ISOF researchers, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Strasbourg and the University of Barcelona, studied a multi-responsive bis(acridinium-Zn(II) porphyrin) receptor. The tweezer-like array is composed by two acridinium-Zn(II) porphyrin conjugates and it can change its binding properties upon addition of nucleophiles converting acridinium moieties into the non-aromatic acridane derivatives and upon oxidation of the porphyrin units, allowing a total of eight different states. From the photophysical point of view, the acridinium/acridane conversion leads to a switch from electron to energy transfer processes. Moreover, the receptor shows charge-transfer luminescence in the near-infrared, a rarely observed phenomenon. The work brings promise for the development of arrays based on porphyrins and acridinium as multi-state molecular systems and allosteric receptors.
A. Edo-Osagie, D. Serillon, F. Ruani, X. Barril, C. Gourlaouen, N. Armaroli, B. Ventura, H.-P. Jacquot de Rouville, V. Heitz, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023.
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