Synthesis and Photochromic Properties of Diaryl [5]Helicene Derivatives

Photoinduced tuning of aromaticity and correlative molecular properties has attracted enormous interest in recent years both for modulating photochromism properties and designing novel photochromic materials. Here, we report the synthesis and photochemical characterization of diaryl[5]helicene-based diarylethene molecular switches. 3,4-Bis(2,4-dimethyl-5-phenylthiophen-3-yl)dibenzo[c,g]phenanthrene derivative 1 a showed no photochromic reaction, whereas 3,4-bis(2-methyl-5-phenylthiophen-3-yl)dibenzo[c,g]phenanthrene derivative 2 a and 3,4-bis(5-methyl-2-phenylthiazol-4-yl)dibenzo[c,g]phenanthrene derivative 3 a exhibited reversible photochromism in different aprotic solvents with specific light irradiation. Meanwhile, the diarylethene compounds 2 a and 3 a underwent turn-off mode fluorescence photoswitching together with photoisomerization upon light irradiation. Remarkably, the photoinduced changes in the aromaticity of [5]helicene as a central ethene bridge along with the relative smaller activation energy and higher frequency factor facilitated the thermal bleaching rates of diarylethene switches 2 and 3 in solution. This research provides new insight for designing aromatic diarylethene photoswitches for reversible fluorescence switching, photoinduced changes in aromaticity and further fast thermal back reactions.

Sterically Allowed H-type Supramolecular Polymerizations

The functionalization of π-conjugated scaffolds with sterically demanding substituents is a widely used tactic to suppress cofacial (H-type) stacking interactions, which may even inhibit self-assembly. Contrary to expectations, we demonstrate herein that increasing steric effects can result in an enhanced thermodynamic stability of H-type supramolecular polymers. In our approach, we have investigated two boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes with bulky phenyl (2) and mesityl (3) meso-substituents and compared their self-assembly in nonpolar media with that of a parent meso-methyl BODIPY 1 lacking bulky groups. While the enhanced steric demand induces pathway complexity, the superior thermodynamic stability of the H-type pathways can be rationalized in terms of additional enthalpic gain arising from intermolecular C-H⋅⋅⋅F-B interactions of the orthogonally arranged aromatic substituents, which overrule their inherent steric demand. Our findings underline the importance of balancing competing non-covalent interactions in self-assembly.

Preparation, characterization and investigation of photo-physical properties of thiophene-substituted rare-earth bisphthalocyanines

Three bis[octakis-(2-thienyl)phthalocyaninato] rare-earth metal(III) phthalocyanine complexes (Pc[Formula: see text]Pr, Pc[Formula: see text]Sm, Pc[Formula: see text]Gd) were synthesized for the first time. The new compounds were characterized by UV-vis, NMR, FT-IR, mass spectroscopies as well as elemental analysis and electrochemistry. Production of singlet oxygen was also estimated by 9,10-dimethylanthracene method.

Photocontrollable J-aggregation of a diarylethene-phthalocyanine hybrid and its aggregation-stabilized photochromic behavior

The photocontrollable J-aggregation of a diarylethene-phthalocyanine hybrid (T-ZnPc) and its aggregation-stabilized photochromic behavior were investigated by various techniques. T-ZnPc initially exhibited slight J-aggregation tendency in solvents such as chloroform and toluene through conformational planarization effect, but formed much stronger J-aggregates upon the illumination of 254 nm UV light. In darkness, the UV-irradiated solutions gradually returned to their initial state. These phenomena can be explained by the pronounced change in molecular planarity accompanying the reversible isomerization of the diarylethene units of T-ZnPc. Besides, we have found that the thermal stability of the closed-ring diarylethene isomers in molecularly dispersed T-ZnPc is much poorer than that in aggregates. As long as the aggregates were broken, they converted to corresponding open-ring form instantly. This study provided an example of fully photocontrollable aggregation of phthalocyanines and paved a new way for improving the stability of the photochromic systems.