfer branches in the mechanism. Based on the new ESIPT mechanism, the observed fluorescence quenching can be satisfactorily explained.

2,4 and 2,5-bis(benzooxazol-2′-yl)hydroquinone (DHBO) and their borate complexes: synthesis and optical properties

2,4 and 2,5-bis(benzooxazol-2′-yl)hydroquinone (DHBO) scaffolds show fluorescence stemming from an ESIPT process but also act as chelates toward boron fragments.

Aluminum complexes containing salicylbenzoxazole ligands and their application in the ring-opening polymerization of rac-lactide and ε-caprolactone

Two series of aluminum complexes supported by salicylbenzoxazole ligands were successfully synthesized and applied as active initiators for the ring-opening polymerization of rac-LA and ε-CL.

Synthesis, Absorption, and Electrochemical Properties of Quinoid-Type Bisboron Complexes with Highly Symmetrical Structures

Novel bisboron complexes of bidentate ligands consisting of 1,4-benzoquinone and two pyrrole rings were synthesized by using a simple two-step reaction. In solution, the bisboron complexes showed absorption maxima at ∼620 and 800 nm, which were attributed to the allowed S0 → S2 and forbidden S0 → S1 transitions, respectively. The bisboron complexes did not show any fluorescence, probably because of their highly symmetrical structure which forbids the S0 → S1 transition. Bisboron complexes underwent a two-electron reduction to yield the corresponding aromatic dianion, which showed absorption maxima at ∼410 nm.

Synthesis of novel boron chelate complexes and proposed mechanism of new rearrangement

We synthesized novel boron chelate complexes by the reaction of pyrazoline derivatives and boron trifluoride diethyl etherate followed by a new rearrangement. The structures of the compounds were characterized by IR, NMR and HRMS, especially, a typical compound 3c was confirmed by X-ray single crystal analysis. We proposed a mechanism of the rearrangement. Moreover, the absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy of these compounds were measured.

Design, synthesis, photophysical and electrochemical properties of 2-(4,5-diphenyl-1-p-aryl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenol-based boron complexes

New hybrid organic–inorganic boron compounds using an imidazole core have been readily synthesized from commercially available simple starting materials.

Dipyrrolylquinoxaline difluoroborates with intense red solid-state fluorescence

Dipyrrolylquinoxalines and their BF₂ complexes were synthesized and characterized by their X-ray structural analysis, optical and electrochemical properties. These dyes exhibit strong broad absorption in the visible region and intensely tunable solid-state fluorescence.

Photophysical and thermal properties of novel solid state fluorescent benzoxazole based styryl dyes from a DFT study

Solid state photoluminescent benzoxazole styryl dyes – synthesis and study of the photophysical properties from a DFT study.

Panchromatic luminescence from julolidine dyes exhibiting excited state intramolecular proton transfer

The panchromatic emission from julolidine dyes modified for ESIPT is modulated by the substituent on the phenyl ring (R = I, CCH).

A BODIPY/pyrene-based chemodosimetric fluorescent chemosensor for selective sensing of hydrazine in the gas and aqueous solution state and its imaging in living cells

A BODIPY-based pyrenebutyrate-linked (BPB) chromogenic and fluorogenic probe was synthesized and characterized for the specific detection of hydrazine.

Synthesis, structures and electrochemical and photophysical properties of anilido-benzoxazole boron difluoride (ABB) complexes

Four-ring-fused anilido-benzoxazole boron difluoride (ABB) dyes were synthesized, and exhibited very bright luminescence in solution (Φ_f = 0.45–0.96 in CH₂Cl₂) and in the solid-state (Φ_f = 0.07–0.37).

White emitters by tuning the excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer fluorescence emission in 2-(2'-hydroxybenzofuran)benzoxazole dyes

The synthesis, structural, and photophysical properties of a new series of original dyes based on 2-(2'-hydroxybenzofuran)benzoxazole (HBBO) is reported. Upon photoexcitation, these dyes exhibit intense dual fluorescence with contribution from the enol (E*) and the keto (K*) emission, with K* being formed through excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). We show that the ratio of emission intensity E*/K* can be fine-tuned by judiciously decorating the molecular core with electron-donating or -attracting substituents. Push-pull dyes 9 and 10 functionalized by a strong donor (nNBu2 ) and a strong acceptor group (CF3 and CN, respectively) exhibit intense dual emission, particularly in apolar solvents such as cyclohexane in which the maximum wavelength of the two bands is the more strongly separated. Moreover, all dyes exhibit strong solid-state dual emission in a KBr matrix and polymer films with enhanced quantum yields reaching up to 54 %. A wise selection of substituents led to white emission both in solution and in the solid state. Finally, these experimental results were analyzed by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations, which confirm that, on the one hand, only E* and K* emission are present (no rotamer) and, on the other hand, the relative free energies of the two tautomers in the excited state guide the ratio of the E*/K* emission intensities.