Tunable Metal-Free Imidazole-Benzimidazole Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction in Aqueous Solutions

A series of metal-free imidazole-benzimidazole catalysts (ImBenz-H, ImBenz-NO2 , ImBenz-OCH3 ) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were prepared. We demonstrate that the electrocatalytic O2 reduction by ImBenz-NO2 with the electron-withdrawing group showed high selectivity toward H2 O with the number of electrons transferred (n=3.7) in a neutral aqueous solution. The highest ORR selectivity toward H2 O2 was achieved using ImBenz-H (n=2.4) in an alkaline solution. Electrochemical studies of reaction kinetics disclosed that the highest turnover frequencies were obtained from ImBenz-H in both neutral and alkaline aqueous solutions. The results prove that the ORR selectivity is tunable by modulating the substituent of the ImBenz catalysts. Furthermore, DFT calculations suggested that the ORR mechanism of ImBenz-H involves the electron transfer from imidazole-benzimidazole to O2 resulting in the formation of H2 O2 which supports the redox active properties of the catalysts ImBenz.

Solvent effects on the intramolecular charge transfer excited state of 3CzClIPN: a broadband transient absorption study

The prediction of solvent properties using molecular probes often relies on correlating steady-state absorption and fluorescence measurements, as well as determining absorption maxima and/or Stokes shifts. In this study, we employ femtosecond broadband transient absorption (fs-bb-TA) spectroscopy to investigate the spectroscopic behaviour of the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) excited state of 3CzClIPN (2,4,6-tri(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-5-chloroisophthalonitrile), a representative ICT organic molecule, in both aromatic and non-aromatic solvents. Unlike observations in non-aromatic media, fs-bb-TA spectra of 3CzClIPN in aromatic solvents exhibit enhanced spectral broadening that strongly correlates with the solvent's polarity. We hypothesise that this spectral broadening originates from a wider configurational energy landscape experienced by the positively charged carbazole Cz+ group, owing to the larger size and, consequently, reduced solvation effectiveness of aromatic solvent molecules.

Effects of donor and acceptor substituents on the photophysics of 4-ethynyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole derivatives

The present work explores the photophysical, electrochemical, and fluorescence polarization properties of a group of π-conjugated phenylethynyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole derivatives (BTDs) bearing different electron-donating (ED) or electron-withdrawing (EW) substituents at the para position of the phenylethynyl moiety. The BTDs were synthesized through the Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction between 4-bromo-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole and the respective para-substituted phenylethynyl derivatives. The BTDs with the EW-substituents show relatively weak solvatochromic behavior, while the BTDs with the strong ED-substituents like methoxy and N,N-dimethylamino-based substituents (BTDPhOMe and BTDPhNMe2) exhibit a pronounced solvatochromic behavior. The change in dipole moments in the excited states of the derivatives was calculated using Lippert-Mataga plots. The conclusions drawn on the spectral behavior of the molecules could be rationalized by TD-DFT calculations involving electron density difference (EDD) maps that correlate with the ICT characteristics of the molecules. The experimental and theoretical calculations reveal that the BTDs with the strong ED-substituents (strong push-pull type BTDs) have a strong ICT character in the excited state. These strong push-pull type BTDs show high fluorescence quantum yield (ΦF) in apolar solvents and low ΦF in polar solvents. In contrast, the BTDs with the weak ED-substituents (weak push-pull type BTDs) and EW-substituents (pull-pull type BTDs) have a weaker ICT character with low ΦF in apolar and high ΦF in polar solvent media. There is good a agreement among the HOMO-LUMO band gaps obtained from absorption spectroscopy and electrochemical studies and theoretical calculations. The fluorescence anisotropy measurement in the glycerol medium shows that the studied BTDs generally exhibit higher sensitivity towards microviscosity than the traditional DPH fluorescence anisotropy probe.

Non-Fullerene Acceptors with Benzodithiophene-Based Fused Planar Ring Cores for Organic Solar Cells

Fused aromatic rings are widely employed in organic solar cell (OSC) materials due to their planarity and rigidity. Here, we designed and synthesized four two-dimensional non-fullerene acceptors, D6-4F, D6-4Cl, DTT-4F, and DTT-4Cl, based on two new fused planar ring structures of f-DTBDT-C6 and f-DTTBDT. Owing to the desirable phase separation formed in the blend films and the higher energy levels induced by the extra alkyl groups, PM6:D6-4F-based devices achieved a high V_OC = 0.91 V with PCE = 11.10%, FF = 68.54%, and J_SC = 17.75 mA/cm². Because of the longer π-conjugation of the f-DTTBDT core with nine fused rings, DTT-4F and DTT-4Cl showed high molar extinction coefficients and broad absorption bands that enhanced the current density of OSCs. Finally, the PM6:DTT-4F-based devices achieved a J_SC = 19.82 mA/cm² with PCE = 9.68%, V_OC = 0.83 V, and FF = 58.85%.

Turn-off fluorescence of S,N-doped carbon dots for determination of two nitro-containing drugs in dosage forms and human plasma

This study describes the development of an environmentally-friend optical nanosensor for the rapid spectrofluorimetric assessment of two nitro-compounds, namely nitrofurantoin and dantrolene in their dosage forms and plasma samples. A one-step synthetic technique successfully created very bright water-soluble carbon quantum dots doped with sulfur and nitrogen (S,N-CQDs). Carbon was derived from citric acid, while nitrogen and sulfur were obtained from thiosemicarbazide. The dimensions of the synthesized dots were measured using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope. FT-IR spectroscopy was used to determine which functional groups were located on their surfaces. The nanosensor's fluorescence emission peaked intensely at 415 nm after excitation at 345 nm with a quantum yield of about 0.52. The inherent fluorescence of the nanosensors gradually decreased upon addition of the studied analytes in increasing concentrations. The fluorescence reduction of nanosensor with the concentrations of the investigated drugs demonstrated linear correlation within the ranges of 0.5-8.0 μg/mL and 1.0-10.0 μg/mL with limits of detection of 0.14 μg/mL (0.59 μM) and 0.23 μg/mL (0.73 μM) for nitrofurantoin and dantrolene, respectively. The recommended method was used to determine the concentrations of the investigated drugs in their commercial capsules, with recoveries ranging from 97.90 % to 101.57 % and low percent RSD values less than 2 %. Moreover, the method was adapted for the in-vitro analysis of the two analytes in spiked human plasma samples with % recoveries from 95.20 % to 102.20 %. The mechanism of interaction between each analyte and the dots was also investigated. The selectivity of the approach for measuring analytes concentration in the presence of excipients, co-formulated medications, or co-administered pharmaceuticals was further evaluated through an interference study. The suggested method's validity was evaluated in accordance with ICH criteria.

Molecular Pincers Using a Combination of N-H and C-H Donors for Anion Binding

A naphthalene imide (1) and a naphthalene (2) bearing two pyrrole units have been synthesized, respectively, as anion receptors. It was revealed by ¹H NMR spectral studies carried out in CD₃CN that receptors 1 and 2 bind various anions via hydrogen bonds using both C-H and N-H donors. Compared with receptor 2, receptor 1 shows higher affinity for the test anions because of the enhanced acidity of its pyrrole NH and naphthalene CH hydrogens by the electron-withdrawing imide substituent. Molecular mechanics computations demonstrate that the receptors contact the halide anions via only one of the two respective available N-H and C-H donors whereas they use all four donors for binding of the oxyanions such as dihydrogen phosphate and hydrogen pyrophosphate. Receptor 1, a push-pull conjugated system, displays a strong fluorescence centered at 625 nm, while receptor 2 exhibits an emission with a maximum peak at 408 nm. In contrast, upon exposure of receptors 1 and 2 to the anions in question, their fluorescence was noticeably quenched particularly with relatively basic anions including F^-, H₂PO₄^-, HP₂O₇^3-, and HCO₃^-.

Substitution Effect on 2-(Oxazolinyl)-phenols and 1,2,5-Chalcogenadiazole-Annulated Derivatives: Emission-Color-Tunable, Minimalistic Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer (ESIPT)-Based Luminophores

Minimalistic 2-(oxazolinyl)-phenols substituted with different electron-donating and -withdrawing groups as well as 1,2,5-chalcogenadiazole-annulated derivatives thereof were synthesized and investigated in regard to their emission behavior in solution as well as in the solid state. Depending on the nature of the incorporated substituent and its position, emission efficiencies were increased or diminished, resulting in AIE or ACQ characteristics. Single-crystal analysis revealed J- and H-type packing motifs and a so-far undescribed isolation of ESIPT-based fluorophores in the keto form.

Tailoring Photophysical Properties of Diketopyrrolopyrrole Small Molecules with Electron-Withdrawing Moieties for Efficient Solar Steam Generation

The development of photothermal materials (PTMs) for solar steam generation (SSG) has gained tremendous attention in response to the global clean water scarcity issue. However, the investigation in employing organic small-molecule PTMs for SSG applications is rarely found due to their narrow optical absorption range to harvest solar energy and insufficient photostability for long-term use. Herein, we employ a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) core unit together with electron-withdrawing (EW) endcaps and siloxane side chains to introduce stronger intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) characteristics as well as the hydrophobic character. The enhanced ICT characteristics of DPP derivatives render a broad optical absorption range, less emission, and a high nonradiative decay rate for efficient solar energy harvesting and photothermal effects. Meanwhile, the hydrophobic nature of these DPP derivatives allows the facile fabrication of novel Janus photothermal membranes for effective water vaporization and solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency. By embedding DPP derivatives to the SSG device, we showed that the solar-to-vapor efficiency can reach up to 71.8% under relatively low visible light power (∼700 W m^-2), which is, on average, 2.66 times higher than that of bulk water of similar dimension. Moreover, this report demonstrates the great potential of conjugated small molecules for photothermal applications, owing to their versatility and flexibility in structural engineering and its diminishing radiative decay properties. This may inspire more innovation and advancement in SSG applications.

Human Glioblastoma Visualization: Triple Receptor-Targeting Fluorescent Complex of Dye, SIWV Tetra-Peptide, and Serum Albumin Protein

Fluorescence guided surgery (FGS) has been highlighted in the clinical site for guiding surgical procedures and providing the surgeon with a real-time visualization of the operating field. FGS is a powerful technique for precise surgery, particularly tumor resection; however, clinically approved fluorescent dyes have often shown several limitations during FGS, such as non-tumor-targeting, low in vivo stability, insufficient emission intensity, and low blood-brain barrier penetration. In this study, we disclose a fluorescent dye complex, peptide, and protein for the targeted visualization of human glioblastoma (GBM) cells and tissues. Our noble triple receptor-targeting fluorescent complex (named BSA-OXN-SIWV) consists of (i) dipolar oxazepine dye (OXN), which has high stability, low cytotoxicity, bright fluorescence, and two-photon excitable, (ii) tetra-peptide (SIWV) for the targeting of the caveolin-1 receptor, and (iii) bovine serum-albumin (BSA) protein for the targeting of albondin (gp60) and secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine receptor. The photophysical properties and binding mode of BSA-OXN-SIWV were analyzed, and the imaging of GBM cell lines and human clinical GBM tissues were successfully demonstrated in this study. Our findings hold great promise for the application of BSA-OXN-SIWV to GBM identification and the surgery at clinical sites, as a new FGS agent.

White light employing luminescent engineered large (mega) Stokes shift molecules: a review

Large (mega) Stokes shift molecules have shown great potential in white light emission for optoelectronic applications, such as flat panel display technology, light-emitting diodes, photosensitizers, molecular probes, cellular and bioimaging, and other applications. This review aims to summarize recent developments of white light generation that incorporate a large Stokes shift component, key approaches to designing large Stokes shift molecules, perspectives on future opportunities, and remaining challenges confronting this emerging research field. After a brief introduction of feasible pathways in generating white light, exemplifications of large Stokes shift molecules as white light candidates from organic and inorganic-based materials are illustrated. Various possible ways to design such molecules have been revealed by integrating the photophysical mechanisms that are essential to produce red-shifted emission upon photoexcitation, such as excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), excited state geometrical relaxation or structural deformation, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) alongside the different formations of aggregates, interplay between monomer and excimer emission, host-guest interaction, and lastly metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) via harvesting triplet state. Furthermore, previously reported fluorescent materials are described and categorized based on luminescence behaviors on account of the Stokes shifts value. This review will serve as a rationalized introduction and reference for researchers who are interested in exploring large or mega Stokes shift molecules, and will motivate new strategies along with instigation of persistent efforts in this prominent subject area with great avenues.

Solvatochromic and pH-Sensitive Fluorescent Membrane Probes for Imaging of Live Cells

Membrane trafficking is essential for all cells, and visualizing it is particularly useful for studying neuronal functions. Here we report the synthesis, characterization, and application of several membrane- and pH-sensitive probes suitable for live-cell fluorescence imaging. These probes are based on a 1,8-naphthalimide fluorophore scaffold. They exhibit a solvatochromic effect, and one of them, ND6, shows a substantial fluorescence difference between pH 6 and 7. The solvatochromic effect and pH-sensitivity of those probes are explained using quantum chemical calculations, and molecular dynamics simulation confirms their integration and interaction with membrane lipids. For live-cell fluorescence imaging, we tested those probes in a cancer cell line (MCF7), cancer spheroids (MDA-MB-468), and cultured hippocampal neurons. Confocal imaging showed an excellent signal-to-noise ratio from 400:1 to about 1300:1 for cell membrane labeling. We applied ND6 during stimulation to label nerve terminals via dye uptake during evoked synaptic vesicle turnover. By ND6 imaging, we revealed cholesterol's multifaced role in replenishing synaptic vesicle pools. Our results demonstrate these fluorescent probes' great potential in studying membrane dynamic and synaptic functions in neurons and other secretory cells and tissues.

Fluorescent Chromophores Containing the Nitro Group: Relatively Unexplored Emissive Properties

Apart from numerous applications, for example in azo dye precursors, explosives, and industrial processes, the nitro group (-NO₂ ) appears on countless molecules in photochemical research owing to its unique characteristics such as a strong electron-withdrawing ability and facile conversion to the reduced substituent. Although it is well known as a fluorescence quencher, fluorescent chromophores that contain the nitro group have also emerged, with 3-nitrophenothiazine being recently reported to have 100 % emission quantum yield in nonpolar solvents. The diverse characters of nitro-containing chromophores motivated us to systematically review those chromophores with nitro substituents, their associated photophysical properties, and applications. In this Review, we succinctly elaborate the advance of the fluorescent nitro chromophores in fields of intramolecular charge transfer, fluorescent probes and nonlinear properties. Special attention is paid to the rationalization of the associated emission spectroscopy, so that the readers can gain insights into the structure-photophysics relationship and hence gain insights for the strategic design of nitro chromophores.

Influence of Molecular Symmetry and Terminal Substituents on the Morphology and OFET Characteristics of S,N-Heteropentacenes

Many heteroacenes have been extensively studied to improve device performances; however, the morphological effects stemmed from the chemical modification on a multiscale remain less explored. In this research, five axisymmetric S,N-heteropentacenes (DTPT, DTPT-Ph, DTPT-CN, DTPT-PYCN, and DTPT-BTCN) are studied to reveal the influences of molecular symmetry and end-capping substituents on the structure-property relationship, the thermal stability, crystallization behavior, film morphology, and OFET performance. Phase behavior was probed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), while the quality of the crystal array and structural details was investigated by optical microscopy (OM) and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS). The analytic results reveal that (1) the parent axisymmetric S,N-heteropentacene, DTPT, is hard to crystallize, which hinders the preparation of high-quality crystal arrays for the OFET application. (2) The incorporation of π-conjugated electron-withdrawing (π-EW) endcaps that provide extended conjugation length and enhanced molecular polarity is required to form oriented crystal arrays to deliver reasonable OFET characteristics. (3) The π-EW endcaps with conformational freedom, such as -BTCN, due to the asymmetric feature of benzothiadiazole (BT), can hinder bulk phase crystallization and cause conformational disorder in the crystal array. Hence, the tradeoff of introducing the end-substituents to reinforce the poor crystalline nature of S,N-heteroacenes should be carefully considered.

Terphenyl backbone-based donor–π–acceptor dyads: geometric isomer effects on intramolecular charge transfer

The molecular geometry effects of ortho, meta, and para-terphenyl based donor–π–acceptor (D–π–A) dyads on intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) were studied to investigate structure-ICT relationships.

Molecular Engineering of a Donor-Acceptor Polymer To Realize Single Band Absorption toward a Red-Selective Thin-Film Organic Photodiode

Herein, we explore the strategy of realizing a red-selective thin-film organic photodiode (OPD) by synthesizing a new copolymer with a highly selective red-absorption feature. PCZ-Th-DPP, with phenanthrocarbazole (PCZ) and diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) as donor and acceptor units, respectively, was strategically designed/synthesized based on a time-dependent density functional theory calculation, which predicted the significant suppression of the band II absorption of PCZ-Th-DPP due to the extremely efficient intramolecular charge transfer. We demonstrate that the synthesized PCZ-Th-DPP exhibits not only a high absorption coefficient within the red-selective band I region, as theoretically predicted, but also a preferential face-on intermolecular structure in the thin-film state, which is beneficial for vertical charge extraction as an outcome of a glancing incidence X-ray diffraction study. By employing PCZ-Th-DPP as a photoactive layer of Schottky OPD, to fully match its absorption characteristic to the spectral response of the red-selective OPD, we demonstrate a genuine red-selective specific detectivity in the order of 10¹² Jones while maintaining a thin active layer thickness of ∼300 nm. This work demonstrates the possibility of realizing a full color image sensor with a synthetic approach to the constituting active layers without optical manipulation.

Quantifying the Plasmonic Character of Optical Excitations in a Molecular J-Aggregate

The definition of plasmon at the microscopic scale is far from being understood. Yet, it is very important to recognize plasmonic features in optical excitations, as they can inspire new applications and trigger new discoveries by analogy with the rich phenomenology of metal nanoparticle plasmons. Recently, the concepts of plasmonicity index and the generalized plasmonicity index (GPI) have been devised as computational tools to quantify the plasmonic nature of optical excitations. The question may arise whether any strong absorption band, possibly with some sort of collective character in its microscopic origin, shares the status of plasmon. Here we demonstrate that this is not always the case, by considering a well-known class of systems represented by J-aggregates molecular crystals, characterized by the intense J band of absorption. By means of first-principles simulations, based on a many-body perturbation theory formalism, we investigate the optical properties of a J-aggregate made of push–pull organic dyes. We show that the effect of aggregation is to lower the GPI associated with the J-band with respect to the isolated dye one, which corresponds to a nonplasmonic character of the electronic excitations. In order to rationalize our finding, we then propose a simplified one-dimensional theoretical model of the J-aggregate. A useful microscopic picture of what discriminates a collective molecular crystal excitation from a plasmon is eventually obtained.

Temperature sensor probe based on intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) & reversible solute-solvent interaction in solution

In this present work, we have developed a temperature sensitive ICT probe (KNP) to investigate alternation of ICT process with the temperature in polar protic solvents. The H-bonding interaction is found to play a key role on solute-solvent interaction to become a temperature sensitive ICT probe in solution. From temperature dependent UV-Vis spectra, it is cleared that the solute-solvent interaction is reversible in nature with temperature and affected by concentration in polar protic solvents. The reversible solute-solvent interaction is observed by monitoring the intensity variation of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) band with temperature in solution.

Solid-State Effects on the Optical Excitation of Push-Pull Molecular J-Aggregates by First-Principles Simulations

J-aggregates are a class of low-dimensional molecular crystals which display enhanced interaction with light. These systems show interesting optical properties as an intense and narrow red-shifted absorption peak (J-band) with respect to the spectrum of the corresponding monomer. The need to theoretically investigate optical excitations in J-aggregates is twofold: a thorough first-principles description is still missing and a renewed interest is rising recently in understanding the nature of the J-band, in particular regarding the collective mechanisms involved in its formation. In this work, we investigate the electronic and optical properties of a J-aggregate molecular crystal made of ordered arrangements of organic push-pull chromophores. By using a time-dependent density functional theory approach, we assess the role of the molecular packing in the enhancement and red shift of the J-band along with the effects of confinement in the optical absorption, when moving from bulk to low-dimensional crystal structures. We simulate the optical absorption of different configurations (i.e., monomer, dimers, a polymer chain, and a monolayer sheet) extracted from the bulk crystal. By analyzing the induced charge density associated with the J-band, we conclude that it is a longitudinal excitation, delocalized along parallel linear chains and that its overall red shift results from competing coupling mechanisms, some giving red shift and others giving blue shift, which derive from both coupling between transition densities and renormalization of the single-particle energy levels.

Intrinsic photophysics of nitrophenolate ions studied by cryogenic ion spectroscopy

The intrinsic photophysics of nitrophenolate isomers (meta, para, and ortho) was studied at low temperature using photodissociation mass spectrometry in a cryogenic ion trap instrument.

9-Vinylanthracene Based Fluorogens: Synthesis, Structure-Property Relationships and Applications

Fluorescent dyes with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties exhibit intensified emission upon aggregation. They are promising candidates to study biomolecules and cellular changes in aqueous environments when aggregation formation occurs. Here, we report a group of 9-position functionalized anthracene derivatives that were conveniently synthesized by the palladium-catalyzed Heck reaction. Using fluorometric analyses, these dyes were confirmed to show AIE behavior upon forming aggregates at high concentrations, in viscous solvents, and when poorly solubilized. Their photophysical properties were then further correlated with their structural features, using density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Finally, we demonstrated their potential applications in monitoring pH changes, quantifying globular proteins, as well as cell imaging with confocal microscopy.