Gleb V. Baryshnikov

Azatrioxa[8]circulenes: Planar Anti-Aromatic Cyclooctatetraenes

We describe herein the first synthesis of a new class of anti-aromatic planar cyclooctatetraenes: the azatrioxa[8]circulenes. This was achieved by treating a suitably functionalised 3,6-dihydroxycarbazole with 1,4-benzoquinones or a 1,4-naphthoquinone. We fully characterised the azatrioxa[8]circulenes by using optical, electrochemical and computational techniques as well as by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The results of a computational study (NICS) suggest that the central planar cyclooctatetraene is anti-aromatic when the molecules are in neutral or oxidised states (2+), and that the corresponding dianions are aromatic. We discuss the aromatic/anti-aromatic nature of the planar cyclooctatetraenes and compare them with the isoelectronic tetraoxa[8]circulenes.

Diazadioxa(8)circulenes: Planar Antiaromatic Cyclooctatetraenes

In this paper we describe a new class of antiaromatic planar cyclooctatetraenes: the diazadioxa[8]circulenes. The synthesis was achieved by means of a new acid-mediated oxidative dimerization of 3,6-dihydroxycarbazoles to yield the diazadioxa[8]circulenes in high yields. The synthetic protocol appears to be general, and is a one-pot transformation in which two C-C bonds and two C-O bonds are formed with the loss of two molecules of water. We also present a detailed characterization of the optical and electrochemical properties of this new class of stable planar cyclooctatetraenes. The properties of the diazadioxa[8]circulenes are compared with the properties of isoelectronic tetraoxa[8]circulenes and azatrioxa[8]circulenes. We discuss the antiaromatic nature of the planar central cyclooctatetraene moiety. The antiaromatic nature of the planar cyclooctatetraenes was studied by using computational methods (NICS calculations), and these calculations reveal that the central eight-membered ring has antiaromatic character.

Theory and Calculation of the Phosphorescence Phenomenon

Phosphorescence is a phenomenon of delayed luminescence that corresponds to the radiative decay of the molecular triplet state. As a general property of molecules, phosphorescence represents a cornerstone problem of chemical physics due to the spin prohibition of the underlying triplet-singlet emission and because its analysis embraces a deep knowledge of electronic molecular structure. Phosphorescence is the simplest physical process which provides an example of spin-forbidden transformation with a characteristic spin selectivity and magnetic field dependence, being the model also for more complicated chemical reactions and for spin catalysis applications. The bridging of the spin prohibition in phosphorescence is commonly analyzed by perturbation theory, which considers the intensity borrowing from spin-allowed electronic transitions. In this review, we highlight the basic theoretical principles and computational aspects for the estimation of various phosphorescence parameters, like intensity, radiative rate constant, lifetime, polarization, zero-field splitting, and spin sublevel population. Qualitative aspects of the phosphorescence phenomenon are discussed in terms of concepts like structure-activity relationships, donor-acceptor interactions, vibronic activity, and the role of spin-orbit coupling under charge-transfer perturbations. We illustrate the theory and principles of computational phosphorescence by highlighting studies of classical examples like molecular nitrogen and oxygen, benzene, naphthalene and their azaderivatives, porphyrins, as well as by reviewing current research on systems like electrophosphorescent transition metal complexes, nucleobases, and amino acids. We furthermore discuss modern studies of phosphorescence that cover topics of applied relevance, like the design of novel photofunctional materials for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), photovoltaic cells, chemical sensors, and bioimaging.

Design of nanoscaled materials based on tetraoxa[8]circulene

Nanotubes and two-dimensional sheet-like compounds containing tetraoxa[8]circulene core units are theoretically predicted. The large cavities with a diameter of 6 Å in the 2D sheets could be useful for hydrogen storage. The designed compounds are predicted to adsorb strongly in the visible region and to be a promising material for nanophotonics because of their electron-donor properties (p-type semiconductors).

Nucleus-independent chemical shift criterion for aromaticity in π-extended tetraoxa[8]circulenes

AbstractRecently synthesized π-extended symmetrical tetraoxa[8]circulenes that exhibit electroluminescent properties were calculated at the density functional theory (DFT) level using the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) approach to electron density distribution analysis. Nucleus-independent chemical shift (NICS) indices were used to characterize the aromaticity of the studied molecules. The tetraoxa[8]circulene molecules were found to consist of two antiaromatic perimeters (according to the Hückel “4n” antiaromaticity rule) that include 8 and 24 π-electrons. Conversely, NICS calculations demonstrated the existence of a common π-extended system (distributed like a flat ribbon) in the studied tetraoxa[8]circulene molecules. Thus, these symmetrical tetraoxa[8]circulene molecules provide examples of diatropic systems characterized by the presence of induced diatropic ring currents. FigureSpecial aromaticity of the tetraoxa[8]circulenes

The art of the possible: computational design of the 1D and 2D materials based on the tetraoxa[8]circulene monomer

Novel one- and two-dimensional π-conjugated materials containing a tetraoxa[8]circulene monomer are designed on the basis of density functional theory techniques, including the periodic boundary condition for the infinite structures. These new materials are predicted to be the perspective ambipolar organic semiconductors showing a high mobility for hole and electron charge carriers. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the extension of π-conjugated tetraoxa[8]circulene units in the second dimension leads to a material with the HOMO–LUMO gap being significantly smaller than that for the 1D polymer ribbon. This fact clearly indicates the fundamental difference between the designed 1D and 2D semiconducting polymers, which constitutes the essence of modern “band-gap engineering”. The consistent growth of π-conjugation determines the strong visible light absorption of the studied systems in a great contrast to the initial lack of color of the tetraoxa[8]circulene compound. The possible chemical routes to synthesize the predicted materials are discussed, including free Gibbs energy estimation for the proposed reactions.

Single crystal architecture and absorption spectra of octathio[8]circulene and sym-tetraselenatetrathio[8]circulene: QTAIM and TD-DFT approach

AbstractThe single crystal architecture of the high-symmetry octathio[8]circulene and sym-tetraselenatetrathio[8]circulene is studied at the density functional theory (DFT) level with the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIMs) approach to the electron density distribution analysis. The presence of stabilizing intermolecular C---C, C---S and C---Se contacts in the longitudinal and transversal projections of the single crystals is postulated on the grounds of the previous high-resolution X-ray data for octathio[8]circulene; it is supported by the present QTAIM calculations and also predicted in some new details for both circulenes. We suggest that the appearance of the observed red color for the monocrystalline octathio[8]circulene is caused by strong intermolecular interactions between the molecules in the single crystal. However, the intermolecular interactions for the sym-tetraselenatetrathio[8]circulene crystal fragment are weaker and molecular layers are more friable in comparison to octathio[8]circulene crystal structure. These lead to the absence of visible absorption for the sym-tetraselenatetrathio[8]circulene crystal. Graphical abstract3D architecture of molecular crystals for two studied circulenes

Tetrathio and tetraseleno[8]circulenes: synthesis, structures, and properties.

Novel sulfur and selenium-bridged [8]circulenes were prepared from octabromotetraphenylene. Structures of these compounds were unambiguously confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analyses. Photophysical and electrochemical investigations of these [8]circulenes suggest their potential applications as electronic materials. The antiaromatic nature of tetrathio[8]circulene and tetraselenium[8]circulene was studied by computational methods, and the NICS computational results reveal that the central eight-membered ring has highly antiaromatic character.

Fluorescence and FTIR Spectra Analysis of Trans-A2B2- Substituted Di- and Tetra-Phenyl Porphyrins

A series of asymmetrically substituted free-base di- and tetra-phenylporphyrins and the associated Zn-phenylporphyrins were synthesized and studied by X-ray diffraction, NMR, infrared, electronic absorption spectra, as well as fluorescence emission spectroscopy, along with theoretical simulations of the electronic and vibration structures. The synthesis selectively afforded trans-A2B2 porphyrins, without scrambling observed, where the AA and BB were taken as donor- and acceptor-substituted phenyl groups. The combined results point to similar properties to symmetrically substituted porphyrins reported in the literature. The differences in FTIR and fluorescence were analyzed by means of detailed density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The X-ray diffraction analysis for single crystals of zinc-containing porphyrins revealed small deviations from planarity for the porphyrin core in perfect agreement with the DFT optimized structures. All calculated vibrational modes (2162 modes for all six compounds studied) were found and fully characterized and assigned to the observed FTIR spectra. The most intense IR bands are discussed in connection with the generic similarity and differences of calculated normal modes. Absorption spectra of all compounds in the UV and visible regions show the typical ethio type feature of meso-tetraarylporphyrins with a very intense Soret band and weak Q bands of decreasing intensity. In diphenyl derivatives, the presence of only two phenyl rings causes a pronounced hypsochromic shift of all bands in the absorption spectra. Time-dependent DFT calculations revealed some peculiarities in the electronic excited states structure and connected them with vibronic bands in the absorption and fluorescence spectra from associated vibrational sublevels.

Alkali and alkaline-earth metal complexes with tetraoxa(8)circulene sheet: a computational study by DFT and QTAIM methods†

A series of alkali and alkaline-earth metal ion complexes with the tetraoxa[8]circulene sheet which possess single- and double-decker structure has been designed and studied by the DFT computational method. Baders topological analysis of the electron density distribution function has been also performed for the studied complexes with the aim to determine their peculiar electronic features. The obtained computational results indicate the definite selectivity in respect to complexation of the s-block metal ions with the tetraoxa[8]circulene-formed nanopores of various sizes. The coordination bonds of the s-block metal centers with the neighbouring oxygen atoms in the studied complexes possess predominantly ionic nature and can be interpreted as low-covalence closed-shell interactions. The total complexation energy for the studied systems has been estimated to be in a wide range of 9–60 kcal mol−1 which indicates their different stability depending on the nanopore size and metal ion radii. For these reasons the synthesis of the tetraoxa[8]circulene sheets is an important task because of their potential applications as biomimetic-type nanopores representing synthetic ionic channels.