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Konrad, David B.; Savasci, Gökcen; Allmendinger, Lars; Trauner, Dirk; Ochsenfeld, Christian ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4189-6558 and Ali, Ahmed M. (2020): Computational Design and Synthesis of a Deeply Red-Shifted and Bistable Azobenzene. In: Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 142, No. 14: pp. 6538-6547 [PDF, 2MB]

Abstract

We computationally dissected the electronic and geometrical influences of ortho-chlorinated azobenzenes on their photophysical properties. X-ray analysis provided the insight that trans-tetra-ortho-chloro azobenzene is conformationally flexible and thus subject to molecular motions. This allows the photoswitch to adopt a range of red-shifted geometries, which account for the extended n → π* band tails. On the basis of our results, we designed the di-ortho-fluoro di-ortho-chloro (dfdc) azobenzene and provided computational evidence for the superiority of this substitution pattern to tetra-ortho-chloro azobenzene. Thereafter, we synthesized dfdc azobenzene by ortho-chlorination via 2-fold C–H activation and experimentally confirmed its structural and photophysical properties through UV–vis, NMR, and X-ray analyses. The advantages include near-bistable isomers and an increased separation of the n → π* bands between the trans- and cis-conformations, which allows for the generation of unusually high levels of the cis-isomer by irradiation with green/yellow light as well as red light within the biooptical window.

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