Effects of Substituents on the Blue Luminescence of Disilane-Linked Donor‒Acceptor‒Donor Triads

Hydrosilane/Organoiodine Coupling-Enabled Studies of Organosilane Physical Properties

ConspectusThis Account summarizes recent developments in metal-mediated coupling reactions between hydrosilanes and aryl iodides in the presence of Pd(P(t-Bu)3)2 and base. Alkylated organosilanes are obtained when Pt(P(t-Bu)3)2 and a base are employed in reactions between hydrosilanes and aliphatic iodides. These transformations show unusual reactivity compared to the typical behavior of hydrosilanes toward organoiodides in the presence of PdCl2 or PtCl2, and they proceed in high yields under mild conditions. In addition, the reaction demonstrates (1) high functional group tolerances, (2) stepwise introduction of substituents onto silicon atoms from secondary silanes, and (3) transformation without cleavage of weak Si-Si σ bonds in the molecules.This transformation can serve as a powerful tool for the synthesis of functional organosilicon compounds. The advantage is the flexibility in the molecular structure due to the large size compared to carbon. These compounds have relatively sparse packing in the crystalline state, unlike π-conjugated molecules, which induce dense π-π interactions. Consequently, they have significantly different physical properties in solution and in the solid state. Among them, aromatic disilanes and oligosilanes are important substance groups, because the conjugated chain within these molecules expands due to σ-π interaction between Si-Si σ bond and π orbital of aromatic ring. σ-π Conjugation is most efficient when the dihedral angle between the aromatic ring and the Si-Si bond is 90°, resulting in the overlap of σ orbital and π orbital. The conformational structure, packing, and physical properties of these compounds can change in tandem in response to external stimuli through a crystal phase transition. The interlocking changes in structure and physical properties are reversible, easily returning to their original state with different external stimulus. This account covers several important aspects, including solid-state emission with high fluorescence intensity, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) in water-THF system, mechanochromic fluorescence, organic light emitting diode (OLED), second harmonic generation (SHG) and thermosalient phenomena.This reaction can synthesize optically active tertiary and quaternary silanes by the enantioselective arylation of secondary silanes with aryl iodides using a palladium catalyst modified with a TADDOL-derived amide phosphoric acid ester as a chiral ligand. These optically active compounds can be used as useful circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) materials due to their strong luminescence intensity (Φ) and luminescence dissymmetry factor (glum) attributed to the chiral silicon atom. The efficient synthesis of sila-pharmaceuticals using this method as a key step is also described.The technique enables the design and synthesis of various silicon-containing bioactive substances and medical chemicals. Through the synthesis of organosilane compounds using this method, it is anticipated that the development of functional organic silanes will accelerate their practical applications in a wide range of fields.

15N CP/MAS NMR as a Tool for the Mechanistic Study of Mechanical Stimuli-Responsive Materials: Evidence for the Conformational Change of an Emissive Dimethylacridane Derivative

Mechanochromic luminescent molecules are currently attracting considerable attention because of their promising technological applications, but understanding their mechanism of action is challenging and is thus hindering our deeper understanding of these materials. The conformational change of 9,9'-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridane derivative 1 was examined using solid-state ¹⁵N nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic techniques without using a specifically ¹⁵N-labeled compound. A difference between the two conformers was clearly observed in the measurements and was assigned to the ⟨pl⟩ and ⟨bf⟩ spatial structures. The results were supported by quantum chemical calculations on ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts of each isomer. The technique presented here can clearly identify the structural changes caused by crushing a powder sample. Such structural changes are difficult to determine using X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements.

Synthesis, Structure, and Photophysical Properties of Yellow-Green and Blue Photoluminescent Dinuclear and Octanuclear Copper(I) Iodide Complexes with a Disilanylene-Bridged Bispyridine Ligand

The synthesis, structural, and photophysical investigations of CuI complexes with a disilanylene-bridged bispyridine ligand 1 are herein presented. Dinuclear (2) and ladder-like (3) octanuclear copper(I) complexes were straightforwardly prepared by exactly controlling the ratio of CuI/ligand 1. Single-crystal X-ray analysis confirmed that dinuclear complex 2 had no apparent π…π stacking whereas octanuclear complex 3 had π…π stacking in the crystal packing. In the solid state, the complexes display yellow-green (λ_em = 519 nm, Φ = 0.60, τ = 11 µs, 2) and blue (λ_em = 478 nm, Φ = 0.04, τ = 2.6 µs, 3) phosphorescence, respectively. The density functional theory calculations validate the differences in their optical properties. The difference in the luminescence efficiency between 2 and 3 is attributed to the presence of π…π stacking and the different luminescence processes.

Luminescent Behavior Elucidation of a Disilane-Bridged D-A-D Triad Composed of Phenothiazine and Thienopyrazine

A σ-π extended aryldisilane, comprising a thienopyrazine group as an acceptor fragment and phenothiazine groups as the donor moiety, has been prepared through the introduction of two Si-Si bridges (compound 1). X-ray diffraction analysis determined the crystal structure of 1, and experimental and theoretical approaches investigated its optical properties. Solvatochromic studies revealed the dual emission of 1 in all solvents tested. Compound 1 also exhibited fluorescence in the solid state upon excitation with a hand-held UV lamp, as well as mechanochromic luminescent properties. The packing mode in the crystal structure, variation of phenothiazine conformation, morphological changes between crystalline and amorphous phases are the major factors showing reversible fluorescence under external stimuli. A theoretical conformer study found that 1 exists in distinct conformational groups differing in Gibbs free energy by less than 3 kcal mol^-1 . The conformer in the crystalline state of 1 can promote the complete separation of the HOMO and LUMO between the phenothiazine donor and the thienopyrazine acceptor, linked by the disilane linker. HOMO-LUMO energy transition in the crystalline state is forbidden due to the lack of frontier orbital overlap. Crystalline state emission showed LUMO → HOMO-1 transition (locally excited (LE) state). In the amorphous state, the partial presence of quasi-axial conformers allows intramolecular charge-transfer type emission via energy transfer from dominant quasi-equatorial conformers. The strategy proposed in this work provides important guidance for developing stimuli-responsive materials with controlled excited states.

Enhancement of the Photofunction of Phosphorescent Pt(II) Cyclometalated Complexes Driven by Substituents: Solid-State Luminescence and Circularly Polarized Luminescence

Ligand functionalization is an attractive strategy for enhancing the performance of metal-based phosphorescent emitters. Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of cyclometalated Pt(II) complexes Pt3 and Pt4 containing organosilyl-substituted (2-(2-thienyl)pyridine) ligands and compare their properties with those of Pt1 (no substituent) and Pt2 (organocarbon substituent). The photophysical characteristics of these molecules, including their absorption and phosphorescence spectra, phosphorescence quantum yield and lifetime, were investigated. The molecular structures were revealed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Under UV light irradiation, Pt2-Pt4 emitted intense orange phosphorescence in the solid state because of the bulkiness of their side chains (up to Φ_P: 0.49). Optically pure (-)-(S)_Si-Pt4 and (+)-(R)_Si-Pt4 were prepared using the optically active ligands (+)-L4 and (-)-L4, respectively. The chiroptical properties of (+)-(R)_Si-Pt4, which has an asymmetric silicon atom, were investigated. Circular dichroism and circularly polarized luminescence measurements showed that these structural motifs are suitable for applications in chiroptical phosphorescent materials.