P. Ramamurthy et al.
Presence of three different emission species was probed by
3D emission spectra, TRES and TRANES studies. The ob-
served spectroscopic changes and its interpretation were fur-
1
ther confirmed by H NMR titration. The present investiga-
tion from fluorescence studies clearly supports the earlier
1
report of absorption and H NMR studies for the differen-
tiation of H-bonding and deprotonation processes. Further,
it explains the equilibrium of these species hitherto unravel-
led in the fluorescent anion sensor. If the binding is high
enough, fluorescent sensor can detect guest species down to
the femtomolar concentration range. Thus future anion rec-
ognition chemistry should use more fluorescence-based de-
tection compared with other techniques.
1
Figure 10. Stack plot of H NMR spectra of 1 (8.0 mm) with a) 0, b) 1 and
c) 2.0 equivalents of AcOꢀ in [D6]DMSO.
While AcOꢀ results in the pure H-bonding without any de-
protonation due to its lower basicity compared to Fꢀ.
Binding mode of anions: From all of the above studies, it is
ꢀ
clear that addition of AcOꢀ and H2PO4 shows H-bonding
Experimental Section
interaction with thiourea receptor; whereas, addition of Fꢀ
shows stepwise H-bonding and deprotonation as shown in
Scheme 2. Substitution of H instead of thiourea group in the
General procedures and materials: Dimedone was purchased from Alfa
Aesar Pvt. Ltd.; thiosemicarbazide and all anions, as their tetrabutylam-
monium salts, were purchased from Sigma Aldrich Chemicals Pvt. Ltd.,
and were used as received. All the solvents used in the present study
were of HPLC grade and purchased from Qualigens India Ltd. Absorp-
tion spectra were recorded on Agilent 8453 diode array spectrophotome-
ter. Emission, excitation and 3D emission spectra were recorded on
HORIBA JOBIN YVON Fluoromax 4P spectrophotometer. Fluores-
cence quantum yield was determined by exciting the sample at 366 nm
with the use of quinine sulphate as the standard (ff =0.546 in 0.1n
H2SO4). Fluorescence decays were recorded by using an IBH time-corre-
lated single-photon counting technique as reported elsewhere.[17b] NMR
spectra were recorded on Bruker Avance III 500 MHz and JEOL
500 MHz instruments in deuterated solvents as indicated; the residual
solvent peaks were used as internal standards. Chemical shifts are report-
ed in ppm and coupling constants (JX–X’) are reported in Hz. ESI-MS
were performed on an ECA LCQ Thermo system with ion-trap detection
in positive and negative mode. Elemental analyses (C, H and N) were
taken on a Euro EA Elemental analyzer.
Scheme 2. Binding mode of Fꢀ with ADDTU (1).
ring nitrogen shows the deprotonation of ring amino hydro-
gen without any H-bonding complex [Eq. (2)] in the pres-
ence of Fꢀ, which clearly reveals the importance of thiourea
receptor in the formation of stable H-bonding complex at
the lower concentration of Fꢀ. The formation of 1·Fꢀ H-
bonded complex is observed even in highly polar solvent
like DMSO, which also shows similar trend as observed in
acetonitrile. ADDTU 1, H-bonded complex 1·Fꢀ and depro-
tonated 1 will have different charge density on N atom (ICT
donor), which causes red shift in the emission maximum to
different extent.
4-Methoxybenzylidene bisdimedone (1a): To a solution of dimedone (4 g,
28.5 mmol) in aq. methanol (20 mL) was added 4-methoxybenzaldehyde
(1.75 mL, 14.4 mmol) and warmed until the solution became cloudy. Bis-
dimedone 1a started to separate. The reaction mixture was diluted with
water (100 mL) and allowed to stand overnight; the tetraketone 1a was
collected by filtration, dried and recrystallized from methanol to yield
pure 1a (5.36 g, 94%). M.p. 186–1878C.
N-[9-(4-Methoxyphenyl)-3,3,6,6-tetramethyl-3,4,6,7,9,10-hexahydro-1,8-
AHCTUNGERTG(NNUN 2H,5H)acridinedione-10-yl]thiourea (1): A mixture of the tetraketone
1a (1 g, 2.5 mmol) and thiosemicarbazide (0.23 g, 2.5 mmol) was kept
reflux in acetic acid (15 mL) for 14 h. The reaction mixture was cooled
and poured into crushed ice. The solid obtained was purified by column
chromatography over silica gel and eluted with CHCl3: MeOH (96:4, v/v)
to isolate the pure ADDTU 1 (0.83 g, 73%) as a brown powder. M.p.
208–2108C; 1H NMR (500 MHz, [D6]DMSO, 248C): d=9.26 (s, 1H, ex-
changed with D2O; NH), 7.05 (d, J=8.5 Hz, 2H; ArH), 6.71 (d, J=
8.5 Hz, 2H; ArH), 4.74 (s, 1H; CH(9)), 3.91 (s, 2H, exchanged with
Conclusion
D2O; NH2), 3.66 (s, 3H; CH3), 2.29–2.45 (2d, J=17 Hz, 4H; CH
2A
2CH3); 13C NMR (125 MHz, [D6]DMSO, 248C): d=194.9 (CO), 181.1
(CS), 157.5 (C(Ar)), 149.5 (C=C), 140.0 (C(Ar)), 129.0 (CH(Ar)), 113.4
CHTUNGTRENNUNG(2&7)),
A detailed steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence stud-
ies of anion–receptor interactions were carried out to under-
stand the fluorescence response of different species present
ꢀ
in the system. H-bonding complex of AcOꢀ and H2PO4
(CH(Ar)), 112.2 (C=C), 55.3 (CH3), 50.7 (CH2ACTHNUGRTNENUG(2&7)), 40.4 (CH2ACHTUNGTRENNUNG(4&5)),
32.6 (CH(9)), 32.3 (C), 29.6 & 26.9 cmꢀ1 (CH3); IR (KBr): n˜ =3467
(-NH2), 1626 (conj. C=O), 1367 (conj. C=C) cmꢀ1; ESI-MS: m/z: 454.3
[M+H]+; elemental analysis calcd (%) for C25H31N3O3S1: C 66.20, H
8.48, N 6.89; found: C 66.31, H 8.46, N 6.85.
show a new emission peak at the red shifted region depend-
ing on their basicity. Whereas Fꢀ shows two new emission
peaks due to the stepwise H-bonding and deprotonation.
13276
ꢀ 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Chem. Eur. J. 2010, 16, 13271 – 13277