Recently (Photochem Photobiol. 2023;100:1277-1289. doi:10.1111/php.13898), we described the anti-Kasha effect in tribenzo-6H-1,4-diazepinoporphyrazins with C2v symmetry, where the ultrafast spin changes successfully compete with the internal conversion. In this study, we show the presence of this effect in 2 (3),9 (10),16(17),23(24)-tetra-tert-butyl-29H,31H-phthalocyanine (1) and 1,4-di-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]-29H,31H-phthalocyanine (2), which also possess reduced molecular symmetry and do not bear 6H-1,4-diazepine fragments. The anti-Kasha effect in 1 and 2 supplemented by Mg(II) tribenzo-6H-1,4-diazepinoporphyrazinates 3 and 4 exhibits a close-to-linear dependence on energy gap value between the zero vibrational levels of two lowest singlet excited states S1 0 and S2 0 (these states are degenerate in D4h symmetry) and enhances with increase. The theoretical kinetic model of excited state dynamics, which takes into account the observed effects and follows Fermi's golden rule, predicts the presence of an additional excited state with enhanced spin-orbit coupling compared to S1 0, S2 0 and the corresponding triplet states, which is not predicted by TDDFT calculations in the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. The combination of the above indicates that the key role in the observed anti-Kasha effect and the mechanism of dissipation of the excited state in porphyrazines and their analogs is played by vibronic excited states, which requires theoretical research methods beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation.

The first covalently linked dimer has been prepared for cyclazine systems by regioselective oxidative homocoupling of 1,2-dicarbomethoxy-3-phenylcycl[3.2.2]azine. The regioselectivity of this reaction at 4-position, having been confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis and NMR spectroscopy, has been also reliably predicted within the model of average local ionization energy on the molecular surface of the starting monomer at the BP86/def2-TZVP level of theory. Due to the planar it-it interaction of the cycl[3.2.2]azine subunits, the dimer is a green fluorophore (tem = 527 nm, toluene), characterized by a bathochromic shift of the main bands in the UV-vis and fluorescence spectra relative to the monomer by 41 and 71 nm, respectively. Furthermore, the dimer demonstrates an increased fluorescence quantum yield relative to the monomer (55 % vs. 35 % in toluene), and according to the data of X-ray diffraction analysis, DFT calculations and variable temperature 1D and 2D 1H NMR spectroscopy, is characterized by hindered rotation of the S1-state-involved cycl[3.2.2]azine cores along the C4-C4 ' bond axis. Such prerequisites determine good application potential of the 4-4 ' coupled cycl[3.2.2]azine derivatives as turn-on fluorescent, i.e. fluorogenic probes for advanced bioimaging in living systems. Finally, unlike the monomer, the dimer shows reversibility of both one- and two-electron reduction and oxidation processes, and therefore can become the basis of both n- and p-type semiconductors.

A series of tribenzo[g,l,q]-6H-1,4-diazepino[2,3-b]porphyrazines has been synthesized. A temperature-dependent steric effect was applied in the mixed Linstead macrocyclization of phthalonitrile and 5,7-bis(2'-arylethenyl)-6-propyl-6H-1,4-diazepine-2,3-dicarbonitrile to achieve high yield of low-symmetry A3B-type Mg(II) tribenzo[g,l,q]-6H-1,4-diazepino[2,3-b]porphyrazinate. The analysis of photophysical and photochemical properties of the obtained complexes showed the anti-Kasha effect: the ultrafast spin changes successfully compete with the IC. TD-DFT calculations showed that the presence of 1,4-diazepine heterocycle in the porphyrazine structure leads to the formation of additional charge-transfer triplet state T2. We propose, it could participate in the pumping of T1x state alongside with T1y state (these states are degenerate in D4h symmetry) and, therefore, increase singlet oxygen (1Δg) generation. Stable micellar nanoparticles have been obtained based on the tribenzo[g,l,q]-6H-1,4-diazepino[2,3-b]porphyrazine Mg(II) and Zn(II) complexes using polyvinylpyrrolidone. The nanoparticles effectively interact with model biological structures (FBS and brain homogenate), leading to disaggregation of the macrocycles. They also exhibit pronounced phototoxic effects in MCF-7 cells upon red light irradiation. We propose that enhancement in PDT activity could be explained by their increased resistance to aggregation due to the presence of n-propyl substituent directly attached to the C6 position of the 1,4-diazepine moiety. The demonstrated results show the promising potential of tribenzo-6H-1,4-diazepinoporphyrazines as heavy atom-free photosensitizers.

A series of 5,7-disubstituted 1,4-diazepinoporphyrazinato magnesium(II) and nickel(II) complexes, including two novel compounds, were obtained by metal-templated macrocyclization. A combination of X-ray diffraction, 1H NMR, UV-vis, and electrochemical analyses allowed us to study their tendency towards H-type dimerization and trace the influence of structural and solvation factors on dimer stability. Based on the physicochemical and theoretical DFT calculation data, it was found that the main binding forces between 6H-1,4-diazepinoporphyrazine decks in the dimers were efficient π-π donor-acceptor interactions induced by the interdeck C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, the metal-ligand (Pz2- → M2+) electronic interactions have a key influence on the π-π stacking of the porphyrazine cores. It was shown that the displacement of the metal ion out of the macrocycle plane induced by coordinating agents can trigger the dissociation of the dimer, since the resulting enhancement of the donor-acceptor electronic interaction between the metal ion and the π-system of the ligand leads to a subsequent weakening of the π-π stacking of the porphyrazine cores. The TD-DFT calculations predicted the non-degeneracy of the HOMO-1 → LUMO and HOMO → LUMO+1 transitions in the 6H-1,4-diazepinoporphyrazine H-dimers, which explains the Q-band splitting in their UV-vis spectra.

We report novel heteroleptic lanthanide sandwich complexes (Ln = Lu, Eu, La) and their spectral, electrochemical and computational studies.

The first 1,2‐dicarbonitriles have been prepared for cyclazine systems. In particular, a synthetic procedure to 1,2‐dicyano‐3‐arylcycl[3.2.2]azines has been developed. Unexpected chlorination of 3‐arylcycl[3.2.2]azine‐1,2‐dicarboxylic acid derivatives by thionyl chloride at 4‐position was found, which according to theoretical considerations can proceed by the electrophilic (S E Ar) mechanism. The compounds are blue fluorophores in 450–480 nm region with quantum yields in toluene of ca. 30 % for non‐chlorinated derivatives, which decrease to 3–4 % for chlorinated ones.

We have investigated the general applicability of the synthetic procedure in which a carbonyl compound (in our case, 2,4-pentandione and 3-n-propyl-2,4-pentanedione) is added to a preformed TiCl4-diaminomaleonitrile complex for the preparation of 1,4-diazepine-2,3-dicarbonitriles. It has been shown that triethylamine commonly used as an auxiliary reagent (base) inhibits the formation of the TiCl4-diaminomaleonitrile complex and less basic pyridine was proved to be more suitable. The introduction of the n-propyl group into the C6 position of 5,7-bis(2'-arylethenyl)-6H-1,4-diazepine-2,3-dicarbonitrile has led to an unprecedented increase in the yield of the low-symmetty A 3 B-type tribenzodiazepinoporphyrazine from 5 to 40 % under Linstead cross-macrocvclization conditions. The quantum-chemical calculations at the PW6B95-D3/def2-TZVP//BP86-D3/def2-TZVP level of theory demonstrated that steric effects of substituents in 6-alkyl substituted 5,7-bis(2'-arylethenyl)-6H-1,4-diazepine-2,3-dicarbonitriles can play a key role in formation of dimeric intermediates during Linstead macrocyclization, providing high selectivity towards low symmetry porphyrazines with annulated 1, 4-diazepine heterocycle(s).

A series of homoleptic bis{tetrakis(5,7-bis(4-tert-butylphenyl)-6H-1,4-diazepino)[2,3-b,g,l,q]porphyrazinato}lanthanide sandwich complexes [(tBuPh)DzPz]2Ln (Ln = Lu, Er, Dy, Eu, Nd, Ce, La) were prepared and their physicochemical properties were studied to gain insight into the nature of specific interactions in diazepinoporphyrazines. The effect of annulated diazepine moieties and the Ln ionic radius on the properties of the complexes was investigated in comparison with double-decker phthalocyanines. A combination of experimental and theoretical studies revealed the presence of two types of hydrogen bonding interactions in the metal-free porphyrazine and the corresponding sandwich complexes, namely, interligand C-H(ax)N(meso) hydrogen bonding and O-HN(Dz) ligand-water interaction. The interligand hydrogen bonding imparts high stability of the ligand dimer and the double-decker compounds in a reduced state. This work is the first comprehensive investigation into the fundamental understanding of the unusual properties of diazepine-containing macroheterocycles.

A series of novel 5,7-bis(2'-arylethenyl)-6H-1,4-diazepine-2,3-dicarbonitriles was synthesized through sequential aldol condensation reactions of 1,3-diketones with diaminomaleonitrile, and the resulting 5,7-dimethyl-6H-1,4-diazepines were condensed with aromatic aldehydes. The substituents' effects on the spectral properties and conformational states of the molecules in solution were studied using 2D NMR techniques and DFT calculations. Specific intramolecular steric interactions in derivatives substituted at the C6 position were discovered and investigated in detail. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses revealed the strong dependence of the thermal stability of the newly prepared diazepinodicarbonitriles on the nature of the substituents. This offers new insight into the structure-property relationships of arylethenyl-substituted diazepine derivatives.

Novel A3B-type 8(9),13(14),18(19)-tri-tert-butyl-2(5),4(7)-bis(4-tert-butylphenyl)tribenzo[g,l,q]-6H-1,4-diazepino[2,3-b]porphyrazine, which has high solubility in organic solvents, was obtained by template co-condensation of 2,3-dicyano-5,7-bis(4-tert-butylphenyl)-6H-1,4-diazepine and 4-tert-butylphthalonitrile. It was characterized by UV/Vis, (1)H, (13)C NMR spectroscopy, and MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. We have demonstrated for the first time using fluorescence spectroscopy measurements and quantum-chemical calculations that the complicated UV/Vis spectrum of A3B-type tribenzodiazepinoporphyrazine is due to the formation of stable H-type aggregates.

On the basis of mass spectrometric experiments and quantum chemical calculations, including detailed kinetic and dynamics calculations, we report the unimolecular dissociation of an isolated glycolate anion. The dominating processes are: loss of formaldehyde; loss of carbon monoxide; loss of carbon dioxide; and loss of a hydrogen molecule, with the latter having the lowest energetic threshold. At higher energies, CO loss is the dominating reaction. The loss of CO may be followed by a second CO loss, leading to the H(-)H2O complex in close mechanistic relationship to the Nibbering reaction. The results provide valuable insights into possible mechanisms for interstellar and prebiotic formation of glycolate via the reverse of the unimolecular dissociation reactions. We propose that the addition of the complex of OH(-) and CO to CH2O is the most feasible route to gas phase synthesis of glycolate, since all species are abundant in interstellar space.

Large-scale on-the-fly Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations using recent advances in linear scaling electronic structure theory and trajectory integration techniques have been performed for protonated water clusters around the magic number (H(2)O)(n)H(+) , for n = 20 and 21. Besides demonstrating the feasibility and efficiency of the computational approach, the calculations reveal interesting dynamical details. Elimination of water molecules is found to be fast for both cluster sizes but rather insensitive to the initial geometry. The water molecules released acquire velocities compatible with thermal energies. The proton solvation shell changes between the well-known Eigen and Zundel motifs and is characterized by specific low-frequency vibrational modes, which have been quantified. The proton transfer mechanism largely resembles that of bulk water but one interesting variation was observed.

We report the unimolecular decomposition of protonated glyceraldehyde, [HOCH2CH(OH)CHO]H+, and protonated dihydroxyacetone, [HOCH2C(O)CH2OH]H+. On the basis of mass spectrometric experiments and computational quantum chemistry, we have found that these isomeric ions interconvert freely at energies below that required for their unimolecular decompositions. The losses of formaldehyde and water (the latter also followed by CO loss) are the dominating processes, with formaldehyde loss having the lower energetic threshold. The reverse of the formaldehyde loss, namely, the addition of formaldehyde to protonated glycolaldehyde, appears to be an inefficient reaction at low temperature and pressure in the gas phase, leading to dissociation products. The relevance of these findings to interstellar chemistry and prebiotic chemistry is discussed, and it is concluded that the suggestion made in the literature that successive addition of formaldehyde by proton-assisted reactions should account for interstellar carbohydrates most likely is incorrect.

Gas electron diffraction at a temperature T of 641(5) K is used to study the structure of an N,N′-ethylenebis(salicylaldiminato) zinc(II) molecule, ZnO2N2C16H14, further Zn(salen). The structure of a gaseous Zn(salen) complex has C 2 symmetry and is characterized by a substantial turn of two chelating fragments of the ligand with respect to each other, and also by a big difference in the length of coordination bonds: r h1(Zn-O)=1.902(7) Å r h1(Zn-N)= 2.027(7) Å. Results of the DFT/B3LYP calculation with 6-31G* and CEP,TZV basis sets of the molecule structure well agree with the experimental data. The electronic structure of Ni(salen), Cu(salen), Zn(salen), and Zn(acacen) molecules is considered.

A mass spectrometric study of the overheated vapor over the complexes Ni(acacen), Cu(acacen), and Zn(acacen) (H2acacen = N,N′-ethylenebis(acetylacetonimine)) has been carried out in the temperature range of 180–760°C. Irrespective of the degree of overheating, the vapor phases over all of these compounds contain no ions heavier than the molecular ion [MO2N2C12H18]+. The existence of molecular ions in the overheated vapor in the double-chamber two-temperature effusion cell is evidence of the high thermal stability of the complexes. The onset temperature of the thermal decomposition of Ni(acacen), Cu(acacen), and Zn(acacen) is 690, 610, and 560°C, respectively. The way of fragmentation of the chelates under electron impact ionization depends on the nature of the metal.