Synthesis and photophysical properties of porphyrins with fluorenyl pendant arms

Symmetrical-A₄-porphyrins bearing four fluorene donor moieties TOFP (5,10,15,20-tetra(4-(2 methyloxyfluorenyl)phenyl)porphyrin) as well as eight fluorene arms OOFP (5,10,15,20-octa(3,5-(2-methyloxyfluorenyl)phenyl)porphyrin) were synthesized and characterized. Preliminary photophysical properties are reported. In comparison to the reference tetraphenylporphyrin TPP, the luminescence properties are slightly improved. The fluorescence quantum yields of tetrafluorenylporphyrin TOFP (1) and octafluorenylporphyrin OOFP (2) are 0.10 and 0.13, respectively.     

Synthesis of platinum complexes of fluorenyl-substituted porphyrins used as phosphorescent dyes for solution-processed organic light-emitting devices

Platinum(II) complexes of symmetrical meso-substituted A₄-porphyrins bearing four fluorene donor moieties 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-(2 methyloxyfluorenyl)phenyl)porphyrin, referred to as TOFP, or eight fluorene arms, 5,10,15,20-octa(3,5-(2 methyloxyfluorenyl)phenyl)porphyrin, OOFP, were synthesised and characterised. The photophysical properties of the new compounds are reported and compared to those of PtTPP and PtTFP {TPP=tetraphenylporphyrin and TFP=tetra(2-fluorenyl)porphyrin}. The luminescence quantum yields of PtTOFP and PtOOFP are 11% and 4.2%, respectively, compared to 4.6% for the reference PtTPP and only 2.0% for the previously studied compound PtTFP. The electronic and optoelectronic behaviour of solution-processed organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) are reported that incorporate these platinum porphyrins as phosphorescent dyes doped into different layers of a polyvinylcarbazole (PVK) host.     

A stilbene dendrimer with caltrop-shaped dendrons: synthesis and photophysical studies

A topologically new stilbene dendrimer is prepared using rigid caltrop-shaped dendrons derived from tetraphenylmethane. The dendrimer by virtue of its highly branched periphery, showed a strong emissive property with little excimer formation, even at the first generation.     

New tetra-aryl and bi-aryl porphyrins bearing 5,15-related fluorenyl pendants: the influence of arylation on fluorescence

The new tetra-aryl trans-A₂B₂-porphyrin with two fluoren-2-yl and two phenyl groups at the meso-positions has been synthesized and characterized, together with the analogous bi-aryl trans-A₂-porphyrin incorporating only the fluorenyl groups. The photophysical properties of these new compounds in solution are reported. The two additional phenyl groups in the A₂B₂ porphyrin stabilize the first excited singlet state by approximately 500 cm⁻¹ compared to the A₂ system, as revealed by the red-shift of the absorption Q bands and of the fluorescence emission bands. Both compounds display enhanced emission quantum yields compared to tetraphenylporphyrin: the augmentation is higher for the tetra-aryl than for the bi-aryl system, although not as high as for tetrafluorenylporphyrin. Fluorescence lifetime measurements of the series of four compounds suggest that the trends can be interpreted in terms of the larger influence of fluorenyl over phenyl groups in increasing the fluorescence radiative rate constant of the porphyrin, k_f.     

Design,photophysical properties,and applications of fluorene-based fluorophores in two-photon fluorescence bioimaging: A review

Two-photon fluorescence microscopy (2PFM) emerged as a powerful alternative to conventional one-photon microscopy. 2PFM typically uses two near-infrared (NIR) photons to excite fluorescent dyes, which minimizes light scattering in biological samples. Multiphoton absorption also suppresses background signal and autofluorescence from tissues and allows to achieve higher 3D resolution images with low photodamage and photobleaching. Fluorene dyes possess distinct properties that meet the strict criteria of probes used for 2PFM such as enhanced solubility, photostability, and two-photon absorption cross-section. The fluorene molecule also includes many active positions that allow versatile synthesis, selective functionalization, bioconjugation, and tuning solubility. These properties have led to reporting several fluorene probes including monomers, polymers, and dendrimers with important uses in understanding molecular dynamics and bioimaging. The current review presents a compact summary of fluorene-based fluorophores for 2PFM bioimaging applications, shedding light on structure-photophysical property relationships in fluorenes and polyaromatic probe designs.     

含硫甲基的芴-苯结构化合物的合成、结构和性能

通过双Suzuki偶联反应一步合成了2种含硫甲基的芴-苯结构化合物2,7-二(4-硫甲基苯基)-9,9-二己基-芴(a)和2,7-二(2,6-二甲基-4-硫甲基苯基)-9,9-二己基-芴(b).紫外-可见和荧光光谱以及分子轨道理论计算表明,位阻较小的化合物a具有更好的共轭性能,其最大紫外-可见吸收波长达到351nm,比两端苯基含4个邻位取代基的化合物b红移了38nm;化合物a的最大荧光发射波长达到410nm,为典型的蓝光化合物,比化合物b红移了43nm.化合物a和b都具有较高的荧光量子产率,分别为59%和65%,在光电材料方面具有潜在的应用前景.     

Fluorescent porphyrins trapped in monolithic SiO2 gels

Macrocyclic molecules play key roles in basic processes in living organisms. Free bases and the metal complexes of porphyrins exhibit a wide range of important optical properties. In these systems the position of the most intense absorption band depends on the peripheral substituents of the macrocycle. Sol-gel methods have generally allowed the successful trapping of porphyrins into inorganic networks. The materials obtained are strong and transparent monolithic gels, but in the majority of cases the red fluorescence of the porphyrins disappears with ageing. We have evaluated the effect of the type and spatial disposition of the substituents in the porphyrin macrocycle periphery on key optical properties, with particular emphasis on the conservation of red fluorescence when porphyrins are simply trapped or covalently bonded to the inorganic matrix. Here, we report the use of the sol-gel procedures to obtain monolithic gels with the hydroxyl- or amino-substituted α, β, γ, δ-tetraphenylporphyrins, (H₂T(S)PP), simply trapped or covalently bonded to the SiO₂ matrix.     

Synthesis of isomeric coumarin-fluorene hybrids by photocyclization and the photophysical features

We prepared isomeric compounds 2a and 2b having fused skeletons of coumarin and fluorene by photochemical cyclization of olefin 1. They were successfully separated by chromatography, and characterized by NMR spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic analyses. The molecular structure of 2a was nonplanar due to the repulsion between the carbonyl group of the coumarin moiety and the methylene group at 9-position on the fluorene skeleton whilst that of 2b was planar. They showed different absorption and fluorescence features in solution whereas their spectral profiles of triplet–triplet absorption and phosphorescence were similar to each other.     

Design and photophysical properties of new RGD targeted tetraphenylchlorins and porphyrins

The synthesis, characterization, fluorescence, and singlet oxygen quantum yields of tetraphenylporphyrin and tetraphenylchlorin coupled to RGD type peptide are reported. C-terminus protected RGD derivatives were synthesized in liquid phase at the gram scale via an efficient convergent process. C-terminus unprotected RGD derivatives were synthesized on solid support. The UV-vis, fluorescence, and singlet emission spectra showed that the photophysical properties of the photosensitizers were retained in all compounds and some of them are very promising for potential PDT applications.     

Starburst substituted hexaazatriphenylene compounds: synthesis, photophysical and electrochemical properties

Starburst-substituted hexaazatriphenylene compounds have been designed and synthesized by introducing various peripheral aryl substituents to the central heterocyclic core. The effects of various substituent groups on the photophysical and electrochemical properties of the substituted hexaazatriphenylene have been investigated. Significant red-shifts of the absorption peak (from 413 nm to 530 nm) and emission peak (from 432 nm to 700 nm) were observed when the electron-donating ability of the aryl substituents was increased, corresponding to a decrease in the band gap from 2.90 eV to 2.05 eV. Introducing bulky substituents with weak electron-donating ability enhances the fluorescence quantum yield from 23% to 87%. In contrast, incorporating aryl substituents with strong electron-donating ability decreases the fluorescence quantum yield. Also, due to the extended conjugation between the aryl substituents and the hexaazatriphenylene core, the reduction potentials of the compounds were reduced and the LUMO levels were thus increased.     

Fluorenyl hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene-dendritic oligothiophene hybrid materials: synthesis, photophysical properties, self-association behaviour and device performance

Apart from molecular properties, intermolecular forces play a vital role in defining the performance of organic electronic devices. This is particularly relevant in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells in which the arrangement of electron-donor and -acceptor materials into distinct crystalline phases of ideal size and distribution can lead to better power conversion efficiencies. In this study, a series of fluorenyl hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronenes (FHBC) decorated with thiophene dendrons (DOT) of variable size was obtained by using a convergent synthetic approach. With such variety of molecular sizes and shapes in hand, the objective of this study is to highlight the relationships between molecular properties, bulk properties and device performance. Correlations between π-π stacking ability and dendrimer generation were established from self-organisation studies in solution and solid state. The synergistic combination of molecular organisation at the nanoscale and photophysical characteristics derived from the FHBC and DOT moieties leads to a notable improvement of the photovoltaic performance.     

Polymer-supported synthesis of mono-substituted porphyrins

Anchoring of substituted benzaldehydes to soluble and insoluble polymers allows for the synthesis of mono-substituted tetraarylporphyrins without the production of di-, tri-, and tetra-substituted porphyrin side products. The exclusion of the aforementioned side products during the synthesis of mono-substituted tetraarylporphyrin acids greatly reduced the complexity during purification of the product.     

Benzophenone and zinc(II) phthalocyanine dichromophores-labeled poly (aryl ether) dendrimer: synthesis,characterization and photoinduced energy transfer

A series of benzophenone chromospheres and zinc(II) phthalocyanine dichromophores labeled poly (aryl benzyl ether) dendrimer (G_n-DZnPc(BP)_8n, n = 1?2) were synthesized. Their structures were characterized by elemental analysis, ¹H NMR, IR, UV–vis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Their photophysical properties were examined by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence methods. Both the poly (aryl benzyl ether) dendrimer and BP terminal chromophores had a significant effect on photophysical properties of the zinc(II) phthalocyanine core. Time-resolved spectroscopic measurements indicated that the lifetime of benzophenone (donor) chromophore was longer than that of the zinc(II) phthalocyanine (acceptor). The fluorescence of the peripheral benzophenone chromophores was quenched by the phthalocyanine group attached to the focal point. All of these observations suggest that an intramolecular singlet energy transfer occurs in G_n-DZnPc(BP)_8n molecules. The light-harvesting abilities of these molecules increased with generations due to an increase in the number of benzophenone chromophores. The energy transfer efficiencies were ca. 0.49 and 0.68 for generations 1 and 2, respectively, and the rate constants of the singlet-singlet energy transfer were ca. 10⁸ s^?1. The rate constants changed inconspicuously with increase of dendron generations. The intramolecular singlet-singlet energy transfer is proposed to proceed mainly via a Förster-type interaction mechanism involving the dendrimer backbone as a scaffold to hold the peripheral benzophenone chromophores and the phthalocyanine core together. This dendrimer was an effective new energy transmission complex with high efficiency and could be used as a potential light-harvesting system.     

Suppression of aggregation-induced fluorescence quenching in pyrene derivatives: photophysical properties and crystal structures

Two new pyrene-based fluorophores, namely 1-[4-(2,2-diphenylvinyl)phenyl]pyrene (PVPP) and 1,3,6,8-tetrakis[4-(2,2-diphenylvinyl)phenyl]pyrene (TPVPP), were synthesized through Suzuki coupling reaction and well characterized. PVPP successfully suppresses the fluorescence quenching of pyrene units in the solid state, displaying aggregation-induced enhanced emission. Despite the same substituent, TPVPP shows a different fluorescent behavior. On the basis of the crystal structures, the distinct optical behavior is discussed and clarified. The intermolecular C-H?π interaction has a dramatic effect on their photophysical properties in the solid state.     

Fluorescent sensor of fluorene derivatives having phosphonic acid as a fluorogenic ionophore: synthesis and static quenched properties for Fe(III)

A series of novel fluorene derivatives containing –PO(OH)₂ (1, 2), –HS (3), and –N⁺ (CH₃)₃ (4) were synthesized and only phosphonic-functionalized fluorene derivatives can detect Fe³⁺ with high selectivity over other metal ions. The fluorescence quenching of 1 and 2 with titration Fe³⁺ in water–DMF solution fits the Perrin model of static quenching. Spectral analysis showed that Fe³⁺ bound with fluorene-based chemosensor through the O-atoms at the phosphonic group to form nonfluorescent complexes. The binding ratio was estimated by the Job plot and the trace levels of iron in samples were successfully monitored.     

An ultrasonic wave-assisted synthesis of meso-amidinophenyl substituted porphyrins

With the aid of an ultrasonic irradiation, meso-amidinophenyl substituted porphyrins were prepared by the reaction of lithium amide and meso-cyanophenyl porphyrins. This approach can give the derivatized porphyrins in very high yields and very short reaction times as compared to the conventional thermal method.     

D-A structured high efficiency solid luminogens with tunable emissions: Molecular design and photophysical properties

The combination of an electron-accepting unit with aggregation-induced emission features and varying electron-donating arylamines yields high efficiency solid luminogens with tunable emissions from green to red.     

Carbazole-linked porphyrin dimers for organic light emitting diodes: synthesis and initial photophysical studies

Carbazole linked porphyrin dimers were synthesized in good yields via stepwise Suzuki coupling reactions using bromoporphyrins and borylated carbazoles as the precursors, the latter of which were synthesized via known procedures from biphenyl derivatives. For comparative purposes porphyrin-carbazole monomers were synthesized. Single layer organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) were created to demonstrate the optical properties of these materials. Light emission from these carbazole substituted porphyrins showed better results compared to previously examined bromo substituted porphyrins with better electroluminescence and lower turn-on voltages. Dimers exhibited turn-on voltages of 3 V compared to 6 V for monomeric porphyrin-carbazoles.     

Design and synthesis of core and peripherally functionalized with 1,8-naphthalimide units fluorescent PAMAM dendron as light harvesting antenna

This paper reports on the design, synthesis and spectral characteristics of a novel PAMAM dendron (7), core and peripherally functionalized with 1,8-naphthalimide fluorophores. The novel compound 7 was configured as light harvesting antenna where the system surface is functionalized with “donor” dyes (blue emitting 1,8-naphthalimides) that are capable of absorbing light and efficiently transferring the energy to a single “acceptor” dye (yellow-green emitting 1,8-naphthalimide) in the focal point of the dendron. The overlap between the emission of the donor and the absorbance of the acceptor was more than 95%. As a result of the energy transfer, the blue emission intensity of the periphery in the donor–acceptor system was decreased with 93%, while the yellow-green core fluorescence enhancement (λ_ex = 360 nm) of the system was more than 26 times with respect to the fluorescence intensity of the comparative yellow-green emitting 1,8-naphthalimide. This indicates efficient energy transfer between the donor and acceptor dye fragments and that the novel compound 7 would be able to act as a highly efficient light harvesting antenna.     

DIPEA catalyzed step-by-step synthesis and photophysical properties of thieno[2,3-b]pyridine derivatives

A series of novel 5,6-disubstituted ethyl 3-amino-4-cyanothieno[2,3-b]pyridine-2-carboxylates was synthesized. The reaction conditions were thoroughly studied and intermediate ethyl 2-((3,4-dicyanopyridin-2-yl)thio)acetates were successfully isolated in good yields. For all synthesized compounds, spectral-fluorescent properties were carefully investigated and correlation thereof with chemical structure was found.