Jiawang Zhou

Intramolecular Energy and Electron Transfer within a Diazaperopyrenium-Based Cyclophane

Molecules capable of performing highly efficient energy transfer and ultrafast photoinduced electron transfer in well-defined multichromophoric structures are indispensable to the development of artificial photofunctional systems. Herein, we report on the synthesis, characterization, and photophysical properties of a rationally designed multichromophoric tetracationic cyclophane, DAPPBox4+, containing a diazaperopyrenium (DAPP2+) unit and an extended viologen (ExBIPY2+) unit, which are linked together by two p-xylylene bridges. Both 1H NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis confirm the formation of an asymmetric, rigid, box-like cyclophane, DAPPBox4+. The solid-state superstructure of this cyclophane reveals a herringbone-type packing motif, leading to two types of π···π interactions: (i) between the ExBIPY2+ unit and the DAPP2+ unit (π···π distance of 3.7 Å) in the adjacent parallel cyclophane, as well as (ii) between the ExBIPY2+ unit (π···π distance of 3.2 Å) and phenylene ring in the closest orthogonal cyclophane. Moreover, the solution-phase photophysical properties of this cyclophane have been investigated by both steady-state and time-resolved absorption and emission spectroscopies. Upon photoexcitation of DAPPBox4+ at 330 nm, rapid and quantitative intramolecular energy transfer occurs from the 1*ExBIPY2+ unit to the DAPP2+ unit in 0.5 ps to yield 1*DAPP2+. The same excitation wavelength simultaneously populates a higher excited state of 1*DAPP2+ which then undergoes ultrafast intramolecular electron transfer from 1*DAPP2+ to ExBIPY2+ to yield the DAPP3+•-ExBIPY+• radical ion pair in τ = 1.5 ps. Selective excitation of DAPP2+ at 505 nm populates a lower excited state where electron transfer is kinetically unfavorable.

Probing Distance Dependent Charge-Transfer Character in Excimers of Extended Viologen Cyclophanes Using Femtosecond Vibrational Spectroscopy

Facile exciton transport within ordered assemblies of π-stacked chromophores is essential for developing molecular photonic and electronic materials. Excimer states having variable charge transfer (CT) character are frequently implicated as promoting or inhibiting exciton mobility in such systems. However, determining the degree of CT character in excimers as a function of their structure has proven challenging. Herein, we report on a series of cyclophanes in which the interplanar distance between two phenyl-extended viologen (ExV2+) chromophores is varied systematically using a pair of o-, m-, or p-xylylene (o-, m-, or p-Xy) covalent linkers to produce o-ExBox4+ (3.5 Å), m-ExBox4+ (5.6 Å), and p-ExBox4+ (7.0 Å), respectively. The cyclophane structures are characterized using NMR spectroscopy in solution and single-crystal X-ray diffraction in the solid state. Femtosecond transient mid-IR and stimulated Raman spectroscopies show that the CT contribution to the excimer states formed in o-ExBox4+ and m-ExBox4+ depends on the distance between the chromophores within the cyclophanes, while in the weak interaction limit, as represented by p-ExBox4+ (7.0 Å), the lowest excited singlet state of ExV2+ exclusively photo-oxidizes the p-Xy spacer to give the p-Xy+•-ExV+• ion pair. Moreover, the vibrational spectra of the excimer state show that it assumes a geometry that is intermediate between that of the locally excited and CT states, approximately reflecting the degree of CT character.

ExTzBox: A Glowing Cyclophane for Live-Cell Imaging

The ideal fluorescent probe for live-cell imaging is bright and non-cytotoxic and can be delivered easily into the living cells in an efficient manner. The design of synthetic fluorophores having all three of these properties, however, has proved to be challenging. Here, we introduce a simple, yet effective, strategy based on well-established chemistry for designing a new class of fluorescent probes for live-cell imaging. A box-like hybrid cyclophane, namely ExTzBox·4X (6·4X, X = PF6-, Cl-), has been synthesized by connecting an extended viologen (ExBIPY) and a dipyridyl thiazolothiazole (TzBIPY) unit in an end-to-end fashion with two p-xylylene linkers. Photophysical studies show that 6·4Cl has a quantum yield ΦF = 1.00. Furthermore, unlike its ExBIPY2+ and TzBIPY2+ building units, 6·4Cl is non-cytotoxic to RAW 264.7 macrophages, even with a loading concentration as high as 100 μM, presumably on account of its rigid box-like structure which prevents its intercalation into DNA and may inhibit other interactions with it. After gaining an understanding of the toxicity profile of 6·4Cl, we employed it in live-cell imaging. Confocal microscopy has demonstrated that 64+ is taken up by the RAW 264.7 macrophages, allowing the cells to glow brightly with blue laser excitation, without any hint of photobleaching or disruption of normal cell behavior under the imaging conditions. By contrast, the acyclic reference compound Me2TzBIPY·2Cl (4·2Cl) shows very little fluorescence inside the cells, which is quenched completely under the same imaging conditions. In vitro cell investigations underscore the significance of using highly fluorescent box-like rigid cyclophanes for live-cell imaging.

Fully Conjugated [4]Chrysaorene. Redox-Coupled Anion Binding in a Tetraradicaloid Macrocycle

[4]Chrysaorene, a fully conjugated carbocyclic coronoid, is shown to be a low-bandgap π-conjugated system with a distinct open-shell character. The system shows good chemical stability and can be oxidized to well-defined radical cation and dication states. The cavity of [4]chrysaorene acts as an anion receptor toward halide ions with a particular selectivity toward iodides ( Ka = 207 ± 6 M-1). The interplay between anion binding and redox chemistry is demonstrated using a 1H NMR analysis in solution. In particular, a well-resolved, paramagnetically shifted spectrum of the [4]chrysaorene radical cation is observed, providing evidence for the inner binding of the iodide. The radical cation-iodide adduct can be generated in thin solid films of [4] chrysaorene by simple exposure to diiodine vapor.

Covalent Radical Pairs as Spin Qubits: Influence of Rapid Electron Motion between Two Equivalent Sites on Spin Coherence

Ultrafast photodriven electron transfer reactions starting from an excited singlet state in an organic donor-acceptor molecule generate a radical pair (RP) in which the two spins are initially entangled and, in principle, can serve as coupled spin qubits in quantum information science (QIS) applications, provided that spin coherence lifetimes in these RPs are long. Here we investigate the effects of electron transfer between two equivalent sites comprising the reduced acceptor of the RP. A covalent electron donor-acceptor molecule (D-C-A24+) including a p-methoxyaniline donor (D), a 4-aminonaphthalene-1,8-imide chromophoric primary acceptor (C), and a m-xylene bridged cyclophane having two equivalent phenyl-extended viologens (A24+) as a secondary acceptor was synthesized along with the analogous molecule having one phenyl-extended viologen acceptor and a second, more difficult to reduce 2,5-dimethoxyphenyl-extended viologen in a very similar cyclophane structure (D-C-A4+). Photoexcitation of C within each molecule results in subnanosecond formation of D+•-C-A23+• and D+•-C-A3+•. The spin dynamics of these RPs were characterized by time-resolved EPR spectroscopy and magnetic field effects on the RP yield in both CH3CN and CD3CN. The data show that rapid electron hopping within A23+• promotes spin decoherence in D+•-C-A23+• relative to D+•-C-A3+• having a monomeric acceptor, while the interaction of the RP electron spins with the nuclear spins of the solvent have little or no effect on the spin dynamics. These observations provide important information for designing and understanding novel molecular assemblies of spin qubits with long coherence times for QIS applications.

Toward a Charged Homo[2]catenane Employing Diazaperopyrenium Homophilic Recognition

An octacationic diazaperopyrenium (DAPP2+)-based homo[2]catenane (DAPPHC8+), wherein no fewer than eight positive charges are associated within a mechanically interlocked molecule, has been produced in 30% yield under ambient conditions as a result of favorable homophilic interactions, reflecting a delicate balance between strong π-π interactions and the destabilizing penalty arising from Coulombic repulsions between DAPP2+ units. This DAPPHC8+ catenane is composed of two identical mechanically interlocked tetracationic cyclophanes, namely DAPPBox4+, each of which contains one DAPP2+ unit and one extended viologen (ExBIPY2+) unit, linked together by two p-xylylene bridges. The solid-state structure of the homo[2]catenane demonstrates how homophilic interactions play an important role in the formation of DAPPHC8+, in which the mean ring planes of the two DAPPBox4+ cyclophanes are oriented at about 60° with respect to each other, with a centroid-to-centroid separation of 3.7 Å between the mean planes of the outer ExBIPY2+ and inner DAPP2+ units, and 3.6 Å between the mean planes of the two inner DAPP2+ units. We show that irradiation of the DAPPHC8+ catenane at 330 nm in acetonitrile solution results in simultaneous energy and electron transfer. The latter occurs from the inner DAPP2+ dimer to the outer ExBIPY2+ unit, leading to the generation of a temporary charge-separated state within a rigid and robust homo[2]catenane. Compared to DAPPBox4+, both forward- and back-electron transfer in DAPPHC8+ occur with faster rates, owing to the closer proximity between the electron donor and acceptor in the homo[2]catenane than in the separated cyclophane.

Selective Extraction of C70 by a Tetragonal Prismatic Porphyrin Cage

Along with the advent of supramolecular chemistry, research on fullerene receptors based on noncovalent bonding interactions has attracted a lot of attention. Here, we present the design and synthesis of a cationic molecular cage: a cyclophane composed of two tetraphenylporphyrins, bridged face-to-face by four viologen units in a rhomboid prismatic manner. The large cavity inside the cage, as well as the favorable donor-acceptor interactions between the porphyrin panels and the fullerene guests, enables the cage to be an excellent fullerene receptor. The 1:1 host-guest complexes formed between the cage and both C60 and C70 were characterized in solution by HRMS and NMR, UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopies, and confirmed in the solid state by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. The results from solution studies reveal that the cage has a much stronger binding for C70 than for C60, resulting in a selective extraction of C70 from a C60-enriched fullerene mixture (C60/C70 = 10/1), demonstrating the potential of the cage as an attractive receptor for fullerene separation.