The synthesis of a series of tetraaryl cyclopentadienones comprising different substitution patterns is reported. Their photophysical and electrochemical properties are investigated by UV/Vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry as well as by supporting quantum chemical simulations and reveal a distinct effect of substituents on the redox behavior of the molecules as well as the absorption properties of this class of compounds. While electrochemical data display a shift in reduction potential of up to 200 mV between the differently substituted cyclopentadienones, their photophysical investigations in differently polar solvents suggest a negative solvatochromic effect, although protic solvents induce a bathochromic shift. Crystal structure analyses of some derivatives confirm similarity with related cyclopentadienones while providing insight into intermolecular C–H···O and C–H···π interactions in the solid state.
Hexaarylbenzenes (HABs) are valuable precursors for the bottom-up synthesis of (nano-)graphene structures. In this work the synthesis of several bis-pyrimidine substituted HABs furnished with tert-butyl groups at different sites of the four pendant phenyl rings is reported. The synthetic procedure is based on modular [4+2]-Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions followed by decarbonylation. Analysis of the solid-state structures revealed that the newly synthesized HABs feature a propeller-like arrangement of the six arylic substituents around the benzene core. Here, the tilt of the aryl rings with respect to the central ring is strongly depending on the intermolecular interactions between the HABs as well as co-crystallized solvent molecules. Interestingly, by evading the closest proximity of the central ring using an alkyne spacer, the distant pyrimidine ring is oriented in coplanar geometry with regard to the benzene core, giving rise to a completely different UV-absorption profile.
Rhenium(I) complexes of type [Re(CO)3(NN)Cl] (NN = α-diimine) with MLCT absorption in the orange-red region of the visible spectrum have been synthesized and fully characterized, including single crystal X-ray diffraction on two complexes. The strong bathochromic shift of MLCT absorption was achieved through extension of the π-system of the electron-poor bidiazine ligand 4,4′-bipyrimidine by the addition of fused phenyl rings, resulting in 4,4′-biquinazoline. Furthermore, upon anionic cyclization of the twisted bidiazine, a new 4N-doped perylene ligand, namely, 1,3,10,12-tetraazaperylene, was obtained. Electrochemical characterization revealed a significant stabilization of the LUMO in this series, with the first reduction of the azaperylene found at E1/2(0/−) = −1.131 V vs. Fc+/Fc, which is the most anodic half-wave potential observed for N-doped perylene derivatives so far. The low LUMO energies were directly correlated to the photophysical properties of the respective complexes, resulting in a strongly red-shifted MLCT absorption band in chloroform with a λmax = 586 nm and high extinction coefficients (ε586nm > 5000 M−1 cm−1) ranging above 700 nm in the case of the tetraazaperylene complex. Such low-energy MLCT absorption is highly unusual for Re(I) α-diimine complexes, for which these bands are typically found in the near UV. The reported 1,3,10,12-tetraazaperylene complex displayed the [Re(CO)3(α-diimine)Cl] complex with the strongest MLCT red shift ever reported. UV–Vis NIR spectroelectrochemical investigations gave further insights into the nature and stability of the reduced states. The electron-poor ligands explored herein open up a new path for designing metal complexes with strongly red-shifted absorption, thus enabling photocatalysis and photomedical applications with low-energy, tissue-penetrating red light in future.
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