Recent Advances in the Core-Annulation of Naphthalene Diimides

This review focuses on describing all known synthetic strategies leading to core-annulation of naphthalene diimides (NDIs). Strategies presented involve the formation of four-, five- and six-membered ring annulations bearing different heteroatomic and carbocyclic derivatives, including annulenes. The core-annulation method opens the possibility for obtaining designer molecules with tuneable electronic characteristics such as a reduced energy band gap, and enhanced intermolecular overlap of π-systems that improve electronic coupling between molecules—which is highly desirable for charge transport properties summarised in the final pages for applications in electronic devices such as organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. Molecular recognition in pH and fluoride sensing, or as a DNA probe, are some of additional applications of core-annulated NDIs presented here. Additionally, recent advances in core modification of NDIs are presented, opening an entire new chemical avenue to be explored. Finally, the outlook on the future prospect of annulated NDIs in various applications is summarised.     

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.     

Synthesis and Applications of π‐Extended Naphthalene Diimides

Naphthalene diimides have received much attention due to their high electron affinities, high electron mobility, and good thermal and oxidative stability, therefore making them promising candidates for a variety of organic electronic applications. However, π‐extended naphthalene diimides with lower HOMO‐LUMO gaps and higher stability have only been developed recently because of the synthetic difficulties. This account describes recent developments in the structures, synthesis, properties, and applications of π‐extended naphthalene diimides, including pure‐carbon and heterocyclic acene diimides, from our research group.     

Influence of Solvent Polarity and Hydrogen Bonding on the Electronic Transition of Coumarin 120: A TDDFT Study

The characteristics of the electronic transition energy of Coumarin 120 (C120) and its H‐bonded complexes in various solvents have been examined by time‐dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) in combination with a polarizable continuum solvent model (PCM). Molecular structures of C120 and its H‐bonded complexes are optimized with the B3LYP method in PCM solution, and the dihedral angle H14? N13? C7? H15 is dependent on solvent polarity and the type of H‐bond. A linear correlation of the absorption maximum of C120 with the solvent polarity function is revealed with the PCM model for all solvents except DMSO. The experimental absorption maximum of C120 in nine solvents is well described by a PCM–TDDFT scheme augmented with explicit inclusion of a few H‐bonded solvent molecules, and quantitative agreement between our calculated results and experimental measurements is obtained with an average error of less than 2 nm. H‐bonding at three different sites shifts the absorption wavelength of C120 either to the blue or to the red, that is, a significant role is played by solvent molecules in the first solvation shell in determining the electronic transition energy of C120. The dependence on the H‐bonding site and solvent polarity is examined by using the Kamlet–Taft equation for solvatochromism.     

Adsorption of Naphthalene and Quinoline on Pt,Pd and Rh: A DFT Study

The adsorption of naphthalene and quinoline on Pt(111), Pd(111) and Rh(111) surfaces is studied using density functional theory. The metal surfaces are simulated by means of large confined clusters and for Pt by means of a slab with periodic boundary conditions (PBC). Calculation parameters such as basis set convergence, basis set superposition error and effects of cluster relaxation and size are analyzed in order to assess the aptness of the cluster model. For all the metals, the preferred sites of adsorption are analyzed, thus revealing their different behaviors concerning structure and stability of adsorption modes. On Pt, the molecules have the richest theoretical configurational variety. Naphthalene and quinoline are found to adsorb preferentially on di‐bridge[7] sites on the three metals, and Rh exhibits higher adsorption energies than Pt and Pd. Structural features of the adsorbed molecules are correlated to the calculated adsorption energies. The di‐bridge[7] adsorption modes are studied in deeper detail decomposing the adsorption energies in two terms arising from molecular distortion and binding interaction to the metal. Molecular distortion is correlated to the HOMO–LUMO energy gap. The larger adsorption energies found for interactions with Rh result from the lower contribution of the distortion term. Binding interactions are described by analyzing the wave functions of naphthalene and quinoline adsorbed on a subunit of the large clusters in order to reduce the complexity of the analysis. Molecular orbitals are studied using concepts of Frontier Molecular Orbitals theory. This approach reveals that in the adsorption of naphthalene and quinoline on Pt and Pd, an antibonding state lies below the Fermi energy, while on Rh all antibonding states are empty, in agreement with the larger interaction energies. In addition, further insight is gained by projecting the density of states on the d band of the clean surfaces and of the adsorbed systems. This results in the rationalization of the structural features in terms of the concepts of electronic structure theory. The distributions of electronic density are described by means of Hirshfeld charges and isosurfaces of differential electron density. The net electron transfer from the metals to the molecules for most of the sites correlates with the trends of the adsorption energies.     

Single‐Step Gas‐Phase Polyperfluoroalkylation of Naphthalene Leads to Thermodynamic Products

High‐temperature gas‐phase, solvent‐ and catalyst‐free reaction of naphthalene with an excess of R_FI reagent (R_F?CF₃, C₂F₅, n‐C₃F₇, and n‐C₄F₉) was used for the first time to produce a series of highly perfluoroalkylated naphthalene products NAPH(R_F)_n with n=2–5. Four 95+ % pure 1,3,5,7‐NAPH(R_F)₄ with R_F?CF₃, C₂F₅, n‐C₃F₇, and n‐C₄F₉ were isolated using a simple chromatography‐free procedure. These new compounds were fully characterized by ¹⁹F and ¹H NMR spectroscopy, X‐ray crystallography (for R_F?CF₃ and C₂F₅), atmospheric‐pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry, and cyclic and square‐wave voltammetry. DFT calculations confirm that the proposed synthesis yields the most stable isomers that have not been accessed by alternative preparation techniques.     

Synthetic and Structural Studies of 1,8‐Chalcogen Naphthalene Derivatives

Four novel 1,8‐disubstituted naphthalene derivatives 4 – 7 that contain chalcogen atoms occupying the peri positions have been prepared and fully characterised by using X‐ray crystallography, multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy and MS. Molecular distortion due to noncovalent substituent interactions was studied as a function of the bulk of the interacting chalcogen atoms and the size and nature of the alkyl group attached to them. X‐ray data for 4 – 7 was compared to the series of known 1,8‐bis(phenylchalcogeno)naphthalenes 1 – 3 , which were themselves prepared from novel synthetic routes. A general increase in the E???E′ distance was observed for molecules containing bulkier atoms at the peri positions. The decreased S???S distance from phenyl‐ 1 and ethyl‐ 4 analogues is ascribed to a weaker chalcogen lone pair–lone pair repulsion acting in the ethyl analogue due to the presence of two equatorial S(naphthyl) ring conformations. Two novel peri‐substituted naphthalene sulfoxides of 1 , Nap(O?SPh)(SPh) 8 and Nap(O?SPh)₂ 9 , which contain different valence states of sulfur, were prepared and fully characterised by using X‐ray crystallography and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy and MS. Molecular structures were analysed by using naphthalene ring torsions, peri‐atom displacement, splay angle magnitude, S???S interactions, aromatic ring orientations and quasi‐linear O?S???S arrangements. The axial S(naphthyl) rings in 8 and 9 are unfavourable for S???S contacts due to stronger chalcogen lone pair–lone pair repulsion. Although quasi‐linear O?S???S alignments suggest attractive interaction is conceivable, analysis of the B3LYP wavefunctions affords no evidence for direct bonding interactions between the S atoms.     

Excitation Dynamics in Hetero‐bichromophoric Calixarene Systems

In this work, the dynamics of electronic energy transfer (EET) in bichromophoric donor–acceptor systems, obtained by functionalizing a calix[4]arene scaffold with two dyes, was experimentally and theoretically characterized. The investigated compounds are highly versatile, due to the possibility of linking the dye molecules to the cone or partial cone structure of the calix[4]arene, which directs the two active units to the same or opposite side of the scaffold, respectively. The dynamics and efficiency of the EET process between the donor and acceptor units was investigated and discussed through a combined experimental and theoretical approach, involving ultrafast pump–probe spectroscopy and density functional theory based characterization of the energetic and spectroscopic properties of the system. Our results suggest that the external medium strongly determines the particular conformation adopted by the bichromophores, with a direct effect on the extent of excitonic coupling between the dyes and hence on the dynamics of the EET process itself.     

Charge transfer excitations in TDDFT: A ghost‐hunter index

This work presents a new index, M _AC, enabling the on‐the‐fly detection of ghost charge transfer (CT) states, a major problem in time‐dependent density‐functional theory calculations. This computationally inexpensive index, derived as a modification of the Mulliken estimation of transition energy for CT excitations, relies on two basic ingredients: an effective CT distance, computed using our density‐based index (D _CT), and an orbital weighted estimation of the Ionization Potential and Electron Affinity. Some model systems, representative of both intermolecular and intramolecular CT excitations, were chosen as test cases. The robustness of our approach was verified by analyzing the behavior of functionals belonging to different classes (GGA, global hybrids and range separated hybrids). The results obtained show that ghost states are correctly spotted, also in the delicate case of intramolecular excitations displaying substantial donor‐bridge‐acceptor delocalization, in a regime for which the standard Mulliken formulation attends its limits. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

On the Size Evolution of Monolayer‐Protected Gold Clusters during Ligand Place‐Exchange Reactions: The Effect of Solvents

Ligand place‐exchange (LPE) reactions are extensively applied for the post‐functionalization of monolayer‐protected gold clusters (MPCs) by using excessive incoming ligands to displace initial ones. However, the modified MPCs are often enlarged or degraded; this results in ill‐defined size‐dependent properties. The growth of MPCs essentially involves an unprotected surface that is subsequently has gold atoms added or is fused with other gold cores owing to collision. Reported herein is a guideline for the selection of solvents to suppress unwanted MPC growth. Favorable solvents are those with significant affinity to gold or with low solubility for desorbed ligands because these properties retard LPE reactions and minimize the time available for unprotected gold cores. This finding provides a general and convenient approach to regulate the size of functionalized MPCs.     

The hydration of the uranyl dication: Incorporation of solvent effects in parallel density functional calculations with the program PARAGAUSS

The parallel density functional program PARA GAUSS has been extended by a tool for computing solvent effects based on the conductor‐like screening model (COSMO). The molecular cavity in the solvent is constructed as a set of overlapping spheres according to the GEPOL algorithm. The cavity tessellation scheme and the resulting set of point charges on the cavity surface comply with the point group symmetry of the solute. Symmetry is exploited to reduce the computational effort of the solvent model. To allow an automatic geometry optimization including solvent effects, care has been taken to avoid discontinuities due to the discretization (weights of tesserae, number of spheres created by GEPOL). In this context, an alternative definition for the grid points representing the tesserae is introduced. In addition to the COSMO model, short‐range solvent effects are taken into account via a force field. We apply the solvent module to all‐electron scalar‐relativistic density functional calculations on uranyl, UO₂²⁺, and its aquo complexes in aqueous solution. Solvent effects on the geometry are very small. Based on the model [UO₂(H₂O)₅]²⁺, the solvation energy of uranyl is estimated to be about ?400 kcal/mol, in agreement with the range of experimental data. The major part of the solvation energy, about ?250 kcal/mol, is due to a donor–acceptor interaction associated with a coordination shell of five water ligands. One can interpret this large solvation energy also as a compounded effect of an effective reduction of the uranyl moiety plus a solvent polarization. The energetic effect of the structure relaxation in the solution is only about 8 kcal/mol. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2001     

Structures and electronic absorption spectra of a recently synthesised class of photodynamic therapy agents

A theoretical study was performed on a novel class of boron-containing molecules (various substituted tetraarylazadipyrromethenes), which show in vitro activity for application in photodynamic therapy. Geometric optimisation of the structures for the singlet and triplet electronic states was carried out on compounds in vacuo at the density functional level of theory, by employing the PBE0 hybrid functional and the split-valence plus polarisation basis set. The absorbance properties in the UV-visible region were examined by means of time-dependent density functional response theory, using the same functional as mentioned above. To evaluate the influence of the solvent on the excitation energies, the continuum polarisable model was applied. Calculated electronic excitations, such as those regarding the Q-like band, were found to be in good agreement (within 0.01-0.1 eV) with experimental values and experimental trends on changing both the substituents and solvent.     

Modelling zwitterions in solution: 3-fluoro-γ-aminobutyric acid (3F-GABA)

The conformations and relative stabilities of folded and extended 3-fluoro-γ-aminobutyric acid (3F-GABA) conformers were studied using explicit solvation models. Geometry optimisations in the gas phase with one or two explicit water molecules favour folded and neutral structures containing intramolecular NH···O-C hydrogen bonds. With three or five explicit water molecules zwitterionic minima are obtained, with folded structures being preferred over extended conformers. The stability of folded versus extended zwitterionic conformers increases on going from a PCM continuum solvation model to the microsolvated complexes, though extended structures become less disfavoured with the inclusion of more water molecules. Full explicit solvation was studied with a hybrid quantum-mechanical/molecular-mechanical (QM/MM) scheme and molecular dynamics simulations, including more than 6000 TIP3P water molecules. According to free energies obtained from thermodynamic integration at the PM3/MM level and corrected for B3LYP/MM total energies, the fully extended conformer is more stable than folded ones by about -4.5 kJ mol(-1). B3LYP-computed (3)J(F,H) NMR spin-spin coupling constants, averaged over PM3/MM-MD trajectories, agree best with experiment for this fully extended form, in accordance with the original NMR analysis. The seeming discrepancy between static PCM calculations and experiment noted previously is now resolved. That the inexpensive semiempirical PM3 method performs so well for this archetypical zwitterion is encouraging for further QM/MM studies of biomolecular systems.     

Analytical derivative techniques for TDDFT excited-state properties: Theory and application

We review our recent work on the methodology development of the excited-state properties for the molecules in vacuum and liquid solution.The general algorithms of analytical energy derivatives for the specific properties such as the first and second geometrical derivatives and IR/Raman intensities are demonstrated in the framework of the time-dependent density functional theory(TDDFT).The performance of the analytical approaches on the calculation of excited-state energy Hessian has also been shown.It is found that the analytical approaches are superior to the finite-difference method on the computational accuracy and efficiency.The computational cost for a TDDFT excited-state Hessian calculation is only 2–3 times as that for the DFT ground-state Hessian calculation.With the low computational complexity of the developed analytical approaches,it becomes feasible to realize the large-scale numerical calculations on the excited-state vibrational frequencies,vibrational spectroscopies and the electronic-structure parameters which enter the spectrum calculations of electronic absorption and emission,and resonance Raman spectroscopies for medium-to large-sized systems.     

Why do Cationic Hydridoiridium(III) Complexes with β‐Aminophosphane Ligands Favour the Transfer Hydrogenation of Ketones over the Direct “H2‐Hydrogenation”?—A Computational Approach

Density functional theory and ab initio molecular orbital calculations show that the observed inability of cationic hydridoiridium(III) complexes with beta-aminophosphane ligands to catalyse the direct hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds with dihydrogen ("H2-hydrogenation") in contrast to their ruthenium(II) equivalents is due to the inability of H2 to displace a coordinated solvent molecule from an intermediate hydrido complex.     

Homolytic versus Heterolytic Dissociation of Alkalimetal Halides: The Effect of Microsolvation

Herein we report density functional calculations of homolytic and heterolytic dissociation energies of the diatomic alkalimetal halides MX (M=Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs and X=F, Cl, Br, I, and At) and their corresponding microsolvated structures MX?(H₂O)_n (n=1 to 4). Our results show that the homolytic dissociation energy of the MX?(H₂O)_n species increases with the number of water molecules involved in the microsolvated salts. On the other hand, the heterolytic dissociation energy follows exactly the opposite trend. As a result, while for the isolated diatomic alkalimetal halides, homolytic dissociation is always favored over heterolytic dissociation, the latter is preferred for CsF and CsCl already for n=2, and for n=4 it is the preferential mode of dissociation for more than half of the species studied.     

异构的蒽乙烯单钌配合物:合成与表征、电化学、光谱性质及理论计算

通过9-蒽乙炔基及2-蒽乙炔基分别与有机金属氢化物羰基氯氢三(三苯基膦)钌(Ⅱ)[Ru HCl(CO)(PPh_3)_3]反应,再使用三甲基膦(PMe_3)交换配体,合成并表征了具有同分异构结构的蒽乙烯单钌配合物1和2,其中配合物2的结构还经X射线单晶衍射的确证,结合理论计算研究了其电学及光学性质。密度泛函理论(DFT)优化配合物1和2的电子结构显示,在两个异构体中钌乙烯基与蒽配体呈现明显不同的构型,前线分子轨道图显示最高已占分子轨道(HOMO)上电子离域于整个分子骨架,其中以配体蒽乙烯基所占比例为90%,表明蒽乙烯基配体参与该配合物氧化进程的比例很大。电化学实验结果表明,配合物1的氧化还原可逆性明显低于配合物2。配合物1和2及前体分子1b和2b的电子吸收光谱结果表明,配合物与前体分子相比光谱性质呈现明显变化,其在紫外区域的强吸收峰明显减弱,而在长波长方向均出现了弱而宽的吸收峰,该吸收峰已经通过含时密度泛函理论(TDDFT)计算将其归属于π→π*以及金属配位电荷转移(MLCT)跃迁吸收,均来自于HOMO→LUMO跃迁产生。荧光发射光谱揭示金属配位之后其荧光强度和荧光量子产率明显降低。CCDC:1488284,2。