Structure of guest-host complexes of β-cyclodextrin with arenes: a quantum-chemical study

The structure of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), as well as the structure and energetics of β-CD-naphthalene, β-CD-fluorene, β-CD-phenanthrene, β-CD-cyclohexane (1:1), and β-CD-naphthalene (2:2) inclusion complexes was studied by the semiempirical MNDO/PM3 method. Calculations of a β-CD-naphthalene-cyclohexane (1:1:1) complex were also performed. The minimum heat of formation was found for the symmetric β-CD conformation withC ₇ symmetry axis. The structure is stabilized by the ring of interunit H-bonds formed by the protons of the 2-OH groups and the O atoms of the 3′-OH groups of the glucose units. Preferableness of this orientation of interunit H-bonds was confirmed byab initio calculations of the molecule of α-(1–4)-glucobiose (maltose) in the MP2/6-31G(d,p)//6-31G(d,p) approximation. The formation of any inclusion compounds of β-CD with arenes is energetically favorable: the complexation energy varies in the range −9 to −12 kcal mol⁻¹. Among complexes with naphthalene, that of composition 2:2 is the most energetically favorable, which is in agreement with experimental data. In this complex, β-CD exists as a dimer of the “head-to-head” type, in which both partners are linked by a system of H-bonds. The structure of the “head-to-head” dimer of β-CD was simulated byab initio calculations of the H-bonded dimer of α-d-glucose in the RHF/6-31G(d,p) approximation. In the dimer, both components are linked by a pair of H-bonds formed by the protons of the 3-OH groups and the O atoms of the, 2-OH groups. The dimerization energies obtained fromab initio and semiempirical MNDO/PM3 and AM1 calculations differ by about 2.5 times (8.6vs 3.2 and 3.8 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively).     

9-diphenylaminoacridines as molecular fluorescent chemosensors for determining polar solvent and amine vapors

The results of study of the photophysical properties of three fluorophores from the 9-diphenylaminoacridine series in solutions are presented. It has been shown that the photoinduced synthesis of 9-diphenylaminoacridines in polymer films and on the surface of polymeric micro- and nanoparticles can be used for detection of polar solvent and amine vapors.     

Structure and molecular dynamics of host–guest complexes of TEMPO with cucurbituryl: An ESR and DFT study

Host–guest complexes are of interest as promising nanodevices for molecular recognition and chemosensors. In this work, the structure and molecular dynamics of complexes of the nitroxyl radical TEMPO (I), as models of indicator and analyte, with cucurbituril CB[7] in solution and in the solid phase have been studied by ESR and DFT methods. The kinetic accessibility of the NO group of I for water-soluble reagents has been determined. By simulation of the ESR spectra of the complex, the rotational diffusion coefficients and the anisotropy of its rotation have been determined. To study the rotational mobility of the guest in the CB[7] cavity, solid solutions of I@CB[7] in the CB[7] matrix have been obtained. The ESR spectra indicate rapid jump-like rotation of I about an axis oriented along the normal to the CB[7] portals. The formation energy and the spatial structure of the complex have been calculated by the DFT method; a change in the spin density on the NO group with changing the orientation of I in the CB[7] cavity has been found.     

Triplet states of 3,3′-alkylsubstituted thiacarbocyanine dimers and dimeric complexes with cucurbit[8]uril in water

Alkylsubstituted thiacarbocyanines (3,3′-diethylthiacarbocyanine, D1, and 3,3′-disulfopropylthiacarbocyanine, D2), existing in water as monomers and dimers, manifest the ability to transition to the triplet state. The spectrum of triplet-triplet (T–T) absorption of the D2 dimers is shifted in the range higher than 590 nm by 20 nm to the red in comparison with the T–T spectrum of monomers. The D1 dimers in the presence of cucurbit[8]uril form a dimeric complex with two bands in the differential absorption spectrum. The band at 550 nm belongs to the triplet-triplet absorption of the dimeric complexes, and the band in the range of 620–700 nm is the result of charge transfer in the triplet state. The rate constants of deactivation for these triplet states coincide.     

Simulation of optical response to complex formation of crown-containing 2-styrylbenzothiazoles with alkaline-earth metals

The photochromic properties and complex formation of 2-styrylbenzothiazoles containing different crown ether moieties with alkaline-earth metals were described using optical methods, NMR spectroscopy, and HPLC. The large ionochromic effect and fluorescence quenching on complex formation with alkali-earth metal cations were found for 2-styrylbenzothiazole containing the phenylazacrown ether moiety. The small ionochromic effect and fluorescence enhancement of complex formation with alkali-earth metal cations were found for 2-styrylbenzothiazole containing the benzocrown ether moiety. cis-Isomers of 2-styrylbenzothiazoles were stable in the dark in acetonitrile. The method for separation of cis-isomers of 2-styrylbenzothiazoles by HPLC was proposed.     

Photochemical processes in graphene oxide films

Experimentally revealed features of thermal and photochemical deoxidation of graphene oxide (GO) in films are reported. A difference in mechanism between the photoreduction and thermal reduction of GO has been shown. The mechanism of photochemical deoxidation of graphene oxide has been rationalized using the concepts of molecular photochemistry. A new model of photoelimination of molecular oxygen from epoxy groups on graphene nanosheet has been proposed. The photoprocesses lead to growing of π-domains of graphene.     

Influence of monolayer state on spectroscopy and photoisomerization of an amphiphilic styryl-pyridinium dye on a solid substrate

The spectroscopy and photochromic properties of transferred monolayers of the amphiphilic styryl-pyridinium dye 4-(3',4'-dimethoxystyryl)-N-octadecylpyridinium perchlorate (DMPOP) were studied at different conditions during their transfer. The emission maxima of the monolayers transferred from the air-water interface in the liquid-expanded phase are strongly dependent on the surface pressure applied during the transfer process, even at values when the area per molecule is 2-3 times larger than the area occupied by a chromophore. In monolayers transferred from the liquid-condensed phase, the presence of a different kind of aggregates was observed. The fluorescence emission properties of the monolayers can be reversibly modulated by photoinduced E-Z isomerization. A blue shift up to 72 nm in the emission maximum, depending on the transfer conditions of the films, can be obtained by irradiation with blue light, and partially recovered (a red shift of up to 26 nm) with UV radiation. The rate at which the first process (E-->Z) takes place is drastically reduced in monolayers transferred from the liquid-condensed phase as compared to those transferred from the liquid-expanded one. However, the rate of the reverse reaction (Z-->E) is not significantly altered. These properties make DMPOP a promising material for the preparation of Langmuir-Blodgett films, whose properties can be effectively controlled by the transfer conditions and subsequently optically modulated, for potential applications as photonics devices for data storage.     

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microspectroscopy of silicon components with a photonic-crystal fiber frequency shifter

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microspectroscopy of silicon components is demonstrated with pump and probe fields delivered by a mode-locked Cr:forsterite laser and the frequency-shifted soliton output of a photonic-crystal fiber as a Stokes field. CARS microspectroscopy is shown to allow a visualization of microscale features and defects on the surface of silicon wafers, offering much promise for online diagnostics of electronic and photonic silicon chip components.     

Hydrolytic Stability and Photostability of Boron Complexes of Dibenzoylmethane with Various Substituents at the Boron Atom

High Energy Chemistry - The basic photophysical characteristics and the hydrolytic stability and photostability of dibenzoylmethanatoboron complexes containing various substituents at the boron...