O. N. Lygo

Effect of the nature of inert solvent on the decay kinetics of the carbocation generated in the photolysis of 1,2-dihydroquinolines in methanol

The dependence of the quantum yield and the decay rate constant for the carbocation generated in the photolysis of 6-ethoxy-1,2,2,4-tetramethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline (6-EtO-DHQ) in methanol on the solvent composition was studied in the mixtures of methanol with isopropanol, acetonitrile, and pentane by pulse photolysis. The addition of these solvents decreases the yield of the carbocation and differently affects the kinetic parameters of its decay. The carbocation decay in the mixtures MeOH-i-PrOH and MeOH-C5H12 is described by the pseudo-first order equation (k1), with the dependence of k1 having a maximum at 50 vol % of MeOH in the MeOH-i-PrOH mixtures, and k1 increasing with a decrease in the MeOH concentration in the MeOH-C5H12 mixtures. In the MeOH-MeCN mixtures, the value of k1 decreases with a decrease in the MeOH concentration, and, at the concentration of MeOH lower than 50 vol %, the contribution of the second-order reaction (k2) is observed. The activation energies and preexponential factors were determined in the MeOH-C5H12 mixtures of different compositions, and it was shown that Eact practically did not depend on the solvent composition and were close to Eact for other carbocations obtained in MeOH. The increase in k1 with a decrease in the MeOH concentration is caused by an increase in the preexponential factor. The results were discussed on the basis of the reaction mechanism involving the competing reactions of the carbocation combination with two nucleophilic particles, the MeOH molecule and the MeO− anion. The composition of the mixture and the nature of the inert solvent affect strongly the course of these reactions.

Acid-base properties of N-methyl-substituted 1,2-dihydroquinolines in the ground and excited states

Changes in the absorption and fluorescence spectra of 1,2,2,3-tetramethyl-(1), 1,2,2,4-tetramethyl-(2), 6-ethoxy-1,2,2,4-tetramethyl-(3), and 1,2,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinolines (4) were studied in aqueous solution over a wide pH range from 1.0 to 12.0. The quantum yields of fluorescence and the values of pKa of dihydroquinolines (DHQs) under study in the ground and excited states were determined, pKa = 4.5, 3.8, 4.5, and 4.2 for the ground state of compounds 1–4, respectively, and pKa ∼ 1.7 for the S1* state for all DHQs.

Spectral and time-resolved properties of novel hetarylazo dyes containing hydrogenated quinolines and triazole moieties

The spectral characteristics of novel hetarylazo dyes containing triazole and hydrogenated quinoline moieties and the spectral and time-resolved parameters of photochemical processes occurring upon their photoexcitation were studied by stationary spectrophotometry and pulse photolysis. All compounds have an intense absorption maximum in the visible spectral range at 470–500 nm with ɛ = 17000–27000 L mol−1 cm−1. Upon excitation with the visible light, reversible trans-cis photoisomerization occurs, which is followed by thermal cis-trans isomerization. The temporal parameters of the isomerization depend on the azo dye structure. The introduction of bulky substituents in the triazole and hydroquinoline moieties results in the increase in characteristic times of the thermal transformation of the generated transient species from milliseconds to seconds and in the partial irreversibility of the process.

Superquenching of SYBRGreen dye fluorescence in complex with DNA by gold nanoparticles

The influence of gold nanoparticles (diameter of about 2.5 nm) on the complex between the SYBRGreen dye and double-stranded DNA in solutions has been investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy. Strong quenching of dye fluorescence by nanosized gold particles (“superquenching”), characterized by a high Stern-Volmer constant of KSV ≥ 3.3 × 107 L/mol, has been found. The superquenching effect in the test system is explained in terms of contribution of several processes: electron transfer, formation of aggregates of gold nanoparticles involving dye dications, and enhancement of intersystem crossing by a heavy atom (gold atoms of nanoparticles).

Spectral and luminescence properties and photochemical transformations of 7,7,9-trimethyl-6,7-dihydrofuro[3,2-f]quinoline

Spectral, luminescent, and photochemical properties of 7,7,9-trimethyl-6,7-dihydrofuro[3,2-f]quinoline (FDHQ) have been studied in hexane, alcohols, and water. Unlike 1,2-dihydroquinolines without the furo substituent, the fluorescence quantum yields for FDHQ in water and methanol are high (0.4 and 0.2, respectively), thereby indicating a difference in routes of excitation energy degradation in these compounds. The regularities in the FDHQ phototransformations have been studied by steady-state photolysis. The composition and the yield of final products depend on the presence or absence of oxygen in the system to a higher extent than on the solvent nature. This indicates the participation of the triplet excited state in the photo-chemical reactions in oxygen-free systems.

Dynamics of carbocation formation in the photolysis of 1,2,2,3-tetramethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline in alcohols

Dynamics of the formation of the carbocation in the ground state as a result of photoinduced proton transfer from a solvent to the excited state of 1,2,2,3-tetramethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline (3MDHQ) in MeOH and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) was registered by pump-probe laser photolysis (λpump = 310 nm) with femtosecond time resolution. The lifetimes of the excited singlet state of 3MDHQ τ = 115 and 780 ps were determined in TFE and MeOH, respectively. The transient species with absorption spectrum corre-sponding to the spectrum of the carbocation from 3MDHQ (λmax = 480 nm) is generated at time delays lower than 500 fs from the unrelaxed excited singlet state.

Photolysis of 6-ethoxy-2,2,4-trimethyl-8-nitro-1,2-dihydroquinoline. Unusual dependence on the irradiation wavelength

The spectral and kinetic parameters of transient species generated in the irradiation of 6-ethoxy-2,2,4-trimethyl-8-nitro-1,2-dihydroquinoline were examined by stationary and pulse photolysis in the solvents: heptane, acetonitrile, methanol, and ethanol. Upon excitation of the long-wavelength absorption band (λex > 450 nm), a reversible photochemical reaction was revealed, and the spectral and kinetic parameters of three transient species observed in the photolysis were characterized (λmax = 390, 400, and 420 nm (acetonitrile), k = 97, 500, and 2000 s−1, respectively). The absorption spectra and the rate constants of the decay of transient species are almost independent of the medium polarity and the presence of oxygen in the system. The excited state generated during irradiation to the short-wavelength absorption band (290 < λex < 350 nm) is inactive in the photochemical reaction and deactivates without the formation of transient species. The mechanism of the reversible photochemical reaction is suggested, which involves the opening of the heterocycle N-C bond upon photoexcitation of the long-wavelength absorption band and the thermal back reaction.

Dynamics of trans-cis photoisomerization of hetarylazo dyes

Dynamics of trans-cis photoisomerization of novel hetarylazo dyes containing hydrogenated quinoline and triazole or tetrazole moieties has been studied by femtosecond laser photolysis with spectrophotometric detection. For all the dyes under study, the absorbance dynamics after photoexcitation in the long-wavelength absorption band (λpump = 550 nm) is described by three fast processes with characteristic times of 0.07–0.27, 0.4–1.0, and 3–7 ps. The effect of the solvent and the azo dye structure on the dynamics of transient species has been investigated.

Spectral and kinetic parameters of the triplet state of 7,7,9-trimethyl-6,7-dihydrofuro[3,2-f]quinoline

The spectral and kinetic properties of the transient species generated in the photolysis of 7,7,9-trimethyl-6,7-dihydrofuro[3,2-f]quinoline (FDHQ) in the absence of oxygen have been studied by lamp and laser flash photolysis. The triplet origin of the short-lived transient species that absorbs in the range of 600–750 nm has been established in experiments with a donor and an acceptor of triplet energy. The rate constants of triplet-triplet annihilation and the interaction of the FDHQ triplet with oxygen (1010 L mol−1 s−1) have been estimated.

Reactivity of carbocations from 1,2-dihydroquinolines in binary mixtures of methanol with pentane and acetonitrile

The rate constants and activation parameters of the reactions of the carbocation resulting from 6-ethoxy-1,2,2,4-tetramethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline photolysis with methanol (k1) and the methoxide ion (k2) have been measured by flash photolysis in binary mixtures of methanol with inert solvents (nonpolar pentane and polar acetonitrile) in wide composition ranges. The changes in the activation parameters for k1 at different solvent compositions show that the increase in the rate constant in the pentane mixtures is mainly deter-mined by the increase in the preexponential factor. The decrease in k1 in the acetonitrile mixtures is deter-mined by the decrease in the methanol concentration and by the increase in the activation energy. The different roles of the methoxide ion in the reaction are demonstrated. They depend on the nature of the inert solvent in the mixture. The results of this study are considered in terms of methanol clustering in pentane and acetonitrile, the different solubilities of 6-ethoxy-1,2,2,4-tetramethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline in the components of the binary mixtures, and the difference in distribution and solvation between the carbocation and the methoxide ion in the mixtures.