Conjugated chromophore arrays with unusually large hole polaron delocalization lengths

We report variable temperature X-band EPR spectroscopic data for the cation radical states of meso-to-meso ethyne-bridged (porphinato)zinc(II) (PZnn) oligomers. These [PZn2-PZn7]+ species span an average 18-75 A length scale and display peak-to-peak EPR line widths (DeltaBp-p) that diminish with conjugation length. Analysis of these EPR data show that PZnn+ structures possess the largest hole polaron delocalization lengths yet measured; experiments carried out over a 4-298 K temperature domain demonstrate remarkably that the charge delocalization length remains invariant with temperature. These cation radical EPR data are well described by a stochastic, near barrierless, one-dimensional charge hopping model developed by Norris for N equivalent sites on a polymer chain, where the theoretical EPR line width is given by DeltaBp-p(N-mer) = (1/N1/2)DeltaBp-p(monomer); PZnn+ oligomers are the first such systems to verify a Norris-type hole delocalization mechanism over a substantial ( approximately 75 A) length scale. Given the time scale of the EPR measurement, these data show that either (i) Franck-Condon effects are incapable of driving charge localization in [PZn2-PZn7]+, resulting in cation radical wave functions which are globally delocalized over a spatial domain that is large with respect to established benchmarks for hole-doped conjugated materials, or (ii) polaron hopping rates in these oligomers exceed 107 s-1, even at 4 K. Finally, this study demonstrates that polymeric building blocks having low magnitude inner sphere reorganization energies enable the development of electronic materials having long polaron delocalization lengths.     

Synthesis, characterization, and properties of 7,7′-bis(3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazol-N-yl)-substituted fluorenyl-oligothiophenes

A series of new 7,7′bis(3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazol-N-yl)-substituted fluorenyl-oligothiophenes bearing 0-, 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-thiophene rings, namely BCFTn, were synthesized using palladium catalyzed Stille dimerization coupling reactions of their corresponding brominated thiophenes. The relationship between the chemical structure and the properties of these oligomers was evaluated. With respect to the electronic properties, the longest wavelength absorptions, emissions, and also the oxidation potentials can be tuned by varying the conjugation length of the oligothiophene segments. The terminal carbazole and fluorene moieties of the resulting materials are beneficial for their morphology, conjugation length, and solubility.     

Synthesis and fluorescence characterization of MEHPPV oligomers

Trimer, tetramer, and pentamer oligomers based on the polymer backbone structure of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEHPPV) have been synthesized by Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reactions. The fluorescence spectra, emission quantum yields, and lifetimes of the oligomers have been characterized in dilute chloroform solutions. The oligomers exhibit a sequential increase in absorption and emission wavelength maxima and a decrease in fluorescence lifetime as the π conjugation length is increased. The shortening in excited state lifetime is shown to be due to an increase in the rates of both radiative and nonradiative processes. The absence of a mirror-image relationship for the absorption and fluorescence spectra of the oligomers is attributed to the photoexcitation of a range of torsional configurations followed by relaxation to a more planar arrangement that then emits.     

Optical and redox properties of a series of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene oligomers

The optical and redox properties of a series of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene oligomers (EDOTn, n=1-4) and their beta,beta'-unsubstituted analogues (Tn, n=1-4) are described. Both series are end capped with phenyl groups to prevent irreversible alpha-coupling reactions during oxidative doping. Absorption and fluorescence spectra of both series reveal a significantly higher degree of intrachain conformational order in the EDOTn oligomers. Oxidation potentials (E(PA1) and E(PA2)) determined by cyclic voltammetry reveal that those of EDOTn are significantly lower than the corresponding Tn oligomers as a consequence of the electron-donating 3,4-ethylenedioxy substitution. Linear fits of E(PA1) and E(PA2) versus the reciprocal number of double bonds reveal significantly steeper slopes for the EDOTn than for the Tn oligomers. This could indicate a more effective conjugation for the EDOTn series, confirmed by the fact that coalescence of E(PA1) and E(PA2) is reached already at relatively short chain lengths ( approximately 5 EDOT units) in contrast to the Tn series (>10 thiophene units). The stepwise chemical oxidation of the EDOTn and Tn oligomers in solution was carried out to obtain radical cations and dications. The energies of the optical transitions of the radical cations and dications as determined by UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy were similar for the two series. These spectroscopic observations are consistent with quantum-chemical calculations performed on the singly charged molecules. Cooling solutions containing T2.+, T3.+, EDOT2.+, and EDOT3.+ revealed the reversible formation of dimers, albeit with a somewhat different tendency, expressed in the values for the dimerization enthalpy.     

Double-strand hydrolysis of plasmid DNA by dicerium complexes at 37 degrees C.

Significant effort has been made to develop synthetic metal complexes that hydrolyze DNA. Here we report a new dicerium complex, Ce(2)(HXTA) (HXTA = 5-methyl-2-hydroxy-1,3-xylene-alpha,alpha-diamine-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid), which can hydrolyze DNA at pH 8 and 37 degrees C. This complex hydrolyzes DNA restriction fragments to give products with high regioselectivity, affording >90% 5'-OPO(3) and 3'-OH ends, like the products of DNA hydrolyzing enzymes. Ce(2)(HXTA) also hydrolyzes Litmus 29 plasmid DNA to afford both nicked and linear DNA. Analysis of the relative amounts of supercoiled, nicked, and linear DNA present show that there is one double-strand cleavage per ten single-strand cleavages, indicating that the linear DNA formed cannot be the result of two random single-strand cleavage events. The kinetics of nicked and linear DNA formation are comparable, both being associated with apparent first-order rate constants of approximately 1 x 10(-)(4) s(-)(1) for complex concentrations of 10(-)(5)-10(-)(4) M. These observations suggest that similar factors affect the hydrolysis of the first and second DNA strands and that cleaving the phosphodiester bond is likely the rate determining step in both cases. This is the first detailed study of a metal complex shown to mimic DNA hydrolases in their capability to effect double-strand DNA hydrolysis regioselectively at the 3'-O-P bond.     

Hybrid Conjugated Organic Oligomers Consisting of Oligodiacetylene and Thiophene Units: Synthesis and Optical Properties

Novel and highly soluble hybrid conjugated organic oligomers consisting of oligodiacetylene and thiophene units have been synthesized in high purity through iterative and divergent approaches based on a sequence of Sonogashira reactions. The series of thiophene‐containing oligodiacetylenes (ThODAs) and homocoupled ThODAs (HThODAs) show—both in solution and in the solid state—a strong optical absorption, which is progressively red shifted with increasing chain length. The linear correlation of the absorption maximum (λ^A_max) with the inverse of conjugation length (CL=number of double and triple bonds) shows that the effective conjugation length of this system is extended up to at least CL=20. Furthermore, absorption measurements of dropcast thin films display not only a bathochromic shift of the absorption maxima but also a higher wavelength absorption, which is attributed to increased π–π interactions. The wavelength of the maximum fluorescence emission (λ^E_max) also increases with CL, and emission is maximal for oligomers with CL=7–12 (fluorescence quantum yield Φ_F=～0.2). Both longer and shorter oligomers display marginal emission. The calculated Stokes shifts of these planar materials are relatively large (0.4 eV) for all oligomers, and likely due to excitation to the S₂ state, thus suggesting that the presence of enyne moieties dominates the ordering of the lowest excited states. The fluorescence lifetimes (τ_F) are short (τ_F,_max=?1 ns) and closely follow the tendency obtained for the fluorescence quantum yield. The anisotropy lifetimes show a near‐linear increase with CL, in line with highly rigid oligomers.     

Theoretical study of vibrational and optical spectra of methylene-bridged oligofluorenes

We report a systematic characterization of methylene-bridged fluorene oligomers constructed of two, four, six, and eight aromatic rings using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), the ab initio approximate coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CC2) method, and semiempirical spectroscopic Zerner's intermediate neglect of differential overlap method (ZINDO/S). Geometry optimizations have been performed for the ground state and for the first electronically excited state. Vertical excitations and the fluorescence transition from the lowest excited state have been calculated. Computed ground-state geometries and infrared spectra for fluorene are in good agreement with experimental results. The RI-CC2 and ZINDO/S absorption and fluorescence spectra agree very well with the available experimental data for studied fluorene oligomers and for para oligophenylenes films. On the other hand, TDDFT calculations underestimate excitation and fluorescence energies systematically for larger systems (N > 4) in comparison with the above-mentioned results. The effective conjugation length was estimated to 13-14 repeat units. The computed radiative lifetimes for the fluorene molecule show good agreement with experiment within realistic expectations. The decrease of the radiatiave fluorescence lifetime with the increase in the conjugation length has been discussed also.     

Regiocontrolled Synthesis of Ethene‐Bridged para‐Phenylene Oligomers Based on PtII‐ and RuII‐Catalyzed Aromatization

We report the regiocontrolled syntheses of ethene‐bridged para‐phenylene oligomers in three distinct classes by using Pt^II‐ and Ru^II‐catalyzed aromatization. This synthetic approach has been developed based on twofold aromatization of the 1‐aryl‐2‐alkynylbenzene functionality, which proceeds by distinct regioselectivity for platinum and ruthenium catalysts. Variable‐temperature NMR spectra provide evidence that large arrays of these oligomers are prone to twist from planarity. The UV/Vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectra as well as the band gaps of these regularly growing arrays show a pattern of extensive π conjugation with increasing array sizes, except for in one instance.     

Effects of substitution and terminal groups for liquid-crystallinity enhanced luminescence of disubstituted polyacetylenes carrying chromophoric terphenyl pendants

Liquid-crystalline and light-emitting poly(2-alkyne)s containing terphenyl cores with hexamethyleneoxy spacers,and cyano or n-propoxy tails -[CH3C=C(CH2)6O-terphenyl-R]n-,where R=CN,CH3PA6CN,R=OCH2CH2CH3,CH3PA6OPr,were synthesized.The effects of the substitution and terminal groups on the properties,especially the mesomorphic and optical properties of the polymers,were investigated.The disubstituted acetylene monomers (CH3A6CN,CH3A6OPr) were pre- pared through multistep reaction routes and were polymerized by WCl6-Ph4Sn in good yields (up to 82%).All the monomers and CH3PA6CN exhibited the enantiotropic SmA phase with a monolayer arrangement at elevated temperatures,whereas CH3PA6OPr formed a bilayer SmAd packing arrangement.Upon excitation at 330 nm,strong UV and blue emission peaks at 362 and 411 nm were observed in CH3PA6OPr and CH3PA6CN,respectively.The luminescent properties of CH3PA6CN and CH3PA6OPr have been improved by introducing the methyl substituted group,and the quantum yield of the polymer with cyano tail CH3PA6CN (φ= 74%) was found to be higher than that of CH3PA6OPr (φ= 60%).Compared to polyacety- lene parents,both CH3PA6OPr and CH3PA6CN showed a narrower energy gap.This demonstrated that the electrical con- ductivities of polyacetylenes could be enhanced by attaching appropriate pendants to the conjugated polyene backbones.     

Silicon version of enamines: Amino-substituted disilenes by the reactions of the disilyne RSiSiR (R = SiPr[CH(SiMe3)2]2) with amines

The reaction of 1,1,4,4-tetrakis[bis(trimethylsilyl)methyl]-1,4-diisopropyltetrasila-2-yne 1 with secondary or primary amines produced amino-substituted disilenes R(R₂′N)SiSiHR 2a-d (R = SiⁱPr[CH(SiMe₃)₂]₂, R₂′NEt₂N (2a), (CH₂CH₂)₂N (2b), ^tBu(H)N (2c), and Ph₂N (2d)). Spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic analyses of 2 showed that 2a-c have a nearly coplanar arrangement of the SiSi double bond and the amino group, giving π-conjugation between the SiSi double bond and the lone pair on the nitrogen atom, whereas 2d has a nearly perpendicular arrangement precluding such conjugation. Theoretical calculations indicate that π-conjugation between the π-orbital of the SiSi double bond and the lone pair on the nitrogen atom is markedly influenced by the torsional angle between the SiSi double-bond plane and the amino-group plane.     

Molecular modelling of hyperbranched polyacetylene

Ab initio and density functional theory calculations carried out on linear and dendritic polyacetylenic (PA) oligomers of different size showed that acetylenic dendrimers are less stable than trans‐PA oligomers and that the instability increases with molecular weight reflecting the strain in crowded hyperbranched structures. However, the energy difference between linear and dendritic structure is rather small and tends to a limit with molecular weight. Twisting of the double bonds decreases the conjugation in hyperbranched PA compared to linear trans‐PA. However, the conjugation though less effective than in trans‐PA is extended up to the 4^th or 5^th generation of dendrimers. It was shown that bromine end groups strongly affect the electronic properties of acetylenic dendrimers decreasing even more the conjugation due to the sterical hindrances, however, highly polarizable bromine atoms reduced significantly the adiabatic potentials of ionization to be very close to that for trans‐PA oligomers.     

Highly blue luminescent triazine-amine conjugated oligomers

[Reaction: see text]. The novel synthetic strategy and optical properties of highly fluorescent, triazine-amine conjugated oligomers are described herein. Under basic conditions, aromatic dinitrile compounds, NC-C6H4-X-C6H4-CN (X = NMe, O, CH2), underwent cyclic trimerization of the cyano groups at both ends to give a series of triazine-containing oligomers. The oligomers can be expressed as (2n + 1) mer, where n represents the number of triazine rings in the oligomer. The absorption maximum of an amine-conjugated trimer (X = NMe, n = 1) was outstandingly red-shifted as compared with those of the other trimers (X = CH2, O). In acidic media, the amine-conjugated trimer showed two-step bathochromic shifts caused by protonation. The absorption maxima of the amine-conjugated (2n + 1) mers (X = NMe, n = 1-4) did not depend on n; instead, shoulder peaks appeared in the long-wavelength region when n 2. The oligomers involving alternate conjugation of triazines and NMe groups through phenylene groups showed strong fluorescence in chloroform. In particular, the pentamer was the most efficient blue emitter (PhiF = 0.82). The other triazine-containing oligomers (X = CH2, O) did not show fluorescence at all. Therefore, it is concluded that the emission properties are due to the strong electron-donating and accepting abilities of the NMe and triazine moieties, respectively.     

Effect of chromophore-charge distance on the energy transfer properties of water-soluble conjugated oligomers

The synthesis of 1,4-bis(9,9'-bis(3"-(N,N,N-trimethylammonium)-propyl)-2'-fluorenyl)benzene tetrabromide (C3), 1,4-bis(9,9'-bis(4"-(N,N,N-trimethylammonium)-butyl)-2'-fluorenyl)benzene tetrabromide (C4), 1,4-bis(9,9'-bis(6"-(N,N,N-trimethylammonium)-hexyl)-2'-fluorenyl)benzene tetrabromide (C6), and 1,4-bis(9,9'-bis(8"-(N,N,N-trimethylammonium)-octyl)-2'-fluorenyl)benzene tetrabromide (C8) is reported. Fluorescence energy transfer experiments between C3-C8 and the acceptors pentasodium 1,4-bis(4'(2",4"-bis(butoxysulfonate)-styryl)styryl)-2-(butoxysulfonate)-5-methoxybenzene (3), fluorescein labeled single-stranded DNA and fluorescein labeled double-stranded DNA in water, buffer, and methanol reveal the importance of hydrophobic and electrostatic forces in determining chromophore-chromophore close proximity. In water, the oligomers with longer side chain length show better energy transfer, as well as higher Stern-Volmer quenching constants (K(sv)), largely due to a stronger hydrophobic attraction between the optically active components. In methanol, the differences in energy transfer are leveled, and the oligomers with shorter side chain lengths show higher K(sv) values. Compounds C3, C4, C6, and C8 were also used to dissect the different contributors to DNA hybridization assays based on cationic conjugated polymers.     

Amplified optical nonlinearity in a self-assembled double-strand conjugated porphyrin polymer ladder

Addition of 4,4'-bipyridyl to a solution of a meso-meso butadiyne-linked conjugated zinc porphyrin polymer in chloroform results in self-assembly of a double-strand ladder complex. Excess ligand causes this duplex to dissociate into single strands. These binding processes were elucidated by near-IR and NMR titrations, as well as by gel permeation chromatography and small-angle neutron scattering. Ladder-making and -breaking are highly cooperative, with Hill coefficients of 3.0 and 3.7, respectively. Self-assembly of the ladder holds the pi-system in a planar conformation, enhancing the conjugation, resulting in a red-shift and intensification of the Q-band. Both the real and imaginary parts of the third-order susceptibility per macrocycle are amplified by ladder formation, as revealed by degenerate four-wave mixing measurements at 1064 nm. At this wavelength, the double-strand polymer complex has |chi(3)xyyx| = 6.0 x 10-17 m2 V-2 per macrocycle, compared with 6.6 x 10-18 m2 V-2 for the single-strand polymer under the same conditions.     

Redox states and associated interchain processes of thienylenevinylene oligomers

The electronic structure of successive redox states of two series of thienylenevinylene oligomers (nTVs, n=4, 5, 6, 8, and 12) that carry hexyl substituents at the alpha- or beta-positions in order to increase the solubility was investigated in detail by means of UV/ Vis/near-IR and ESR spectroscopy in solution. The nTV redox states have been fully characterized up to the dication for the shorter oligomers (n < or = 6) and up to the tetracation for the longer oligomers (n > or = 8). While the monocation radicals of the nTVs exhibit two dipole-allowed electronic transitions in the Vis/near-IR region, all the higher oxidized states invariably show a single strong absorption in the near-IR region. The electronic transitions of the various oxidized states and those of their vibronic replicas shift to lower energies with increasing conjugation length. The ESR spectra, recorded as a function of the degree of oxidation, provide evidence for the presence of electron spin in the odd-charged and the absence of spin in even-charged cations. Variable-temperature UV/Vis/near-IR and ESR spectroscopy establish that the tendency of the nTV monocation radicals to form spin-less alpha dimers in solution strongly depends on the number of solubilizing hexyl groups. While the oligomers that carry two hexyl chains at the a-positions of the terminal thiophenes (alpha-nTVs) readily form pi dimers at low temperature, the oligomers that carry hexyl groups on the beta- and beta'-positions of every thiophene ring (beta-nTVs) do not form pi dimers. Low-temperature UV/ Vis/near-IR and ESR experiments on solutions in which neutral and singly oxidized nTVs are simultaneously present, reveal the occurrence of interchain interactions between these two species, accompanied by a pronounced change in the existing disproportionation equilibrium.     

Synthesis and characterization of naphthalene diimide (NDI)-based near infrared chromophores with two-photon absorbing properties

A new series of 2,7-bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-benzo[lmn][3,8]-phenanthroline-1,3,6,8-tetraone (NDI) based pseudo-quadrupolar molecules (1-6) is presented and their two-photon absorption (2PA) cross-sections measured with the Z-scan method. The spectral properties of these compounds can be fine-tuned via modification of the donor segments. The corresponding 2PA cross-section (σ₂) values at the most readily available 800 nm excitation range from 229±15 to 1092±59 GM owing to differences in conjugation length and/or position of substitution.     

Extremely strong near-IR two-photon absorption in conjugated porphyrin dimers: quantitative description with three-essential-states model

Two-photon absorption spectra (2PA) of a series of conjugated dimers and the corresponding monomer were studied in the near-IR region. All of the dimers show very large peak cross section values, sigma(2) = (3-10) x 10(3) GM (1 GM = 1 x 10(-50) cm(4) s photon(-1)), which is several hundred times larger than that obtained for the corresponding monomer in the same region. We explain such dramatic cooperative enhancement by a combination of several factors, such as strong enhancement of the lowest one-photon Q-transition, better resonance conditions in the three-level system, dramatic enhancement of the excited-state singlet-singlet transition, and parallel arrangement of consecutive transitions in dimers, as compared to perpendicular arrangement in the monomer. We show that the absolute values of the 2PA cross section in these molecules are quantitatively described by a quantum-mechanical expression, derived for the three-level model. We also demonstrate the possibility of singlet oxygen generation upon one- and two-photon excitation of these dimers, which makes them particularly attractive for photodynamic therapy.     

Synthesis and photophysical properties of monodisperse oligo(9,9-di-n-octylfluorene-2,7-vinylene)s functionalized anthracenes

Four new well-defined monodisperse linear oligofluorenes with anthracene core An-OFVn (n = 1-4) have been synthesized through Heck and Wittig reaction. These conjugated oligomers exhibit good solubility in common organic solvents. It is found that the conjugation length of the oligomers can be extended and the formation of excimers can be suppressed with increasing the number of fluorene-vinylene units linked in the 9,10-positions of anthracene.     

Selective DNA strand scission with binuclear copper complexes: implications for an active Cu2-O2 species

A homologous series of binuclear copper(II) complexes [Cu(II)(2)(Nn)(Y)(2)](2+) (1-3) (n = 3-5 and Y = (ClO(4))(-) or (NO(3))(-)) were studied to investigate the intermediate(s) responsible for selective DNA strand scission in the presence of MPA/O(2) (MPA = 3-mercaptopropanoic acid). While the N3 complex does not react, the N4 and N5 analogues show comparable activity with strand scission occurring at a single-strand/double-strand junction. Identical reactivity is also observed in the alternate presence of H(2)O(2). Spectroscopic and reactivity studies with [Cu(II)(2)(N4)(Y)(2)](2+) (2) and H(2)O(2) are consistent with DNA oxidation mediated by formation of a side-on peroxodicopper(II) (Cu(2)-O(2)) complex.     

Gel electrophoresis method for quantitation of gamma ray induced single- and double-strand breaks in DNA irradiated in vitro

We describe a method based on gel electrophoresis for the quantitation of strand breaks in DNA and demonstrate its application to the measurement of single- and double-strand breaks formed by gamma-rays for DNA irradiated in vitro. For single-strand breaks, our data span the dose range from 0.1 to 1 Gy, while for double-strand breaks doses were from 3 to 15 Gy. In agreement with results obtained using other techniques, we find that the dose response function for single-strand breaks is linear while the dose response function for double-strand breaks is curved, indicating that it is the sum of both linear and quadratic components. We discuss factors that determine the sensitivity of the method and indicate approaches to make possible the quantitation of strand breaks in the DNA of cells irradiated with sublethal doses.