Back electron transfer rates determine the photoreactivity of donor-acceptor stilbene complexes in a macrocyclic host

Host-guest 2 : 1 complexation of photoreactive alkene guests improves the selectivity of [2 + 2] photodimerizations by templating alkene orientation prior to irradiation. Host-guest chemistry can also provide 1 : 1 : 1 complexes through the inclusion of electronically complementary donor and acceptor guests, but the photoreactivity of such complexes has not been investigated. We imagined that such complexes could enable selective cross-[2 + 2] photocycloadditions between donor and acceptor stilbenes. In pursuit of this strategy, we investigated a series of stilbenes and found 1 : 1 : 1 complexes with cucurbit[8]uril that exhibited charge-transfer (CT) absorption bands in the visible and near-IR regions. Irradiation of the CT band of an azastilbene, 4,4'-stilbenedicarboxylate, and cucurbit[8]uril ternary complex led to a selective cross-[2 + 2] photocycloaddition, while other substrate pairs exhibited no productive chemistry upon CT excitation. Using transient absorption spectroscopy, we were able to understand the variable photoreactivity of different stilbene donor-acceptor complexes. We found that back electron transfer following CT excitation of the photoreactive complex is positioned deep in the Marcus inverted region due to electrostatic stabilization of the ground state, allowing [2 + 2] to effectively compete with this relaxation pathway. Control reactions revealed that the cucurbit[8]uril host not only serves to template the reaction from the ground state, but also protects the long-lived radical ions formed by CT from side reactions. This protective role of the host suggests that donor-acceptor host-guest ternary complexes could be used to improve existing CT-initiated photochemistry or access new reactivity.

Electron transfer photochromism of solid-state supramolecules constructed by cucurbit[n]uril (n = 5–8) and 1-(4-carboxybenzyl)-4-[2-(4-pyridyl)-vinyl]-pyridinium chloride

Solid-state supramolecular complexes of a bispyridinium ethylene derivative with cucurbit[n = 5–8]uril exhibit fast responsive photochromic properties, which are caused by the electron transfer from the host to the guest.

Designing and investigation of photo-active gellan gum for the efficient immobilization of catalase by entrapment

A photo-active gellan gum (Gel) derivative was developed by amide bond combination with trans-4-[p-(amino)styryl]pyridine (SP). The SP-Gel was cross-linked by UV curing via the intermolecular 2π + 2π cycloaddition of the inserted SP-CH=CH- moieties. The chemical structure of the obtained photo-crosslinkable biopolymer was investigated before and after the UV curing and the progress of the performed 2π + 2π cycloaddition-based cross-linking was detected via UV-visible light spectra. SP-Gel was evaluated as a polymeric matrix for the immobilization of catalase via entrapment technique. The synthesized biopolymer was mixed with the catalase and molded in the form of membranes that were UV cured to encapsulate the enzyme. The membranes were able to entrap 0.75 mg/cm² with retained activity reached above 95%. The immobilized catalase displayed higher thermal stability and higher resistance toward the environmental pH disturbances compared to the free enzyme. Also, despite the observed lower catalase-H₂O₂ affinity upon the entrapment that was indicated from the performed kinetic studies, the reusability and storage stability experiments revealed the economic value of the entire process by preserving around 95% and 83% of the initial catalase activity after the fifth and tenth operation cycles, respectively.

[2+2] Photodimerization of Stilbazoles Promoted by Oxalic Acid in Suspension

In this study, a very simple technique to perform efficiently photodimerization of some vinylpyridines is reported. By irradiating a stirred mixture of several stilbazoles with solid oxalic acid dihydrate dispersed in a nonpolar (i.e., cyclohexane) or moderately polar (benzene, dichloromethane, dioxane) solvent, the corresponding dimeric cyclobutane adducts were obtained in high yields and excellent regio- and stereoselectivities. The strategy could also be applied successfully to oily, waxy, or even insoluble stilbazoles. Moreover, the oxalic acid loading could be lowered to substoichiometric amounts. When further optimizations were needed, our strategy was found to be highly flexible to identify other oligocarboxylic acids as alternative additives to improve, or even overturn, the regioselectivity. Oxalic acid and other oligocarboxylic acids were found to be capable of orienting more than 50 stilbazoles toward photodimerization under these conditions.

The regioselective [2 + 2] photocycloaddition reaction of 2-(3,4-dimethoxystyryl)quinoxaline in solution

The [2+2] photocycloaddition between two molecules of (E)-2-(3,4-dimethoxystyryl)-quinoxaline (1) in an acetonitrile solution is the first example of the regioselective and stereospecific formation of a cyclobutane derivative without applying any method for the preorganization of molecules in a dilute solution.

Stereoselective Solid-State Synthesis of Substituted Cyclobutanes Assisted by Pseudorotaxane-like MOFs

Regioselective photodimerization of trans-4-styrylpyridine (4-spy) derivatives is performed using pseudorotaxane-like Zn-based metal organic frameworks MOFs as templates. The formation of rctt-HT (head-to-tail) dimers is achieved by confining pairs of coordinated 4-spy derivative ligands within hexagonal windows and then irradiating them with UV light. It is also possible to achieve a photodimerization reaction where two different substituted 4-spy ligands are included in such a MOF material. The ether bond formation is employed to protect the sensitive -OH group of HO-spy and the methyl group of CH₃ O-spy is subsequently removed after the formation of cyclobutane derivative in the CH₃ O-spy-based MOF. Introducing substituents at the 2- or 3-position of the phenyl group of 4-spy does not significantly affect the rate of the dimerization process except in the case of the strongly electron-withdrawing nitro group where the rate is significantly decreased. These results are in striking contrast to the mixtures of photoproducts and low yields obtained by untemplated photodimerization in organic solvents.

Chemical designs of functional photoactive molecular assemblies

Molecular assemblies with defined structures capable of photo-induced electron transfer or photochemical reactions are reviewed, emphasizing their supramolecular features.