Understanding the tautomerism in azacalixphyrins.

Fiche publication


Date publication

avril 2016

Journal

Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP

Auteurs

Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Dr ELHABIRI Mourad


Tous les auteurs :
Marchand G, Giraudeau P, Chen Z, Elhabiri M, Siri O, Jacquemin D

Résumé

Understanding the chemical nature and spectroscopic signatures of a new class of organic molecules remains a strong challenge. Azacalixphyrin, the first member of a family of strongly aromatic macrocycles absorbing in the near infrared domain, can exist in several tautomeric forms. Here, we use DFT calculations and NMR measurements to propose the first in-depth investigation of proton exchanges occurring in two forms of azacalixphyrins (non-protonated and protonated). Our results reveal, on the one hand, a very effective solvent-assisted tautomerism in the non-protonated form whereas the intramolecular proton transfer is less probable, and, on the other hand, the presence of a mixture of almost isoenergetic tautomers differing in both their aromaticity and absorption profiles. This clearly indicates that smartly-designed chemical substitutions could alter the relative weights of the different tautomers, and consequently tune the optical signatures of these new macrocycles in a versatile and efficient way. For the protonated form, rotations of the NH2 groups take place rather than the chemical exchange.

Référence

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2016 Apr 14;18(14):9608-15