Functionalization of Pyrene To Prepare Luminescent Materials—Typical Examples of Synthetic Methodology

Pyrene‐based π‐conjugated materials are considered to be an ideal organic electro‐luminescence material for application in semiconductor devices, such as organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs), and so forth. However, the great drawback of employing pyrene as an organic luminescence material is the formation of excimer emission, which quenches the efficiency at high concentration or in the solid‐state. Thus, in order to obtain highly efficient optical devices, scientists have devoted much effort to tuning the structure of pyrene derivatives in order to realize exploitable properties by employing two strategies, 1) introducing a variety of moieties at the pyrene core, and 2) exploring effective and convenient synthetic strategies to functionalize the pyrene core. Over the past decades, our group has mainly focused on synthetic methodologies for functionalization of the pyrene core; we have found that formylation/acetylation or bromination of pyrene can selectly lead to functionalization at K‐region by Lewis acid catalysis. Herein, this Minireview highlights the direct synthetic approaches (such as formylation, bromination, oxidation, and de‐tert‐butylation reactions, etc.) to functionalize the pyrene in order to advance research on luminescent materials for organic electronic applications. Further, this article demonstrates that the future direction of pyrene chemistry is asymmetric functionalization of pyrene for organic semiconductor applications and highlights some of the classical asymmetric pyrenes, as well as the latest breakthroughs. In addition, the photophysical properties of pyrene‐based molecules are briefly reviewed. To give a current overview of the development of pyrene chemistry, the review selectively covers some of the latest reports and concepts from the period covering late 2011 to the present day.     

Synthesis,Optical Properties,and Sensing Applications of Gold Nanodots

In this Personal Account, we briefly address our journey in developing photoluminescent nanomaterials for sensing purposes, with a focus on gold nanodots (Au NDs). Their synthetic strategies, optical properties, and sensing applications are emphasized. The Au NDs can be simply prepared from the etching of small‐sized Au nanoparticles (<3 nm in diameter) by thiol compounds such as 11‐mercaptoundecanoic acid under alkaline conditions. This simple approach allows the preparation of various functional Au NDs by choosing different thiol compounds as etching agents. Since the optical properties of Au NDs are highly dependent on the core and shell of each Au ND, the selection of etching reagents is important. Over the years we have developed various sensing systems using Au NDs for the detection of metal ions, anions, and proteins, based on analyte‐induced photoluminescence quenching/enhancement of Au NDs as a result of changes in their oxidation state, shell composition, and structure.     

Strategies for the Synthesis of Functional Naphthalene Diimides

Naphthalene diimides, which have for a long time been in the shadow of their higher homologues the perylene diimides, currently belong to the most investigated classes of organic compounds. This is primarily due to the initial synthetic studies on core functionalization that were carried out at the beginning of the last decade, which facilitated diverse structural modifications of the naphthalene scaffold. Compounds with greatly modified optical and electronic properties that can be easily and effectively modulated by appropriate functionalization were made accessible through relatively little synthetic effort. This resulted in diverse interesting applications. The electron‐deficient character of these compounds makes them highly valuable, particularly in the field of organic electronics as air‐stable n‐type semiconductors, while absorption bands over the whole visible spectral range through the introduction of core substituents enabled interesting photosystems and photovoltaic applications. This Review provides an overview on different approaches towards core functionalization as well as on synthetic strategies for the core expansion of naphthalene diimides that have been developed mainly in the last five years.     

Surface‐Functionalized Nanoparticles by Olefin Metathesis: A Chemoselective Approach for In Vivo Characterization of Atherosclerosis Plaque

The use of click chemistry reactions for the functionalization of nanoparticles is particularly useful to modify the surface in a well‐defined manner and to enhance the targeting properties, thus facilitating clinical translation. Here it is demonstrated that olefin metathesis can be used for the chemoselective functionalization of iron oxide nanoparticles with three different examples. This approach enables, in one step, the synthesis and functionalization of different water‐stable magnetite‐based particles from oleic acid‐coated counterparts. The surface of the nanoparticles was completely characterized showing how the metathesis approach introduces a large number of hydrophilic molecules on their coating layer. As an example of the possible applications of these new nanocomposites, a focus was taken on atherosclerosis plaques. It is also demonstrated how the in vitro properties of one of the probes, particularly its Ca²⁺‐binding properties, mediate their final in vivo use; that is, the selective accumulation in atherosclerotic plaques. This opens promising new applications to detect possible microcalcifications associated with plaque vulnerability. The accumulation of the new imaging tracers is demonstrated by in vivo magnetic resonance imaging of carotids and aorta in the ApoE^?/? mouse model and the results were confirmed by histology.     

Toward the most versatile fluorophore: Direct functionalization of BODIPY dyes via regioselective C—H bond activation

BODIPY dyes are privileged fluorophores that are now widely used in highly diverse research fields. An overview of BODIPY dyes and a summarization of the different synthetic methodologies reported for direct C-H functionalization of the BODIPY framework have been provided.     

Regioselective Functionalization of [2.2]Paracyclophanes: Recent Synthetic Progress and Perspectives

[2.2]Paracyclophane (PCP) is a prevalent scaffold that is widely utilized in asymmetric synthesis, π‐stacked polymers, energy materials, and functional parylene coatings that finds broad applications in bio‐ and materials science. In the last few years, [2.2]paracyclophane chemistry has progressed tremendously, enabling the fine‐tuning of its structural and functional properties. This Minireview highlights the most important recent synthetic developments in the selective functionalization of PCP that govern distinct features of planar chirality as well as chiroptical and optoelectronic properties. Special focus is given to the function‐inspired design of [2.2]paracyclophane‐based π‐stacked conjugated materials by transition‐metal‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions. Current synthetic challenges, limitations, as well as future research directions and new avenues for advancing cyclophane chemistry are also summarized.     

Toward the most versatile fluorophore: Direct functionalization of BODIPY dyes via regioselective C–H bond activation

Fluorescent dyes are heavily sought for their potentials applications in bioimaging, sensing, theranostic,and optoelectronic materials. Among them, BODIPY dyes are privileged fluorophores that are now widely used in highly diverse research fields. The increasing success of BODIPY dyes is closely associated with their excellent and tunable photophysical properties due to their rich functionalization chemistry.Recently, growing research efforts have been devoted to the direct functionalization of the BODIPY core,because it allows the facile installation of desired functional groups in a single atom economical step. The challenges of this direct C–H derivation come from the difficulties in finding suitable functionalization agents and proper control of the regioselectivity of the functionalization. The aim of this work is to provide an overview of BODIPY dyes and a summarization of the different synthetic methodologies reported for direct C–H functionalization of the BODIPY framework.     

Light‐Controlled Regioselective Synthesis of Fullerene Bis‐Adducts

Multi‐functionalization and isomer‐purity of fullerenes are crucial tasks for the development of their chemistry in various fields. In both current main approaches—tether‐directed covalent functionalization and supramolecular masks—the control of regioselectivity requires multi‐step synthetic procedures to prepare the desired tether or mask. Herein, we describe light‐responsive tethers, containing an azobenzene photoswitch and two malonate groups, in the double cyclopropanation of [60]fullerene. The formation of the bis‐adducts and their spectroscopic and photochemical properties, as well as the effect of azobenzene photoswitching on the regiochemistry of the bis‐addition, have been studied. The behavior of the tethers depends on the geometry of the connection between the photoactive core and the malonate moieties. One tether lead to a strikingly different adduct distribution for the E and Z isomers, indicating that the covalent bis‐functionalization of C₆₀ can be controlled by light.     

The surface chemistry of a nanocellulose drug carrier unravelled by MAS-DNP

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) are renewable bio-based materials with high specific area, which makes them ideal candidates for multiple emerging applications including for instance on-demand drug release. However, in-depth chemical and structural characterization of the CNF surface chemistry is still an open challenge, especially for low weight percentage of functionalization. This currently prevents the development of efficient, cost-effective and reproducible green synthetic routes and thus the widespread development of targeted and responsive drug-delivery CNF carriers. We show in this work how we use dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) to overcome the sensitivity limitation of conventional solid-state NMR and gain insight into the surface chemistry of drug-functionalized TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils. The DNP enhanced-NMR data can report unambiguously on the presence of trace amounts of TEMPO moieties and depolymerized cellulosic units in the starting material, as well as coupling agents on the CNFs surface (used in the heterogeneous reaction). This enables a precise estimation of the drug loading while differentiating adsorption from covalent bonding (∼1 wt% in our case) as opposed to other analytical techniques such as elemental analysis and conductometric titration that can neither detect the presence of coupling agents, nor differentiate unambiguously between adsorption and grafting. The approach, which does not rely on the use of ¹³C/¹⁵N enriched compounds, will be key to further develop efficient surface chemistry routes and has direct implication for the development of drug delivery applications both in terms of safety and dosage.

DNP-enhanced solid-state NMR unravels the surface chemistry of functionalized nanocellulose.     

Janus Nanoparticles: Preparation,Characterization, and Applications

In chemical functionalization of colloidal particles, the functional moieties are generally distributed rather homogeneously on the particle surface. Recently, a variety of synthetic protocols have been developed in which particle functionalization may be carried out in a spatially controlled fashion, leading to the production of structurally asymmetrical particles. Janus particles represent the first example in which the two hemispheres exhibit distinctly different chemical and physical properties, which is analogous to the dual‐faced Roman god, Janus. Whereas a variety of methods have been reported for the preparation of (sub)micron‐sized polymeric Janus particles, it has remained challenging for the synthesis and (unambiguous) structural characterization of much smaller nanometer‐sized Janus particles. Herein, several leading methods for the preparation of nanometer‐sized Janus particles are discussed and the important properties and applications of these Janus nanoparticles in electrochemistry, sensing, and catalysis are highlighted. Some perspectives on research into functional patchy nanoparticles are also given.     

Surface properties of hydrogenated nanodiamonds: a chemical investigation

Hydrogen terminations (C-H) confer to diamond layers specific surface properties such as a negative electron affinity and a superficial conductive layer, opening the way to specific functionalization routes. For example, efficient covalent bonding of diazonium salts or of alkene moieties can be performed on hydrogenated diamond thin films, owing to electronic exchanges at the interface. Here, we report on the chemical reactivity of fully hydrogenated High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) nanodiamonds (H-NDs) towards such grafting, with respect to the reactivity of as-received NDs. Chemical characterizations such as FTIR, XPS analysis and Zeta potential measurements reveal a clear selectivity of such couplings on H-NDs, suggesting that C-H related surface properties remain dominant even on particles at the nanoscale. These results on hydrogenated NDs open up the route to a broad range of new functionalizations for innovative NDs applications development.     

2‐(1 H‐1,2,3‐Triazol‐4‐yl)‐Pyridine Ligands as Alternatives to 2,2′‐Bipyridines in Ruthenium(II) Complexes

The synthesis of a variety of 2‐(1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl)‐pyridines by click chemistry is demonstrated to provide straightforward access to mono‐functionalized ligands. The ring‐opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactone initiated by such a mono‐functionalized ligand highlights the synthetic potential of this class of bidentate ligands with respect to polymer chemistry or the attachment onto surfaces and nanoparticles. The coordination to Ru^II ions results in homoleptic and heteroleptic complexes with the resultant photophysical and electrochemical properties strongly dependent on the number of these ligands attached to the Ru^II core.     

Reactive nitrogen species: Nitrosonium ions in organic synthesis

Nitrosonium ions are versatile and mild oxidants, which were successfully employed in organic transformations. The applications cover different fields, such as the functionalization of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds, functionalization of unsaturated bonds and the oxidative coupling of arenes, catalyzed by nitrosonium ions. Due to the ability of nitrosonium ions to modify various types of bonds with different modes of action, a variety of applications has been established, which addresses current challenges in organic chemistry research. By considering additional points, such as safety of reagents, by-product formation, employed solvents and energy consumption, several aspects of green and sustainable chemistry can be addressed. Within this review, synthetic applications of nitrosonium ions under transition metal-free reaction conditions are summarized.     

Double CH Activation of a Masked Cationic Bismuth Amide

The transformation of C?H bonds into more reactive C?M bonds amenable to further functionalization is of fundamental importance in synthetic chemistry. We demonstrate here that the transformation of neutral bismuth compounds into their cationic analogues can be used as a strategy to facilitate CH activation reactions. In particular, the double CH activation of bismuth‐bound diphenyl amide, (NPh₂)^?, is reported along with simple one‐pot procedures for the functionalization of the activated positions. The organometallic products of the first and second CH activation steps were isolated in high yields. Analysis by NMR spectroscopy, single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, and DFT calculations revealed unusual ground‐state properties (e.g., ring strain, moderate heteroaromaticity), and provided mechanistic insight into the formation of these compounds.     

Isolable Radical Ions of Main‐Group Elements: Structures,Bonding and Properties

Synthesis of stable main‐group element‐based radicals represents one of the most interesting topics in contemporary organometallic chemistry, because of their vital roles in organic, inorganic and biological chemistry as well as materials science. However, the access of stable main‐group element‐based radicals is highly challenging owing to the lack of energetically accessible orbitals in the main‐group elements. During the last decades, several synthetic strategies have been developed in obtaining these reactive species. Among them, utilizing the sterically demanding substituents and π‐conjugated ligands has proven to be an effective approach. Weakly coordinating ions (WCAs) have also been found to be exceptionally practical in synthesizing radical cations of main‐group elements. By introducing these stabilization methods, we have successfully prepared a variety of radical ions of p‐block elements in the crystalline forms, and investigated their properties by different experimental and quantum chemical calculation methods. According to the investigations, magnetic stability was observed, resulting from the intramolecular electron‐exchange interaction. Furthermore, we also found that the singlet‐triplet energy gaps of the bis(triarylamine) diradical dications can be tunable by varying the temperature. These investigations open new avenues of the main‐group element‐based radicals for a large variety of applications.     

Direct Aryl C−H Amination with Primary Amines Using Organic Photoredox Catalysis

The direct catalytic C−H amination of arenes is a powerful synthetic strategy with useful applications in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials chemistry. Despite the advances in catalytic C−H functionalization, the use of aliphatic amine coupling partners is limited. Described herein is the construction of C−N bonds, using primary amines, by direct C−H functionalization with an acridinium photoredox catalyst under an aerobic atmosphere. A wide variety of primary amines, including amino acids and more complex amines are competent coupling partners. Various electron‐rich aromatics and heteroaromatics are useful scaffolds in this reaction, as are complex, biologically active arenes. We also describe the ability to functionalize arenes that are not oxidized by an acridinium catalyst, such as benzene and toluene, thus supporting a reactive amine cation radical intermediate.     

Synthesis of polystyrene‐based random copolymers with balanced number of basic or acidic functional groups

Pairs of polystyrene‐based random copolymers with balanced number of pendant basic or acidic groups were synthesized utilizing the template strategy. The same poly[(4‐hydroxystyrene)‐ran‐styrene] was used as a template backbone for modification. Two different synthetic approaches for the functionalization were applied. The first one involved direct functionalization of the template backbone through alkylation of the phenolic groups with suitable reagents. The second modification approach was based on “click” chemistry, where the introduction of alkyne groups onto the template backbone was followed by copper‐catalyzed 1,3 cycloaddition of aliphatic sulfonate‐ or amine‐contaning azides. Both synthetic approaches proved to be highly efficient as evidenced by ¹H‐NMR analyses. The thermal properties were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravimetric analyses and were influenced by the type of functionality and the modification method. The ether‐linked functional colopymers were thermally more stable than their “clicked” analogues. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2044–2052, 2010     

A generalized ligand-exchange strategy enabling sequential surface functionalization of colloidal nanocrystals

The ability to engineer surface properties of nanocrystals (NCs) is important for various applications, as many of the physical and chemical properties of nanoscale materials are strongly affected by the surface chemistry. Here, we report a facile ligand-exchange approach, which enables sequential surface functionalization and phase transfer of colloidal NCs while preserving the NC size and shape. Nitrosonium tetrafluoroborate (NOBF4) is used to replace the original organic ligands attached to the NC surface, stabilizing the NCs in various polar, hydrophilic media such as N,N-dimethylformamide for years, with no observed aggregation or precipitation. This approach is applicable to various NCs (metal oxides, metals, semiconductors, and dielectrics) of different sizes and shapes. The hydrophilic NCs obtained can subsequently be further functionalized using a variety of capping molecules, imparting different surface functionalization to NCs depending on the molecules employed. Our work provides a versatile ligand-exchange strategy for NC surface functionalization and represents an important step toward controllably engineering the surface properties of NCs.     

Synthesis,Characterization and Evaluation of Peptide Nanostructures for Biomedical Applications

There is a challenging need for the development of new alternative nanostructures that can allow the coupling and/or encapsulation of therapeutic/diagnostic molecules while reducing their toxicity and improving their circulation and in-vivo targeting. Among the new materials using natural building blocks, peptides have attracted significant interest because of their simple structure, relative chemical and physical stability, diversity of sequences and forms, their easy functionalization with (bio)molecules and the possibility of synthesizing them in large quantities. A number of them have the ability to self-assemble into nanotubes, -spheres, -vesicles or -rods under mild conditions, which opens up new applications in biology and nanomedicine due to their intrinsic biocompatibility and biodegradability as well as their surface chemical reactivity via amino- and carboxyl groups. In order to obtain nanostructures suitable for biomedical applications, the structure, size, shape and surface chemistry of these nanoplatforms must be optimized. These properties depend directly on the nature and sequence of the amino acids that constitute them. It is therefore essential to control the order in which the amino acids are introduced during the synthesis of short peptide chains and to evaluate their in-vitro and in-vivo physico-chemical properties before testing them for biomedical applications. This review therefore focuses on the synthesis, functionalization and characterization of peptide sequences that can self-assemble to form nanostructures. The synthesis in batch or with new continuous flow and microflow techniques will be described and compared in terms of amino acids sequence, purification processes, functionalization or encapsulation of targeting ligands, imaging probes as well as therapeutic molecules. Their chemical and biological characterization will be presented to evaluate their purity, toxicity, biocompatibility and biodistribution, and some therapeutic properties in vitro and in vivo. Finally, their main applications in the biomedical field will be presented so as to highlight their importance and advantages over classical nanostructures.