Tunable Donor−Acceptor Interactions in 4-Ene/Yne-Ferrocenyl and 4-Enamine Naphthalimides with Ferrocenyl Headgroups

Ferrocene appended 1,8-naphthalimide chromophores: Synthesis, theoretical, the effect of phenyl substitution on aggregation-induced enhanced emission and second-order nonlinear optical studies

A new ferrocene appended linear donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) type 1,8-naphthalimide chromophores [FcPhNap-n-butyl (1) and Fc(Ph)₂Nap-n-butyl (2)] have been synthesized and characterized using various analytical and spectroscopic techniques. The chromophores 1 and 2 show the one-electron transfer process, which was examined through cyclic voltammetric (CV) method. The solvatochromic studies show red shift by increasing the solvent polarity from non-polar to polar for both the chromophores 1 and 2, due to the better stabilization of the more polarized excited state than the ground state in the polar solvent. The fluorescence studies show low fluorescence emission, which was enhanced by aggregation in THF/water mixture when the water ratio is increased upto 60%, due to the restricted intramolecular rotation (RIR) process in the aggregated state. Also, the quantum yield increases 3.4 (1) and 6.8 (2) times in the aggregation induced enhanced emission (AIEE) state than THF solution for both the chromophores [THF/AIEE = 0.05/0.17 for 1 and 0.03/0.22 for 2]. The second-order non-linear optical properties of the chromophores 1 and 2 were studied using Kurtz and Perry powder technique, chromophore 2 shows 1.2 times higher SHG efficiency than 1, owing to the presence of additional phenyl group in 2, which further supports the effective charge transfer process from donor to acceptor. Furthermore, optical and non-linear optical properties of chromophores 1 and 2 were analyzed by DFT/TD-DFT calculations using different functionals (B3LYP, long-range corrected CAM-B3LYP and LC-BLYP) with 6-31+G** level of theory. The B3LYP functional shows higher hyperpolarizability values [β₀ = 109.2 × 10^-30 esu (1), 299.7 × 10^-30 esu (2)], due to the overestimation of the dipole moment, polarizability and hyperpolarizabilities between the donor-π-acceptor systems in B3LYP-hybrid functional, which leads to incorrect long-range charge transfer.

Amino-Functionalization of Vinyl-Substituted Aromatic Diimides by Quantitative and Catalyst-Free Hydroamination*

Development of facile and versatile synthetic tools for decorating π-conjugated molecules has attracted considerable interest because of their potential application in creating novel functional π-systems. Reported herein are quantitative catalyst-free hydroamination reactions of a series of aromatic diimide compounds having vinyl groups at the π-core, which have been confirmed by NMR, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, mass analysis, and single-crystal X-ray structural analysis. Kinetic studies revealed that the hydroamination reaction of a vinyl-substituted naphthalenediimide with an aliphatic amine proceeded rapidly under benign conditions. Similarly, the two vinyl groups attached to aromatic diimides reacted with amines simultaneously, resulting in the formation of amine bisadducts and macromolecules. An amino group appended perylenediimide through an ethylene spacer at the π-core exhibited distinct fluorescence switching in response to acid and base.

Heteroatom-connected ferrocenyl substituted naphthalimides

A family of heteroatom (oxygen, sulphur and nitrogen) connected ferrocenyl naphthalimides 3a–3f were designed and synthesized by the nucleophilic aromatic substitution and Buchwald coupling reactions.

Crystal structure of 4,4'-diethynylbiphen-yl

The title compound, C16H10, crystallizes with four unique mol-ecules, designated 1-4, in the asymmetric unit of the monoclinic unit cell. None of the mol-ecules is planar, with the benzene rings of mol-ecules 1-4 inclined to one another at angles of 42.41 (4), 24.07 (6), 42.59 (4) and 46.88 (4)°, respectively. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯π(ring) interactions, augmented by even weaker C C-H⋯π(alkyne) contacts, generate a three-dimensional network structure with inter-linked columns of mol-ecules formed along the c-axis direction.

Time-Dependent Solid State Polymorphism of a Series of Donor-Acceptor Dyads

In order to exploit the use of favorable electrostatic interactions between aromatic units in directing the assembly of donor-acceptor (D-A) dyads, the present work examines the ability of conjugated aromatic D-A dyads with symmetric side chains to exhibit solid-state polymorphism as a function of time during the solid formation process. Four such dyads were synthesized and their packing in the solid-state from either slower (10-20 days) or faster (1-2 days) evaporation from solvent was investigated using single crystal X-ray analysis and powder X-ray diffraction. Two of the dyads exhibited tail-to-tail (A-A) packing upon slower evaporation from solvent and head-to-tail (D-A) packing upon faster evaporation from solvent. A combination of single crystal analysis and XRD patterns were used to create models wherein a packing model for the other two dyads is proposed. Our findings suggest that while side chain interactions in asymmetric aromatic dyads can play an important role in enforcing segregated D-A dyad assembly, slowly evaporating symmetrically substituted aromatic dyads allows for favorable electrostatic interactions between the aromatic moieties to facilitate the organization of the dyads in the solid-state.

Photoinduced electron transfer in naphthalimide-pyridine systems: effect of proton transfer on charge recombination efficiencies

We studied the effect of proton-coupled electron transfer on lifetimes of the charge-separated radicals produced upon light irradiation of the thiomethyl-naphthalimide donor SMe-NI-H in the presence of nitro-cyano-pyridine acceptor (NO(2)-CN-PYR). The dynamics of electron and proton transfer were studied using femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy in the UV/vis range. We find that the photoinduced electron transfer between excited SMe-NI-H and NO(2)-CN-PYR occurs with a rate of 1.1 × 10(9) s(-1) to produce radical ions SMe-NI-H(•+) and NO(2)-CN-PYR(•-). These initially produced radical ions in a solvent cage do not undergo a proton transfer, possibly due to unfavorable geometry between N-H proton of the naphthalimide and aromatic N-atom of the pyridine. Some of the radical ions in the solvent cage recombine with a rate of 2.3 × 10(10) s(-1), while some escape the solvent cage and recombine at a lower rate (k = 4.27 × 10(8) s(-1)). The radical ions that escape the solvent cage undergo proton transfer to produce neutral radicals SMe-NI(•) and NO(2)-CN-PYR-H(•). Because neutral radicals are not attracted to each other by electrostatic interactions, their recombination is slower that the recombination of the radical ions formed in model compounds that can undergo only electron transfer (SMe-NI-Me and NO(2)-CN-PYR, k = 1.2 × 10(9) s(-1)). The results of our study demonstrate that proton-coupled electron transfer can be used as an efficient method to achieve long-lived charge separation in light-driven processes.

Ethyl 2-[1,3-dioxo-6-(piperidin-1-yl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-benz[de]isoquinolin-2-yl]acetate

In the title compound, C₂₁H₂₂N₂O₄, the naphthalimide unit is almost planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.081Å). The carboximide N atom and the five C atoms of the eth­oxy­carbonyl­methyl substituent also lie close to a common plane (r.m.s. deviation = 0.119Å), which subtends an angle of 71.06 (8)° to the naphthalamide plane. The piperidine ring adopts a chair conformation. In the crystal, inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into zigzag chains along the a axis.

N-Methacryloyl-4-(piperidin-1-yl)-1,8-naphthalimide

In the title compound, C₂₁H₂₀N₂O₃, the naphthalimide unit is almost planar (r.m.s. deviation for the 15 non-H atoms = 0.059 Å). The carboximide N atom and the five C atoms of the 2-methyl­prop-2-enoyl substituent also lie in a plane (r.m.s. deviation = 0.009 Å), which subtends an angle of 84.34 (7)° to the naphthalamide plane. This orients the =CH₂ group of the vinyl fragment towards the naphthalimide rings, giving the mol­ecule an extended configuration. The piperidine ring adopts a chair conformation and there is evidence for some delocalization between the naphthalene and piperidine units, the C—N_pip bond length being 1.404 (4) Å. In the crystal structure, π–π contacts with centroid–centroid distances of 3.5351 (18) and 3.7794 (18) Å supported by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link adjacent mol­ecules in a head-to-tail fashion, forming dimers. These are further stabilized by other C—H⋯O contacts of varying strength, which stack the mol­ecules down the b axis.

4-[(E)-2-Ferrocenylethenyl]-1,8-naphthalic anhydride

In the structure of the title compound, [Fe(C₅H₅)(C₁₉H₁₁O₃)], the plane of the substituted ferrocene ring is tilted by 14.17 (6)° with respect to the mean plane through the naphthalene ring system. In the crystal structure, centrosymmetric dimers are formed through π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.624 (2) Å] between the substituted ferrocene ring and the three fused rings of the naphthalic anhydride unit. Pairs of dimers are held together by further naphthalene–naphthalene π–π interactions [distance between parallel mean planes 3.45 (3) Å]. Each dimer inter­acts with four neighbouring dimers in a herringbone fashion through C—H⋯π inter­actions, so forming a two-dimensional sheet-like structure.

Inorganic-Cored Photoactive Assemblies: Synthesis, Structure, and Photochemical Investigations on Stannoxane-Supported Multifluorene Compounds

Organostannoxanes were used as inert supports for the preparation of multichromophore assemblies. The synthesis involves a single-step procedure and allows the preparation of compounds in which the number of chromophore units can be varied from one to six. Thus, the reactions of LCOOH (1-fluorenecarboxylic acid) or L'COOH (9-fluorenecarboxylic acid) with various organostannoxane precursors afforded the fluorenyl derivatives [Ph(3)SnO(2)CL] (1), [Ph(3)SnO(2)CL'] (2), [{nBu(3)SnO(2)CL''}(n)] (3), [{nBu(3)SnO(2)CL'}(n)] (4), [{tBu(2)Sn(OH)O(2)CL}(2)] (5), [{tBu(2)Sn(OH)O(2)CL'}(2)] (6), [{[nBu(2)SnO(2)CL](2)O}(2)] (7) [{[nBu(2)SnO(2)CL'](2)O}(2)] (8), [{nBuSn(O)O(2)CL}(6)] (9), and [{nBuSn(O)O(2)CL'}(6)] (10). Interestingly, the formation of 3 is accompanied by an unusual oxo-transfer reaction. The ligand L is oxidized at the 9-position. Compounds 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8 were characterized by X-ray crystallography. The solid-state structures of these compounds reveal rich supramolecular structures owing to multiple intermolecular interactions between the various supramolecular synthons present in these molecules. The optical behavior of 1-10 is primarily dictated by the fluorenyl periphery. These compounds display strong blue fluorescent emission in solution and blue-green fluorescent emission in the solid state. Fluorescence lifetimes of all of these compounds are on the nanosecond timescale, and this suggests that the emission originates from the singlet excited state to the ground state. Intermolecular interactions in the solid state lead to considerable broadening of the emission bands.

Ferrocenyl Compound as a Multiresponsive Calcium Chemosensor with Remarkable Fluorescence Properties in CH3CN

We have synthesized a novel disubstituted ferrocenyl compound [Fe(C5H4CO(CH=CH)2C6H4NEt2)2] (3) that displays a remarkable fluorescence quantum yield (1.1 x 10(-1)) in acetonitrile, and we have studied its capacity for calcium detection in depth using both electrochemical and optical techniques in this medium. The results of our NMR analysis reveal that the ligand-calcium interaction is CO-centered and that an uncommon equilibrium occurs between 3 and calcium triflate, involving five species of different stoichiometries. In contrast, our analysis of the UV-vis absorption data indicates that only three species of different stoichiometries are formed when calcium perchlorate is used with 3. Mass spectrometry measurements provide strong support for the formation of all these different species in solution. In addition, the electrochemical detection of calcium triflate by 3 leads to an irreversible Fe(II)/Fe(III) oxidation process with an unusual negative shift (-60 mV) caused by the (n)Bu4NBF4 salt effect on the Ca2+-3 interaction process. Compound 3 can also be an original optical probe to detect calcium perchlorate over a wide range of salt concentration by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. The most original and intriguing property of compound 3 is that it exhibits an unprecedented "multistep" fluorescence behavior upon addition of this salt.

Fluorescent Sugar and Uridine Conjugates of 1,8-Naphthalimides with Methyl and Ferrocenyl Headgroups

The first amphiphilic sugar and deoxyuridine conjugates with a 4-ethynyl-1,8-N-methylnaphthalimide linker, a 4-ethynyldeoxyuridine conjugate with a N-undecylferrocenyl headgroup, and a 1,8-naphthalimide with a 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetate-β-d-glucopyranoside headgroup have been synthesized. A novel acrylate monomeric precursor for sugar–ethynylnaphthalimide polymers is also reported. The ethynyl tether forms complexes with Co2(CO)8 and Co2(CO)6dppm. The single-crystal X-ray structures of 2′-propynyl-2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetate-β-d-glucopyranoside 4 and 4-(2′-propynyl-2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetate-β-d-glucopyranoside)-N-methyl-1,8-naphthalimide 6 are also reported. With the exception of the Co2 complexes, the sugar and deoxyuridine conjugates are strongly fluorescent. ‘On–off’ fluorescent switching is achieved in the deoxyuridine conjugate with an undecylferrocenyl headgroup.