Yuan Deng

Tuning the Solid‐State Luminescence of BODIPY Derivatives with Bulky Arylsilyl Groups: Synthesis and Spectroscopic Properties

Boron dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs) with bulky triphenylsilylphenyl(ethynyl) and triphenylsilylphenyl substituents on pyrrole sites were prepared via Hagihara-Sonogashira and Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling with ethynyl-terminated tetraphenylsilane and boronic acid-terminated tetraphenylsilane. The chromophores are designed to prevent intermolecular π-π stacking interaction and enhance fluorescence in the solid state. Single crystals of 1u2009a and 2u2009b for X-ray structural analysis were obtained, and weak π-π stacking interactions of the neighboring BODIPY molecules were observed. Spectroscopic properties of all of the dyes in various solvents and in films were investigated. Triphenylsilylphenyl-substituted BODIPYs generally show more pronounced increases in solid-state emission than triphenylsilylphenyl(ethynyl)-substituted BODIPYs. Although the simple BODIPYs do not exhibit any fluorescence in the solid state (Φ=0), arylsilyl-substituted BODIPYs exhibit weak to moderate solid-state fluorescence with quantum yields of 0.03, 0.07, 0.10, and 0.25. The structure-property relationships were analyzed on the basis of X-ray crystallography, optical spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and theoretical calculations.

Enantioselective copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne click cycloaddition to desymmetrization of maleimide-based bis(alkynes).

A copper catalyst system derived from TaoPhos and CuF2 was used successfully for catalytic asymmetric Huisgen [3+2] cycloaddition of azides and alkynes to give optically pure products containing succinimide- and triazole-substituted quaternary carbon stereogenic centers. The desired products were obtained in good yields (60-80u2009%) and 85:15 to >99:1 enantiomeric ratio (e.r.) in this click cycloaddition reaction.

Modulation of Multifunctional N,O,P Ligands for Enantioselective Copper‐Catalyzed Conjugate Addition of Diethylzinc and Trapping of the Zinc Enolate

In this work, we have successfully synthesized a new family of chiral Schiff base–phosphine ligands derived from chiral binaphthol (BINOL) and chiral primary amine. The controllable synthesis of a novel hexadentate and tetradentate N,O,P ligand that contains both axial and sp3-central chirality from axial BINOL and sp3-central primary amine led to the establishment of an efficient multifunctional N,O,P ligand for copper-catalyzed conjugate addition of an organozinc reagent. In the asymmetric conjugate reaction of organozinc reagents to enones, the polymer-like bimetallic multinuclear Cu-Zn complex constructed in situ was found to be substrate-selective and a highly excellent catalyst for diethylzinc reagents in terms of enantioselectivity (up to >99u2009%u2005ee). More importantly, the chirality matching between different chiral sources, C2-axial binaphthol and sp3-central chiral phosphine, was crucial to the enantioselective induction in this reaction. The experimental results indicated that our chiral ligand (R,S,S)-L1- and (R,S)-L4-based bimetallic complex catalyst system exhibited the highest catalytic performance to date in terms of enantioselectivity and conversion even in the presence of 0.005u2005molu2009% of catalyst (S/C = 20u2009000, turnover number (TON) = 17,600). We also studied the tandem silylation or acylation of enantiomerically enriched zinc enolates that formed in situ from copper-L4-complex-catalyzed conjugate addition, which resulted in the high-yield synthesis of chiral silyl enol ethers and enoacetates, respectively. Furthermore, the specialized structure of the present multifunctional N,O,P ligand L1 or L4, and the corresponding mechanistic study of the copper catalyst system were investigated by 31Pu2005NMR spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD), and UV/Vis absorption.

2,3,4,5-Tetraphenylsilole-based conjugated polymers: synthesis, optical properties, and as sensors for explosive compounds.

A series of linear 2,5-tetraphenylsilole-vinylene-type polymers were successfully synthesized for the first time. The tetraphenylsilole moieties were linked at their 2,5-positions through a vinylene bridge with p-dialkoxybenzenes to obtain polymer PSVB and with 3,6-carbazole to obtain polymer PSVC. For comparison, 2,5-tetraphenylsilole-ethyne-type polymer PSEB was also synthesized, in which the vinylene bridge of PSVB was replaced with an ethyne bridge. Very interestingly, the bridging group (vinylene or ethyne) had a significant effect on the photophysical properties of the corresponding polymers. The fluorescence peak of PSEB at 504u2005nm in solution originated from the emission of its silole moieties, whereas PSVB and PSVC emitted yellow light and no blueish-green emission from the silole moieties was observed, thus demonstrating that the emissions of PSVB and PSVC were due to their polymer backbones. More importantly, the 2,5-tetraphenylsilole-ethyne polymer exhibited a pronounced aggregation-enhanced emission (AEE) effect but the 2,5-tetraphenylsilole-vinylene polymer was AEE-inactive. Moreover, both AEE-active 2,5-tetraphenylsilole-ethyne polymer and AEE-inactive 2,5-tetraphenylsilole-vinylene polymers were successfully applied as fluorescent chemosensors for the detection of explosive compounds.

Novel ladder π-conjugated materials--sila-pentathienoacenes: synthesis, structure, and electronic properties.

A novel series of ladder π-conjugated materials--sila-pentathienoacenes (Si-PTA) are synthesized and characterized. Crystal structures of the compounds show that the length of alkyl chains substituting on the thiophene ring has a significant influence on molecular packing. A densely packed structure with an interfacial distance of about 3.66 Å between the adjacent molecules is observed for the compound with shorter alkyl chains. However, a large interfacial distance (7.99 Å) is obtained for another compound because of the insertion of long alkyl chains between two planes. The investigation of the optical and electrochemical properties shows that the silylene bridge incorporated into the pentathienoacene framework exerts a clear effect on the electronic properties by the σ*-π* conjugation. Although only a slight enhancement is observed for the HOMO levels, with respect to that of pentathienoacene, the LUMO levels are significantly lowered. The observed electronic properties are consistent with the theoretical calculations.

Use of functionalized PEG with 4-aminobenzoic acid stabilized platinum nanoparticles as an efficient catalyst for the hydrosilylation of alkenes

A catalyst containing functionalized polyethylene glycol with 4-aminobenzoic acid (PEG-AMB) stabilized platinum nanoparticles has been synthesized and characterized, and its application in the hydrosilylation of alkenes investigated. It is shown that the functionalized PEG-stabilized Pt nanoparticles form a very efficient catalyst for the hydrosilylation of alkenes. The Pt nanoparticles can be fully immobilized in the PEG-AMB and recycled at least nine times without any obvious loss of catalytic activity.

Silicon‐Based Bulky Group‐Induced Remote Control and Conformational Preference in the Synthesis and Application of Isolable Atropisomeric Amides with Secondary Alcohol or Amine Moieties

Remote stereocontrol through conformational transmission along a carbon chain is highly important in synthetic systems and molecular architectures. In this work, the interactional reactivity between a remote silicon-based bulky group and an O-/N-containing functional group has been revealed and determined by lateral lithiation-substitution, desilylation, as well as desilylation-olefination with benzaldehyde. The results suggest considerable information transmission and steric hindrance that can be exploited for the controllable synthesis of atropisomeric molecules. Based on the remote steric effect of a functional group across the aromatic ring of an amide, the construction of isolable atropisomeric amides with functional groups, such as alcohol, amine, and olefin was successfully achieved. All these new atropisomers were obtained in reasonable yield in pure diastereomeric form, and the specific configuration of representative products was confirmed by X-ray crystallography.

Effects of metal ions and ligands on transesterification: synthesis, structures, and catalytic activities of a series of cation–anionic complexes with dipyridylamine ligands

A series of cation–anion complexes derived by 2,2′-dipyridylamine (Hdpa) and carboxylate ligands with formulas [Ni(Hdpa)2(CH3COO)]Cl(CH3OH) (1), [Co(Hdpa)2(CH3COO)]Cl(CH3OH) (2), [Ni(Hdpa)2(CH3CH2CH2COO)]Cl (3), [Co(Hdpa)2(CH3CH2CH2COO)]Cl (4), [Ni(Hdpa)2(C6H5COO)]Cl (5), and [Co(Hdpa)2(C6H5COO)]Cl (6), were synthesized and characterized by IR, elemental analysis, MS(ESI), TG analysis, UV-Vis, and fluorescence spectra. X-ray single crystal structural analysis showed that the coordination geometries of metal ions in these complexes are similar and they are cation–anion species. The hydrogen-bonding structures are 1-D chains through the N–H···Cl bonds. There are weak stacking interactions between pyridine rings in 1–4, while there are no stacking interactions in 5 and 6. We have investigated the transesterification of phenyl acetate with methanol catalyzed by 1–6 under mild conditions; 1–4 are homogeneous catalysts while 5 and 6 are heterogeneous catalysts due to their poor solubility in methanol. Cobalt complexes exhibit higher catalytic activities than corresponding nickel complexes. Complex 4 is the best catalyst of these six complexes.