Protochlorophyllide a: A Comprehensive Photophysical Picture

The photochemistry of protochlorophyllide a, a precursor in the biosynthesis of chlorophyll and substrate of the light regulated enzyme protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase, is investigated by pump‐probe spectroscopy. Upon excitation into the lowest lying Q‐band the light induced changes are recorded over a wide range of probe wavelengths in the visible and near‐IR region between 500 and 1000 nm. Following excitation, an initial ultrafast 450 fs process is observed related to the motion out of the Franck‐Condon region on the excited state surface; thus directly unraveling previous suggestions based on time‐resolved fluorescence measurements (ChemPhysChem 2006 , 7, 1727–1733). Furthermore, the data reveals a previously concealed photointermediate, whose formation on a nanosecond timescale matches the overall fluorescence decay and is assigned to a triplet state. The implications of this finding with respect to the photochemistry of NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (POR) are discussed.     

Synthesis and Solution Studies of Silver(I)‐Assembled Porphyrin Coordination Cages

The synthesis and the characterization of two porphyrin coordination cages are reported. The design of the cage formation is based on the coordination of silver(I) ions to the pyridyl units of 3‐pyridyl appended porphyrins. ¹H/¹⁰⁹Ag NMR spectroscopy, and diffusion‐ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) experiments demonstrate that both the free base porphyrin 2H‐TPyP and the Zn‐porphyrin Zn‐TPyP form the closed cages, [ Ag₄(2H‐TPyP)₂ ]⁴⁺ and [ Ag₄(Zn‐TPyP)₂ ]⁴⁺, respectively, upon addition of two equivalents of Ag⁺. The complexation processes are characterized in details by means of absorption and emission spectroscopy in diluted CH₂Cl₂ solutions. The data are discussed in the frame of the point‐dipole exciton coupling theory; the two porphyrin monomers, in fact, experience a rigid face‐to‐face geometry in the cages and a weak inter‐porphyrin exciton coupling. An intermediate species is observed, for Zn‐TPyP , in a porphyrin/Ag⁺ stoichiometric ratio of about 1:0.5 and is tentatively ascribed to an oblique open form. The occurrence of a photoinduced electron‐transfer reaction within the cages is excluded on the basis of the experimental outcomes and thermodynamic evaluations. Photophysical experiments evidence different reactivities of singlet and triplet excited states in the assemblies. A lower fluorescence quantum yield and triplet formation is discussed in relation to the constrained geometry of the complexes. Unusually long triplet excited state lifetimes are measured for the assemblies.     

The Hairpin Furans: Easily Prepared Hybrids of Helicenes and Twisted Acenes

The thermal reaction of a cyclopentadienone with 6,6′‐dimethoxy‐5,5′‐binaphthoquinone gives, in a single step, a molecular ribbon consisting of two twisted aromatic systems fused to a heteropentahelicene. Such molecules constitute a new class of chiral polycyclic aromatic compounds, the “hairpin furans”.     

Gold(II) Phthalocyanine Revisited: Synthesis and Spectroscopic Properties of Gold(III) Phthalocyanine and an Unprecedented Ring‐Contracted Phthalocyanine Analogue

In 1965, gold(II) phthalocyanine (AuPc, 1 ) was described to be synthesized from unsubstituted 1,3‐diiminoisoindoline and gold powder or AuBr. Compound 1 has been regarded as a rare example of a paramagnetic gold(II) complex. However, its chemistry, especially the oxidation state of the central gold ion, has not been previously explored due to the inherent insolubility of 1 caused by its unsubstituted structure. In our attempt to synthesize soluble AuPcs by using 5,6‐di‐substituted 1,3‐diiminoisoindolines, gold(III) phthalocyanine chloride ( 3 ) and a gold(III) complex of an unprecedented ring‐contracted phthalocyanine analogue ([18]tribenzo‐pentaaza‐triphyrin(4,1,1), 4 ) were isolated. With this discrepant result from the original literature in hand, a reinvestigation of the original AuPc synthesis by using unsubstituted 1,3‐diiminoisoindoline and various gold salts (including gold powder and AuBr) was performed, finding that only unsubstituted analogues of 3 and 4 or free‐base phthalocyanine were obtained. No gold(II)‐containing species could be isolated.     

Synthesis,Structure, and Electronic Properties of Extended π‐Conjugated Group 6 Fischer Alkoxy–Bis(carbene) Complexes

The synthesis, structure and electronic properties of novel Group 6 Fischer alkoxy–bis(carbene) complexes are reported. The UV/Vis spectra of these species display two main absorptions at approximately 350 and 550 nm attributable to a ligand‐field (LF) and metal‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer (MLCT) transitions, respectively. The planarity of the system and the cooperative effect of both pentacarbonyl metal moieties greatly enhance the conjugation between the group at the end of the spacer and the metal carbene fragment provoking dramatic changes in the LF and MLCT absorptions. This is in contrast to related push–pull Fischer monocarbenes, where the position of the MLCT band remains mostly unaltered regardless the substituent attached to the donor fragment. In addition, the MLCT maxima can be tuned with subtle modifications of the electronic nature of the central aryl fragment in the novel A–π‐D–π‐A (A=acceptor, D=donor) systems. DFT and time‐dependent (TD) DFT quantum chemical calculations at the B3LYP/def2‐SVP level have also been performed to determine the minimum‐energy molecular structure of this family of compounds and to analyse the nature of the vertical one‐electron excitations associated to the observed UV/Vis absorptions as well as to rationalise their electrochemical behaviour. The ability of tuning up the electronic properties of the compounds studied herein may be of future use in material chemistry.     

Synthesis,Photophysical, and Electrochemical Properties of Ruthenium(II) Polypyridyl Complexes containing Open‐Chain Crown Ether

Four polypyridyl bridging ligands BL¹⁻⁴ containing open‐chain crown ether, where BL¹⁻³ formed by the condensation of 4,5‐diazafluoren‐9‐oxime with diethylene glycol di‐p‐tosylate, triethylene glycol di‐p‐tosylate, and tetraethylene glycol di‐p‐tosylate, respectively. BL⁴ formed by the reaction of 4‐(1,10‐phenanthrolin‐5‐ylimino)methylphenol with triethylene glycol di‐p‐tosylate, have been synthesized. Reaction of Ru(bpy)₂Cl₂·2H₂O with BL, respectively, afforded four bimetallic complexes [(bpy)₂RuBL¹⁻⁴Ru(bpy)₂]⁴⁺ as [PF₆]⁻ salts. Electrochemistry of these complexes is consistent with one Ru^II‐based oxidation and several ligand‐based reductions. These complexes show metal‐to‐ligand charge transfer absorption at 439‐452 nm and emission at 570‐597 nm.     

Copper(II) Supramolecular Complex: Synthesis,Crystal Structure,and Electrochemical Property

A novel complex {Cu(Bobb)₂](pic)₂}₂ [pic = picrate anion, Bobb = 1,3‐bis(1‐benzylbenzimidazol‐2‐yl)‐2‐oxopropane] was synthesized and characterized by means of elemental analyses and electrical conductivity. The crystal structure of the copper complex has been determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. A study of the electrochemistry of the title compound was carried out by using cyclic voltammetry. It revealed that the copper complex exhibits a quasi‐reversible redox process. The X‐ray structure of the above complex shows that the unit cell consists of two centrosymmetric, crystallographically independent molecules, in which the copper(II) ions have the same coordination environment and should be described as distorted octahedron. The complex is formed of { ··· Cu(2) ··· Cu(1) ··· Cu(1) ··· }_∞ supramolecular configuration by π ··· π stacking interactions between the benzimidazole rings. The complex was also identified by IR and electronic spectroscopy.     

Robust Tris‐Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Phosphors with Ligands for Effective Charge Carrier Injection/Transport: Synthesis,Redox, Photophysical,and Electrophosphorescent Behavior

With the target to design and develop new functionalized green triplet light emitters that possess distinctive electronic properties for robust and highly efficient phosphorescent organic light‐emitting diodes (PHOLEDs), a series of bluish–green to yellow–green phosphorescent tris‐cyclometalated homoleptic iridium(III) complexes [Ir(ppy‐X)₃] (X=SiPh₃, GePh₃, NPh₂, POPh₂, OPh, SPh, SO₂Ph, Hppy=2‐phenylpyridine) have been synthesized and fully characterized by spectroscopic, redox, and photophysical methods. By chemically manipulating the lowest triplet‐state character of Ir(ppy)₃ with some functional main‐group 14–16 moieties on the phenyl ring of ppy, a new family of metallophosphors with high‐emission quantum yields, short triplet‐state lifetimes, and good hole‐injection/hole‐transporting or electron‐injection/electron‐transporting properties can be obtained. Remarkably, all of these Ir^III complexes show outstanding electrophosphorescent performance in multilayer doped devices that surpass that of the state‐of‐the‐art green‐emitting dopant Ir(ppy)₃. The devices described herein can reach the maximum external quantum efficiency (η_ext) of 12.3 %, luminance efficiency (η_L) of 50.8 cd A^?1, power efficiency (η_p) of 36.9 Lm W^?1 for [Ir(ppy‐SiPh₃)₃], 13.9 %, 60.8 cd A^?1, 49.1 Lm W^?1 for [Ir(ppy‐NPh₂)₃], and 10.1 %, 37.6 cd A^?1, 26.1 Lm W^?1 for [Ir(ppy‐SO₂Ph)₃]. These results provide a completely new and effective strategy for carrier injection into the electrophosphor to afford high‐performance PHOLEDs suitable for various display applications.     

9,10‐Diaminoanthracenes Revisited: The Influence of N‐Substituents on Their Electronic States

The electronic and molecular structures of 9,10‐diamino‐substituted anthracenes with different N‐substituents have been re‐examined. In particular, different N‐substituents influence both the electronic and molecular structures of the oxidized species of 9,10‐diaminoanthracenes. The anthrylene moiety of 9,10‐bis(N,N‐di(p‐anisyl)amino)anthracene retains its planarity during the course of two successive one‐electron oxidations, whereas 9,10‐bis(N,N‐dimethylamino)anthracene and 9,10‐bis(N‐p‐anisyl‐N‐methylamino)anthracene undergo a substantial structural change to a butterfly‐like structure through a two‐electron oxidation process. The structural changes observed for the oxidized states are ascribed to significant differences in the frontier molecular orbitals of the above‐mentioned three kinds of 9,10‐diaminoanthracenes due to different extents of mixing between the amine‐localized and anthrylene‐localized orbitals.     

The Control of Conjugation Lengths and Steric Hindrance to Modulate Aggregation‐Induced Emission with High Electroluminescence Properties and Interesting Optical Properties

A series of novel AIE‐active (aggregation‐induced emission) molecules, named SAF‐2‐TriPE, SAF‐3‐TriPE, and SAF‐4‐TriPE, were designed and synthesized through facile reaction procedures. We found that incorporation of the spiro‐acridine‐fluorene (SAF) group, which is famous for its excellent hole‐transporting ability and rigid structure, at different substitution positions on the phenyl ring affected the conjugation lengths of these compounds. Consequently, we have obtained molecules with different emission colors and properties without sacrificing good EL (electroluminescence) characteristics. Accordingly, a device that was based on compound SAF‐2‐TriPE displayed superior EL characteristics: it emitted green light with η_{c, max}=10.5 cd A^?1 and η_{ext, max}=4.22 %, whereas a device that was based on compound SAF‐3‐TriPE emitted blue‐green light with η_{c, max}=3.9 cd A^?1 and η_{ext, max}= 1.71 %. These compounds also displayed different AIE performances: when the fraction of water in the THF solutions of these compounds was increased, we observed a significant improvement in the Φ_F of compounds SAF‐2‐TriPE and SAF‐3‐TriPE; in contrast, compound SAF‐4‐TriPE showed an abnormal phenomenon, in that it emitted a strong fluorescence in both pure THF solution and in the aggregated state without a significant change in Φ_F. Overall, this systematic study confirmed a relationship between the regioisomerism of the luminophore structure and its AIE activity and the resulting electroluminescent performance in non‐doped devices.     

Difference in the Photophysical Properties of a Perylenetetracarboxylic Diimide Dimer and a Hexamer Linked by the Same Hexaphenylbenzene Group

A perylenetetracarboxylic diimide hexamer (6PDI) and a dimer (2PDI) linked with the same hexaphenylbenzene group were prepared, and the structures were fully characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Due to the similar molecular structure of these two compounds, similar interactions between/among the PDI subunits as well as similar photophysical properties are expected. However, the stationary UV/Vis absorption spectra reveal that the interactions among/between the PDI subunits in 6PDI are significantly stronger than those in 2PDI. This can be attributed to blocked rotation along the long axis of the PDI subunits in 6PDI due to steric hindrance of the two neighboring PDI subunits. The stronger interactions among the PDI subunits in 6PDI lead to long‐wavelength emission, which can be assigned to “excimer‐like” excited states. A similar conclusion can also be deduced from the fluorescence quantum yields and the fluorescence lifetimes. Electrochemical studies revealed that interactions between/among the PDI subunits in both 2PDI and 6PDI are still in the range of weak interactions. Ultrafast transient anisotropy decay dynamics revealed that excitation delocalization between the PDI subunits within 2PDI and 6PDI is quick and efficient. More interestingly, delocalization is faster in 6PDI than in 2PDI, probably because of the stronger interactions among the PDI subunits in the former.     

Ferrocenylethynyl‐Terminated Azobenzenes: Synthesis,Electrochemical, and Photoisomerization Studies

Ferrocenylethynyl‐terminated derivatives 8 – 12 have been synthesized and characterized by electrochemistry and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The electrochemical and photophysical studies indicate that the electronic communication in ferrocenylethynyl‐substituted derivatives is strongly influenced by the substituted position of the ferrocenylethynyl moiety. In situ electrochemical oxidation or chemical oxidation caused a characteristically weak ligand‐to‐metal charge‐transfer (LMCT) band to appear at 700–1000 nm. Subsequent electrochemical reduction or chemical reduction recovered the most of the original curve and the color of the solution as well. Among the derivatives, compound 8 exhibits the highest cis/trans molar ratio (64:36) in the photostationary state (PSS) upon light irradiation at 365 nm. Compound 8 exhibits excellent fatigue resistance and reversibility under several repeated reversible isomerization cycles.     

First Tribo-Excited Chemical Reaction of a Stacked Lanthanide Coordination Polymer with an in Situ Reaction Monitor

A tribo-excited chemical reaction using a stacked lanthanide coordination polymer is demonstrated for the first time. The polymer is composed of a Eu^III ion, hexafluoroacetylacetonato ligands, and an anthracene-based phosphine oxide bridge. The tightly stacked structure with hydrogen bonding was characterized by X-ray crystal structure analysis. The mechanical stimulus leads to tribo-excited oxidation in the Eu^III coordination polymer. Electron ionization mass spectroscopy and photo-spectroscopic analysis reveal that the chemical product afforded by tribo-oxidation is different from that obtained by photo-oxidation.     

Synthesis,Electrochemistry, and Spectroscopy of Blue Platinum(II) Polyynes and Diynes

The smallest band gap observed so far (1.77 eV) for an organometallic polymer is exhibited by the blue, rigid-rod polymer 2 , which is prepared by the reaction of trans-[PtCl₂(PnBu₃)₂] with one equivalent of 1 .