Determination of energetic positions of electronic states and the exciton dynamics in a π-expanded N-heterotriangulene derivative adsorbed on Au(111).

Bridged triarylamines, so-called N-heterotriangulenes (N-HTAs) are promising organic semiconductors for applications in optoelectronic devices. Thereby the electronic structure at organic/metal interfaces and within thin films as well as the electronically excited states dynamics after optical excitation is essential for the performance of organic-molecule-based devices. Here, we investigated the energy level alignment and the excited state dynamics of a N-HTA derivative adsorbed on Au(111) by means of energy- and time-resolved two-photon photoemission spectroscopy. We quantitatively determined the energetic positions of several occupied and unoccupied molecular (transport levels) and excitonic states (optical gap) in detail. A transport gap of 3.20 eV and an optical gap of 2.58 eV is determined, resulting in an exciton binding energy of 0.62 eV. With the first time-resolved investigation on a N-HTA compound we gained insights into the exciton dynamics and resolved processes on the femtosecond to picosecond timescale.

Fully Bridged Triphenylamines Comprising Five- and Seven-Membered Rings.

A family of fully bridged triphenylamines with embedded 5- and 7-membered rings is presented. The compounds are potent electron donors capable to undergo donor/acceptor interactions with strong cyano-based acceptors both in the solid state and solution. These interactions were evaluated by IR and UV/vis spectroscopy as well as X-ray crystallography. The vinylene-bridged compound was oxidized to the corresponding 1,2-diketone which readily underwent acid-catalyzed condensation with selected 1,2-phenylenediamines. The resulting π-extended quinoxaline derivatives represent valuable building blocks for the development of functional chromophores upon appropriate functionalization.

Expanding the Boxmi Ligand Family: Synthesis and Application of NON and NSN Ligands.

Two synthetic strategies for a new family of neutral NON ligands featuring a "bis(oxazolinylmethylidene)isobenzofuran" framework (boxman) are reported. A Pd-mediated cyclization reaction forming the isobenzofuran core constitutes the key reaction in the eight-step synthetic route to the nonbackbone-methylated target compound H,Rboxman. In contrast, the introduction of two additional methyl groups provides stereochemical control during backbone construction and thereby access to the methylated derivative Me,Rboxman, which was synthesized in five steps and improved yields. In addition, the synthetic sequence was transferred to the thio analogue, providing access to the NSN ligand H,Rboxmene. Subsequent complexation experiments with iron and cobalt chloride precursors afforded the four-coordinated chlorido complexes Me,RboxmanMCl2 (R = Ph, iPr; M = Fe, Co) and established the boxman family as trans-chelating, bidentate bis(oxazoline) ligands. Application of the latter in the nickel(II)- and zinc(II)-catalyzed α-fluorination of ß-ketoesters and oxindoles (up to 98% yield and 94% ee) demonstrated their suitability for enantioselective catalysis.

Configurationally flexible zinc complexes as catalysts for rac-lactide polymerisation.

Zn(N(SiMe3)2)2 was reacted with pyridinemethanol and R,R-N,N'-di(methylbenzyl)-2,5-diiminopyrrole (L1H) to afford the dimeric complex (L1)2Zn2(µ-OR)2. The complex showed moderate activity in rac-lactide polymerization to heterotactic polymer (Pr = 0.75). 2,4-Di-tert-butyl-6-aminomethyl-phenol ligands with amino = N,N,N',N'-tetramethyldiethylenetriamine (L2H) or di-(2-picoly)amine (L3H) were reacted with ZnEt2 to form (L2)ZnEt and with Zn(N(SiMe3)2)2 to form the respective amide complexes. All complexes, including (L1)2Zn2(µ-OR)2 were characterised by X-ray diffraction studies. (L2)ZnEt was unreactive toward ethanol, but the amide complexes afforded (L2)ZnOEt and (L3)ZnOEt upon reaction with ethanol, which were used in rac-lactide polymerization without isolation. All complexes racemise readily at room temperature and show apparent Cs-symmetry in their NMR spectra. The ethoxide complexes were highly active in lactide polymerization, with (L3)ZnOEt reaching full conversion in 15 min at 0.5 mM catalyst concentration at room temperature. In both cases, introduction of a second donor arm on the central nitrogen introduced a slight bias for isotactic monomer enchainment (Pm = 0.55-0.60), which for (L3)ZnOEt was dependent on catalyst concentration.