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…
Conjugated Porphyrin Dimers: Cooperative Effects and Electronic Communication in Supramolecular Ensembles with C60
International audience; Two new conjugated porphyrin-based systems (dimers 3 and 4) endowed with suitable crown ethers have been synthesized as receptors for a fullerene-ammonium salt derivative (1). Association constants in solution have been determined by UV–vis titration experiments in CH2Cl2 at room temperature. The designed hosts are able to associate up to two fullerene-based guest molecules and present association constants as high as ∼5 × 108 M–1. Calculation of the allosteric cooperative factor α for supramolecular complexes [3·12] and [4·12] showed a negative cooperative effect in both cases. The interactions accounting for the formation of the associates are based, first, on the …
Metal-atom impact on the self-assembly of cup-and-ball metalloporphyrin–fullerene conjugates
International audience; A fullerene ammonium derivative has been combined with different metalloporphyrin–crown ether receptors to generate very stable supramolecules. The combination of fullerene–porphyrin and ammonium–crown ether interactions leads to a strong chelate effect as evidenced by a high effective molarity (3.16 M). The different parameters influencing the stability of the supramolecular ensembles, in particular the nature of the metal in the porphyrin moiety, have been rationalized with the help of theoretical calculations thus providing new insights into fullerene–porphyrin interactions.