Photochromic crown ethers

An amphiphilic crown-containing styryl dye (1) was synthesized, and the effects of irradiation, temperature, and alkali and alkali-earth metal ions on the conductivity and optical spectra of its solutions in dioctyl phthalate were studied. Compound1 in thetrans-form almost completely exists as ion pairs (IP). Irradiation at a long-wavelength absorption maximum (λ_max) results in a reversible increase in the conductivity and, hence, a degree of dissociation of IP (α); these parameters decrease when complexes with metal ions are formed. The relaxation times for the photoinduced conductivity coincide with a decrease in the extinction within experimental error in the 20–60°C temperature range. The photoinduced increase in α is caused bytrans—cis-isomerization and an increase in steric hindrances for the interaction of the ClO₄ ⁻ anion with the N⁺ atom of benzothiazolium in thecis-form of1. The activation energies for the darkcis—trans-relaxation, absolute α values, and thermodynamic parameters of dissociation of IP in thetrans-form, as well as the α values in a photostationary mixture ofcis—trans-isomers, were estimated. The decrease in α after binding with metal ions is likely caused by the redistribution of the positive charge to benzothiazolium through the conjugated system of1. Correlations between the decrease in conductivity (decrease in α) and the hypsochromic shift Δλ_max after the formation of complexes between1 and metal ions were observed. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1296–1301, July, 1997.     

Photoresponsive supramolecular systems: self-assembly of azodibenzoic acid linear tapes and cyclic tetramers

A new strategy to effect photoinduced control over molecular self-assembly is reported. This strategy uses the reversible trans-cis photoisomerization of a novel azobenzene system, where the trans- and cis-forms self-assemble into dramatically different higher-order structures. The trans-azobenzene form of this molecule associates into infinite hydrogen-bonded linear tapes, while the cis-azobenzene form undergoes hydrogen-bonded self-assembly into cyclic tetramers. This results in a second level of association, where the cis-hydrogen-bonded supramolecular cycles ultimately form long, rod-like aggregates through stacking interactions.     

Preparation and photochromic properties of oligomeric poly(dimethylsiloxane) with the spiropyran or spirooxazine moiety in the side chain

Spirobenzopyran 1 , with the 3-(diethoxymethylsilyl)-propyl group at the N atom, was synthesized. The condensation reaction of the spiropyran 1 and diethoxydimethylsilane gave oligomeric poly(dimethylsiloxane) with the spiropyran moiety in the side chain. The oligomer was photochromic; its colour changed from colorless to purple-red on uv irradiation and the color faded on visible irradiation or on standing in the dark. The half-decay time of the thermal decoloration was about twice that of monomeric spiropyran dissolved in the dimethylsiloxane oligomer. Photochromic poly(dimethylsiloxane) with the spirooxazine moiety in the side chain was also prepared.     

Features of the photochromic behavior of spiroanthrooxazine in solutions

The photochromic properties of 1,3,3-trimethylspiro[indolin-2,3-3H-anthraceno[2,1-b][1,4]-oxazine] (SAO) in solutions of different polarity [n-BuOH and petroleum ether (PETh)] were studied. It was established that the quantum yield of the photocoloration AB and the energy of activation of the thermal decolorization E_a in the PETh depend on the temperature; this is not the case in n-BuOH. The luminescence properties of SAO were investigated. It was found that the spectrum of the excitation of the luminescence in PETh depends on the temperature. These features, as well as the slower thermal decolorization of the colored form of SAO in PETh by comparison with the solutions in n-BuOH, are explained by the presence of dimers of the SAO molecules in nonpolar media in the temperature range investigated (77–300 K), whereas the SAO molecules already occur in the monomeric state at 150 K in the polar n-BuOH.N. N. Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117977 Moscow. Branch of the Institute of the Physics of Solids and Semiconductors, Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 211177 Vitebsk. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 93–98, January, 1992.     

Photochromism of 1′,3′,3′-trimethyl-6-piperidinospiro [indoline-2′,3-3H-naphth [2,1-b][1,4]-oxazine]

The effect of the piperidine substituent on the spectral and photochromic properties of spiro(indoline-naphthoxazines) (SINO) in different solvents is studied. The introduction of this substituent into the naphthoxazine fragment of SINO results in the appearance of fluorescence of the initial formA of SINO at low temperatures. This fluorescence gradually disappears as the temperature increases. The temperature and concentration dependences of the spectral parameters of photoinduced formB of SINO make it possible to assume thatB molecules aggregate in non-polar solvents. In all solvents studied, form B, unlike the photoinduced form of the non-substituted spiro naphthoxazine, is stabilized as a bipolar ion with a positive charge on the nitrogen atom of the piperidine substituent. The increase in the rate of thermal decolorization as the medium polarity increases is explained.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 684–688, April, 1995.The authors are grateful to the Belarus' Foundation for Basic Research for financial support of this work.     

Synthesis of New Spiropyrans With a Polyaromatic or Heteroaromatic Pendant and Their Photochromic Bedhaviors

A series of spiropyrans with a polyaromatic or heteroaromatic pendant was synthesized conveniently.Their photochromic behaviors were investigated with the aid of absorption spectral measurements.The results indicated that the compounds with the same parent spiropyran but different aromatic pendant show significantly different photochromic properties.This may be due to the π-π orbital interaction between the polyaromatic pendant and the open photomerocyanine form of spiropyran.The results obtained are very useful in the molecule design area.     

Spiropyrans and spirooxazines. 3. Synthesis of photochromic 5′-(4,5-diphenyl-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)-spiro[indoline-2,3′-naphtho[2,3-<Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>]pyran]

The reaction of 2-hydroxy-3-(4,5-diphenyl-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)-1-naphthaldehyde with 1,2,3,3-tetramethyl-3H-indolium perchlorate afforded photochromic spiro[indoline-2,3′-naphthopyran] containing a 4,5-diphenyloxazole group in position 5′ of the naphthopyran fragment. The merocyanine form of the spiropyran gave complexes with bivalent heavy cations.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 693–697, March, 2005.     

Photophysics of eumelanin: ab initio studies on the electronic spectroscopy and photochemistry of 5,6-dihydroxyindole.

Excited-state reaction paths and energy profiles of 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI), one of the elementary building blocks of eumelanin, have been determined with the approximated singles-and-doubles coupled-cluster (CC2) method. 6-Hydroxy-4-dihydro-indol-5-one (HHI) is identified as a photochromic species, which is formed via nonadiabatic hydrogen migration from the dangling OH group of DHI to the neighboring carbon atom of the six-membered ring. It is shown that HHI is a typical excited-state hydrogen-transfer (ESIHT) system. HHI absorbs strongly in the visible range of the spectrum. A barrierless hydrogen transfer in the (1)pipi* excited state, followed by barrierless torsion of the hydroxyl group, lead to a low-lying S(1)-S(0) conical intersection and thus to ultrafast internal conversion. This very efficient mechanism of excited-state deactivation provides HHI with a high degree of intrinsic photostability. It is suggested that the metastable photochemical product HHI plays an essential role for the photoprotective biological function of eumelanin.     

Crystal engineering of photochromic diarylethene single crystals

Photochromic performance of diarylethene single crystals was controlled by crystal engineering using non-covalent aromatic-aromatic interactions as the directional intermolecular force. A diarylethene derivative with two pentafluorophenyl groups, 1,2-bis(2-methyl-5-pentafluorophenyl-3-thienyl)perfluorocyclopentene (1a), formed stoichiometric co-crystals with benzene (Bz) and naphthalene (Np) by aryl-perfluoroaryl interactions. Face-to-face pi-stacking interactions between the pentafluorophenyl groups of 1a and the aromatic molecules are responsible for 2:1 and 1:1 stoichiometric compositions in 1a/Bz and 1a/Np co-crystals, respectively. The diarylethene underwent thermally stable and photoreversible photochromic reactions in a homo-crystal of 1a and co-crystals 1a/Bz and 1a/Np. The absorption spectra of the photogenerated closed-ring isomers varied depending on the conformation of the diarylethene molecules packed in the crystals. The diarylethene 1a also formed 1:1 stoichiometric co-crystals with different kinds of diarylethenes, 1,2-bis(2-ethyl-5-phenyl-3-thienyl)perfluorocyclopentene (2a) and 1,2-bis[2-methyl-5-(1-naphthyl)-3-thienyl]perfluorocyclopentene (3a). Both co-crystals 1a/2a and 1a/3a showed photochromism. Although 1a, 2a, and 3a underwent efficient photocyclization reactions in their homo-crystals, highly selective photocyclization reactions of 2a or 3a were observed in the co-crystals. The selective reactions were confirmed by HPLC and X-ray crystallography. Excited energy transfers from 1a to 2a and from 1a to 3a are considered to occur and cause the selective reactions.