Theoretical insights into excited-state intramolecular and multiple intermolecular hydrogen bonds in 2-(2-Hydroxy-phenyl)-4(3H)-quinazolinone

Recent advances in quinazolinones as an emerging molecular platform for luminescent materials and bioimaging

This review summarized recent advances relating to the luminescence properties of quinazolinones and their applications in fluorescent probes, biological imaging and luminescent materials. Their future outlook is also included.

Substituent control of photophysical properties for excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) of o-LHBDI derivatives: a TD-DFT investigation

The substituted effect on excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) of o-LHBDI derivatives (4R-o-LHBDI) was investigated by DFT and TD-DFT methods. The structures of 4R-o-LHBDI (R: OH, NH₂, CN, NO₂, CF₃) were fully optimized, and the H-bond distances, bond angles, and infrared spectra of the atoms involved in PT process in the S₀ and S₁ states were analyzed. The absorption and fluorescence spectra were calculated, and the potential energy curves in both S₀ and S₁ states were constructed. Moreover, the effects of different substituents on the ESIPT mechanism of 4R-o-LHBDI (R: OH, NH₂, CN, NO₂, CF₃) were studied. The results indicate that ESIPT in the 4R-o-LHBDI is a little harder to proceed than that in o-LHBDI since the ESIPT barrier of 4R-o-LHBDI is slightly bigger than that value of o-LHBDI. When the substituent has stronger electron-withdrawing ability or weaker electron-donating ability, the ESIPT process has the smaller potential barrier. Graphical abstract.

Theoretical Study on the Sensing Mechanism of Novel Hydrazine Sensor TAPHP and Its ESIPT and ICT Processes

The photophysical and photochemical properties of the novel hydrazine sensor TAPHP and the TAPDP generated by the cyclization reaction of TAPHP with hydrazine are investigated using the density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory. The results show that both the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer and intramolecular charge transfer can occur for TAPHP and TAPDP. Analysis of bond parameters and infrared vibrational spectra indicate that hydrogen bonds are enhanced in the first excited state, which is beneficial to excited-state intramolecular proton transfer. The strength of hydrogen bonds is also visualized by using the independent gradient model and topological analysis. The core-valence bifurcation index and bond critical point parameters are further employed to measure hydrogen bonds. The reaction path of proton transfer is obtained through the potential energy curves. The excitation of TAPHP and TAPDP is attributed to the charge transfer excitation, which is determined by the characteristics of the hole-electron distribution. The reaction site and product configuration are verified by atomic charge and ¹H-NMR spectra. The negative free energy difference indicates that the reaction between TAPHP and hydrazine can proceed spontaneously. In addition, the absorption and fluorescence spectra agree well with the experimental results, confirming that TAPHP is an excellent sensor of hydrazine.

The novel excited state intramolecular proton transfer broken by intermolecular hydrogen bonds in HOF system

2-(4-(Dimethylamino)phenyl)-3-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxy-4Hchromen-4-one (HOF) was synthesized in experiment (Wang et al., Sensor. Actuat. B-Chem. 277 (2018) 484), and its photophysical and photochemical properties was reported. However the corresponding full theoretical interpretation of mechanisms is inadequate. In the present research, the intermolecular hydrogen bond structure of HOF-methanol complex (HOF-2M) was found, and mechanism of alcohols monitoring of HOF was deeply studied using the density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The enhancing mechanism of the excited state hydrogen bond is verified by analyzing the hydrogen bond parameters, infrared spectra and frontier molecular orbitals. Importantly, the reduced density gradient visual analysis and topological quantificational analysis confirm that the intramolecular hydrogen bond of HOF is broken by strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds of HOF-2M using the Atoms-In-Molecule theory. The obtained absorption and emission spectra are found to agree well with the experimental results and the complete quenched keto-emission in methanol and ethanol solvents provide a suitable sensing mechanism for detecting alcohols. The reaction path of the excited state intramolecular proton transfer for HOF is explained in detail through the constructed potential energy curves.