A straightforward synthesis of a new family of molecules: 2,5,8-trialkoxyheptazines. Application to photoredox catalyzed transformations

Divergent cyclodimerizations of styrylnaphthols under aerobic visible-light irradiation and Brønsted acid catalysis

Dimeric cyclization reactions show great potential to rapidly form highly substituted complex cyclic molecules from simple starting materials. However, such an appealing process is often hampered by the lack of selectivity. Herein we report two divergent cyclodimerization reactions of 1-styrylnaphthalen-2-ol derivatives under simple and very mild reaction conditions. A stereoselective visible light-induced oxidative (1 + 1 + 4 + 4) homodimerization gave rise to highly substituted 1,5-dioxocanes in moderate yields. This transformation harnessed singlet oxygen as a safe and mild oxidant under photocatalyst-free reaction conditions. Additionally, we demonstrated that the same substrates undergo a (4 + 2) heterodimerization under Brønsted-acid catalysis to produce chromane derivatives featuring 3 contiguous tertiary stereocenters in good to high yields with excellent diastereoselectivities.

First Example of a Heptazine-Porphyrin Dyad; Synthesis and Spectroscopic Properties

We have prepared the first example of a porphyrin linked to an heptazine photoactive antenna. The two entities, linked with an alkyl spacer, demonstrate the activity of both active moieties. While they behave electrochemically independantly, on the other hand the spectroscopy shows the existence of energy transfer between both partners.

S-Heptazine N-ligand based luminescent coordination materials: synthesis, structural and luminescent studies of lanthanide-cyamelurate networks

Various series of lanthanide metal-organic networks denoted Ln-Cy (Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb), were synthesized under solvothermal conditions using potassium cyamelurate (K₃Cy) and lanthanide nitrate salts. All obtained materials were fully characterized, and their crystal structures were solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Four types of coordination modes were elucidated for the Ln-Cy series with different Ln³⁺ coordination geometries. Structural studies were performed to compare the various coordination compounds of the Ln-Cy series. Moreover, the cyamelurate linkers of rich π-conjugated and uncoordinated Lewis basic sites were used as an absorbing chromophore to enhance the luminescence quantum efficiency, the band emission and the luminescence lifetime of the coordinated Ln metal centers. Solid-state UV-visible measurements combined with density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations were performed to further explore luminescent features of the Ln-Cy series and their origins.

Delayed fluorescence from inverted singlet and triplet excited states

Hund's multiplicity rule states that a higher spin state has a lower energy for a given electronic configuration¹. Rephrasing this rule for molecular excited states predicts a positive energy gap between spin-singlet and spin-triplet excited states, as has been consistent with numerous experimental observations over almost a century. Here we report a fluorescent molecule that disobeys Hund's rule and has a negative singlet-triplet energy gap of -11 ± 2 meV. The energy inversion of the singlet and triplet excited states results in delayed fluorescence with short time constants of 0.2 μs, which anomalously decrease with decreasing temperature owing to the emissive singlet character of the lowest-energy excited state. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) using this molecule exhibited a fast transient electroluminescence decay with a peak external quantum efficiency of 17%, demonstrating its potential implications for optoelectronic devices, including displays, lighting and lasers.

Photophysics of Perylene Diimide Dianions and Their Application in Photoredox Catalysis

The two-electron reduced forms of perylene diimides (PDIs) are luminescent closed-shell species whose photochemical properties seem underexplored. Our proof-of-concept study demonstrates that straightforward (single) excitation of PDI dianions with green photons provides an excited state that is similarly or more reducing than the much shorter-lived excited states of PDI radical monoanions, which are typically accessible after biphotonic excitation with blue photons. Thermodynamically demanding photocatalytic reductive dehalogenations and reductive C-O bond cleavage reactions of lignin model compounds have been performed using sodium dithionite acts as a reductant, either in aqueous solution or in biphasic water-acetonitrile mixtures in the presence of a phase transfer reagent. Our work illustrates the concept of multi-electron reduction of a photocatalyst by a sacrificial reagent prior to irradiation with low-energy photons as a means of generating very reactive excited states.

Trialkoxyheptazine-Based Glyconanoparticles for Fluorescence in Aqueous Solutions and on Surfaces via Controlled Binding in Space

The fluorescent organic 2,5,8-tris((adamantan-1-yl)-methoxy)-heptazine (HTZ-Ad) was solubilized in water by inclusion of adamantane groups into free β-cyclodextrins or a cyclodextrin shell of glyconanoparticles. These glyconanoparticles with average diameters between 40 and 60 nm result from the self-assembly of polystyrene-block-β-cyclodextrin copolymers. Under UV irradiation at 365 nm, the modified nanoparticles exhibit fluorescence emission in aqueous media as well as in their adsorbed state. This constitutes the first spectroscopic characterization of a trialkoxyheptazine in aqueous medium. The specific binding of the glyconanoparticles to a surface was achieved via host-guest interactions with an electrochemically generated poly(pyrrole-adamantane) film. An interdigitated microelectrode modified with poly(pyrrole-adamantane) film and glyconanoparticles was incubated in HTZ-Ad, resulting in a substrate with spatially controlled fluorescence. The same modified electrode was incubated with an aqueous suspension of glyconanoparticles previously functionalized by HTZ-Ad, resulting in a fluorescent 3D assembly.

Triangular boron carbon nitrides: an unexplored family of chromophores with unique properties for photocatalysis and optoelectronics

It has recently been shown that cycl[3.3.3]azine and heptazine (1,3,4,6,7,9,9b-heptaazaphenalene) as well as related azaphenalenes exhibit inverted singlet and triplet states, that is, the energy of the lowest singlet excited state (S1) is below the energy of the lowest triplet excited state (T1). This feature is unique among all known aromatic chromophores and is of outstanding relevance for applications in photocatalysis and organic optoelectronics. Heptazine is the building block of the polymeric material graphitic carbon nitride which is an extensively explored photocatalyst in hydrogen evolution photocatalysis. Derivatives of heptazine have also been identified as efficient emitters in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). In both areas, the inverted singlet-triplet gap of heptazine is a highly beneficial feature. In photocatalysis, the absence of a long-lived triplet state eliminates the activation of atmospheric oxygen, which is favourable for long-term operational stability. In optoelectronics, singlet-triplet inversion implies the possibility of 100% fluorescence efficiency of electron-hole recombination. However, the absorption and luminescence wavelengths of heptazine and the S1-S0 transition dipole moment are difficult to tune for optimal functionality. In this work, we employed high-level ab initio electronic structure theory to devise and characterize a large family of novel heteroaromatic chromophores, the triangular boron carbon nitrides. These novel heterocycles inherit essential spectroscopic features from heptazine, in particular the inverted singlet-triplet gap, while their absorption and luminescence spectra and transition dipole moments are widely tuneable. For applications in photocatalysis, the wavelength of the absorption maximum can be tuned to improve the overlap with the solar spectrum at the surface of earth. For applications in OLEDs, the colour of emission can be adjusted and the fluorescence yield can be enhanced.

State of the Art in the Preparation and Properties of Molecular Monomeric s-Heptazines: Syntheses, Characteristics, and Functional Applications

This review gives an account on the fast expanding field of monomeric (or molecular) heptazines, at the exclusion of their various polymeric forms, often referred to as carbon nitrides. While examples of monomeric heptazines were extremely limited until the beginning of this century, the field has started expanding quickly since then, as has the number of reports on polymeric materials, though previous reviews did not separate these fields. We provide here a detailed report on the synthetic procedures for molecular heptazines. We also extensively report on the different achievements realized from these new molecules, in the fields of physical chemistry, spectroscopy, materials preparation, (photo)catalysis, and devices. After a comprehensive summary and discussion on heptazines syntheses and characteristics, we show that starting from well-defined molecules allows a versatility of approaches and a wide tunability of the expected properties. It comes out that the field of monomeric heptazines is now emerging and possibly heading toward maturity, while diverging from the one of polymeric carbon nitrides. It is likely that this area of research will quickly surge to the forefront of the search for active organic molecules, with special attention to the domains of catalysis and organic-based functional materials and devices.

Characterization and Electronic Properties of Heptazine Layers: Towards Promising Interfacial Materials for Organic Optoelectronics

For the first time, an original compound belonging to the heptazine family has been deposited in the form of thin layers, both by thermal evaporation under vacuum and spin-coating techniques. In both cases, smooth and homogeneous layers have been obtained, and their properties evaluated for eventual applications in the field of organic electronics. The layers have been fully characterized by several concordant techniques, namely UV-visible spectroscopy, steady-state and transient fluorescence in the solid-state, as well as topographic and conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) used in Kelvin probe force mode (KPFM). Consequently, the afferent energy levels, including Fermi level, have been determined, and show that these new heptazines are promising materials for tailoring the electronic properties of interfaces associated with printed electronic devices. A test experiment showing an improved electron transfer rate from a tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3) photo-active layer in presence of a heptazine interlayer is finally presented.