Unveiling the nature of supramolecular crown ether–C60 interactions

A series of exTTF-(crown ether)2 receptors, designed to host C60, has been prepared. The size of the crown ether and the nature of the heteroatoms have been systematically changed to fine tune the association constants, which were determined by a number of complementary spectroscopic techniques. Electrochemical measurements and transient absorption spectroscopy assisted in corroborating charge transfer in the ground state and in the excited state, leading to the formation of radical ion pairs featuring lifetimes in the range from 12 to 21 ps. To rationalize the nature of the exTTF-(crown ether)2$C60 stabilizing interactions, theoretical calculations have been carried out, suggesting a syner…

Titelbild: Electron Transfer in a Supramolecular Associate of a Fullerene Fragment (Angew. Chem. 8/2014)

Cover Picture: Electron Transfer in a Supramolecular Associate of a Fullerene Fragment (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 8/2014)

Complexation and Electronic Communication between Corannulene-Based Buckybowls and a Curved Truxene-TTF Donor

Abstract: The association behavior of an electron-donating, bowl-shaped, truxene-based tetrathiafulvalene (truxTTF) with two corannulene-based fullerene fragments, C32H12 and C38H14, is investigated in several solvents. Formation of 1:1 complexes is followed by absorption titrations and complemented by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The binding constants are in the range logKa=2.9–3.5. DFT calculations reveal that the most stable arrangement is the conformation in which the 1,3-dithiole ring of truxTTF is placed inside the concave cavity of the corannulene derivative. This arrangement is confirmed experimentally by NMR measurements, and implies that a combination of p–p and C…

Electron transfer in a supramolecular associate of a fullerene fragment

Herein, we investigate the association of a fullerene fragment, hemifullerene C30H12, with an electron-donating bowl-shaped tetrathiafulvalene derivative (truxTTF). UV/Vis titrations and DFT calculations support formation of the supramolecular complex, for which an association constant of log Ka = 3.6±0.3 in CHCl3 at room temperature is calculated. Remarkably, electron transfer from truxTTF to C30H12 to form the fully charge-separated species takes place upon irradiation of the associate with light, constituting the first example in which a fullerene fragment mimics the electron-accepting behavior of fullerenes within a supramolecular complex.