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Synthesis and Characterizations of 5,5'-Bibenzo[rst]pentaphene with Axial Chirality and Symmetry-Breaking Charge Transfer.

Xiushang XuSuman GunasekaranScott RenkenLorenzo RipaniDieter SchollmeyerWoojae KimMassimo MarcaccioAndrew MusserAkimitsu Narita
Published in: Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) (2022)
Exploration of novel biaryls consisting of two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) units can be an important strategy toward further developments of organic materials with unique properties. In this study, 5,5'-bibenzo[rst]pentaphene (BBPP) with two benzo[rst]pentaphene (BPP) units is synthesized in an efficient and versatile approach, and its structure is unambiguously elucidated by X-ray crystallography. BBPP exhibits axial chirality, and the (M)- and (P)-enantiomers are resolved by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography and studied by circular dichroism spectroscopy. These enantiomers have a relatively high isomerization barrier of 43.6 kcal mol -1 calculated by density functional theory. The monomer BPP and dimer BBPP are characterized by UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The results indicate that both BPP and BBPP fluoresce from a formally dark S 1 electronic state that is enabled by Herzberg-Teller intensity borrowing from a neighboring bright S 2 state. While BPP exhibits a relatively low photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), BBPP exhibits a significantly enhanced PLQY due to a greater S 2 intensity borrowing. Moreover, symmetry-breaking charge transfer in BBPP is demonstrated by spectroscopic investigations in solvents of different polarity. This suggests high potential for singlet fission in such π-extended biaryls through appropriate molecular design.
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