A Relativistic Quantum-Chemical Analysis of the trans Influence on (1)H NMR Hydride Shifts in Square-Planar Platinum(II) Complexes.

Empirical correlations between characteristic (1)H NMR shifts in Pt(II) hydrides with trans ligand influence series, Pt-H distances, and (195)Pt shifts are analyzed at various levels of including relativistic effects into density-functional calculations. A close examination of the trans ligand effects on hydride NMR shifts is shown to be dominated by spin-orbit shielding σ(SO). A rather complete understanding of the trends has been obtained by detailed molecular orbital (MO)-by-MO and localized MO analyses of the paramagnetic and spin-orbit (SO) contributions to the chemical shifts, noting that it is the perpendicular shift-tensor components that determine the trend of the (1)H hydride shifts. In contrast to previous assumptions, the change of the Pt-H distance in given complexes does not allow correlations between hydride shifts and metal-hydrogen bond length to be understood. Instead, variations in the polarization of metal 5d orbitals by the trans ligand affects the SO (and partly paramagnetic) shift contributions, as well as the Pt-H distances and the covalency of the metal-hydrogen bond (quantified, e.g., by natural atomic charges and delocalization indices from quantum theory atoms-in-molecules), resulting in a reasonable correlation of these structural/electronic quantities with hydride σ(SO) shieldings. Our analysis also shows that specific σ(p)- and σ(SO)-active MOs are not equally important across the entire series. This explains some outliers in the correlation for limited ranges of trans-influence ligands. Additionally, SO effects from heavy-halide ligands may further complicate trends, indicating some limitations of the simple one-parameter correlations. Strikingly, σ-donating/π-accepting ligands with a very strong trans influence are shown to invert the sign of the usually shielding σ(SO) contribution to the (1)H shifts, by a substantial reduction of the metal 5d orbital involvement in Pt-H bonding, and by involvement of metal 6p-type orbitals in the magnetic couplings, in violation of the Buckingham-Stephens "off-center ring-current" picture.

Quadrupolar benzobisthiazole-cored arylamines as highly efficient two-photon absorbing fluorophores.

A computer-aided design of novel D-π-A-π-D styrylamines containing five isomeric benzobisthiazole moieties as the electron-accepting core has revealed the linear centrosymmetric benzo[1,2-d:4,5-d']bisthiazole as the most promising building block for engineering chromophores displaying high two-photon absorption (TPA) in the near-IR region, as also confirmed experimentally. The ease of synthesis of quadrupolar derivatives thereof, combined with extraordinarly high TPA action cross sections (δTPAΦf > 1500 GM), makes these heteroaromatic systems particularly attractive as diagnostic agents in 3D fluorescence imaging.

The family of ferrocene-stabilized silylium ions: synthesis, 29Si NMR characterization, Lewis acidity, substituent scrambling, and quantum-chemical analyses.

The purpose of this systematic experimental and theoretical study is to deeply understand the unique bonding situation in ferrocene-stabilized silylium ions as a function of the substituents at the silicon atom and to learn about the structure parameters that determine the (29)Si NMR chemical shift and electrophilicity of these strong Lewis acids. For this, ten new members of the family of ferrocene-stabilized silicon cations were prepared by a hydride abstraction reaction from silanes with the trityl cation and characterized by multinuclear (1)H and (29)Si NMR spectroscopy. A closer look at the NMR spectra revealed that additional minor sets of signals were not impurities but silylium ions with substitution patterns different from that of the initially formed cation. Careful assignment of these signals furnished experimental proof that sterically less hindered silylium ions are capable of exchanging substituents with unreacted silane precursors. Density functional theory calculations provided mechanistic insight into that substituent transfer in which the migrating group is exchanged between two silicon fragments in a concerted process involving a ferrocene-bridged intermediate. Moreover, the quantum-chemical analysis of the (29)Si NMR chemical shifts revealed a linear relationship between δ((29)Si) values and the Fe···Si distance for subsets of silicon cations. An electron localization function and electron localizability indicator analysis shows a three-center two-electron bonding attractor between the iron, silicon, and C'(ipso) atoms, clearly distinguishing the silicon cations from the corresponding carbenium ions and boranes. Correlations between (29)Si NMR chemical shifts and Lewis acidity, evaluated in terms of fluoride ion affinities, are seen only for subsets of silylium ions, sometimes with non-intuitive trends, indicating a complicated interplay of steric and electronic effects on the degree of the Fe···Si interaction.

Benzothiazoles with tunable electron-withdrawing strength and reverse polarity: a route to triphenylamine-based chromophores with enhanced two-photon absorption.

A series of dipolar and octupolar triphenylamine-derived dyes containing a benzothiazole positioned in the matched or mismatched fashion have been designed and synthesized via palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions. Linear and nonlinear optical properties of the designed molecules were tuned by an additional electron-withdrawing group (EWG) and by changing the relative positions of the donor and acceptor substituents on the heterocyclic ring. This allowed us to examine the effect of positional isomerism and extend the structure-property relationships useful in the engineering of novel heteroaromatic-based systems with enhanced two-photon absorption (TPA). The TPA cross-sections (δ(TPA)) in the target compounds dramatically increased with the branching of the triphenylamine core and with the strength of the auxiliary acceptor. In addition, a change from the commonly used polarity in push-pull benzothiazoles to a reverse one has been revealed as a particularly useful strategy (regioisomeric control) for enhancing TPA cross-sections and shifting the absorption and emission maxima to longer wavelengths. The maximum TPA cross-sections of the star-shaped three-branched triphenylamines are ∼500-2300 GM in the near-infrared region (740-810 nm); thereby the molecular weight normalized δ(TPA)/MW values of the best performing dyes within the series (2.0-2.4 GM·g(-1)·mol) are comparable to those of the most efficient TPA chromophores reported to date. The large TPA cross-sections combined with high emission quantum yields and large Stokes shifts make these compounds excellent candidates for various TPA applications, including two-photon fluorescence microscopy.

Relativistic four-component DFT calculations of 1H NMR chemical shifts in transition-metal hydride complexes: unusual high-field shifts beyond the Buckingham-Stephens model.

State-of-the-art relativistic four-component DFT-GIAO-based calculations of (1)H NMR chemical shifts of a series of 3d, 4d, and 5d transition-metal hydrides have revealed significant spin-orbit-induced heavy atom effects on the hydride shifts, in particular for several 4d and 5d complexes. The spin-orbit (SO) effects provide substantial, in some cases even the dominant, contributions to the well-known characteristic high-field hydride shifts of complexes with a partially filled d-shell, and thereby augment the Buckingham-Stephens model of off-center paramagnetic ring currents. In contrast, complexes with a 4d(10) and 5d(10) configuration exhibit large deshielding SO effects on their hydride (1)H NMR shifts. The differences between the two classes of complexes are attributed to the dominance of π-type d-orbitals for the true transition-metal systems compared to σ-type orbitals for the d(10) systems.

Benzothiazole-based fluorophores of donor-pi-acceptor-pi-donor type displaying high two-photon absorption.

A series of novel heterocycle-based dyes with donor-pi-bridge-acceptor-pi-bridge-donor (D-pi-A-pi-D) structural motif, where benzothiazole serves as an electron-withdrawing core, have been designed and synthesized via palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira and Suzuki-type cross-coupling reactions. All the target chromophores show strong one-photon and two-photon excited emission. The maximum two-photon absorption (TPA) cross sections delta(TPA) of the prepared derivatives bearing diphenylamino functionalities occur at wavelengths ranging from 760 to 800 nm and are as large as approximately 900-1100 GM. One- and two-photon absorption characteristics of the title dyes have also been investigated by using density functional theory (DFT) and the structure-property relationships are discussed. The TPA cross sections calculated by means of quadratic response time-dependent DFT using the Coulomb-attenuated CAM-B3LYP functional support the experimentally observed trends within the series, as well as higher delta(TPA) values of the title compounds compared to those of analogous fluorene or carbazole-derived dyes. In contrast, the traditional B3LYP functional was not successful in predicting the observed trend of TPA cross sections for systems with different central cores. In general, structural modification of the pi-bridge composition by replacement of ethynylene (alkyne) with E-ethenylene (alkene) linkages and/or replacement of dialkylamino electron-donating edge substituents by diarylamino ones results in an increase of delta(TPA) values. The combination of large TPA cross sections and high emission quantum yields makes the title benzothiazole-based dyes attractive for applications involving two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF).