The photochemistry and photophysics of benzoyl-carbazole.

Benzoyl-carbazole and its derivatives are considered a platform for exploring processes such as room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). They have also been reported to exhibit dual emission, but there is a great spectral variability in the relative intensity of the emission bands reported in different studies. To better understand the fundamental photophysical properties, we set to explore BCz and its perfluorinated derivative F5BCz using spectroscopy and quantum chemical simulations. We find that the reported dual fluorescence in solution and in films results from a photochemical process (photo-Fries rearrangement), producing carbazole among other products, explaining the variation in the reported emission spectra. In addition, BCz exhibits solvent dependent TADF, which is explained by the stabilization of the charge transfer S1 state in polar solvents. F5BCz undergoes an efficient photochemical process (Mallory reaction) from its single state to produce highly fluorescent product c-F5BCz, in 40% isolated yield. This photoreactivity also proceeds in films under ambient conditions, which have significant implications on the applications of BCz-based materials for optoelectronic applications.

Controlling helicene's pitch by molecular tethering.

We applied post-cyclization annulation to introduce a series of tethered S-shaped double [4]helicenes in which the intramolecular tether imposes a specific helical handedness. Introducing a tether and then shortening the tether length incrementally increase the pitch angle of [4]helicene, thus enabling a quantitative study of the effects of helicene's pitch on its electronic and (chiro)optical properties.

Helitwistacenes-Combining Lateral and Longitudinal Helicity Results in Solvent-Induced Inversion of Circularly Polarized Light.

Helicity is expressed differently in ortho- and para-fused acenes-helicenes and twistacenes, respectively. While the extent of helicity is constant in helicenes, it can be tuned in twistacenes, and the handedness of flexible twistacenes is often determined by more rigid helicenes. Here, we combine helicenes with rigid twistacenes consisting of a tunable degree of twisting, forming helitwistacenes. While the X-ray structures reveal that the connection does not affect the helicity of each moiety, their electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) spectra are strongly affected by the helicity of the twistacene unit, resulting in solvent-induced sign inversion. ROESY NMR and TD-DFT calculations support this observation, which is explained by differences in the relative orientation of the helicene and twistacene moieties.

Macrocyclic Ligand Coordinating Amide-Arm Hydrolysis Reaction Activation in Aqueous Solutions: Tetravalent Uranium Does It Better.

Chelation of lanthanide and actinide cations within a suitable macrocyclic ligand often results in a rigid, kinetically inert, and thermodynamically stable complex. A benchmark for such cation-ligand suitability are cyclen-derived macrocyclic ligands, frequently used as large cation hosts for various applications. Herein, a comprehensive study of the 1,4,7,10-tetrakis(carbamoylmethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane ligand (DOTAM) chelates of UIV and CeIII and their properties in aqueous solutions is presented. By employing multiple analysis techniques, including X-ray crystallography, UV-vis absorbance, 1H NMR, UPLC-MS, cyclic voltammetry, and differential pulse voltammetry, the study has revealed that the two aqueous complexes undergo a spontaneous, gradual, and stepwise hydrolysis of each of the coordinated amides toward carboxylates. The coordination of UIV in the studied reaction has been shown to significantly enhance the reaction rate, leading to an acceleration of up to 6 orders of magnitude compared to the natural process of simple aqueous amides at room temperature. An attempt to describe the unusual chelated metal cation amide-activation feature, based on the relatively lower rigidity of the complex structure, is presented. Additionally, the electrochemical properties of the complex series are discussed in detail, along with the limitations of the analytical methods employed.

Effect of Chalcogenophenes on Chiroptical Activity of Twisted Tetracenes: Computational Analysis, Synthesis and Crystal Structure Thereof.

The synthesis of multiply substituted acenes is still a relevant research problem, considering their applications and future potential. Here we present an elegant synthetic protocol to afford tetra-peri-substituted naphthalene and tetracene from their tetrahalo derivatives by a Pd(0)-catalyzed C-C cross-coupling method in a single step. The newly synthesized tetracenes were characterized by NMR, HRMS, UV-vis spectrophotometry, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD). In addition, the first systematic computational study of the effect of chalcogenophenyl substitutions on the chiroptical properties of twistacenes was reported here. The gas phase computational studies using density functional theory (DFT) on a series of chalcogenophene-substituted tetracenes revealed that their chiroptical activity could be systematically increased via the atomistic tuning of peripheral substituents.

Alternating behavior in furan-acetylene macrocycles reveals the size-dependency of Hückel's rule in neutral molecules.

Aromaticity can be assigned by Hückel's rule, which predicts that planar rings with delocalized (4n + 2) π-electrons are aromatic, whereas those with 4n π-electrons are antiaromatic. However, for neutral rings, the maximal value of "n" to which Hückel's rule applies remains unknown. Large macrocycles exhibiting global ring current can serve as models for addressing this question, but the global ring current are often overshadowed in these molecules by the local ring current of the constituent units. Here, we present a series of furan-acetylene macrocycles, ranging from the pentamer to octamer, whose neutral states display alternating contributions from global aromatic and antiaromatic ring currents. We find that the odd-membered macrocycles display global aromatic characteristics, whereas the even-membered macrocycles display contributions from globally antiaromatic ring current. These factors are expressed electronically (oxidation potentials), optically (emission spectra), and magnetically (chemical shifts), and DFT calculations predict global ring current alternations up to 54 π-electrons.

Transformation of π-conjugated macrocycles: from furanophanes to napthalenophanes.

Applying sequential Diels-Alder cycloaddition and deoxygenation to small π-conjugated furan macrocycles fully converts them to 1,4-naphthalophanes with either ethylene or acetylene spacers, depending on the reaction conditions. 1,4-Napthalenophane tetraene exhibits a 1,3-alternating conformation in the solid state, inclusion of solvent molecules within the macrocycle, and low reduction potentials.

Fenchone Derivatives as a Novel Class of CB2 Selective Ligands: Design, Synthesis, X-ray Structure and Therapeutic Potential.

A series of novel cannabinoid-type derivatives were synthesized by the coupling of (1S,4R)-(+) and (1R,4S)-(-)-fenchones with various resorcinols/phenols. The fenchone-resorcinol derivatives were fluorinated using Selectfluor and demethylated using sodium ethanethiolate in dimethylformamide (DMF). The absolute configurations of four compounds were determined by X-ray single crystal diffraction. The fenchone-resorcinol analogs possessed high affinity and selectivity for the CB2 cannabinoid receptor. One of the analogues synthesized, 2-(2',6'-dimethoxy-4'-(2″-methyloctan-2″-yl)phenyl)-1,3,3-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-ol (1d), had a high affinity (Ki = 3.51 nM) and selectivity for the human CB2 receptor (hCB2). In the [35S]GTPγS binding assay, our lead compound was found to be a highly potent and efficacious hCB2 receptor agonist (EC50 = 2.59 nM, E(max) = 89.6%). Two of the fenchone derivatives were found to possess anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Molecular-modeling studies elucidated the binding interactions of 1d within the CB2 binding site.

Selective Binding and Precipitation of Cesium Ions from Aqueous Solutions: A Size-Driven Supramolecular Reaction.

The nuclear disasters of Chernobyl and Fukushima presented an urgent need for finding solutions to treatment of radioactive wastes. Among the by-products of nuclear fission is radioactive 137 Cs, which evokes an environmental hazard due to its long half-life (>30 years) and high solubility in water. In this work, a water-soluble organic ligand, readily obtained from alloxan and 1,3,5-benzenetriol, has been found to selectively bind and precipitate Cs+ ions from aqueous solutions. The special rigid structure of the ligand, which consists of a "tripodal" carbonyl base above and below an aromatic plane, contributes to the size-driven selectivity towards the large Cs+ ions and the formation of a giant, insoluble supramolecular complex. In addition to the low costs of the ligand, high yields and effectiveness in precipitating Cs+ ions, the Cs-complex revealed a high endurance to continuous doses of γ-radiation, increasing its potential to act as a precipitating agent for 137 Cs.

Crystal structure of (acetato-κO)(ethanol-κO)[(9S,17S,21S,29S)-9,17,21,29-tetra-hydroxy-18,30-dioxa-octa-cyclo-[18.10.0.0(2,7).0(8,19).0(9,17).0(11,16).0(21,29).0(23,28)]triaconta-1,3,5,7,11(16),12,14,19,23(28),24,26-undeca-ene-10,22-dione-κ(3) O (18),O (21),O (22)]caesium ethanol monosolvate.

The title compound, [Cs(CH3COO)(C28H16O8)(C2H5OH)]·C2H5OH, is the product of the complexation between one vasarene analogue [1], bis ninhydrin naphthalene-1,3-diol and CsF, where the F(-) ion has reacted with residual acetic acid (AcOH), to form a [1]·CsOAc complex. The inter-molecular inter-actions with the multiple oxygen-containing functional groups of the ligand, as well as O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the ethanol solvent mol-ecules, stabilize the complex, forming a chain along [100]. Additional parallel-displaced π-π stacking, with an inter-planar distance of 3.669 (1) Å, connect several unit cells in a three-dimensional supra-molecular structure, though, the larger size of AcO(-) (1.60 Å) compared to F(-) (1.33 Å) prevents the tight packing that was once achieved with other vasarene complexes of CsF.

Bis(benzyl-tri-methyl-ammonium) bis-[(4SR,12SR,18RS,26RS)-4,18,26-trihy-droxy-12-oxido-13,17-dioxahepta-cyclo-[14.10.0.0(3,14).0(4,12).0(6,11).0(18,26).0(19,24)]hexa-cosa-1,3(14),6,8,10,15,19,21,23-nona-ene-5,25-dione] sesquihydrate: dimeric structure formation via [O-H-O](-) negative charge-assisted hydrogen bonds (-CAHB) with benzyl-tri-methyl-ammonium counter-ions.

The reaction between bis-ninhydrin resorcinol and benzyl-tri-methyl-ammonium fluoride in ethanol has produced the title compound, 2C10H16N(+)·2C24H13O8 (-)·1.5H2O, which contains a unique centrosymmetric supra-molecular dimeric entity, where two deprotonated ligands are held together via two strong and short [O⋯O = 2.4395 (13) Å] [O-H-O](-) bonds of the type negative charge-assisted hydrogen bonds (-CAHB). The central aromatic rings of the ligands create parallel-displaced π-π stacking at an inter-planar distance of 3.381 (1) Å, which helps stabilize the dimer. In the crystal, two symmetry-related solvent water mol-ecules with a site occupancy of 0.75 are attached to the carbonyl groups of the dimer by weaker O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains along [101].