Building Molecular Complexity from Quinizarin: Conjoined Coumarins and Coronene Analogs

The double Knoevenagel condensation of 1,4-dibenzoyloxyanthraquinone with methyl esters of arylacetic acids affords a series of compounds based upon a previously unknown 1,8-dioxa-benzo[e]pyrene-2,7-dione heterocyclic core. The aryl groups incorporated in the 3- and 6-positions can be oxidatively coupled to the π-expanded backbone to produce a further new heterocyclic core: 1,10-dioxa-dibenzo[dj]coronene-2,9-dione. The intriguing optical properties of these π-expanded coumarin derivatives are discussed and rationalized through quantum chemical calculations. The broad absorption bands of 1,8-dioxa-benzo[e]pyrene-2,7-dione-based dyes are attributed to both HOMO-1→LUMO and HOMO→LUMO transitions, which have a similar energy. Weakly coupled electron-donating aryl substituents result in a moderate bathochromic shift of both the absorption and emission by 30-60 nm in toluene. The emissive properties of these compounds are in part determined by the oscillator strength of the main transition, lifetimes of the excited state, and by the energy match of the excited state with a triplet state of a similar energy. The 1,10-dioxa-dibenzo[dj]coronene-2,9-dione displays a much smaller Stokes shift, yet a markedly increased fluorescence quantum yield of 90 % owing to the increased rigidity compared with the 1,8-dioxa-benzo[e]pyrene-2,7-dione core.

π-Conjugated Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Photoanodes: Revealing the Photochemical Behavior through In Situ X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Small-molecule organic semiconductors exhibit great potential for the photoelectrochemical oxidation of water because of their n-type semiconductor nature and their tunable bandgaps. In this work, several head-to-tail bis-coumarins were synthesized and their photophysical properties characterized. Their characteristics as n-type semiconductors were modified by varying the electronic character of substituents at positions 1 and 7, which enabled the energy level of the LUMO and the photoinduced charge-carrier-transfer efficiency to be modulated. X-Ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy confirmed that the charge transfer is a crucial factor contributing to the resulting activity of the photoanode. The photoactivity of the photoanodes towards water oxidation was revealed to be governed by both the LUMO energy level and transfer efficiency of the photoinduced charge carriers. Among the studied molecules, a bis-coumarin with benzothiophenyl substituents showed the greatest potential as light absorber for photoelectrochemical water oxidation.

Unexpected formation of π-expanded isoquinoline from anthracene possessing four electron-donating groups via the Duff reaction

New synthetic methods leading towards π-expanded heterocycles are sought after mainly due to their promising opto-electronic properties. Subjecting 1,5,9,10-tetramethoxyanthracene to the modern Duff reaction conditions led to the formation of a compound possessing the 2-azabenzoanthrone (dibenzo[de,h]isoquinolin-7-on) skeleton instead of the expected dialdehyde. This non-typical course of reaction can be rationalized by the double electrophilic aromatic substitution at two neighboring electron-rich positions of anthracene followed by oxidation of the resulting intermediate to form a pyridine ring. Optical studies supported by the quantum chemistry calculations indicated the lack of excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT); for energy reasons, only one tautomeric form, with a hydrogen atom bonded to one of the two nearby oxygen atoms, was populated in the electronic ground S0 and in the excited S1 states. Nonradiative depopulation of the S1 state proceeded via internal conversion stimulated by the presence of the low frequency vibrational modes. Our serendipitous discovery represents the most complex case of rearrangement of aromatic compounds under Duff reaction conditions and could help to design analogous processes. At the same time this is the simplest method for the synthesis of derivatives of 2-azabenzoanthrone.

From π-expanded coumarins to π-expanded pentacenes

Dihydroxyanthraquinone can be transformed into head-to-tail bis-coumarins which undergo photo-dehydrogenative coupling leading to coronene derivatives.