Formation of color centers and paramagnetic species upon reduction of poly(diphenylene phthalide) with metallic lithium in DMF

Reduction of poly(diphenylene phthalide) (PDP) with metallic lithium in DMF at room temperature was studied by electronic and ESR spectroscopies. The main feature of the process is the presence of a long induction period (about 50 to 80 min) which is probably caused by the formation of small lithium particles and by adsorption of the polymer on the metal. At least four types of nonparamagnetic color centers characterized by overlapping absorption bands at 570, 660, 750, and 810 nm were detected in the reduced solution. The amounts of all types of the color centers in the solution show a complex dynamic behavior. Reduction of the polymer in the bulk of the solution is due to lithium colloid particles which give rise to a narrow asymmetric ESR singlet (g = 2.0023, ΔH = 0.03 mT, A/B ≈ 1.1–1.8) and absorb light in the region λ ～300–400 nm. Paramagnetic species with quartet ESR signal with a splitting of 0.1 mT and g = 2.0045 observed in the solutions being reduced at a polymer concentration of 0.2 mol L^?1 were attributed to radical anions of terminal anthraquinone groups (TAGs). The electron affinities of some molecules simulating the phthalide-containing unit of the polymer backbone, TAG, and a defect anthrone group were calculated in the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) approximation. For diphenylphthalide, the vertical electron affinity EA_vert = 0.21 eV, the adiabatic electron affinity EA_ad = 0.66 eV, the effective electron affinity EA_eff (with allowance for cleavage of C-O bond in the phthalide ring) = 1.23 eV. For anthrone group, one has EA_ad ～1.2 eV and for anthraquinone group, EA_ad ～2 eV. The electron affinities of the model compounds were also calculated with inclusion of the energy of solvation in two solvents (DMF and DMSO) and the energy of polarization in the PDP film. The electronic spectra of some compounds chosen as models for the expected products of reduction (anions and dianions) of the main phthalide-containing fragments in the polymer, TAGs, and defect anthrone groups were also calculated by the TD DFT B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) method. The presence of three types of chemical electron traps and the possibility of manifestation of strong absorption bands of these anions and dianions in the spectral region 500–900 nm precludes unambiguous selection and assignment of complex experimental electronic spectra observed in the course of PDP reduction. The possible role of TAGs in the electronic and photophysical processes in PDP is discussed.