Nonaromatic naphthocorroles.

New naphthocorrole ligands, display both the cavity size of corroles and the dianionic character of porphyrins. Nonaromatic and yet flaunting deceptively porphyrin-like optical spectra, they are readily accessible via a simple protocol.

Polarized, V-Shaped, and Conjoined Biscoumarins: From Lack of Dipole Moment Alignment to High Brightness.

Eleven conjoined coumarins possessing a chromeno[3,4-c]chromene-6,7-dione skeleton have been synthesized via the reaction of electron-rich phenols with esters of coumarin-3-carboxylic acids, catalyzed by either Lewis acids or 4-dimethylaminopyridine. Furthermore, Michael-type addition to angular benzo[f]coumarins is possible, leading to conjugated helical systems. Arrangement of the electron-donating amino groups at diverse positions on this heterocyclic skeleton makes it possible to obtain π-expanded coumarins with emission either sensitive to, or entirely independent of, solvent polarity with large Stokes shifts. Computational studies have provided a rationale for moderate solvatochromic effects unveiling the lack of collinearity of the dipole moments in the ground and excited states. Depending on the functional groups present, the obtained dyes are highly polarized with dipole moments of ∼14 D in the ground state and ∼20-25 D in the excited state. Strong emission in nonpolar solvents, in spite of the inclusion of a NO2 group, is rationalized by the fact that the intramolecular charge transfer introduced into these molecules is strong enough to suppress intersystem crossing yet weak enough to prevent the formation of dark twisted intramolecular charge transfer states. Photochemical transformation of the dye possessing a chromeno[3,4-c]pyridine-4,5-dione scaffold led to the formation of a spirocyclic benzo[g]coumarin.

Polarized Helical Coumarins: [1,5] Sigmatropic Rearrangement and Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer.

The tandem process of phenol addition to a cyclic α,ß-unsaturated ester followed by intramolecular transesterification and [1,5] sigmatropic rearrangement affords a series of helical coumarins based upon a previously unknown 3-amino-7-hydroxybenzo[3,4]cyclohepta[1,2-c]chromen-6-one core. These novel polarized coumarins, possessing a ß-ketoester moiety, have been employed to synthesize more rigid and helical coumarin-pyrazolones, which display green fluorescence. The enhanced emission of coumarin-pyrazolones in polar solvents depends on the nature of the S1 state. The coumarin-pyrazolones are predicted to have two vertical states close in energy: a weakly absorbing S1 (1LE) followed by a bright S2 state (1CT). In polar solvents, the 1CT can be stabilized below the 1LE and may become the fluorescent state. Solvatochromism of the fluorescence spectra confirms this theoretical prediction. The presence of an N-H···O═C intramolecular hydrogen bond in these coumarin-pyrazolone hybrids facilitates excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). This process leads to a barrierless conical intersection with the ground electronic state and opens a radiationless deactivation channel effectively competing with fluorescence. Solvent stabilization of the CT state increases the barrier for ESIPT and decreases the efficiency of the nonradiative channel. This results in the observed correlation between solvatochromism and an increase of fluorescence intensity in polar solvents.

Method for the Large-Scale Synthesis of Multifunctional 1,4-Dihydro-pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrroles.

A thorough investigation has enabled the optimization of the synthesis of 1,4-dihydro-pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrroles. Although salts of such metals as vanadium, niobium, cerium, and manganese were found to facilitate the formation of 1,4-dihydro-pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrroles from amines, aldehydes, and diacetyl, we confirmed that iron salts are the most efficient catalysts. The conditions identified (first step: toluene/AcOH = 1:1, 1 h, 50 °C; second step: toluene/AcOH = 1:1, Fe(ClO4)3·H2O, 16 h, 50 °C) resulted in the formation of tetraarylpyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrroles in a 6-69% yield. For the first time, very electron-rich substituents (4-Me2NC6H4, 3-(OH)C6H4, pyrrol-2-yl) originating from aldehydes and sterically hindered substituents (2-ClC6H4, 2-BrC6H4, 2-CNC6H4, 2-(CO2Me)C6H4, 2-(TMS-C≡C)C6H4) present on anilines can be appended to the pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole core. It is now also possible to prepare 1,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrroles bearing an ordered arrangement of N-substituents and C-substituents ranging from coumarin, quinoline, phthalimide to truxene. These advances in scope enable independent regulations of many desired photophysical properties, including the Stokes shift value and emission color ranging from violet-blue through deep blue, green, yellow to red. Simultaneously, the optimized conditions have finally allowed the synthesis of these extremely promising heterocycles in amounts of more than 10 g per run without a concomitant decrease in yield or product contamination. Empowered with better functional group compatibility, novel derivatization strategies were developed.

Highly Polarized Coumarin Derivatives Revisited: Solvent-Controlled Competition Between Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer and Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer.

Linking a polarized coumarin unit with an aromatic substituent via an amide bridge results in weak electronic coupling that affects the intramolecular electron-transfer (ET) process. As a result of this, interesting solvent-dependent photophysical properties can be observed. In polar solvents, electron transfer in coumarin derivatives of this type induces a mutual twist of the electron-donating and -accepting molecular units (TICT process) that facilitates radiationless decay processes (internal conversion). In the dyad with the strongest intramolecular hydrogen bond, the planar form is stabilized, such that twisting can only occur in highly polar solvents, whereas a fast proton-coupled electron-transfer (PCET process) occurs in nonpolar n-alkanes. The kPCET rate constant decreases linearly with the energy of the fluorescence maximum in different solvents. This observation can be explained in terms of competition between electron- and proton-transfer from a highly polarized (ca. 15 D) and fluorescent locally excited (1 LE) state to a much less polarized (ca. 4 D) charge-transfer (1 CT) state, a unique occurrence. Photophysical measurements performed for a family of related coumarin dyads, together with results of quantum-chemical computations, give insight into the mechanism of the ET process, which is followed by either a TICT or a PCET process. Our results reveal that dielectric solvation of the excited state slows down the PCET process, even in nonpolar solvents.

The Interplay between Solvation and Stacking of Aromatic Rings Governs Bright and Dark Sites of Benzo[g]coumarins.

Coumarins are classic, strongly polarized fluorophores with multiple applications, and significant efforts have been put into modifying their emission characteristics and elucidating their photophysics. Expecting that π-expansion of these donor-acceptor chromophores could modify their ground- and excited-state characteristics, the authors performed combined, detailed photophysical and computational studies of linearly π-expanded coumarins, that is, 8-dialkylamino-3-carboxyalkyl-benzo[g]coumarins. The investigation led to the conclusion that emission is only possible thanks to the stabilizing effect of the solvent and that breaking of the lactone ring leads to the conical intersection with the ground state and induces the radiationless decay of the electronic excitation. Aiming at the fine-tuning the excited state properties through the construction of covalently linked dye assemblies, the authors designed and synthesized a new bis(benzo[g]coumarin), built from two similar moieties that exhibit different degrees of polarization due to the electron donor at position 8: one possesses a dialkylamino, and the other a weaker amide donor. Comprehensive studies have shown that the observed weak fluorescence of the system is the result of the interplay between the solvation-induced separation of the benzo[g]coumarin moieties, which stabilizes the emitting locally excited singlet state and the π-stacking interactions, favoring their sandwiched orientation and leading to the non-emissive charge-transfer state.

The synthesis and photophysical properties of tris-coumarins.

A structurally unique cyclic tris-coumarin possessing three identical coumarin units bridged by amide linkers as well as two linear analogs has been synthesized. There is a remarkable agreement between crystallographic data, 1H NMR and results of calculations for the cyclic tris-coumarin, showing in all cases a non-symmetric arrangement of identical coumarin moieties. Weak polarization of the coumarin subunits, resulting from the presence of only CONH- groups as electron-donors, results in a hypsochromic shift of both absorption and emission in this dye. We have proven that in non-cyclic, head-to-tail linked tris-coumarins, the photophysics is controlled not only by the substituents but also by the conformation of the molecule, which in turn depends on the nature of the linker's interactions. These can be controlled by the presence/absence of an amide-type hydrogen atom responsible for the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bonds. The presence of a hydrogen bond favors a stretched trans conformation of the dye, while in its absence, folding of the molecule occurs leading to a more compact conformation. Although, the increased number of covalently linked coumarin units does not drastically change the preferred conformation, the fluorescence quantum yields of tris-coumarins are significantly lower than for analogous bis-coumarins composed of the same units.

Effect of conformational flexibility on photophysics of bis-coumarins.

The fluorescence intensity of bis-coumarins linked via CONH and COO functionalities are shown to exhibit a strong dependance on solvent polarity. The presence of the intramolecular hydrogen bond between the C[double bond, length as m-dash]O oxygen atom of coumarin and amide-NH moieties reduces the number of thermodynamically populated conformations in both ground and electronically excited states and an anti-arrangement of coumarin units is favored. Additionally, the rigidity of the linker raises the barrier to the conical intersection with the ground state, and in non-polar solvents strong fluorescence is observed. Although changing the CONH linking position from 3-7' to 3-6', does not remarkably affect the photophysics, replacement with a flexible ester linker allows the molecule a greater degree of conformational freedom due to the absence of the intramolecular hydrogen bonding interaction. The photophysical effect of this is the appearance of two fluorescence bands, the relative intensity and spectral positions of which are sensitive to the environment. Theoretical explorations of the excited-state potential energy surfaces performed with the aid of the ADC(2) ab initio electronic structure theory method revealed an exceptional wealth of concomitant photophysical processes. In particular, two channels for radiationless deactivation of the excited state were found; the first is related to the inter-ring twist of the coumarin units, and the second is associated with the excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer (ESIPT) from the CONH linker to the coumarin core.

The Coumarin-Dimer Spring-The Struggle between Charge Transfer and Steric Interactions.

The synthesis of a weakly coupled, strongly polarized coumarin dimer has been achieved for the first time. The three-step strategy comprises the Skattebøl formylation followed by the Knoevenagel reaction and the formation of a tertiary amide by using a peptide-type procedure. The molecule consists of two different coumarin moieties: One is a classical donor-acceptor system and the second one possesses a weaker amide donor at the 7-position. The polarized coumarin dimer can form an electronically conjugated structure possessing an electric dipole larger than that of 7-(dimethylamino)coumarin-3-carboxylic acid. The limited flexibility of the inter-coumarin connection results in stable conformers of different electric dipole moments and complex photophysics. In the solid state, this compound has a strongly bent conformation with the two coumarin units forming an angle of around 74°. In solution, two conformers are in equilibrium. The existence of the molecule as two conformers in the ground state has been confirmed by optical studies, and further corroborated by molecular calculations. The fluorescence spectra possess a unique feature: A charge-transfer band (ca. 550 nm) is visible only in nonpolar or weakly polar solvents. Optical spectroscopy studies coupled with molecular calculations allowed us to rationalize this phenomenon: The large amplitude of intramolecular motions is responsible for the conformational isomerization as well as producing a conical intersection between the potential energy surfaces of the excited singlet state and the ground state, which opens an internal conversion channel that effectively competes with the fluorescence of the conformers.