T. M. Dore, D. L. Phillips et al.
tatively assigned to the T(T1) of CHQ-OAc species. The ex-
perimental Raman spectrum at 1000 ns delay time obtained
in neutral aqueous solution was compared with the calculat-
ed Raman spectrum of Z(T1) of CHQ-OAc (Figure 8S in
the Supporting Information). There is a good similarity be-
tween the experimental and calculated Raman spectra, and
this lends some support to the assignment of the transient
species with Raman band at 1632 cmÀ1 to Z(T1) of CHQ-
OAc. The ns-TR3 results reveal that A(T1) of CHQ-OAc
acts as the precursor of the deprotection process, though it
faces a side reaction from the ESPT process. The detection
of Z(T1) of BHQ-OAc and CHQ-OAc only in neutral
water-containing solution demonstrates that water and the
neutral pH (or close to neutral) are important for the depro-
tection reaction to occur.
ful and profound applications in a physiological environ-
ment. The poor suitability of CHQ-OAc as a PPG appears
mainly due to its favored fluorescence and ESPT pathways
and less efficient ISC capability to make the A(T1) precur-
sor species for the deprotection reaction when compared
with BHQ-OAc. This suggests that the introduction of
a heavy atom is necessary for the desired photodeprotection
reaction to take place with a high efficiency. A previous
steady-state study on the comparison of BHQ-OAc with 7-
HQ[7b] demonstrates that the involvement of the bromine
atom inhibits the ground-state tautomerization reaction and
lowers the population of T(S0), which also reduces unwanted
side reactions of the deprotection reaction. On the other
hand, the observed dehalogenation reaction for BHQ-OAc
should be taken into consideration in future studies. This
work sheds light on the design of promising two-photon
PPGs based on the 7-hydroxyquinoline scaffold.
DFT calculations: DFT calculations were utilized to exam-
ine the activation barrier for the deprotection reaction from
A(T1) of BHQ-OAc to the triplet zwitterion-like BHQ in-
termediate Z(T1) at the (U)B3LYP/6–311G** level of
theory.[11] The optimized geometries for the A(T1), transition
state species, and the triplet zwitterion-like BHQ intermedi-
ate were readily found from the calculations. These data
provide additional support for a two-step solvent-assisted
heterolysis (SN1) mechanism for the deprotection reaction
(see the Supporting Information for details). The calculation
results revealed that the deprotection proceeds through
a heterolytic cleavage from A(T1) of BHQ-OAc to form
a triplet zwitterion-like BHQ intermediate, which undergoes
ISC to its singlet and then proceeds via a singlet water–sol-
volysis reaction to produce the BHQ-OH side product.
Experimental Section
Materials: Dry acetonitrile was obtained by distillation from calcium hy-
dride. Mixed solvents were prepared by adjusting the pH of 40% MeCN/
60% H2O to pH 4 using 1m HCl. Solutions for photolyses were prepared
as follows: A 10 mm stock solution of BHQ-OAc or CHQ-OAc was pre-
pared in dry MeCN, and dilutions to 100 mm with a final volume of 3 mL
were made using each respective solvent. KMOPS buffer consisted of
100 mm KCl and 10 mm MOPS titrated to pH 7.2 with KOH.
Synthesis: BHQ-OAc was prepared by modification of the previously re-
ported route[3a] using a MOM protecting group on the phenol instead of
TBDPS. CHQ-OAc was synthesized and purified as described previous-
ly.[3c] HQ-OAc was prepared in one step by removal of the TBDPS group
from a known compound.[3a] See the Supporting Information for details.
Photochemistry: Solutions of BHQ-OAc or CHQ-OAc were irradiated
in a quartz test tube in a Rayonet photoreactor equipped with 254 nm
bulbs. To monitor the progress of the photoreactions, aliquots (20 mL)
were removed periodically and analyzed by HPLC using a 30:70 isocratic
mix of MeCN and H2O containing 0.1% TFA mobile phase, a 4.8 mm
OD C-18 reverse phase column, and a diode array UV detector (observ-
ing at 254 nm). Analysis of the eluate from the HPLC column by mass
spectrometry was performed one of two ways: 1) the HPLC system was
directly interfaced in line with an ESI mass spectrometer, or 2) fractions
corresponding to peaks on the chromatogram were collected and ana-
lyzed by ESI-MS offline. The quantum efficiency (Qu) under different
solvent conditions was determined as previously described.[3b,9] Briefly,
aliquots (20 mL) of the photolysis at 254 nm were removed periodically
Conclusion
Combining the results from the time-resolved spectroscopy
experiments (ns-EM, ns-TA, ns-TR2, and ns-TR3) with re-
sults from the photochemical quantum efficiency, product
outcome, and quenching experiments and DFT calculations,
a proposed reaction mechanism for the photophysical and
photochemical reactions of BHQ-OAc after UV photolysis
in aqueous environment has been deduced (Scheme 5). The
results presented here indicate that A(T1) acts as the precur-
sor for the desired deprotection reaction in neutral aqueous
solution and has competition from an ESPT process that
will form the T(T1) species. A favorable pathway with a low
free energy barrier of approximately 4.6 kcalmolÀ1 (see the
Supporting Information for details) was assigned to a sol-
vent-assisted heterolysis from A(T1) to produce the triplet
BHQ intermediate Z(T1). The completely different behavior
of BHQ-OAc in MeCN and MeCN/H2O solvents demon-
strates that water is vitally important for the desired photo-
deprotection reaction, which not only facilitates the excited
state deprotonation reaction but also stabilizes the zwitter-
ion transient species after the removal of the acetate leaving
group. The occurrence of the photodeprotection reaction in
the neutral aqueous solution suggests it can make meaning-
and analyzed by HPLC. The quantum efficiency was calculated using the
À1 [12]
equation Qu =(Ist90%
)
,
in which I is the irradiation intensity in Ein-
steins cmÀ2 of the lamp measured by potassium ferrioxalate actinometry
in the same setup, s is the decadic extinction coefficient (1000ꢁe) at
254 nm, and t90% is the time in seconds required for the conversion of
90% of the starting material to product as measured by HPLC.
Nanosecond transient emission (ns-EM) and nanosecond transient ab-
sorption (ns-TA) experiments: The ns-EM and ns-TA measurements
were performed on an LP-920 Laser flash photolysis setup (Edinburgh
Instruments). The 266 nm pump laser pulse was obtained from the fourth
harmonic output of an Nd:YAG Q-switched laser, and the probe light
was provided by a 450 W xenon lamp. The sample was excited by the
pump laser, and the probe light from the xenon lamp was passed through
the sample at right angles to the path of the exciting pulse. The two
beams were focused onto a 1 cm quartz cell. After passing through the
sample the analyzing light was directed to a monochromator/spectro-
graph. The transmitted probe light was then measured either by a single
detector (for kinetic analysis at a single wavelength) or by an array detec-
&
10
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Chem. Eur. J. 0000, 00, 0 – 0
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