A new fluorescent chemosensor for fluoride anion based on a pyrrole-isoxazole derivative.

Molecules containing polarized NH fragments that behave as anion-binding motifs are widely used as receptors for recognition and sensing purposes in aprotic solvents. We present here a new example of a receptor, 3-amino-5-(4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-indol-2-yl)isoxazole-4-carboxamide (receptor 1), which contains pyrrole, amide and amino subunits. This receptor shows both changes in its UV-vis absorption and fluorescence emission spectra upon the addition of F(-), resulting in highly selectivity for fluoride detection over other anions, such as Cl(-), Br(-), I(-), HSO(4) (-), H(2)PO(4) (-) and AcO(-) in CH(3)CN. (1)H NMR titration, time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations and other experiments confirm that the sensing process is brought about by deprotonation of the pyrrole-NH in receptor 1.

Spectroscopic and computational studies on the coordination-driven self-assembly complexes (ZnL)2 and (NiL)2 [L= bis(2,4-dimethyldipyrrin-3-yl)methane].

FT-IR, FT-Raman and electronic absorption spectroscopies were utilized in conjunction with density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate the ground and excited states of self-assembled dinuclear dimeric helicates (ZnL)2 and (NiL)2 [L = bis(2,4-dimethyldipyrrin-3-yl)methane]. These studies afford a detailed description of the ground-state geometric and electronic structures of (ZnL)2 and (NiL)2 and provide a comparison with similar geometrical metal-porphyrins. The results demonstrate that enlarging the basis set used in the DFT calculations results in an obvious alteration of the calculated bond lengths but negligible alteration of the calculated bond angles. The predicted spectra are in good agreement with the experimental ones with the deviations generally less than 30 cm(-1). In comparison with vibrational spectra of metal-porphyrins, the breathing vibration of the pyrrole ring is shifted by over 100 cm(-1) toward higher wavenumber due to local conjugation of molecular geometry. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) provides a good description of the excitation energy. Because of the break in symmetry, the absorption band (corresponding to the Q-band of porphyrin) of (ZnL)2 and (NiL)2 is no longer weak. Local conjugation makes the absorption wavelength of (NiL)2 and (ZnL)2 shift to the blue compared with those of NiP and ZnP.

Photophysical properties of diphenyl-2,3-dihydroxychlorin and diphenylchlorin.

The photophysical properties of 5,15-diphenyl-2,3-dihydroxychlorin (DPCOH) and 5,15-diphenyl-chlorin (DPC) in organic solution were studied. Absorption, fluorescence, triplet state and photobleaching experiments are reported. The ground states of both compounds show strong absorbance in red region (lambda = 638 nm, epsilon = 35,000 M(-1) cm(-1) and lambda = 645 nm, epsilon = 42,000 M(-1) cm(-1), respectively) and the singlet excited states show low fluorescence quantum yields of 0.0802 and 0.150 in benzene and the lifetimes are 7.38 and 10.18 ns, respectively. Absorption spectra of the triplet states were also measured and they have nearly the same triplet state lifetimes of 53 micros (DPCOH) and 50 micros (DPC). The triplet quantum yields are 0.82 and 0.75, respectively. The data of photobleaching quantum yields show that the presence of oxygen does not significantly affect the photobleaching. All the results demonstrate that both diphenylchlorines are good candidates for second-generation photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy.

Intramolecular aggregation and optical limiting properties of triazine-linked mono-, bis- and tris-phthalocyanines.

A series of triazine-linked mono-, bis- and tris-phthalocyanines are synthesized, intramolecular aggregation is found in bis- and tris-phthalocyanines via π-π stacking interaction. Theoretical and experimental studies reveal the formation of the intramolecular aggregation. The spectrographic, photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of these compounds are adjusted for the formation of the intramolecular aggregation. The bis-phthalocyanine dimer presents smaller fluorescence quantum yield, lower triplet formation yield and the triplet-minus-ground state extinction coefficient, which causes poorer optical limiting performance. It is interesting that the tris-phthalocyanine is composed of a mono-phthalocyanine part and a bis-phthalocyanine part, the optical limiting property of the tris-phthalocyanine is similar to that of mono-phthalocyanine.

Facile synthesis of size-tunable micro-octahedra via metal-organic coordination.

Single-crystalline micro-octahedra of Zn(PyrPy)2 with tunable sizes have been synthesized by manipulating the reaction kinetics of metal-organic coordination.

Switch from intra- to intermolecular H-bonds by ultrasound: induced gelation and distinct nanoscale morphologies.

During cooling of the ( R)-N-Fmoc-Octylglycine (Fmoc-OG)/cyclohexane solution, gelation is observed exclusively when ultrasound is used as an external stimulus, while deposit is obtained without sonication. The xerogel consists of entangled fibrous network made by interconnected nanofibers, while the deposit comprises large numbers of unbranched nanowires. It is found that the Fmoc-OG molecules form bilayer structures in both the deposit and the gel. However, the ratio ( R) between the Fmoc-OG molecules in a stable intramolecular H-bonding conformation and those in a metastable intermolecular H-bonding conformation can be tuned by the ultrasound, R (deposit) > R (gel). The increased population of the intermolecular H-bonding Fmoc-OG molecules induced by the ultrasonication facilitates to the interconnection of nanofibers for the formation of the fibrous network, and therefore gelation. The alteration in the morphologies and properties of the obtained nanomaterials induced by the ultrasound wave demonstrates a potential method for smart controlling of the functions of nanomaterials from the molecular level.

A highly fluorescent anthracene-containing hybrid material exhibiting tunable blue-green emission based on the formation of an unusual "T-shaped" excimer.

A series of flexible bis(9-anthryldiamine) ligands (L1-L3) linked with alkyl spacers of different chain length was synthesized and characterized, in order to investigate the coordination behavior of these diamine ligands with metal ions (Zn2+, etc.) based on fluorescence measurements. The results showed that, in the case of anthryldiamine ligands bearing two- or four-carbon links, the zinc ion induced a chelation-enhanced fluorescence (CHEF) effect in aqueous media, while a trace amount of water could selectively quench the blue emission of the Zn(II) complex with a three-carbon-linked ligand (1). Meanwhile, the introduction of more water (concentration >11 %) resulted in the formation of a new green luminescent species; the luminescence intensity was enhanced stepwise to a maximum with addition of approximately 30 % water in THF solution. The peak position (centered at approximately 500 nm) and the lifetime measurement (tau=19.59 ns) indicated that the green luminescence was attributable to a novel edge-to-face dimeric conformation ("T-shaped" conformation) of anthracene, and not to the more common face-to-face dimeric conformation. Accordingly, 1H NMR spectroscopic studies in nonaqueous or aqueous solution confirmed this T-shaped conformation, which is consistent with the results of single-crystal X-ray structure analysis and solid-state photoluminescence studies.

Distinct M and P helical complexes of H2O and metal ions NiII, CuII, and ZnII with enantiomerically pure chiral bis(pyrrol-2-ylmethyleneamine)cyclohexane ligands: crystal structures and circular dichroism properties.

The enantiomerically pure bis-bidentate ligands of bis(pyrrol-2-ylmethyleneamine)cyclohexane [H2(LR,S)] are easily synthesized from condensation of the pure R,R and S,S enantiomers of the 1,2-diaminecyclohexane spacer with 2 equiv of pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde. The coordination of [H2(LR,S)] with a H2O molecule and metal ions NiII, CuII, and ZnII gives rise to distinct helical structures and crystal packing motifs: homochiral and enantiopure infinite single-helical polymeric chains of [(H2(LR,S).H2O)n] via hydrogen bonds, mononuclear single helices of [NiII(LR,S)] and [CuII(LR,S)], and a double-stranded dinuclear helicate of [ZnII2(LR,S)2], respectively. The helical structures for all metal complexes in the solid state still remain in the solution. Remarkably, chiral ligands of [H2(LR)] and [H2(LS)] predetermine the chirality of the helices and helicates, i.e., P left-handedness and M right-handedness, respectively. The structural changes of these complexes induced by different coordinators are also characterized by circular dichroism (CD) and absorption spectra in both the solid state and solution. Analysis of CD spectra, with aids of absolute determination of single-crystal X-ray diffraction structures, reveals both intraligand and interligand chromophore couplings. For the potential applications of these complexes, other experiments such as magnetism, photoluminescence, and nonlinear optical properties have also been investigated.

Ratiometric Zn2+ sensor and strategy for Hg2+ selective recognition by central metal ion replacement.

Strategies of both self-assembly and metal ion replacement were adopted in the development of new metal ion sensors for Zn2+ and Hg2+. Ligand BPBA, phenylene-bridged bis(pyrrol-2-ylmethyleneamine), could self-assemble to form a molecular square in the presence of Zn2+, which showed strong emission in solution. The fluorescent emission of formed BPBA-Zn2+ dropped with the addition of Hg2+. BPBA could be a good Zn2+ sensor candidate and BPBA-Zn2+ could be a good Hg2+ sensor candidate based on the mechanisms of the chelation-enhanced fluorescence effect and the replacement of central metal ion induced chelation-enhanced fluorescence quenching effect, respectively.

Tetra-N-confused cyclohexapyrrole: the unusual product formed by condensation of 3,3'-dipyrromethane with tripyrrin-aldehyde.

Novel tetra-N-confused cyclohexapyrrole is synthesized for the first time via condensation of tripyrrinone-aldehyde with bis(2,4-dimethylpyrrole-3-yl)methane in the presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate. X-ray crystal analysis indicates that it adopts a nonplanar conformation with a conelike shape.