Live Monitoring of Strain-Promoted Azide Alkyne Cycloadditions in Complex Reaction Environments by Inline ATR-IR Spectroscopy.

The strain-promoted azide alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) is a powerful tool for forming covalent bonds between molecules even under physiological conditions, and therefore found broad application in fields ranging from biological chemistry and biomedical research to materials sciences. For many applications, knowledge about reaction kinetics of these ligations is of utmost importance. Kinetics are commonly assessed and studied by NMR measurements. However, these experiments are limited in terms of temperature and restricted to deuterated solvents. By using an inline ATR-IR probe we show that the cycloaddition of azides and alkynes can be monitored in aqueous and even complex biological fluids enabling the investigation of reaction kinetics in various solvents and even human blood plasma under controlled conditions in low reaction volumes.

Symmetric Mixed Sulfur-Selenium Fused Ring Systems as Potential Materials for Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

A reliable synthetic protocol toward a series of fused chalcogenopheno[1]benzochalcogenophene (CBC) building blocks was developed based on a Fiesselmann reaction. The obtained CBC units were applied in McMurry and Stille coupling reactions toward symmetric regioisomeric ene-linked dimers. These π-conjugated compounds were characterized regarding their photophysical and electrochemical properties and proved to be materials with reduced HOMO-LUMO gaps compared to their sulfur-based analogues. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments revealed strong intermolecular selenium-selenium and selenium-carbon interactions depending on the position and number of incorporated selenium atoms. Good field-effect transistor performance with charge carrier mobilities up to 4×10-3  cm2 V-1 s-1 and high on/off ratios could be observed.

A novel selenoalkenyl-isoxazole based donor-acceptor nonlinear optical material.

The structure property relationships of untwinned enantiomorphic Z-(methylseleno)alkenyl-substituted phenyl-isoxazole and its isostructural triazole congener both crystallizing in the P212121 space group were investigated with respect to UV/vis absorption, thermal behaviour, and second harmonic generation ability. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed a significantly higher melting point of the novel isoxazole compound compared to the triazole derivative and therefore a broader thermal application window. The SHG efficiency of the isoxazole derivative is approximately two thirds the value of the triazole compound and approximately 27 times higher than potassium dihydrogen phosphate. Thus, the developed molecular scaffold represents an interesting novel type of nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophore.

Color Fine-Tuning of Optical Materials Through Rational Design.

We report on the feasibility for color fine-tuning of optical materials using rational design principles based on chemical reasoning. For this purpose, a modular framework for the construction of symmetrical cap-linker-cap compounds, using triarylamine caps and oligothiophene linkers, is applied. The chosen structural scaffolds are heavily used in recent industrial applications and provide five possibilities for altering their electronic and steric properties: electron donor/acceptor groups, planarization/deplanarization, and modulation of the π-conjugation length. Permutation of the used building blocks leads to a set of 54 different molecules, out of which 32 are synthesized and characterized in solution as well as in example fabricated OLED devices. This setup allows for color fine-tuning in the range of 412 nm to 540 nm with typical steps of 4 nm. In addition, to further benefit from the large experimental data set the spectroscopic results are used to benchmark quantum chemical computations, which show excellent agreement thus highlighting the potential of these calculations to guide future syntheses.

Charge-transfer states in triazole linked donor-acceptor materials: strong effects of chemical modification and solvation.

A series of 1,2,3-triazole linked donor-acceptor chromophores are prepared by Click Chemistry from ene-yne starting materials. The effects of three distinct chemical variations are investigated: enhancing the acceptor strength through oxidation of the sulphur atom, alteration of the double bond configuration, and variation of the triazole substitution pattern. A detailed photophysical characterization shows that these alterations have a negligible effect on the absorption while dramatically altering the emission wavelengths. In addition, strong solvatochromism is found leading to significant red shifts in the case of polar solvents. The experimental findings are rationalized and related to the electronic structure properties of the chromophores by time-dependent density functional theory as well as the ab initio algebraic diagrammatic construction method for the polarization propagator in connection with a new formalism allowing to model the influence of solvation onto long-lived excited states and their emission energies. These calculations highlight the varying degree of intramolecular charge transfer character present for the different molecules and show that the amount of charge transfer is strongly modulated by the conducted chemical modifications, by the solvation of the chromophores, and by the structural relaxation in the excited state. It is, furthermore, shown that enhanced charge separation, as induced by chemical modification or solvation, reduces the singlet-triplet gaps and that two of the investigated molecules possess sufficiently low gaps to be considered as candidates for thermally activated delayed fluorescence.

Structure-Property Relationships in Click-Derived Donor-Triazole-Acceptor Materials.

To shed light on intramolecular charge-transfer phenomena in 1,2,3-triazole-linked materials, a series of 1,2,3-triazole-linked push-pull chromophores were prepared and studied experimentally and computationally. Investigated modifications include variation of donor and/or acceptor strength and linker moiety as well as regioisomers. Photophysical characterization of intramolecular charge-transfer features revealed ambipolar behavior of the triazole linker, depending on the substitution position. Furthermore, non-centrosymmetric materials were subjected to second-harmonic generation measurements, which revealed the high nonlinear optical activity of this class of materials.

Isolation and structure elucidation of pentahydroxyscirpene, a trichothecene Fusarium mycotoxin.

Pentahydroxyscirpene, a novel trichothecene-type compound, was isolated from Fusarium-inoculated rice. The structure of pentahydroxyscirpene was elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The conformation in solution was determined by NOESY experiments supported by quantum chemical calculations. In vitro toxicity tests showed that pentahydroxyscirpene inhibits protein synthesis as do other trichothecenes.

Development of a (18) F-labeled tetrazine with favorable pharmacokinetics for bioorthogonal PET imaging.

A low-molecular-weight (18) F-labeled tetrazine derivative was developed as a highly versatile tool for bioorthogonal PET imaging. Prosthetic groups and undesired carrying of (18) F through additional steps were evaded by direct (18) F-fluorination of an appropriate tetrazine precursor. Reaction kinetics of the cycloaddition with trans-cyclooctenes were investigated by applying quantum chemical calculations and stopped-flow measurements in human plasma; the results indicated that the labeled tetrazine is suitable as a bioorthogonal probe for the imaging of dienophile-tagged (bio)molecules. In vitro and in vivo investigations revealed high stability and PET/MRI in mice showed fast homogeneous biodistribution of the (18) F-labeled tetrazine that also passes the blood-brain barrier. An in vivo click experiment confirmed the bioorthogonal behavior of this novel tetrazine probe. Due to favorable chemical and pharmacokinetic properties this bioorthogonal agent should find application in bioimaging and biomedical research.

Synthesis, spectroscopy, and computational analysis of photoluminescent bis(aminophenyl)-substituted thiophene derivatives.

Substituted oligothiophenes have a long history in the field of organic electronics, as they often combine outstanding electro-optical properties with the ease of synthesis. To assist the rational selection of the most promising structures to be synthesized, there is the demand for tools that allow prediction of the properties of the materials. In this study, we present strategies for synthesis and computational characterization, with respect to the fluorescence behavior of oligothiophene-based materials for organoelectronic applications. In a combined approach, sophisticated computational methodologies are directly compared to experimental results. The M06-2X functional in combination with the polarizable continuum model in a state-specific formulation for excited-state solvation proved to be particularly reliable. In addition, a semiclassical approach for describing the vibrational broadening of the spectra is employed. As a result, a robust procedure for the prediction of the fluorescence spectra of oligothiophene derivatives is presented.

Solvatomorphism of 9,9'-[1,3,4-thiadiazole-2,5-diylbis(2,3-thiophendiyl-4,1-phenylene)]bis[9H-carbazole]: isostructurality, modularity and order-disorder theory.

During a systematic investigation of the crystallization behaviour of 9,9'-[1,3,4-thiadiazole-2,5-diylbis(2,3-thiophendiyl-4,1-phenylene)]bis[9H-carbazole] (I), six single crystalline solvates were obtained and characterized by X-ray diffraction at 100 K. The structure of the hemi-2-butanone (MEK) solvate contains two crystallographically independent molecules of (I) related by pseudo-inversion symmetry. The structure is polytypic and composed of non-polar (I) layers and polar solvent layers. It can be described according to an extended order-disorder (OD) theory with relaxed vicinity condition. The observed polytype is of a maximum degree of order (MDO). Layer triples of the second MDO polytype are shown by twinning by inversion. The mono-benzene and mono-toluene solvates are isostructural. Whereas the (I) layers are isostructural to those of the idealized description of the hemi-MEK solvate, the solvent layers are non-polar, resulting in a fully ordered structure. The toluene molecule is ordered, the benzene molecule features disorder. The (I) layers in the sesqui-dioxane and sesqui-benzene solvates are isostructural and unrelated to those in the hemi-MEK, mono-benzene and mono-toluene solvates. The solvent layers are isopointal in both sesqui-solvates, but the stacking differs significantly. The hemi-dideuterodichloromethane (DCM-d(2)) solvate is made up of two kinds of (I) rods, spaced by DCM-d(2) molecules. Rods of one kind are similar to analogous rods in the sesqui-dioxane and the sesqui-benzene solvates, whereas rods of the other kind are only remotely related to rods in the hemi-MEK solvate.

4-[(Z)-2-(methylsulfanyl)ethenyl]-1-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole: an order-disorder (OD) interpretation of twinning.

The title compound, C(11)H(11)SN(3), crystallizes as twins with a twin volume fraction of 0.4232 (13). An order-disorder (OD) interpretation gives a plausible explanation of the crystallization behaviour. The structure is a polytype with a maximum degree of order (MDO). The contact plane is interpreted as being composed of a fragment of the second MDO polytype. The planes of the triazole and phenyl rings are twisted by 36.88 (6)°. Molecules are connected via C-H···N hydrogen bonds, forming layers parallel to (100). The layers can be arranged in geometrically different but energetically virtually equivalent ways, giving rise to polytypism.

Crystal chemistry of trialkylsilyl-capped (3Z)-4-(methylthio)-3-penten-1-yne: polymorphism, twinning and ambiguity of order-disorder descriptions.

The crystallization behavior of trimethylsilyl-capped (3Z)-4-(methylthio)-3-penten-1-yne (1-TMS) and the triisopropylsilyl and tert-butyldimethylsilyl analogues (1-TIPS) and (1-TBDMS) was investigated. (1-TMS) crystallizes in the Sohncke space group P212121 with Z' = 1. (1-TIPS) exists as two polymorphs, both crystallizing in P\overline 1 with Z' = 2 independent molecules. Polymorph (I) is an order-disorder (OD) twin. Two interpretations in terms of M = 1 or M = 2 kinds of OD layers are possible, with different degrees of idealization. Polymorph (II) is fully ordered (non-twinned). Its structure can be derived from polymorph (I) by inverting the orientation of every second molecule. (1-TBDMS) (P\overline1, Z' = 2) is an OD twin, where the OD description is unambiguously in M = 1 kinds of layers.

Crystal chemistry of layered structures formed by linear rigid silyl-capped molecules.

The crystallization behavior of methylthio- or methylsulfonyl-containing spacer extended Z,Z-bis-ene-yne molecules capped with trimethylsilyl groups obtained by (tandem) thiophene ring fragmentation and of two non-spacer extended analogs were investigated. The rigid and linear molecules generally crystallized in layers whereby the flexibility of the layer interfaces formed by the silyl groups leads to a remarkably rich crystal chemistry. The molecules with benzene and thiophene spacers both crystallized with C2/c symmetry and can be considered as merotypes. Increasing the steric bulk of the core by introduction of ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) gave a structure incommensurately modulated in the [010] direction. Further increase of steric demand in the case of a dimethoxythiophene restored periodicity along [010] but resulted in a doubling of the c vector. Two different polytypes were observed, which feature geometrically different layer interfaces (non-OD, order-disorder, polytypes), one with a high stacking fault probability. Oxidation of the methylthio groups of the benzene-based molecule to methylsulfonyl groups led to three polymorphs (two temperature-dependent), which were analyzed by Hirshfeld surface d e/d i fingerprint plots. The analogously oxidized EDOT-based molecule crystallized as systematic twins owing to its OD polytypism. Shortening of the backbone by removal of the aryl core resulted in an enantiomorphic structure and a further shortening by removal of a methylthio-ene fragment again in a systematically twinned OD polytype.

Synthesis and application of monodisperse oligo(oxyethylene)-grafted polystyrene resins for solid-phase organic synthesis.

In a preliminary investigation by our group, we found that poly(styrene-oxyethylene) graft copolymers (PS-PEG), for example, TentaGel resins, are advantageous for gel-phase (13)C NMR spectroscopy. Because of the solution-like environment provided by the PS-PEG resins, good spectral quality of the attached moiety can be achieved, which is useful for nondestructive on-resin analysis. The general drawbacks of such resins are low loading capacities and the intense signal in the spectra resulting from the PEG linker (>50 units). Here, we describe the characterization of solvent-dependent swelling and reaction kinetics on a new type of resin for solid-phase organic synthesis (SPOS) that allows an accurate monitoring by gel-phase NMR without the above disadvantages. A series of polystyrene-oligo(oxyethylene) graft copolymers containing monodisperse PEG units (n = 2-12) was synthesized. A strong correlation between the linker (PEG) length and the line widths in the (13)C gel-phase spectra was observed, with a grafted PEG chain of 8 units giving similar results in terms of reactivity and gel-phase NMR monitoring to TentaGel resin. Multistep on-resin reaction sequences were performed to prove the applicability of the resins in solid-phase organic synthesis.

Fibre optic ATR-IR spectroscopy at cryogenic temperatures: in-line reaction monitoring on organolithium compounds.

A reliable methodology, utilising an ATR-IR fibre probe, for in-line monitoring of low temperature reactions is presented. The application of this convenient set-up enables a fast and safe exploration of highly reactive substrates. Hence, in situ monitoring of lithiation reactions is realised and the potential to investigate sensitive intermediates is being demonstrated.