Controlling conformations in alternating dialkylsilylene-spaced donor-acceptor copolymers by a cooperative Thorpe-Ingold effect and polymer folding

A series of dialkylsilylene-spaced copolymers 6 and 7, which contain Me(2)Si and iPr(2)Si spacer groups, respectively, and have alternating donor and acceptor chromophores, have been designed and regioselectively synthesized by hydrosilylation. The ratio of the donor and acceptor chromophores for each repeat unit is 2:1, and the two donor chromophores are linked by a trimethylene bridge. A 4-aminostyrene moiety is used as the donor and a series of acceptor chromophores with different reduction potentials are employed. Both steady-state and kinetic measurements reveal that the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) in 6 obeyed the Marcus theory in which normal and inverted regions are observed. On the other hand, the iPr(2)Si-spaced copolymers 7 exhibit absorption and emission from the charge-transfer complexes exclusively due to ground-state interactions between the donor and acceptor chromophores. The discrepancy in photophysical behavior may have arisen from the difference in distance between the adjacent donor and acceptor chromophores. The bulkiness of the substituents on the silicon atom (i.e., Me versus iPr) may exert the Thorpe-Ingold effect on the local conformation around the silicon atom. The differences in the small energetic barriers for each of the conformational states may be amplified by extending the distance of the folding structure, which results in perturbing the conformation of the polymers. These results suggest that the electronic interactions between adjacent donor-acceptor pairs in these copolymers are controlled by the synchronization of the substitution effect and corresponding polymeric structures.     

Novel examples of the N-methyl effect on cyclisations of N-Boc derivatives of amino alcohols. A theoretical study

New examples of the N-methyl effect on the cyclisation of N-tert-butoxycarbonyl derivatives of amino alcohols are reported. Ab initio studies for the displacement step with formation of the five-membered heterocycle indicate that the increase of the nucleophile character of the carbonyl oxygen of the carbamate group with the N-methyl substitution is responsible for the acceleration of the cyclisation step.     

Axial‐Bonding Heterotrimers Based on Tetrapyrrolic Rings: Synthesis,Characterization, and Redox and Photophysical Properties

We prepared two heterooligomeric arrays based on free base/metalloporphyrins at axial positions and a metalloid phthalocyanine as a basal scaffolding unit by using the axial‐bonding capabilities as well as the known oxophilicity of dihydroxytin(IV) phthalocyanine. Both heterotrimers were completely characterized by elemental analysis, MALDI‐TOF MS, and ¹H NMR (one‐ and two‐dimensional), UV/Vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy as well as cyclic voltammetry. The ground‐state properties indicate that there is minimal π–π interaction between the macrocyclic units. The excited‐state properties show that there is electronic energy transfer competing with photoinduced electron transfer from the singlet state of the axial porphyrin to the central metalloid phthalocyanine and a photoinduced electron transfer from the ground state of the axial porphyrin to the singlet state of the central metalloid phthalocyanine.     

Photoinduced electron transfer reaction tuned by donor-acceptor pairs via the rigid, linear spacer heptacyclo[6.6.0.0.0.0.0.0]tetradecane

A new class of donor-{saturated hydrocarbon bridge}-acceptor (D-B-A) dyads were synthesized and utilized on a systematic approach to evaluate the corresponding photoinduced electron transfer (ET) process. Among these dyads heptacyclo[6.6.0.0^2,6.0^3,13.0^4,11. 0^5,9.0^10,14]tetradecane (HCTD) was used as a unique spacer, which possesses a geometry of high symmetry (D_2d), rigidity and linearity. The spectroscopy and dynamics of excited-state ET as functions of donor/acceptor electronic states, orientation as well as solvent properties were analyzed with the aid of theoretical computations. It was observed that the quenching of donor fluorescence (the F₁ band) correlated with the appearance of a broad charge-transfer (CT) emission. Both wavelength and intensity of the CT band varied with solvent-polarity, whereas its rise dynamics complied well with the decay of the F₁ band. In acetonitrile, the CT state decays much faster than the rate of ET (∼63 ps⁻¹) so that the corresponding steady-state emission cannot be resolved. An intriguing effect was observed in the case of benzene-1,2-dithioketals (3a and 3b) where the D and A π-chromophores were aligned in different orientations. The estimated ET rate of 3a (3.9×10¹⁰ s⁻¹) was substantially faster than that of 3b (7×10⁸ s⁻¹). The experimental data were tentatively fitted by a semi-log plot of ET rate constants (k_et) against free energy (ΔG⁰), yielding a value of ∼17.3 cm⁻¹ for the electron-coupling matrix (H_el).     

Long-lived charge-transfer states in compact donor-acceptor dyads.

Photoinduced electron transfer is a widely applied method to convert photon energy into a useful (electro)chemical potential, both in nature and in artificial devices. There is a continuing effort to develop molecular systems in which the charge-transfer state, populated by photoinduced electron transfer, survives sufficiently long to tap the energy stored in it. In general this has been found to require the construction of rather complex molecular systems, but more recently a few approaches have been reported that allow the use of much more simple and relatively small electron donor-acceptor dyads for this purpose. The most successful examples of such systems seem to be those that apply "electron spin control" to slow down the spontaneous decay of the charge-transfer state, and these are reviewed in this minireview, with a discussion of the underlying principles and a critical evaluation of some of the claims made with regard to using a pronounced "inverted-region effect" as an alternative method to prolong the lifetime of charge-transfer states.     

Photophysical characteristics of soluble oligo(p‐phenylenevinylene)–fullerene dyad

The fact that C₆₀ is a good acceptor has stimulated interest in covalently linked complexes, including polymers and oligomers. Photoinduced charge transfer in these systems has great potential for use in photovoltaic devices. In this study, an alternating conjugated oligomer of alkylated carbazole and dialkoxyl‐substituted phenylene, with pendant C₆₀ moieties, (PPV‐AFCAR) was prepared and characterized. The excited‐state properties of PPV–AFCAR were investigated with steady‐state spectroscopy and lifetime measurements. After photoexcitation, photoinduced energy transfer from the oligomer chain to the pendant moiety occurred in great proportion, but a charge‐separation process did not. Whether the energy‐transfer process was measurable or not depended on the system temperature. At 77 K, a quantum yield of more than 50% for energy transfer was found by the fitting of a linear combination of the excitation spectra of the precursor oligomer, the alternating conjugated oligomer of alkylated carbazole and dialkoxyl‐substituted phenylene PPV–ACAR, and the absorption spectra of C₆₀. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3981–3988, 2001     

四氰基乙烯—四甲基乙烯体系光诱导电子转移的溶剂效应及电荷分离激发态研究

用从头算方法,在HF/6-31 G^**和CASSCF（8,8）/6-31G^*基组水平上对四氰基乙烯与四甲基乙烯间电子转移的溶剂效应及电荷分离激发态进行了理论计算与研究。通过对给、受体各种几何构型的优化,计算了孤立给、受体之间的电荷分离反应热。在假定碰撞络合物形成过程中给、受体内部结构不发生变化的前提下,通过优化给、受体中心间距的方法,找出了络合物的稳定构型。计算了水溶剂及二氯甲烷溶剂中两种稳定构型络合物的电荷分离激发态,计算结果表明光激发可以直接导致体系的电荷分离。     

Axially Substituted Silicon Phthalocyanine as Electron Donor in a Dyad and Triad with Azafullerene as Electron Acceptor for Photoinduced Charge Separation

The synthesis of a donor–acceptor silicon phthalocyanine (SiPc)‐azafullerene (C₅₉N) dyad 1 and of the first acceptor–donor–acceptor C₅₉N‐SiPc‐C₅₉N dumbbell triad 2 was accomplished. The two C₅₉N‐based materials were comprehensively characterized with the aid of NMR spectroscopy, MALDI‐MS as well as DFT calculations and their redox and photophysical properties were evaluated with CV and steady‐state and time‐resolved absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy measurements. Notably, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy assays revealed that both dyad 1 and triad 2 undergo, after selective photoexcitation of the SiPc moiety, photoinduced electron transfer from the singlet excited state of the SiPc moiety to the azafullerene counterpart to produce the charge‐separated state, with lifetimes of 660 ps, in the case of dyad 1 , and 810 ps, in the case of triad 2 . The current results are expected to have significant implications en route to the design of advanced C₅₉N‐based donor–acceptor systems targeting energy conversion applications.     

Semiconductor photoinduced cycloreversion of the dimer of methyl 2-naphthoate

The dimer of methyl 2-naphthoate (1) has been found to undergo efficient cyclorever-sion to its monomer, methyl naphtha)ene-2-carboxylate (2) on illuminated ZnO and TiO2 but not on CdS. An electron transfer and cation radical chain mechanism is proposed. Quantum yields, solvent effect, the role of oxygen, and the quenching of the reaction were investigated, and were consistent with the proposed mechanism.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Donor-Acceptor-Donor Triads Containing Tetrathiafulvalene and Naphthalene Diimide Units： Towards Regulation of the Intermolecular Charge-Transfer Interaction by Varying the Attached Side Groups

Introduction Extensive studies have been performed on electron donor-acceptor supramolecular systems, which have been used as models to investigate charge-transfer interactions,1 photoinduced electron and energy transfer reactions (for understanding the natural photosynthesis mechanisms).2 In recent years, molecular devices such as molecular shuttles and molecular switches based on electron donor-acceptor supramolecules have been proposed and studied.3 Since the synthesis of tetrathiafulvalene…     

异咯嗪修饰富勒烯-聚丙烯酸的合成及其与DNA的相互作用

利用自由基聚合反应合成了聚丙烯酸修饰的富勒烯(C₆₀-PAA),进一步通过酯化反应将核黄素类似物6,7-二甲基-9-(2’-羟乙基)-异咯嗪(DHIX)与C₆₀-PAA共价连接,得到C₆₀-PAA-DHIX.利用傅立叶红外光谱(FT-IR)、核磁共振氢谱(¹HNMR)、紫外-可见吸收光谱(UV-Vis)、荧光光谱对产物的化学结构进行了表征.循环伏安法表明,C₆₀-PAA-DHIX中富勒烯基团的第一还原电位要高于DHIX基团的第一还原电位.ESR实验表明C₆₀-PAA-DHIX能与N,N-二甲基苯胺发生多步光诱导电子转移反应,即DHIX基团与N,N-二甲基苯胺发生光诱导电子转移生成DHIX负离子自由基(DHIX^-·),DHIX^-·能进一步将电子传递给富勒烯生成富勒烯负离子自由基.DNA熔解曲线、紫外-可见吸收光谱和荧光光谱结果表明,C₆₀-PAA-DHIX通过沟槽结合与CTDNA作用,而C₆₀-PAA与DNA的作用较弱.无氧条件下,C₆₀-PAA-DHIX具有比C₆₀-PAA更强的DNA光损伤能力.     

Enhanced functionality for donor-acceptor oligothiophenes by means of inclusion of BODIPY: synthesis, electrochemistry, photophysics, and model chemistry

We have synthesized several new push-pull oligothiophenes based on the boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) moiety as the electron acceptor and the more well-known oligothiophenes substituted with N,N-dialkylamino functions to enhance their electron-donor ability. A complete characterization of the electronic properties has been carried out; it consists of their photophysical, electrochemical, and vibrational properties. The compounds have been studied after chemical treatment with acids and after oxidation. In this regard, they can be termed as NIR dyes and amphoteric redox electroactive molecules. We have described the presence of dual fluorescence in these molecules and fluorescence quenching either by energy transfer or, in the push-pull molecules, by electron exchange. The combination of electrochemical and proton reversibility along with the interesting optical properties of the new species offer an interesting platform for sensor and material applications.     

Probing molecular wires: synthesis, structural, and electronic study of donor-acceptor assemblies exhibiting long-range electron transfer

A series of donor-acceptor arrays (C60-oligo-PPV-exTTF; 16-20) incorporating pi-conjugated oligo(phenylenevinylene) wires (oligo-PPV) of different length between pi-extended tetrathiafulvalene (exTTF) as electron donor and C60 as electron acceptor has been prepared by multistep convergent synthetic approaches. The electronic interactions between the three electroactive species present in 16-20 were investigated by UV-visible spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Our studies clearly show that, although the C60 units are connected to the exTTF donors through a pi-conjugated oligo-PPV framework, no significant electronic interactions are observed in the ground state. Interestingly, photoinduced electron-transfer processes over distances of up to 50 Angstroms afford highly stabilized radical ion pairs. The measured lifetimes for the photogenerated charge-separated states are in the range of hundreds of nanoseconds (approximately 500 ns) in benzonitrile, regardless of the oligomer length (i.e., from the monomer to the pentamer). A different lifetime (4.35 micros) is observed for the heptamer-containing array. This difference in lifetime has been accounted for by the loss of planarity of the oPPV moiety that increases with the wire length, as established by semi-empirical (PM3) theoretical calculations carried out with 19 and 20. The charge recombination dynamics reveal a very low attenuation factor (beta = 0.01 +/- 0.005 Angstroms(-1)). This beta value, as well as the strong electron coupling (V approximately 5.5 cm(-1)) between the donor and the acceptor units, clearly reveals a nanowire behavior for the pi-conjugated oligomer, which paves the way for applications in nanotechnology.     

Oxidation potential of thiophene oligomers: Theoretical and experimental approach

Intrinsic properties of conducting polymers, such as oxidation potential and band gap, are very important for designing new materials with improved properties. Computational chemistry offers suitable tools capable of predicting these quantities. This work presents electrochemical information about accurate oxidation potentials of oligothiophenes and polymer band gap. These are compared to theoretical predictions based on electronic structure calculations at Density Functional Theory levels, coupled with self‐consistent reaction field. All computational protocols gave a qualitative prediction of the experimental trend. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011     

Tunable morphology of 2D honeycomb-patterned films and the hydrophobicity of a ferrocenyl-based oligomer

Honeycomb-patterned polymer films with tunable pore size and regularity of ordered two- or three-dimensional hexagonal arrays have met with widespread interest in recent years in different areas, for instance as separation and superhydrophobic materials. Herein, 2D honeycomb-patterned films of amphiphilic ferrocenyl-based oligomer with cholesterol as side chains were prepared by the breath-figure method on solid surfaces and their surface-wetting behavior were tested. These films can be simply prepared by spreading a mixture of polymer and organic solvents on a solid surface under moist airflow and at an air/water interface without any extra moist airflow. An ordered 2D hexagonal array of pores with monodisperse size distribution can be obtained over a large area by changing various influencing factors, including humidity, wet volume, concentration, selective solvent, and spreading method, which provides a facile route to regulate the morphology of patterned porous films. The surface-wetting behavior indicates that a higher hydrophobicity of the ferrocenyl-based oligomer honeycomb films can be obtained by modulating the pore size and regularity. It is expected that this could promote the potential application of ordered porous polymer films in hydrophobic materials and biochemistry.     

Impact of bridging units on the dynamics of photoinduced charge generation and charge recombination in donor-acceptor dyads.

We estimate, at a full quantum-chemical level, the various molecular parameters governing the rate of photoinduced charge generation and charge recombination in model organic structures containing a donor and an acceptor unit in view of the possible use of such systems in organic solar cells. The rate of through-space excitation dissociation, as predicted in the framework of the Marcus-Levich-Jortner theory, is found to be low in comparison to intramolecular decay processes when the donor and acceptor molecules are lying in a head-to-tail arrangement and high when the donor and acceptor molecules are superimposed in a cofacial arrangement. The charge separation rates for side-by-side donor-acceptor dyads are significantly increased by promoting through-bond interactions in covalently linked donor and acceptor units. This has motivated a detailed quantitative analysis of the influence of the nature, size, and conformation of the bridging moiety on the calculated transfer rates.     

Photoinduced hydrogen abstraction‐coupling reaction mechanism of Δ5‐steroids with substituted 1, 4‐benzoquinones via electron transfer pathways

The photochemical reaction between three A⁵‐steroids (1–3) and a series of substituted 1,4‐benzoquinones and their mechanistic study were reported. The reaction in nitrogen atmosphere led to the formation of three products including the steroid‐quinone coupling compound (A), 7‐hydroxy derivatives of Δ⁵‐steroids (B) and substituted 1, 4‐hydroquinone (C). Both chemical and spectrometric evidences such as UV‐Visible spectra, ESR, chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (CIDNP) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) verified that the title reaction underwent a predominant photoinduced electron transfer pathway via the triplet quinone.     

Energy transfer through heterogeneous dyes‐substituted fluorene‐containing alternating copolymers and their dual‐emission properties in the films

We report synthesis of the modified fluorene polymers tethered to the heterogeneous types of the fluorescent dyes at the cardo carbon for obtaining the dual‐emissive solid materials. A series of the alternating fluorene copolymers modified with pyrene or 9,10‐diphenylanthracene and BODIPY at the cardo carbon based on the red‐emissive donor–acceptor structure were prepared, and their characteristics were examined. From the measurements of the optical properties, the energy transfer efficiencies were evaluated. In summary, variable energy transfer efficiencies were observed between the side chains and from the side chain to the main chain. It was indicated that the energy transfer efficiencies were strongly depended on the types of the energy donor and the detection conditions as such in the solution or film. Furthermore, it was found that the cardo fluorene units can contribute to the suppression of the energy transfer in the condensed state. Finally, the dual‐emissive polymers were obtained in the film states. This is the first example, to the best of our knowledge, not only to offer systematic information on the energy transfer between the dye molecules and the polymer main‐chains via the cardo structure but also to demonstrate the polymer‐based optical materials with the dual‐emission properties. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2026–2035