TY - JOUR A1 - Wang, Y.-W. A1 - Descalzo López, Ana Belén A1 - Shen, Z. A1 - You, X.-Z. A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Dihydronaphthalene-fused Boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes: insight into the electronic and conformational tuning modes of BODIPY fluorophores JF - Chemistry - A European journal N2 - A new series of boron-dipyrromethene (BDP, BODIPY) dyes with dihydronaphthalene units fused to the β-pyrrole positions (1 a-d, 2) has been synthesised and spectroscopically investigated. All the dyes, except pH-responsive 1 d in polar solvents, display intense emission between 550-700 nm. Compounds 1 a and 1 b with a hydrogen atom and a methyl group in the meso position of the BODIPY core show spectroscopic properties that are similar to those of rhodamine 101, thus rendering them potent alternatives to the positively charged rhodamine dyes as stains and labels for less polar environments or for the dyeing of latex beads. Compound 1 d, which carries an electron-donating 4-(dimethylamino)phenyl group in the meso position, shows dual fluorescence in solvents more polar than dibutyl ether and can act as a pH-responsive "light-up" probe for acidic pH. Correlation of the pKa data of 1 d and several other meso-(4-dimethylanilino)-substituted BODIPY derivatives allowed us to draw conclusions on the influence of steric crowding at the meso position on the acidity of the aniline nitrogen atom. Preparation and investigation of 2, which carries a nitrogen instead of a carbon as the meso-bridgehead atom, suggests that the rules of colour tuning of BODIPYs as established so far have to be reassessed; for all the reported couples of meso-C- and meso-N-substituted BODIPYs, the exchange leads to pronounced redshifts of the spectra and reduced fluorescence quantum yields. For 2, when compared with 1 a, the opposite is found: negligible spectral shifts and enhanced fluorescence. Additional X-ray crystallographic analysis of 1 a and quantum chemical modelling of the title and related compounds employing density functional theory granted further insight into the features of such sterically crowded chromophores. KW - Dyes/pigments KW - Fluorescent probes KW - Photophysics KW - Protonation KW - Boron PY - 2010 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.200902527 SN - 0947-6539 SN - 1521-3765 VL - 16 IS - 9 SP - 2887 EP - 2903 PB - Wiley-VCH Verl. CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-20957 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Descalzo, Ana B. A1 - Ashokkumar, Pichandi A1 - Shen, Z. A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - On the Aggregation Behaviour and Spectroscopic Properties of Alkylated and Annelated BoronDipyrromethene (BODIPY) Dyes in Aqueous Solution JF - ChemPhotoChem N2 - The tendency of boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes to associate in water is well known, and usually a cause for inferior fluorescence properties. Synthetic efforts to chemically improve BODIPYs’ water solubility and minimize this problem have been numerous in the past. However, a deeper understanding of the phenomena responsible for fluorescence quenching is still required. Commonly, the spectroscopic behaviour in aqueous media has been attributed to aggregate or excimer formation, with such works often centring on a single BODIPY family. Herein, we provide an integrating discussion including very diverse types of BODIPY dyes. Our studies revealed that even subtle structural changes can distinctly affect the association behaviour of the fluorophores in water, involving different photophysical processes. The palette of behaviour found ranges from unperturbed emission, to the formation of H or J aggregates and excimers, to the involvement of tightly bound, preformed excimers. These results are a first step to a more generalized understanding of spectroscopic properties vs. structure, facilitating future molecular design of BODIPYs, especially as probes for biological applications. KW - Aggregates KW - BODIPY KW - Excimers KW - Fluorescence KW - Photophysics PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-497771 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/cptc.201900235 SN - 2367-0932 VL - 4 IS - 2 SP - 120 EP - 131 PB - WILEY-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-49777 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -