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The main focus of this thesis was the synthesis and analysis of multifunctional oligopeptides. The study of their non-covalent interactions with various counterparts revealed interesting new results, leading to both methodological and application related progress. The first project of this thesis concentrated on the in-depth analysis of the peptide receptor CBS-Lys-Lys-Phe-NH2 to acquire a better understanding of its binding mode upon complexation with a substrate. In this context it was possible to develop—in cooperation with the group of Prof. Sebastian Schlücker—a direct and label free spectroscopic detection of immobilized compounds which are often found in combinatorial libraries. This new screening method utilizes the advantages of the surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy and allowed for the first time a surface mapping of a single polystyrene bead for the identification of peptides in femtomolar concentrations. Hence, this method allows a very fast and sensitive detection of resin bound compounds. The development of this promising new approach set the starting point for future experiments to enable on-bead library screenings and to investigate the complex formation of immobilized compounds. After the comprehensive analysis of the basic structural features of small peptide receptors in the first part of this thesis, the second big block focused on its in vitro evaluation using biological relevant targets. Therefore, several different modifications of the initial peptide structures were synthesized. These modifications provided a molecular toolkit for the tailor made synthesis of structures individually designed for the respective target. The first tests addressed the interaction with Alzheimer’s related amyloid fibrils. During these experiments, the successful SPPS syntheses of tri- and tetravalent systems were achieved. The comparison of the multivalent form with the corresponding monovalent version was then under special investigations. These concentrated mainly on the interaction with various bacteria strains, as well as with different parasites. To localize the compounds within the organisms, the synthesis of fluorescence labelled versions was achieved. In addition, several compounds were tested by the Institute for Molecular Infection Biology of the University of Würzburg for their antibacterial activity. This thorough evaluation of the biological activity generated precious information about the influence of small structural changes in the peptide receptors. Especially the distinct influence of the multivalency effect and the acquired synthetic skills led to the development of an advanced non-covalent recognition event, as described in the final project of this thesis. The last part of this thesis discussed the development of a novel inhibitor for the serine protease beta-tryptase based on a tailor-made surface recognition event. It was possible to study and analyze the complex interaction with the unique structure of tryptase, that features a tetrameric frame and four catalytic cleavage sites buried deep inside of the hollow structure. However, the point of attack were not the four binding pockets, as mostly described in the literature, but rather the acidic areas around the cleavage sites and at the two circular openings. These should attract peptides with basic residues, which then can block the accessibility to the active sites. A combinatorial library of 216 tetravalent peptide compounds was synthesized to find the best structural composition for the non-covalent inhibition of beta-tryptase. For the screening of the library a new on-bead assay was applied. With this method a simultaneous readout of the total inhibition of all library members was possible, thus allowing a fast and direct investigation of the still resin bound inhibitors. Several additional experiments in solution unveiled the kinetics of the inhibition process. In conclusion, both mono- and multivalent inhibitors interact in a non-destructive and reversible way with the tryptase.
Die Liste der interessanten nachzuweisenden Analyte ist lang. Deswegen besteht ein großer Bedarf zur Entwicklung neuer fluoreszierender und kolorimetrischer Chemosensoren. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war daher die Synthese und Charakterisierung neuer optischer bzw. fluoreszierender und kolorimetrischer Chemosensoren mit dem Fokus auf die beiden Substanzklassen der Naphthalinbisimide und Perylenbisimide.
Der erste Arbeitsschwerpunkt befasste sich mit wasserlöslichen Naphthalinbisimiden und ist in drei Unterkapitel aufgeteilt (Kapitel III – 1.1.-1.3., Abbildung 79). Im ersten Unterkapitel (Kapitel III – 1.1.) wurden die Synthesen und optischen Eigenschaften der am Kern Amino-substituierten NBIs 60a-h, mit Dicarbonsäureresten in Imid-Position und 61a-h, mit 2-Dimethylaminoethyl-Gruppen, in polaren Lösungsmitteln beschrieben. Die systematische Anbringung verschiedener Amino-Substituenten mit steigendem elektronenziehendem Charakter der Aminoreste diente der mechanistischen Aufklärung der optischen Eigenschaften. Eine vollständige Untersuchung der optischen Eigenschaften erfolgte in wässriger Pufferlösung bei pH 2.1 sowie in Methanol und Acetonitril. Der Einfluss der Imid-Substituenten auf die optischen Eigenschaften war wie zu erwarten gering. Die verschiedenen Kern-Substituenten verursachten hingegen eine hypsochrome Verschiebung der Absorptions- und Fluoreszenzmaxima mit steigendem elektronenziehendem Charakter der an der Aminogruppe angebrachten Reste. Ein unerwarteter Trend konnte im Fall der Fluoreszenzquantenausbeute beobachtet werden. In den protischen Lösungsmitteln Wasser und Methanol wurde eine lineare Abhängigkeit gegenüber der Hammett-σmeta-Konstante ermittelt. Mit steigendem elektronenziehendem Charakter der Kern-Amino-Substituenten erfuhr die Quantenausbeute einen Anstieg auf bis zu 39% in Wasser für NBI 60h, 61h und 45% in Methanol für 60h. Die Tatsache, dass in Acetonitril keine solche Abhängigkeit gegenüber der Hammett-Konstante beobachtet werden konnte legte eine intermolekulare Wasserstoffbrücken-Bindung im angeregten Zustand als konkurrierenden Prozess zur Fluoreszenz nahe. Dieser Prozess tritt zwischen den Lösungsmittel-Molekülen und der Akzeptorgruppe (Carbonyl-Sauerstoff) der NBIs, welcher einen strahlungslosen Relaxationsprozess bzw. Fluoreszenzlöschung zur Folge hat, auf. Der Einfluss dieses Prozesses lässt sich durch die Stärke des elektronenziehenden Amino-Substituentens steuern. Die NBIs 60a-h zeigten zudem in potentiometrischen Titrationen in Wasser eine pH-Unabhängigkeit der optischen Eigenschaften bezüglich des Imid-Substituentens. Dies macht die NBIs mit Dicarbonsäureresten für die Anwendung in biologischen Systemen im neutralen pH-Milieu oder als chemische Sensoren besonders geeignet.
Aufgrund dieser interessanten Befunde wurde im zweiten Unterkapitel (Kapitel III – 1.2.) das dihalogenierte NBI 58 hinsichtlich der Sensoreigenschaften gegenüber primären, sekundären und tertiären Amin- bzw. Diamindampf sowie zur Frischekontrolle von Fleisch untersucht. Die Absorptions- und Fluoreszenz-spektroskopische Untersuchung des Dünnschichtfilms von NBI 58 zeigte die erfolgreiche, selektive Detektion von primären Aminen und Diaminen bzw. biogenen Aminen. Zum einen konnte mit bloßen Auge ein Farbumschlag von gelb nach rot und zum anderen Änderungen in den Absorptionsspektren wie die Entstehung einer neuen bathochrom verschobenen Bande im Dünnschichtfilm beobachtet werden. Die Erhöhung der Fluoreszenz wie auch die NMR-spektroskopische Untersuchung konnte hingegen ausschließlich in Lösung detektiert werden. Hiermit konnte die kovalente Wechselwirkung der Amin-Moleküle mit dem NBI 58 nachgewiesen werden. Trotz der erfolgreichen Detektion biogener Amindämpfe erwies sich NBI 58 aufgrund der zu geringen Reaktivität als ungeeigneter chemischer Sensor zur Frischekontrolle von Fleisch.
Das dritte und letzte Unterkapitel (Kapitel III – 1.3.) dieses Abschnittes bestand in der Synthese monochlor-monoamino-substituierter NBIs am Kern (65a,b und 66) und der Wechselwirkungen dieser Farbstoffe mit DNS/RNS. Die NBIs 65a,b und 66 wiesen in der Imidstellung 3-Trimethylammoniumpropyl auf, um die Wasserlöslichkeit zu gewährleisten und die elektrostatische Wechselwirkung mit dem negativ geladenen Phosphatrückgrad der DNS/RNS zu bewirken. Am Kern wurden die Aminosäuren (S)-2,3-Diaminopropionsäure (L-Dap) (65a) und (S)-2,6-Diaminohexansäure (L-Lys) (65b) sowie 2-Trimethylammoniumethylamin (66) eingefügt. Die Untersuchungen mit Hilfe von thermischen Denaturierungsstudien zeigten mit allen NBIs eine deutliche Schmelzpunkterhöhung der DNS/RNS (ΔTm-Werte zwischen 17 und 35 °C), was die Bildung von NBI/Polynukleotid-Komplexen nahelegte. Diese Komplex-Bildung konnte erneut aufgrund enormer Fluoreszenzlöschung in fluorimetrischen Titrationsstudien bestätigt werden. Hier wurden Bindungskonstanten zwischen logK = 5.9 und 7.2 M-1 ermittelt, wobei NBI 65a und poly(dG-dC)2 der stärksten Bindungsaffinität und NBI 65a und poly(dA-dT)2 der schwächste zugeordnet werden konnte. Für NBI 66 wurde die zweithöchste Bindungsaffinität zu Polynukleotid ct-DNS (logK = 7.08 M-1) beobachtet, während dieser Farbstoff sowie 65a,b nur geringe Bindungskonstanten mit dem Polynukleotid polyA-polyU zeigten. Mit Hilfe der CD-spektroskopischen Messungen wurde der Bindungsmodus und die Unterschiede in den Bindungseigenschaften der Farbstoffe mit DNS/RNS ermittelt. Der Großteil aller NBI-Verbindungen interkalierte in einer parallelen Anordnung zwischen die Basenpaare der Polynukleotide. Für NBI 65a und poly(dG-dC)2 ließ sich jedoch eine perpendikulare Anordnung zu den Basenpaaren beobachten. ITC-Titrationsstudien komplettierten letztendlich die Untersuchungen zwischen NBIs und Polynukleotiden. Neben Interkalation als Bindungsmodus konnte zusätzlich aufgrund der relativ hohen Entropiewerte eine Wechselwirkung zwischen den Substituenten am Kern und den Phosphatgruppen in der kleinen Furche festgestellt werden. Zusammengefasst sind die sterischen Hinderungen der Amino-Substituenten und die Furcheneigenschaften von ds-DNS/RNS entscheidend.
Der zweite Arbeitsschwerpunkt ist ebenfalls in drei Unterkapitel (Kapitel III – 2.1.-2.3.) aufgeteilt und befasste sich mit der Synthese und den Sensoreigenschaften kernfunktionalisierter Perylenbisimide (Abbildung 80). Im ersten Abschnitt (Kapitel III – 2.1) wurde die Synthese und die optischen Eigenschaften in Lösung der am Kern einfach und zweifach Kronenether-funktionalisierten PBIs 77a,b und 71a,b untersucht. In Imidstellung waren alle PBIs mit 2-Trimethylammoniumethyl-Resten funktionalisiert, um eine Löslichkeit in polaren Lösungsmitteln zu gewährleisten. Die Buchtpositionen wurden jeweils ein- bzw. zweifach mit den Kronenether-Einheiten 2-Hydroxymethyl-15-Krone-5 und 2-Hydroxymethyl-18-Krone-6 substituiert. Die anschließende Untersuchung der optischen Eigenschaften der PBIs zeigten bei einer Konzentration von 10-5 M in Acetonitril den monomeren Zustand und in Wasser die Ausbildung von H-Aggregaten. Die Fluoreszenzquantenausbeuten erfuhren in Acetonitril mit steigender Kronenether-Ringgröße eine Zunahme von 73% auf 81% für die PBIs 71a,b und eine vernachlässigbare geringe Zunahme von 49% auf 51% für die PBIs 77a,b. Die Abnahme der Quantenausbeute vom zweifach funktionalisierten zum einfach funktionalisierten PBI um ca. 30% ließ sich durch die stärker ausgeprägten strahlungslosen Relaxationsprozesse dieses flexibleren Moleküls im angeregten Zustand erklären.
Im zweiten Unterkapitel (Kapitel III – 2.2.) wurden die Selbstassemblierungseigenschaften der synthetisierten PBIs 71a,b und 77a,b in Gegenwart verschiedener Metallionen (Na+, K+, Rb+, Mg2+, Ca2+ und Ba2+) untersucht. Hier konnte eine Abhängigkeit von der Größe des Kronenether-Rezeptors sowie von der Art der Metallionen gezeigt werden. Die Absorptions- und Fluoreszenz-spektroskopischen Studien der zweifach funktionalisierten PBIs 71a und 71b bei einer PBI-Konzentration von c = 10-5 M zeigten ausschließlich für das 15-Krone-5-Derivat 71a und Ba2+ eine erfolgreiche Ausbildung von PBI-Stapeln mit H-artiger exzitonischer Kopplung. Aufgrund dessen erfuhr das Absorptionsmaximum eine stetige Abnahme einhergehend mit einer hypsochromen Verschiebung und die Fluoreszenz eine vollständige Löschung. Zudem konnte eine 1:1-Stöchiometrie der PBI-Stapeln ermittelt werden. Die Anpassung der spektroskopischen Änderungen an die Hill-Gleichung bestätigte letztendlich die Bildung eines [2+2]-Sandwich- bzw. Dimer-Komplexes in einem positiv kooperativen Bindungsprozess, in dem mittels ITC eine enorme Stabilisierung der Ba2+-Komplexierung aufgrund der π-π-Wechselwirkung zwischen zwei PBI-Molekülen, beobachtet wurde. Die Durchführung der Titrationsexperimente bei einer höheren PBI-Konzentration (c = 10-4 M) zusammen mit DOSY-Experimenten versicherten auch in diesem Fall die Formation diskreter Dimerkomplexe. Das einfach funktionalisierte PBI 77a zeigte in der Anwesenheit von Ba2+ ähnliche optische Änderungen. Die nachfolgenden Untersuchungen bzw. Interpretationen bestätigten die Bildung eines [1+2]-Dimerkomplexes mit H-artiger exzitonischer Kopplung, welches aufgrund der flexibleren Komplexstruktur keine Stabilisierung der Ba2+-Komplexierung erfuhr.
Neben der Metallionen-Komplexierung war PBI 71b auch in der Lage, in einer 1:2-Stöchiometrie aromatische Aminosäuren und Dipeptide zu erkennen (Kapitel III – 2.3.), da hier sowohl die Ammoniumgruppen der Aminosäuren und Dipeptide mit den Kronenethereinheiten als auch die aromatischen Einheiten mit dem PBI-Kern wechselwirken können. Fluoreszenz-Titrationsexperimente zeigten, dass die Aminosäuren L-Tryptophan und L-Tyrosin, welche elektronenreiche aromatische Gruppen aufweisen, und Dipeptide, die diese Aminosäuren enthalten, die Fluoreszenz des PBIs stark löschen. Die Bindungskonstanten der Wirt-Gast-Komplexierung in Acetonitril konnten aufgrund eines statischen Löschungsprozesses aus den Fluoreszenztitrationsdaten bestimmt werden. Hier wurde beobachtet, dass die Bindungsstärke von der Größe und der elektronischen Natur der aromatischen Einheiten sowie von dem Abstand zwischen der Ammoniumgruppe und der aromatischen Einheit in Aminosäuren und Dipeptiden abhängt. Die stärkste Bindung konnte zwischen Ala-Trp und PBI 71b mit einem Wert von 3.1 x 105 M-1 beobachtet werden. NMR-Studien bestätigten ebenfalls die Wirt-Gast-Komplexierung, ließen jedoch offen, ob es zu der Bildung von zwei Diastereomeren aufgrund der eingeschränkten Umwandlung der Atrop-Enantiomere (P und M) des PBI 71b kommt oder zu der Bildung von vier Diastereomeren infolge des Chiralitätszentrums im Kronenether.
Zusammenfassend wurden in dieser Arbeit Naphthalinbisimde und Perylenbisimide hinsichtlich ihrer Eignung als optische Chemosensoren untersucht. Die NBI-Derivate agierten aufgrund ihrer interessanten optischen Eigenschaften als chemische Sensoren selektiv für primären Amindampf und für die DNS/RNS-Wechselwirkung. Im Fall der PBI-Verbindungen wurden hervorragende fluorometrische Chemosensoren ermittelt, die Ba2+-Ionen und elektronenreiche aromatische Aminosäuren und Dipeptide in einer deutlichen Fluoreszenzlöschung detektieren können.
The aim of the first part of this thesis was to investigate (R,R)-PBI as a model system for polymorphism at its origin by a supramolecular approach. The pathway complexity of (R,R)-PBI was fine-tuned by experimental parameters such as solvent, temperature and concentration to make several supramolecular polymorphs accessible. Mechanistic and quantum chemical studies on the kinetics and thermodynamics of the supramolecular polymerization of (R,R)-PBI were conducted to shed light on the initial stages of polymorphism. The second part of this work deals with mechanistic investigations on the supramolecular polymerization of the racemic mixture of (R,R)- and (S,S)-PBI with regard to homochiral and heterochiral aggregation leading to conglomerates and a racemic supramolecular polymer, respectively.
Ziel der Dissertation „Neue zwitterionische Halbschalen als Bausteine für supramolekulare Kapseln“ war die Verknüpfung zweier Guanidiniocarbonylpyrrolcarboxylat-Bindungsmotive von Schmuck über starre, sowohl aromatische als auch nichtaromatische Linker. Die so erhaltenen zwitterionische Halbschalen sollten in Lösung zu supramolekulare Kapseln aggregieren, welche einen Hohlraum ausweisen, in den Gastmoleküle eingelagert werden können. Dieses Bindungsmotiv ist selbstkomplementär und daher in der Lage Homodimere auszubilden. Durch die Kombination aus Wasserstoffbrücken und Ionenbindungen sind diese selbst in polaren Lösemitteln wie DMSO oder Wasser stabil, im Gegensatz zu Systemen, welche z.B. nur über Wasserstoffbrücken verfügen und in polaren Medien wieder dissoziieren. Zur Synthese wurden zwei Bindungsmotive mittels Tetrahydroxybenzol verbrückt. Die eindeutige Charakterisierung erfolgte über NMR-Spektroskopie, Massen-Spektrometrie und Röntgenstrukturanalyse. Anschließend wurde die Verbindung in die zwitterionische Form überführt und auf Kapselbildung hin untersucht (NMR, DOSY, Masse, Molecular Modelling). Die theoretischen Berechnungen wiesen darauf hin, dass die synthetisierten Halbschalen in der Lage sein sollten, Kapseln zu bilden. Trotz der erfolgreichen Synthese dieses neuartigen zwitterionischen Makrozyklus steht der experimentelle Nachweise auf Grund der schlechten Löslichkeit der Zwitterionen in allen verwendeten Lösemitteln noch aus. Auch wurde Glucoluril als nichtaromatisches Linkermolekül erfolgreich verwendet. Als erstes wurde das 4,4’-Diphenylglucoluril erfolgreich in der Kupplung eingesetzt. Es war möglich, die so erhaltenen cis/trans-Makrozyklen säulenchromatographisch zu isolieren und mittels Röntgenstrukturanalyse zu charakterisieren. Nach Überführung in die Zwitterionen wurden diese wiederum auf die Kapselbildung hin untersucht (NMR, DOSY, Masse, Molecular Modelling). Berechnungen zufolge sollte die Kapselbildung möglich sein, jedoch steht auch hier trotz erfolgreicher Synthese der experimentelle Nachweis auf Grund der Unlöslichkeit noch aus. Zur Verbesserung der Löslichkeit wurden zwei neue Glucolurilderivate entwickelt, welche am Phenylring mit Octyl- bzw. Triethylenglykolketten substituiert waren. Dadurch sollte die Löslichkeit der Zwitterionen in organischen bzw. wässrigen Lösungen erhöht werden. Jedoch zeigte die Einführung dieser Ketten keine wesentliche Verbesserung der Löslichkeit und somit konnte auch bei diesen neuen zwitterionischen Halbschalen keine Kapselbildung nachgewiesen werden. Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation wurden sieben neue zwitterionische makrozyklische Halbschalen synthetisiert und die daraus gewonnenen Erkenntnisse können als Ausgangspunkt verwendet werden, die Löslichkeit weiter zu verbessern.
Supramolecular Block Copolymers by Seeded Living Supramolecular Polymerization of Perylene Bisimides
(2019)
The research on supramolecular polymerization has undergone a rapid development in the last two decades, particularly since supramolecular polymers exhibit a broad variety of functionalities and applications in organic electronics, biological science or as functional materials (Chapter 2.1). Although former studies have focused on investigation of the thermodynamics of supramolecular polymerization (Chapter 2.2), the academic interest in the recent years shifted towards gaining insight into kinetically controlled self-assembly and pathway complexity to generate novel out-of-equilibrium architectures with interesting nanostructures and features (Chapter 2.3). Along this path, the concepts of seeded and living supramolecular polymerization were recently developed to enable the formation of supramolecular polymers with controlled length and low polydispersity under precise kinetic control (Chapter 2.4). Besides that, novel strategies were developed to achieve supramolecular copolymerization resulting in complex multicomponent nanostructures with different structural motives. The classification of these supramolecular copolymers on the basis of literature examples and an overview of previously reported principles to create such supramolecular architectures are provided in Chapter 2.5.
The aim of the thesis was the non-covalent synthesis of highly desirable supramolecular block copolymers by the approach of living seeded supramolecular polymerization and to study the impact of the molecular shape of the monomeric building blocks on the supramolecular copolymerization. Based on the structure of the previously investigated PBI organogelator H-PBI a series of novel PBIs, bearing identical hydrogen-bonding amide side-groups in imide-position and various kind or number of substituents in bay-position, was synthesized and analyzed within this thesis. The new PBIs were successfully obtained in three steps starting from the respective bromo-substituted perylene-3,4:9,10-tetracarboxylic acid tetrabutylesters or from the N,N’-dicyclohexyl-1,7-dibromoperylene-3,4:9,10-tetracarboxylic acid bisimide. All target compounds were obtained in the final step by imidization reactions of the respective perylene tetracarboxylic acid bisanhydride precursors with N-(2-aminoethyl)-3,4,5-tris(dodecyloxy)-benzamide and were fully characterized by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy as well as high resolution mass spectrometry.
The variation of bay-substituents strongly changes the optical properties of the monomeric PBIs which were investigated by UV/vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. The increase of the number of the methoxy-substituents provokes, for example, a red-shift of the absorption maxima concomitant with a decrease of extinction coefficients and leads to a drastic increase of the fluorescence quantum yields. Furthermore, the molecular geometry of the PBIs is also affected by variations of the bay-substituents. Thus, increasing the steric demand of the bay-substituents leads to an enlargement of the twist angles of the PBI cores as revealed by DFT calculations.
Especially the 1,7-dimethoxy bay-substituted MeO-PBI proved to be very well-suited for the studies envisioned within this thesis. The self-assembly of this PBI derivative was analyzed in detail by UV/vis, fluorescence and FT-IR spectroscopy as well as atomic force microscopy (Chapter 3). These studies revealed that MeO-PBI forms in a solvent mixture of methylcyclohexane and toluene (2:1, v/v) kinetically trapped off-pathway H-aggregated nanoparticles upon fast cooling of a monomeric solution from 90 to 20 °C. However, upon slow cooling of the monomer solution fluorescent J-type nanofibers are formed by π π interactions and intermolecular hydrogen-bonding.
The kinetically metastable off-pathway H-aggregates can be transformed into the thermodynamically more favored J-type aggregates by addition of seeds, which are produced by ultrasonication of the polymeric nanofibers. Interestingly, the living character of this seed-induced supramolecular polymerization process was proven by a newly designed multicycle polymerization experimental protocol. This living polymerization experiment clearly proves, that the polymerization can only occur at the “active” ends of the polymeric seed and that almost no recombination or chain termination processes are present. Hence, the approach of living supramolecular polymerization enables the formation of supramolecular polymers with controlled length and narrow polydispersity.
In Chapter 4 the copolymerization of MeO-PBI with the structurally similar 1,7-dichloro (Cl-PBI) and 1,7-dimethylthio (MeS-PBI) bay-substituted PBIs is studied in detail. Both PBIs form analogous to MeO-PBI kinetically trapped off-pathway aggregates, which can be converted into the thermodynamically stable supramolecular polymers by seed-induced living supramolecular polymerization under precise kinetic control. However, the stability of the kinetically trapped aggregates of Cl-PBI and MeS-PBI is distinctly reduced compared to that of MeO-PBI, because the π-π-interactions of the kinetically metastable aggregates are hampered through the increased twisting of the PBI-cores of the former PBIs. UV/vis studies revealed that the two-component seeded copolymerization of the kinetically trapped state of MeO-PBI with seeds of Cl-PBI leads to the formation of unprecedented supramolecular block copolymers with A-B-A pattern by a living supramolecular polymerization process at the termini of the seeds. Remarkably, the resulting A-B-A block pattern of the obtained copolymers was clearly confirmed by atomic force microscopy studies as the respective blocks formed by the individual monomeric units could be distinguished by the pitches of the helical nanofibers.
Moreover, detailed UV/vis and AFM studies have shown that by inverted two-component seed-induced polymerization, e.g., upon addition of seeds of MeO-PBI to the kinetically trapped aggregates of Cl-PBI, triblock supramolecular copolymers with B-A-B pattern can be generated. The switching of the block pattern could only be achieved because of the perfectly matching conditions for the copolymerization process and the tailored molecular geometry of the individual building blocks of both PBIs. These studies have demonstrated for the first time, that the block pattern of a supramolecular copolymer can be modulated by the experimental protocol through the approach of living supramolecular polymerization. Furthermore, by UV/vis analysis of the living copolymerization of MeO-PBI and MeS-PBI similar results were obtained showing also the formation of both A-B-A and B-A-B type supramolecular block copolymers. Although for these two PBIs the individual blocks could not be identified by AFM because the helical nanofibers of both PBIs exhibit identical helical pitches, these studies revealed for the first time that the approach of seeded living polymerization is not limited to a special pair of monomeric building blocks.
In the last part of the thesis (Chapter 5) a systematic study on the two-component living copolymerization of PBIs with various sterical demanding bay-substituents is provided. Thus, a series of PBIs containing identical hydrogen-bonding amide groups in imide position but variable number (1-MeO-PBI, MeO-PBI, 1,6,7-MeO-PBI, 1,6,7,12-MeO-PBI) or size (EtO-PBI, iPrO-PBI) of alkoxy bay-substituents was investigated. The molecular geometry of the monomeric building blocks has a strong impact on the thermodynamically and even more pronounced on the kinetically controlled aggregation in solvent mixtures of MCH and Tol. While the mono- and dialkoxy-substituted PBIs form kinetically metastable species, the self-assembly of the tri- and tetramethoxy-substituted PBIs (1,6,7-MeO-PBI and 1,6,7,12-MeO-PBI) is completely thermodynamically controlled. The two 1,7-alkoxy substituted PBIs (EtO-PBI, iPrO-PBI) form very similar to MeO-PBI kinetically off-pathway H-aggregates and thermodynamically more favored J-type aggregates. However, the stability of the kinetically metastable state is drastically lower and the conversion into the thermodynamically favored state much faster than for MeO-PBI. In contrast, the monomethoxy-substituted PBI derivative (1-MeO-PBI) forms a kinetically trapped species by intramolecular hydrogen-bonding of the monomers, which can be transformed into the thermodynamically favored nanofibers by seeded polymerization.
Importantly, the two-component seeded copolymerization of the kinetically trapped MeO PBI with seeds of other PBIs of the present series was studied by UV/vis and AFM revealing that the formation of supramolecular block copolymers is only possible for appropriate combinations of PBI building blocks. Thus, the seeded polymerization of the trapped state of the moderately core-twisted MeO-PBI with the, according to DFT-calculations, structurally similar PBIs (EtO-PBI and iPrO-PBI) leads to the formation of A-B-A block copolymers, like in the seeded copolymerization of MeO-PBItrapped with seeds of Cl-PBI and MeS-PBI already described in Chapter 4. However, by addition of seeds of the almost planar PBIs (H-PBI and 1-MeO-PBI) or seeds of the strongly core-twisted PBIs (1,6,7-MeO-PBI and 1,6,7,12-MeO-PBI) to the kinetically trapped state of MeO-PBI no block copolymers can be obtained. The mismatching geometry of these molecular building blocks strongly hampers both the intermolecular hydrogen-bonding and the π-π-interactions between the two different PBIs and consequently prevents the copolymerization process.
Furthermore, the studies of the two-component seeded copolymerization of the kinetically trapped species of 1-MeO-PBI with seeds of the other PBIs also corroborated that a precise shape complementarity is crucial to generate supramolecular block copolymers. Thus, by addition of seeds of H-PBI to the kinetically trapped monomers of 1-MeO-PBI supramolecular block copolymers were generated. Both PBIs exhibit an almost planar PBI core according to DFT-calculations leading to strong non-covalent interactions between these PBIs. This perfectly matching geometry of both PBIs also enables the inverted seeded copolymerization of the kinetically trapped monomers of H-PBI with 1-MeO-PBIseed concomitant with a switching of the block pattern of the supramolecular copolymer from A-B-A to B-A-B type. In contrast, the seeding with the moderately twisted (MeO-PBI, EtO-PBI and iPrO-PBI) and the strongly twisted PBIs (1,6,7-MeO-PBI and 1,6,7,12 MeO-PBI) has no effect on the kinetically trapped state of 1-MeO-PBI, because the copolymerization of these PBIs is prevented by the mismatching geometry of the molecular building blocks.
In conclusion, the supramolecular polymerization and two-component seeded copolymerization of a series of PBI monomers was investigated within this thesis. The studies revealed that the thermodynamically and kinetically controlled self-assembly can be strongly modified by subtle changes of the monomeric building blocks. Moreover, the results have shown that living supramolecular polymerization is an exceedingly powerful method to generate unprecedented supramolecular polymeric nanostructures with controlled block pattern and length distribution. The formation of supramolecular block copolymers can only be achieved under precise kinetic control of the polymerization process and is strongly governed by the shape complementarity already imparted in the individual components. Thus, these insightful studies might enable a more rational design of monomeric building blocks for the non-covalent synthesis of highly complex supramolecular architectures with interesting properties for possible future applications, e.g., as novel functional materials.
Dipolar merocyanines are very attractive supramolecular building blocks, as they combine interesting functional properties with strong, directional intermolecular interactions. The pyridine dioxocyano-pyridine (PYOP) chromophore (Chapter 2.2), used in this thesis, stands out because of its exceptionally high ground state dipole moment (g ~ 17 D), in combination with the option to retain good solubility also in unpolar solvents, by decoration with solubilizing groups.
The reliable binding motif of anti-parallel -stacking due to dipole-dipole interactions has allowed the design of molecular building blocks that form assemblies of predictable geometry. The intense unstructured charge transfer UV/Vis absorption band (eg ~ 10.7 D) is a result of the dominant contribution of the zwitterionic resonance structure which brings the PYOP chromophore just beyond the cyanine limit in solvents of low polarity (c2 = 0.60, 1,4 dioxane). The high sensitivity of the S0 – S1 UV/Vis absorption band to the environment manifests itself in a pronounced negative solvatochromism and strong H-type exciton coupling within -stacked PYOP assemblies. In accordance with the classical molecular exciton theory, an increasing hypsochromic shift of the dominant absorption band of these H aggregates can be observed as the stack size increases up to about six chromophores, where it levels out at about max ~ 440 nm (CHCl3). This allows a uniquely simple estimation of the number of interacting chromophores within the self-assembled structure from a single UV/Vis absorption spectrum of an aggregate.
The defined and well investigated PYOP dimer formation was employed in this thesis to probe the applicability and limitations of concentration-, temperature-, and solvent-dependent self-assembly studies (Chapter 3). Straightforward theoretical models to evaluate datasets of concentration-, temperature-, and solvent-dependent UV/Vis absorption by nonlinear regression analysis were derived for the case of dimer formation (Chapter 2.1). Although the dimer model is well known and widely applied in literature, this detailed derivation is helpful to understand assumptions and potential problems of the different approaches for the determination of thermodynamic parameters. This helps to decide on the most appropriate method to analyse a system of interest. In this regard it should be noted that covering a large portion of the self-assembly process with the experimental data is a prerequisite for the accuracy of the analysis. Additionally, many of the insights can also be transferred to other self-assembly systems like supramolecular polymerization or host-guest interactions.
The concentration-dependent analysis is the most straightforward method to investigate self-assembly equilibria. No additional assumptions, besides mass balance and mass action law, are required. Since it includes the least number of parameters (only K, if M/D are known), it is the most, or even only, reliable method, to elucidate the self-assembly mechanism of an unknown system by model comparison. To cover a large concentration range, however, the compound must be soluble enough and generally sample amounts at least in the low mg scale must be available.
The temperature-dependent analysis has the advantage that all thermodynamic parameters G0, H0 and S0 can be obtained from a single sample in one automated measurement. However, the accessible temperature-range is experimentally often quite limited and dependent on the solvent. For systems which do not show the transition from monomer to aggregate in a narrow temperature range, as given for, e.g., cooperative aggregation or processes with a high entropy contribution, often not the entire self-assembly process can be monitored. Furthermore, the assumptions of temperature-independent extinction coefficients of the individual species as well as temperature-independent H0 and S0 must be met. Monte Carlo simulations of data sets demonstrated that even minor changes in experimental data can significantly impact the optimized values for H0 and S0. This is due to the redundancy of these two parameters within the model framework and even small thermochromic effects can significantly influence the results. The G0 value, calculated from H0 and S0, is, however, still rather reliable.
Solvent-dependent studies can often cover the entire self-assembly process from monomeric (agg = 0) to the fully aggregated state (agg = 1). However, for dyes with strong solvatochromic effects, such as the dipolar merocyanines investigated in this thesis, the results are affected. Also, the assumption of a linear relation of the binding energy G0 and the fraction of denaturating solvent f, which is based on linear free energy relationships between G0 and the solvent polarity, can lead to errors. Especially when specific solvent effects are involved.
For the evaluation of experimental data by nonlinear regression, general data analysis software can be used, where user-defined fit models and known parameters can be implemented as desired. Alternatively, multiple specialized programs for analysing self-assembly data are available online. While the latter programs are usually more user-friendly, they have the disadvantage of being a “black box” where only pre-implemented models can be used without the option for the user to adapt models or parameters for a specific system.
In Chapter 3 comprehensive UV/Vis absorption datasets are presented for the dimerization of merocyanine derivative 1 in 1,4-dioxane, which allowed for the first time a direct comparison of the results derived from concentration-, temperature-, and solvent-dependent self-assembly studies.
The results for the binding constant K and corresponding G0 from the concentration- and temperature-dependent analysis were in very good agreement, also in comparison to the results from ITC. For the temperature-dependent analysis, though, multiple datasets of samples with different concentration had to be evaluated simultaneously to cover a meaningful part of the self-assembly process. Furthermore, a significant dependence of the optimized parameters H0 and S0 on the wavelength chosen for the analysis was observed. This can be rationalized by the small thermochromic shifts of both the monomer and the dimer UV/Vis absorption band. The results from the solvent-dependent evaluation showed the largest deviation, as expected for the highly solvatochromic merocyanine dye.
However, even here by evaluation at 491 and 549 nm the deviation for G0 was only 2.5 kJ mol1 (9%) with respect to the results from the concentration-dependent analysis (G0 = 29.1 kJ mol1). Thus, despite the strong solvatochromism of the dipolar chromophore, it can still be considered a reliable method for estimating the binding strength. Furthermore, multiple repetitions of the concentration-, temperature-, and solvent-dependent studies provided insight into the reproducibility of the results and possible sources of experimental errors. In all cases, the deviations of the results were small (G0 < 0.4 kJ mol1) and within the same range as the fit error from the nonlinear regression analysis.
The insights from these studies were an important basis for the in-depth investigation of a more complex supramolecular system in Chapter 4, as a single method is often not enough to capture the full picture of a more complicated self-assembly process. To elucidate the anti-cooperative self-assembly of the chiral merocyanine 2, a combination of multiple techniques had to be applied.
Solvent-dependent UV/Vis absorption studies in CH2Cl2/MCH mixtures showed the step-wise assembly of the merocyanine monomer (max(M) = 549 nm, CH2Cl2) to first a dimer (max(D) = 498 nm, CH2Cl2/MCH 15:85) by dipole-dipole interactions, and then a -stacked higher aggregate (max(H) = 477 nm, MCH), with pronounced H-type coupling.
The thermodynamic evaluation of this data, however, suffered from the severe solvatochromism, especially of the monomeric species (max(M, CH2Cl2) = 549 nm, max(M, MCH) = 596 nm). Therefore, concentration-dependent studies were performed at three different temperatures (298, 323, 353 K) to elucidate the self-assembly mechanism and determine reliable thermodynamic parameters. The studies at elevated temperatures were hereby necessary, to obtain experimental data over a larger agg--range. Due to the pronounced difference in the thermodynamic driving force for dimerization and higher aggregate formation (KD/K5 = 6500) a concentration range exists in MCH where almost exclusively the dimer species of 2 is present, before further self-assembly by dispersion interactions occurs. Therefore, the data could be evaluated independently for the two self-assembly steps. The self-assembly of dimers into the higher aggregate could not be described by the isodesmic model but was fitted satisfactorily to a pentamer model. This rather small size of about ten -stacked PYOP chromophores was, furthermore, consistently indicated by AFM, VPO and DOSY NMR measurements. Based on 1D and 2D NMR data as well as the strong bisignate CD signal of the higher aggregate in combination with TD-DFT calculations, a P-helical stack is proposed as its structure. The small size can be rationalized by the anti-cooperative self-assembly mechanism and the sterical demand of the solubilizing trialkoxyphenyl and the chiral tetralin substituents. Additionally, the aliphatic shell formed by the solubilizing chains around the polar chromophore stack, can account for the exceptionally high solubility of 2 in MCH (> 15 mg mL1). These combined studies of the self-assembly process enabled the identification of suitable conditions for the investigation of fluorescence properties of the individual aggregate species. Aggregation-induced emission enhancement was observed for the almost non-emissive monomer (Fl(M) = 0.23%), which can be rationalized by the increasing rigidification within the dimer (Fl(D) = 2.3%) and the higher aggregate (Fl(H) = 4.5%). The helical chirality of the PYOP decamer stack, furthermore, gave rise to a strong CPL signal with a large glum value of 0.011.
The important conclusion of this thesis is that the temperature- and solvent-dependent analyses are valid alternatives to the classical concentration-dependent analysis to determine thermodynamic parameters of self-assembly equilibria. Although, for a specific supramolecular system, one approach might be favourable over the others for a variety of reasons. The experimental limitations often demand a combination of techniques to fully elucidate a self-assembly process and to gain insights in the aggregate structure. The anti-cooperative merocyanine self-assembly, which was described here for the first time for the PYOP merocyanine 2, is no exception. Besides the interest in the merocyanine assemblies from a structural and functional point of view, the insights gained from the presented studies can also be transferred to other self-assembly systems and be a guide to find the most appropriate analysis technique.
Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde ein synthetischer Membrantransporter für acetylierte Aminosäurecarboxylate entworfen und hergestellt. Als Bindungsstelle für die Carboxylate wurde das Guanidiniocarbonylpyrrol-Motiv von Schmuck verwendet. In den Seitenarm des Pyrrols wurde ein L-Valinamid-Rest eingebracht, um die Möglichkeit zu zusätzlichen Wasserstoffbrückenbindungen zu bieten und gegebenenfalls Substrat- und Enantioselektivität zu erreichen. Zur Herstellung der Löslichkeit in unpolaren Medien wie dem Inneren der Zellmembran musste eine lipophile Gruppe eingebracht werden. Als löslichkeitsvermittelnder Rest wurde Tris-(Dodecyloxy)phenylmethylen ausgewählt, das drei lange unpolare Alkylreste trägt. Zusammengenommen ergab sich so ein Rezeptor für Oxo-Anionen und speziell für Aminosäurecarboxylate mit erhöhter Löslichkeit in organischen Medien. Somit war die Fähigkeit zu Membrantransport gegeben. In Kraftfeldrechnungen erhielt man die vermutliche Struktur des Rezeptor-Substrat-Komplexes, der eine Kombination aus einer Salzbrücke, Wasserstoffbrückenbindungen und einer Stapelwechselwirkung von Guanidinum-Kation, Benzylgruppe und ggf. aromatischem Rest des Aminosäuresubstrates aufweist. Nach erfolgreicher Synthese wurde in Extraktionsexperimenten die Fähigkeit des Rezeptors erprobt, Aminosäurecarboxylate aus einer wässrigen in eine organische Phase aus zu überführen. Man erhielt das beste Extraktionsvermögen für Ac-Trp-OH, gefolgt von Ac Phe OH und Ac Tyr OH. Es wurde eine neue Formel aufgestellt, mit der aus den pKS-Werten der Substrate und den Extraktionsdaten mit und ohne Rezeptor die Bindungskonstanten der Rezeptor-Substrat-Komplexe berechnet werden konnten. Die Größe der Bindungkonstanten entsprach der Reihenfolge Trp > Tyr > Phe ~ Val mit den höchsten Bindungskonstanten für das Tryptophanderivat mit 1.5*10E4 1/M. Zur Bestätigung der Bindungskonstanten wurden ITC-Messungen durchgeführt. Es wurden Messungen des Rezeptors in Chloroform mit den tert-Butylammoniumsalzen der acetylierten Aminosäuren Phenylalanin, Tyrosin und Valin durchgeführt. Für die Werte von Enthalpie und Entropie konnten bei dieser Auswertung konsistente Werte ermittelt werden. Die höchsten Werte der Enthalpie erhielt man für das Tyrosinderivat mit 3.7*10E3 cal/mol, gefolgt vom Phenylalaninderivat mit 2.8*10E3 cal/mol und Valinderivat mit 1.3*10E3 cal/mol. Diese Abstufung entspricht dem Einfluss des aromatischen Restes, der durch die Stapelwechselwirkung mit dem Guanidinium-Kation die Bindungswärme erhöht und durch den damit verbundenen engeren Komplex den Wert für die Entropie senkt. Für die Evaluierung des Transportvermögens wurden U-Rohr-Versuche verschiedener Art durchgeführt. Es wurde ein Gradient von pH 6 in der Ausgangsphase auf pH 8 in der Zielphase eingesetzt, wodurch der Rezeptor an der Grenzfläche zur Zielphase deprotoniert wurde, was zu gerichtetetem Transport führte. Es ergaben sich recht starke Unterschiede für die Fluxwerte der einzelnen Substraten, die der Reihenfolge Val > Phe > Ala > Trp > Tyr folgten. Dabei wurde das Valinderivat um den Faktor 17 schneller als das Tyrosinderivat befördert, mit dem recht hohen Flux von 1.11*10E-6 mol/m2*s, was nahe an den höchsten literaturbekannten Wert für acetylierte Aminosäuren heranreicht. Durch Verwendung gleicher Substratkonzentrationen in Start- und Zielphase konnte aktiver Transport nachgewiesen werden, d.h. Transport gegen das Konzentrationsgefälle. Die Triebkraft des Transportes war der Gradient von pH 6 auf pH 8 zwischen Ausgangs- und Zielphase, der durch den Symport von Substrat und einem Proton ausgeglichen wurde. Bei einem kompetitiven Versuch mit einer Mischung der verschiedenen Substrate in der Ausgangsphase wurden veränderte Fluxwerte und Selektivitäten festgestellt. Die neue Reihenfolge der Transportgeschwindigkeit war nun Trp > Phe > Val > Tyr > Ala, wobei die Fluxwerte fast durchgehend niedriger waren als im Einzelversuch. Die Veränderung der Werte erschließt sich bei Vergleich mit den thermodynamischen Daten aus den Extraktionsexperimenten. Bei direkter Konkurrenz um den Rezeptor wurden diejenigen Substrate mit den höchsten Bindungskonstanten bevorzugt, unabhängig von ihrer Transportgeschwindigkeit. Die schwächer bindenden Substrate wurden aus dem Komplex verdrängt und wiesen deswegen niedrigere Transportwerte auf. Der kompetitive Versuch ist somit eine stärkere Abbildung der Bindungsstärke und entspricht eher der Situation in einer realen Zelle.
The subject of this thesis is the synthesis and characterization of PBI-based fluorescent metallosupramolecular polymers and cyclic arrays. Terpyridine receptor functionalized PBIs of predesigned geometry have been used as building blocks to construct desired macromolecular structures through metal-ion-directed self-assembly. These metallosupramolecular architectures have been investigated by NMR, UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and atomic force microscopy.
This work is concerned with the syntheses and photophysical properties of para-xylylene bridged macrocycles nPBI with ring sizes from two to nine PBI units, as well as the complexation of polycyclic aromatic guest compounds.
With a reduced but substantial fluorescence quantum yield of 21% (in CHCl3) the free host 2PBI(4-tBu)4 can be used as a dual fluorescence probe. Upon encapsulation of rather electron-poor guests the fluorescence quenching interactions between the chromophores are prevented, leading to a significant fluorescence enhancement to > 90% (“turn-on”). On the other hand, the addition of electron-rich guest molecules induces an electron transfer from the guest to the electron-poor PBI chromophores and thus quenches the fluorescence entirely (“turn-off”). The photophysical properties of the host-guest complexes were studied by transient absorption spectroscopy. These measurements revealed that the charge transfer between guest and 2PBI(4-tBu)4 occurs in the “normal region” of the Marcus-parabola with the fastest charge separation rate for perylene. In contrast, the charge recombination back to the PBI ground state lies far in the “inverted region” of the Marcus-parabola.
Beside complexation of planar aromatic hydrocarbons into the cavity of the cyclophanes an encapsulation of fullerene into the cyclic trimer 3PBI(4-tBu)4 was observed. 3PBI(4-tBu)4 provides a tube-like structure in which the PBI subunits represent the walls of those tubes. The cavity has the optimal size for hosting fullerenes, with C70 fitting better than C60 and a binding constant that is higher by a factor of 10. TA spectroscopy in toluene that was performed on the C60@3PBI(4-tBu)4 complex revealed two energy transfer processes. The first one comes from the excited PBI to the fullerene, which subsequently populates the triplet state. From the fullerene triplet state a second energy transfer occurs back to the PBI to generate the PBI triplet state.
In all cycles that were studied by TA spectroscopy, symmetry-breaking charge separation (SB-CS) was observed in dichloromethane. This process is fastest within the PBI cyclophane 2PBI(4-tBu)4 and slows down for larger cycles, suggesting that the charge separation takes place through space and not through bonds. The charges then recombine to the PBI triplet state via a radical pair intersystem crossing (RP-ISC) mechanism, which could be used to generate singlet oxygen in yields of ~20%.
By changing the solvent to toluene an intramolecular folding of the even-numbered larger cycles was observed that quenches the fluorescence and increases the 0-1 transition band in the absorption spectra. Force field calculations of 4PBI(4-tBu)4 suggested a folding into pairs of dimers, which explains the remarkable odd-even effect with respect to the number of connected PBI chromophores and the resulting alternation in the absorption and fluorescence properties. Thus, the even-numbered macrocycles can fold in a way that all chromophores are in a paired arrangement, while the odd-numbered cycles have open conformations (3PBI(4-tBu)4, 5PBI(4-tBu)4, 7PBI(4-tBu)4) or at least additional unpaired PBI unit (9PBI(4-tBu)4).
With these experiments we could for the first time give insights in the interactions between cyclic PBI hosts and aromatic guest molecules. Associated with the encapsulation of guest molecules a variety of possible applications can be envisioned, like fluorescence sensing, chiral recognition and photodynamic therapy by singlet oxygen generation. Particularly, these macrocycles provide photophysical relaxation pathways of PBIs, like charge separation and recombination and triplet state formation that are hardly feasible in monomeric PBI dyes. Furthermore, diverse compound specific features were found, like the odd-even effect in the folding process or the transition of superficial nanostructures of the tetrameric cycle influenced by the AFM tip. The comprehensive properties of these macrocycles provide the basis for further oncoming studies and can serve as an inspiration for the synthesis of new macrocyclic compounds.
Squaraine dyes have attracted more attention in the past decade due to their strong and narrow absorption and fluorescence along with the easily functionalized molecular structure. One successful approach of core functionalization is to replace one oxygen of the squaric carbonyl group with a dicyanomethylene group, which shifts the absorption and emission into the near infrared (NIR) region and at the same time leads to a rigid, planar structure with C2v symmetry. However, such squaraines tend to aggregate cofacially in solution due to dispersion forces and dipole-dipole interactions, usually leading to H-type exciton coupling with undesired blue-shifted spectrum and quenched fluorescence. Therefore, the goal of my research was the design of dicyanomethylene-substituted squaraine dyes that self-assemble into extended aggregates in solution with J-type coupling, in order to retain or even enhance their outstanding optical properties. Toward this goal, bis(squaraine) dyes were envisioned with two squaraine units covalently linked to trigger a slip-stacked packing motif within the aggregates to enable J-type coupling.
In my first project, bis(squaraine) dye BisSQ1 was synthesized, in which two dicyanomethylene squaraine chromophores are covalently linked. Concentration and temperature-dependent UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy experiments reveal that BisSQ1 undergoes cooperative self-assembly resulting in J-type aggregates in a solvent mixture of toluene/1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TCE) (98:2, v/v). The J type exciton coupling is evident from the significantly red shifted absorption maximum at 886 nm and the fluorescence peak at 904 nm. In conclusion, this was a first example to direct squaraine dye aggregation in solution to the more desired slip-stacked packing leading to J-type exciton coupling by simply connecting two dyes in a head-to-tail bis chromophore structure.
Connecting two squaraine dyes with an additional phenylene spacer (BisSQ2) leads to two different polymorphs with very distinct absorption spectra upon cooling down a solution of BisSQ2 in a solvent mixture of toluene/TCE (98:2, v/v) with different rates. Accordingly, rapid cooling resulted in rigid helical nanorods with an absorption spectrum showing a panchromatic feature, while slow cooling led to a sheet-like structure with a significant bathochromic shift in the absorption spectrum.
It was discovered that the conventional molecular exciton model failed to explain the panchromatic absorption features of the nanorods for the given packing arrangement, therefore more profound theoretical investigations based on the Essential States Model (ESM) were applied to unveil the importance of intermolecular charge transfer (ICT) to adequately describe the panchromatic absorption spectrum. Moreover, the red-shift observed in the spectrum for the sheet-like structure can be assigned to the interplay of Coulomb coupling and ICT-mediated coupling.
Furthermore, the same bis-chromophore strategy was adopted for constructing an NIR-II emitter with a bathochromically-shifted spectrum. In chloroform, BisSQ3 exhibits an absorption maximum at 961 nm with a significant bathochromic shift (1020 cm−1) compared to the reference mono-squaraine SQ, indicating intramolecular J-type coupling via head-to-tail arrangement of two squaraine dyes. Moreover, BisSQ3 shows a fluorescence peak at 971 nm with a decent quantum yield of 0.33%. In less polar toluene, BisSQ3 self-assembles into nanofibers with additional intermolecular J-type coupling, causing a pronounced bathochromic shift with absorption maximum at 1095 nm and a fluorescence peak at 1116 nm. Thus, connecting two quinoline-based squaraines in a head-to-tail fashion leads to not only intra-, but also intermolecular J-type exciton coupling, which serves as a promising strategy to shift the absorption and emission of organic fluorophores into the NIR-II window while retaining decent quantum yields.
In conclusion, my research illustrates based on squaraine dyes how a simple modification of the molecular structure can significantly affect the aggregation behavior and further alter the optical properties of dye aggregates. Elongated supramolecular structures based on dicyanomethylene substituted squaraine dyes were successfully established by covalently linking two squaraine units to form a bis-chromophore structure. Then, a simple but efficient general approach was established to direct squaraine dye aggregation in solution to the more desired slip-stacked packing leading to J-type exciton coupling by directly connecting two squaraine dyes in a head-to-tail fashion without spacer units. Moreover, the additional spacer between the squaraine dyes in BisSQ2 allowed different molecular conformations, which leads to two different morphologies depending on the cooling rates for a hot solution. Hence, this is a promising strategy to realize supramolecular polymorphism.
In general, it is expected that the concept of constructing J-aggregates by the bis-chromophore approach can be extended to entirely different classes of dyes since J-aggregates possess a variety of features such as spectral shifts into the NIR window, fluorescence enhancement, and light harvesting, which are commonly observed and utilized for numerous fundamental studies and applications. Moreover, the insights on short-range charge transfer coupling for squaraine dyes is considered of relevance for all materials based on alternating donor-acceptor π-systems. The panchromatic spectral feature is in particular crucial for acceptor-donor-acceptor (ADA) dyes, which are currently considered as very promising materials for the development of bulk heterojunction solar cells.