Transient Reorientation of a Doped Liquid Crystal System under a Short Laser Pulse

The transient optical nonlinearity of a nematic liquid crystal doped with azo-dye DR19 is examined. The optical reorientation threshold of a 25-mu m-thick planar-aligned sample of 5CB using a 50 ns pulse duration 532 nm YAG laser pulse is observed to decrease from 800 mJ/mm(2) to 0.6 mJ/mm(2) after the addition of 1 vol% azo dopant, a reduction of three orders of magnitude. When using a laser pulse duration of 10 ns, no such effect is observed. Experimental results indicate that the azo dopant molecules undergo photoisomerization from trans-isomer to cis-isomer under exposure to light, and this conformation change reorients the 5CB molecules via intermolecular coupling between guest and host. This guest-host coupling also affects the azo photoisomerization process.

环糊精衍生物的设计、合成及其对环辛烯光异构化研究

环糊精(Cyclodextrins, CDs)经化学修饰后可以得到各种类型的衍生物，不仅可以扩展其原有的键合能力，而且还可以改变其选择性，是当代超分子化学的一个研究热点。环糊精第二面的仲羟基比第一面的伯羟基有着更好的催化性能，第二面的选择性修饰将产生更多有价值的衍生物，可用于催化、酶模拟、手性识别等方面。 取代苯甲酰基修饰环糊精对顺式环辛烯(cis-cyclooctene)光异构化反应有非常重要的影响作用，苯环上取代基的性质和取代位置与产物的%ee值和对映体构型之间存在某种内在联系。有目的地选择适宜取代基，设计、合成新型环糊精光增感剂, 有可能按预定目的得到更高%ee值的反式环辛烯；同时，取代苯甲酰基修饰环糊精对cis-cyclooctene光异构化的增感机理有待于进一步阐明。 本论文工作对环糊精的化学修饰以及超分子体系对cis-cyclooctene不对称光异构化反应方面的进展进行了调研。合成了一系列单-6-位取代苯甲酰基修饰环糊精，用于cis-cyclooctene光异构化增感反应，并用圆二色光谱滴定法研究这些环糊精衍生物与cis-cyclooctene的相互作用，以探索光增感反应机理。在此基础上，探讨了环糊精第二面的选择性修饰方法。内容主要包括： 1. 简要介绍了超分子化学的概况，并对环糊精的选择性修饰方法和超分子体系对cis-cyclooctene不对称光异构化反应的主要成果和最新进展进行了评述。 2. 合成了12种单-6-O-(取代苯甲酰基)-β-环糊精，其中10种为新化合物。采用紫外光谱、红外光谱、核磁共振波谱以及质谱等手段对化合物的结构进行了表征。 3. 探索了直接选择性修饰环糊精第二面的便捷新方法。用取代苯甲酰咪唑酯为酰化试剂，0.2M碳酸盐缓冲溶液(pH=9.9)作催化剂，能够有效地活化2-位仲羟基，对环糊精第二面进行选择性修饰，此方法既简便又经济；同时，发现取代苯甲酰基能够在β-CD第二面的2-位、3-位羟基间相互迁移。 4. 用单-6-O-(取代苯甲酰基)-β-环糊精作光增感剂，对cis-cyclooctene光异构化反应进行研究。实验结果证明：取代苯甲酰基上的取代基性质、位置、长度对反应的对映选择性有很大影响；此外，反应体系溶剂极性对产物的%ee值和对映体构型也有重大影响。用单-6-O-(3-甲氧苯甲酰基)-β-CD作增感剂，cis-cyclooctene光异构化反应产物(R)-trans-cyclooctene的对映选择性为45.8%ee，是到目前为止取得的最好对映选择性。 5. 采用圆二色光谱滴定法研究环糊精衍生物与cis-cyclooctene的相互作用，计算包结物的平衡常数，研究包结物的相对稳定性，为探索光增感反应机理提供基础。我们猜测：电子效应对cis-cyclooctene光异构化反应的影响，可能比取代基位置对反应的影响更大，借助电子效应有希望获得更高的%ee值。 Cyclodextrins can be subjected to diverse modifications to give a wide variety of cyclodextrin derivatives, which could not only extend their original molecular binding ability, but also alter their molecular selectivity. Therefore, cyclodextrin chemistry is currently a significant topic in supramolecular chemistry. The more open secondary hydroxyl side of CDs is stated to be catalytically very important, modifications of this face are believed to produce valuable derivatives for catalysis, enzyme mimic, chiral discrimination, etc. Mono-6-O-(substituted benzoyl)-β-CDs as novel supramolecular photosensitizing hosts have recently excited considerable attention in photochirogenesis. The supramolecular photosenstization of cis-cyclooctene mediated by them gave chiral trans-cyclooctene, enantiomeric excess of which was critically affected by the substituent introduced to the sensitizer moiety. In order to enhance the photoenantiodifferentiating ability, and elucidate the origin mechanisms of substituent-dependent enantioselectivity, in this work a series of mono-6-O-(substituted benzoyl)-β-CDs have been synthesized, and applied for enantiodifferentiating photoisomerization of cis-cyclooctene. The major contents are as follows: 1. The general aspects of supramolecular chemistry were descibed briefly. The new progress and important achievements on methods of selective modification of cyclodextrin and supramolecular enantiodifferentiating photoisomerization of cis-cyclooctene were reviewed. 2. Twelve mono-6-O-(substituted benzoyl)-β-CDs including ten novel compounds have been synthesized. Their structures have been characterized by using UV-vis, IR, NMR and MS methods. 3. A new convenient strategy for direct acylation of β-cyclodextrin on the secondary hydroxyl face was achieved by using the combination of N-benzoylimidazole and carbonate buffer in DMF, and the acyl migration between the C-2 and C-3 hydroxyl groups of β-cyclodextrin was found. 4. Experiments using mono-6-O-(substituted benzoyl)-β-CDs as chiral sensitizing hosts for mediating the enantiodifferentiating photoisomerization of cis-cyclooctene, were carried out. The results indicate that enantiomeric excess was critically affected, or even switched in sign, by the substituent introduced to the sensitizer moiety, and polarity of solvent. Using mono-6-O-(3-methoxybenzoyl)-β-CD as chiral sensitizing host, (R)-trans-cyclooctene was obtained in up to 45.8% enantiomeric excess, which is the highest value ever reported for supramolecular photochirogenesis with analogous hosts. 5. The conformational variation of these modified CDs and their complexation behaviors with cis-cyclooctene were examined by circular dichroism spectroscopy in water-methanol mixed solvents, which reveal that the orientation of chromophore was highly sensitive to the type, position and length of the introduced substituents. In the end, the complex stability constants(Ks) were calculated, and the mechanisms of reaction were discussed. Maybe, electronic effects are more important than positions of substituents for mediating the enantiodifferentiating photoisomerization of cis-cyclooctene.

Click-together azobenzene dendrons: Synthesis and characterization

We synthesized 1,2,3-triazole-linked azobenzene dendrons of four generations. No protection-deprotection approach was needed during the generation development via click reaction. The photoisomerization of azobenzene dendrons was Studied using UV-vis spectra. The cis isomers of these dendrons were more stable than trans isomers in the dark; however, the cis isomers could be quickly converted to trans forms under visible light exposure in seconds. The trans form could change to cis form reversibly by UV irradiation as well.