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ABSTRACT The pursuit of sustainable organic synthesis has renewed interest in photochemistry, as sunlight‐driven reactions provide eco‐friendly alternative methods. Although the relationships among structure, properties, and reactivity are well established for ground‐state molecules, the understanding of excited states and reactive intermediates, such as triplet and singlet arylnitrenes, remains limited. Herein, we investigated the properties of triplet and singlet 4‐nitrenopyridine‐1‐pyridine oxide (1N), 3‐nitrenopyridine‐1‐pyridine oxide (2N), and phenylnitrene (PhN) using density functional theory (DFT), complete active space self‐consistent field (CASSCF(10,9)), and complete active space second‐order perturbation theory (CASPT2(10,9)) calculations. Bond length analysis demonstrated that³1Nand¹1N, as well as¹2Nand¹PhN, exhibit significant imine biradical character, whereas the structures of³2Nand³PhNare better described as benzene‐like. Nucleus‐independent chemical shift (NICS(0), NICS(1.7)_ZZ) and anisotropy of induced current density (ACID) calculations were performed to compare the induced magnetic currents in these molecules. These analyses demonstrated that³1Nis weakly aromatic, whereas³2Nand³PhNare best described as having Baird aromaticity. In contrast, singlet nitrenes¹1N,¹2N, and¹PhNare nonaromatic. In addition, irradiation of1in argon matrices verified that³1Nreacts photochemically to form corresponding ketenimine1K. Finally, the absorption difference spectrum of³1Nin a frozen 2‐methyltetrahydrofuran (mTHF) matrix exhibited resolved vibrational structure, suggesting the vibrational coupling to another electronic state. These insights into the structure and aromaticity of heterocyclic nitrenes could provide new avenues for modulating the reactivity of triplet ground state and triplet excited molecules. 

Despite their versatile synthetic utility, vinyl azides have complex and poorly understood photochemistry. To address this, we investigated the photoreactivity of 1-azidostyrene 1 and 3-phenyl-2H-azirine 2 in solution and cryogenic matrices. In argon matrices, irradiation of 1 at 254 nm yielded 2, phenyl nitrile ylide 3, and N-phenyl ketenimine 4, whereas irradiation at wavelengths above 300 nm produced only 2 and 4. Similarly, irradiation of 1 in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (mTHF) glass at 77 K mainly yielded absorption corresponding to the formation of 2 (λmax ~ 252 nm). In contrast, irradiation of 2 at wavelengths above 300 nm in Argon matrices yielded no photoproducts, whereas irradiation at 254 nm resulted in the formation of 3. Furthermore, femto- and nanosecond transient absorption and laser flash photolysis were performed to ascertain the transient species and reactive intermediates formed during the photochemical transformations of 1 and 2. The ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy of 1 resulted in a transient absorption band centered at ca. 472 nm with a time constant τ ~ 22 ps, which was assigned to the first singlet excited state (S1) of 1. The nano-second flash photolysis of 1 (308 nm laser) generated 2 within the laser pulse (~17 ns), and subsequently 2 is excited to yield triplet vinylnitrene 31N with an absorption centered at ~ 440 nm. In contrast, the nano-second laser flash photolysis of 2 with 266 nm laser produced a weak absorption corresponding to 3, whereas 308 nm laser yielded absorption due to triplet vinylnitrene 31N (λmax ~ 440 nm). These findings demonstrate that the direct irradiation of 1 populates S1 of 1, which does not intersystem cross to form 31N, but instead decays to yield 2. Density functional theory calculations supported the characteristics of the excited states and reactive intermediates formed upon irradiation of 1 and 2. 

Abstract Sunlight‐driven photochemical reactions are an important tool for sustainable organic synthesis. However, compared with ground states, for which the effects of structure on properties and reactivity are well established, the understanding of excited states is limited. In particular, an improved understanding of aromaticity and antiaromaticity in excited states is necessary to develop strategic photochemical methods for synthesizing polycyclic aromatic compounds. Herein, using density functional theory (DFT)‐optimized structures, the ground singlet (S₀) and lowest triplet (T₁) states of coronene and corannulene were compared. Bond length analysis demonstrated that both triplet corannulene and triplet coronene bear a partial resemblance to benzene. Nucleus‐independent chemical shift (NICS(0), NICS(1.7)_ZZ, NICS scans) and anisotropy of the induced current density (ACID) calculations were carried out to compare the induced magnetic currents in these molecules. This analysis demonstrated rather weak π‐conjugation and partial antiaromaticity in the S₀state of each molecule. In contrast, a combination of circular induced currents and pronounced antiaromaticity was found in the T₁state of each molecule. However, the T₁of corannulene exhibited higher stability, which should facilitate functionalization. Consequently, corannulene is considered more suitable for photochemical applications. 

ABSTRACT Triplet arylnitrenes may provide direct access to aryl azo‐dimers, which have broad commercial applicability. Herein, the photolysis ofp‐azidostilbene (1) in argon‐saturated methanol yielded stilbene azo‐dimer (2) through the dimerization of tripletp‐nitrenostilbene (³1N). The formation of³1Nwas verified by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and absorption spectroscopy (λ_max ~ 375 nm) in cryogenic 2‐methyltetrahydrofuran matrices. At ambient temperature, laser flash photolysis of1in methanol formed³1N(λ_max ~ 370 nm, 2.85 × 10⁷ s⁻¹). On shorter timescales, a transient absorption (λ_max ~ 390 nm) that decayed with a similar rate constant (3.11 × 10⁷ s⁻¹) was assigned to a triplet excited state (T) of1. Density functional theory calculations yielded three configurations for T of1, with the unpaired electrons on the azido (T_A) or stilbene moiety (T_Tw, twisted and T_Fl, flat). The transient was assigned to T_Twbased on its calculated spectrum. CASPT2 calculations gave a singlet–triplet energy gap of 16.6 kcal mol⁻¹for1 N; thus, intersystem crossing of¹1Nto³1Nis unlikely at ambient temperature, supporting the formation of³1Nfrom T of1. Thus, sustainable synthetic methods for aryl azo‐dimers can be developed using the visible‐light irradiation of aryl azides to form triplet arylnitrenes.