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. 2018 Oct 9;3(10):12857–12867. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.8b01581

How Do Amides Affect the Electronic Properties of Pyrene?

Eli M Espinoza †,⊥, John A Clark ‡, James B Derr §, Duoduo Bao ‡, Boriana Georgieva ‡, Frank H Quina ⊥,*, Valentine I Vullev †,‡,§,∥,*
PMCID: PMC6644773  PMID: 31458010

Abstract

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The electronic properties of amide linkers, which are intricate components of biomolecules, offer a wealth of unexplored possibilities. Herein, we demonstrate how the different modes of attaching an amide to a pyrene chromophore affect the electrochemical and optical properties of the chromophore. Thus, although they cause minimal spectral shifts, amide substituents can improve either the electron-accepting or electron-donating capabilities of pyrene. Specifically, inversion of the amide orientation shifts the reduction potentials by 200 mV. These trends indicate that, although amides affect to a similar extent the energies of the ground and singlet excited states of pyrene, the effects on the doublet states of its radical ions are distinctly different. This behavior reflects the unusually strong orientation dependence of the resonance effects of amide substituents, which should extend to amide substituents on other types of chromophores in general. These results represent an example where the Hammett sigma constants fail to predict substituent effects on electrochemical properties. On the other hand, Swain–Lupton parameters are found to be in good agreement with the observed trends. Examination of the frontier orbitals of the pyrene derivatives and their components reveals the underlying reason for the observed amide effects on the electronic properties of this polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and points to key molecular-design strategies for electronic and energy-conversion systems.

1. Introduction

The importance of amides as building blocks in living systems cannot be overstated. Peptide bonds hold proteins together, and the amide propensity for hydrogen bonding defines the secondary structures and the functionality of these biopolymers.1−3 Since the invention of nylon,4 synthetic polyamides have been at the forefront of materials science and engineering.5−9 Due to their extended π-conjugation, amide bonds are rigid and assume planer conformations.10−14

In addition to functioning as bonding elements and hydrogen-bonding cross-linkers, amides also have interesting electronic properties. The amide dipoles, ranging between 3 and 5 D,15 render many vital enzymatic and cellular processes possible.16−18 Ordered amide and hydrogen bonds give rise to the enormous macrodipoles of protein helices,18−21 providing guidelines for bioinspired designs.22−32 In addition to making ion channels functional,17,33 such dipolar amide conjugates prove invaluable for rectifying the directionality of electron transfer and transport.21,34−39 Aliphatic amides oxidize at about 1.5 V versus saturated calomel electrode (SCE)40 and have optical gaps of 5.6 eV between their highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs), corresponding to an n−π* transition around 222 nm,11 making them electron-rich π-conjugated UV absorbers.

Except for a few reports on how the orientation of amide bonds affects molecular properties, such as enantioselectivity, catalytic activity, and the biological uptake of nanoconstructs,41−43 the understanding of the effects of this important substituent on the characteristics of organic chromophores remains in the realm of empirical deductions. Even the classical Hammett constants predict that, regardless of their orientation, amides should be electron-withdrawing groups.44 However, the Swain–Lupton resonance parameters, accounting for the mesomeric effects of functional groups,45 do suggest that there should be a difference between the effects of amides attached via their nitrogens or via their carbonyl carbons.44,45

Substituent effects on electronically excited states correlate roughly with ground-state descriptors such as Hammett constants. However, because it is the difference between the ground and excited states that defines the optical properties of a molecule, if a substituent affects the energies of both the ground and excited states in the same manner, the shifts in the optical spectra will be negligible, regardless of how strong these effects are. Furthermore, despite all advances in physical organic chemistry during the 20th century, the search for reliable descriptors of substituent effects on excited-state properties is still in its infancy.46 Thus, systematic studies on how amides and other substituents affect transitions between different electronic states are important for filling key voids in physical organic chemistry and other pertinent fields.

The question of interest here is, aside from serving as linkers, hydrogen-bonding sites, and dipole sources, how do amide functionalities impact the electronic properties of π-conjugated moieties to which they are attached?

To test this capability of amides, we focus on pyrene as the π-conjugated moiety. Pyrene and its derivatives are among the most widely used chromophores due to their good fluorescence quantum yields (φf) and the unusually long lifetime (τ) of the singlet excited states.47−50 The potentials at which they oxidize and reduce make pyrenes a popular choice as electron donors and acceptors.51−57 Along with their attractive optical and electrochemical properties, the strong propensity for self-assembly via π-stacking, which pyrene and its derivatives exhibit,58−60 allows them to serve as building blocks for electronic and photonic materials and interfaces.61−71

To examine how amides affect the electronic properties of pyrene, we attach them in opposite orientations directly to the aromatic ring (PyN-C and PyC-N, Chart 1). Insertion of a methylene linker (PymN-C and PymC-N, Chart 1) breaks the  π-conjugation between the amide and the pyrene moiety, permitting an evaluation of the amide effects in the absence of strong electronic coupling with the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Unlike other π-conjugating substituents, such as nitro, nitroso, and alkanoyl groups,54,72 amides, even when directly attached to pyrene, cause small shifts in the UV/visible absorption and fluorescence spectra. The most profound effect of the amides is on the reduction potentials of oxidation and reduction of pyrene. Thus, although amides affect to a similar extent the energies of the ground and singlet excited states of pyrene, their effects on the doublet states of their radical ions are quite different.

Chart 1. Structures of Pyrene Derivatives with Differently Oriented Secondary Amides Attached Directly (PyN-C and PyC-N) and via a Methylene Linker (PymN-C and PymC-N).

Chart 1

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2. Results

2.1. Molecular-Design Considerations

Amide coupling between the corresponding amine and carboxylic-acid derivatives yields the pyrene–amide conjugates in good yields after chromatographic purification and recrystallization steps (Chart 1). The positions 1, 3, 6, and 8 (PyN-C on Chart 1) are the most susceptible to electrophilic and radical substitutions.72−74 Therefore, this study focuses on pyren-1-yl amides (Chart 1).

2.2. Amide Effects on Optical Properties of Pyrene

The optical spectra of the four pyrene–amide derivatives (Chart 1) investigated here show features characteristic of pyrene. In addition to the transitions to upper excited states, the substituents perturb the symmetry of pyrene, enhancing the intensity of the symmetry-forbidden S0 → S1 electronic absorption at 375 nm (Figure 1a). Although the perturbation of the symmetry is stronger for PyN-C and PyC-N than for the methylene-linked derivatives, the amide substituents do not cause large spectral shifts (Figure 1a). The spectra of PymN-C and PymC-N resemble those of alkyl-substituted pyrenes,58,75 indicating that methylene linkers do indeed effectively reduce the interaction between the amide and the pyrene π-conjugated system. Direct attachment of the amide via its carbon, PyC-N, broadens the absorption and emission bands (Figure 1a) and decreases the zero-to-zero transition energy Inline graphic by less than kBT (Table 1). Attaching the amide moiety via its nitrogen, PyN-C,  enhances the spectral broadening and decrease Inline graphic a bit further.

Figure 1.

Figure 1

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Optical properties of the pyrene–amide derivatives in acetonitrile (MeCN), purged with argon. (a) Absorption and fluorescence spectra (λex = 335 nm) with the various transitions designated. The dotted lines represent the absorption spectra amplified by a factor of 20 for visualization of the S0 → S1 forbidden transitions. (b) Time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) emission-decay curves recorded at the fluorescence maxima (λex = 278 nm; excitation-pulse width = 0.9 ns).

Table 1. Photophysical Properties of the Pyrene–Amide Derivatives for Various Solvents.

          hΔν (eV)b
  solvent φf τ (ns) Inline graphica S2c S1d
PymN-C MeCN 0.41 217 3.30 0.34 0.013
  DCM 0.38 150 3.30 0.31 0.011
  CHCl3 0.38 99.6 3.31 0.31 0.009
PymC-N MeCN 0.44 216 3.30 0.34 0.018
  DCM 0.39 139 3.29 0.31 0.020
  CHCl3 0.29 111 3.29 0.31 0.015
PyN-C MeCN 0.23 13.7 3.23 0.42 0.029
  DCM 0.26 13.7 3.22 0.40 0.025
  CHCl3 0.19 12.2 3.23 0.39 0.026
PyC-N MeCN 0.44 69.3 3.28 0.37 0.039
  DCM 0.42 36.6 3.27 0.37 0.041
  CHCl3 0.42 29.2 3.26 0.37 0.050
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a

From the crossover point of the normalized S0 → S1 absorption and the fluorescence bands.

b

Stoke’s shifts: Δν is the difference between the frequencies of the absorption and fluorescence maxima, and h is the Planck constant.

c

Using the S0 → S2 absorption maximum for Δν.

d

Using the S0 → S1 absorption maximum.

The emission-decay kinetics shows the same trends (Figure 1b). PymN-C and PymC-N exhibit large values of τ (Table 1), which are comparable to those of alkyl-substituted pyrenes.58,60,75 Attaching the amide directly via its carbonyl carbon, PyC-N, shortens τ, reflecting the enhancement of the intensity of the symmetry-forbidden S1 → S0 transition. Attaching the amide group via its nitrogen, PyN-C, shortens τ even further (Figure 1b and Table 1).

Stoke’s shifts (Δν), estimated from the absorption and emission maxima at about 340 and 380 nm, respectively, encompass S2 → S1 internal conversion as well as relaxation of S1. The latter is small, since the Δν values using the S0 → S1 absorption are minute and are comparable to those of quantum dots and solid-state materials (Table 1).76−78 This finding indicates that solvation effects following photoexcitation do not appreciably perturb the geometry of these pyrene derivatives.

The photophysical trends (Figure 1 and Table 1) reflect the consequences of π-conjugation of the amide with the PAH. The effects are, indeed, more pronounced when the amide is directly attached via its nitrogen than its carbonyl carbon. Also, the close resemblance between the properties of PymN-C and PymC-N indicates that the amide electric dipoles, which generate large fields even across methylene linkers,39 are not responsible for the observed effects. The lack of a significant solvent dependence of Inline graphic and Δν (Table 1) further confirms that amide dipoles do not contribute to the differences between the photophysics of the four derivatives. The decrease in φf and τ in chlorinated solvents (Table 1), which was also reported for pyrene itself,50 may be a polarity effect. Photoinduced charge-transfer interactions with the solvent, however, might account for it as well.79

2.3. Amide Effects on Reduction and Oxidation Properties of Pyrene

Cyclic voltammetry of the pyreneamides, dissolved in MeCN, shows that all derivatives except PyC-N have reduction potentials (EPy|Py•–) around −2 V versus SCE (Figure 2 and Table 2). For PyC-N, EPy|Py•– = −1.8 V versus SCE. The potentials at which pyrenes oxidize, expressed as reduction potentials of the radical cations (EPy•+|Py), range from 1.2 V versus SCE for PyN-C to 1.4 V versus SCE for PyC-N (Table 2). The electrochemical HOMO–LUMO gaps, i.e., EPy•+|Py – EPy|Py•–, match the optical Inline graphic quite well (Tables 1 and 2). This finding suggests a negligible difference between the energies of the solvated ions and the photoexcited species.80

Figure 2.

Figure 2

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Electrochemical properties of the pyrene–amide derivatives in acetonitrile purged with argon in the presence of different concentrations, Cel, of supporting electrolyte, (n-C4H9)4NPF6. (a) Cyclic voltammograms for Cel = 25 mM (scan rate = 100 mV s–1). For reversible reduction, the half-wave potentials, E(1/2), are determined from the average between the anodic and cathodic peak potentials. For irreversible oxidation, E(1/2) is estimated from the inflection-point potentials of the anodic waves.81 (b) Dependence of E(1/2) on Cel. The solid lines represent the data fits, and the dotted lines show extrapolations of the potentials to Cel = 0, to yield E(1/2) for neat solvent.82,83

Table 2. Reduction and Oxidation Properties of the Four Pyrene–Amide Derivatives.

    E(1/2) (Cel = 0) (V vs SCE)a
    
  solvent EPy•+|Pyc EPy|Py•–d IE (eV)b EA (eV)b
PymN-C MeCN 1.30 ± 0.17 –2.01 ± 0.01 5.58 2.35
  DCM 1.44 ± 0.05   5.74 2.17
  CHCl3     5.82 2.00
PymC-N MeCN 1.29 ± 0.01 –2.04 ± 0.08 5.55 2.32
  DCM 1.44 ± 0.02   5.65 2.18
  CHCl3     5.81 2.00
PyN-C MeCN 1.21 ± 0.38 –2.04 ± 0.01 5.36 2.33
  DCM 1.33 ± 0.13   5.48 2.17
  CHCl3     5.62 1.98
PyC-N MeCN 1.38 ± 0.01 –1.81 ± 0.01 5.63 2.49
  DCM 1.60 ± 0.03   5.75 2.34
  CHCl3     5.89 2.17
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a

Half-wave reduction potentials for neat solvents obtained from extrapolation to Cel = 0 (Figure 2b).82

b

Ionization energy (IE) from the difference between the density functional theory (DFT)-calculated energies of the ground state and the radical cation and electron affinity (EA) from the difference between the energies of the ground state and the radical anion, as implemented by Koopman’s theorem. For the calculations, the B3LYP density functional and the 6-311+G(d,p) basis set were used together with implementation of the polarizable continuum model (PCM).

c

Potentials at which oxidation occurs, expressed as the reduction potentials of the radical cations, Py•+ + e– → Py.

d

Reduction potential of the pyrene derivatives, i.e., Py + e– → Py•–.

Overall, attaching the amide group to pyrene via the carbonyl carbon lowers the energy of the HOMO and LUMO, enhancing the propensity of the pyrene chromophore to act as an electron acceptor. Conversely, attaching the amide group via the nitrogen elevates the energy of the pyrene HOMO without affecting the energy of the LUMO. This narrowing of the HOMO–LUMO gap, reflected in the value of Inline graphic, makes PyN-C a better electron donor than the other three derivatives.

For dichloromethane (DCM), the potentials at which the pyrenes oxidize, expressed as reduction potentials of the radical cations, show the same trends but are shifted to more positive values by about 100–200 mV in comparison with those for MeCN (Table 2). Thus, a decrease in the polarity of the medium destabilizes the radical cations that are formed upon oxidation and increases the corresponding reduction potentials of the oxidized pyreneamides, EPy•+|Py. Unfortunately, the reduction potentials of the pyrene derivatives, EPy|Py•–, are outside the electrochemical window of DCM and the potentials at which both the oxidation and reduction occur are both outside the electrochemical window of CHCl3.

To address the lack of electrochemical information for these cases, we resort to density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the ionization energies (IE) and electron affinities (EA) of the pyrene derivatives. The values of IE and EA show the same trends as those of the reduction potentials and provide information on the reduction and oxidation properties that are electrochemically inaccessible for some of the solvents. For each of the pyrene derivatives, IE increases and EA decreases with a decrease in the solvent polarity (Table 2), which is consistent with destabilization of both doublet states, i.e., of the radical cation and the radical anion. Thus, a decrease in medium polarity increases the electrochemical HOMO–LUMO gap, i.e., EPy•+|Py – EPy|Py•– ≈ IE – EA, while Inline graphic is invariant with the solvent. For low-polarity solvents, therefore, the stabilization due to Coulombic interactions between the photogenerated hole and the unpaired electron in the singlet excited state becomes particularly important.

In contrast to the amide effects on the optical properties of the pyrene derivatives, which appear to be subtle, the effects on their electrochemical behavior are substantial when the amide is directly attached to the chromophore. Inverting the orientation of the amide causes a 200 mV shift in the reduction potentials, which can represent a huge difference in the design of molecules for electronics and optoelectronics.

Attaching an amide via its carbonyl carbon causes positive shifts in both reduction potentials, EPy•+|Py and EPy|Py•– (Table 2), and some broadening of the absorption and emission bands (Figure 1a) but does not lead to dramatic bathochromic shifts or to a decrease in Inline graphic (Figure 1a and Table 1). In contrast, attaching the amide via its nitrogen results in much more evident changes in the optical properties of pyrene, broadening the absorption and emission spectra and decreasing Inline graphic, φf, and τ (Figure 1 and Table 1). In addition, PyN-C exhibits a negative shift of EPy•+|Py and no shift of EPy|Py•– (Table 2), affecting the energy of the HOMO but not of the LUMO of the pyrene chromophore. This narrowing of the HOMO–LUMO gap, which is related to π-conjugation between the pyrene chromophore and the amide substituent, is characteristic of PyN-C as compared with the other three derivatives.

3. Discussion

The evidence suggests that π-conjugation of the amides with the pyrene rings is the underlying reason for observed trends. Amides have substantial permanent electric dipoles15 that can readily affect not only the electrochemical behavior of these derivatives by stabilizing or destabilizing the formed radical ions but also may affect the optical properties of the polarizable pyrene via an intramolecular Stark effect.84 The amide dipole, however, points from the oxygen to the nitrogen of the bond,15 which is tangential to the pyrene rings for the four derivatives under investigation. The two methylene-linked derivatives, PymN-C and PymC-N, provide the most important evidence that the amide dipoles do not play a significant role in the observed trends. When the amide substituent cannot participate in direct π-conjugation with the pyrene chromophore, the inversion of the orientation of the amide dipole does not alter the reduction or oxidation propensities of these pyrenes (PymC-N vs PymN-C, Table 2). Furthermore, if the amide dipoles had exerted significant effects, a lowering of the solvent polarity should induce differences between the reduction potentials or the IE and EA of PymN-C and PymC-N. Therefore, it is safe to assume that direct electronic interactions between the amides and the pyrene chromophore govern the observed trends in this study. Thus, field effects, prevalent for PyC-N, represent induction through σ bonds, rather than through-space interactions provoked by the orientation of the amide dipole-generated fields.

The Hammett substituent constants, σp and σm, suggest that amide groups should be preferentially electron-withdrawing, regardless of the orientation in which they are bound to an aromatic ring. When attached via carbon, e.g., −CONHCH3, the Hammett sigma constants are σp = 0.34 and σm = 0.35,44 characterizing the amide as a moderately good electron-withdrawing group in ground-state reactions. Likewise, when the amide is attached via its nitrogen, e.g., −NHCOCH3,44 the values are σp = 0.00 and σm = 0.21, which makes it electron-withdrawing in the meta and neither electron withdrawing nor electron donating in the para position on a benzene ring, contradicting our spectroscopic and electrochemical findings.

Amide bonds oxidize at about 1.3–1.8 V versus SCE, which is relatively close to the EPy•+|Py of pyrene, ensuring effective mixing between the HOMOs of the pyrene and the amide substituent. The large HOMO–LUMO gap of amides, however, indicate that the reduction of an amide group should occur at potentials more negative than about −4 V versus SCE. Hence, this precludes strong mixing between the high-energy LUMO of the amide and the much lower energy LUMO of pyrene.

Considering the HOMOs of pyrene and the amide reveals a drastic difference between the propensities for π-conjugation of the carbon-bonded and nitrogen-bonded orientations of the substituent. Driven by protein science, semiclassical studies of the electronic structures of amides clearly reveal that the HOMO of the amide group is a nonbonding orbital on the oxygen and HOMO – 1 is a π-orbital, also with a nonbonding character, localized on nitrogen and oxygen with a node on the carbon.11 Although HOMO – 2 of the amide is delocalized over the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, it is much lower in energy than the HOMO – 1.11

DFT calculations of the simplest carboxamide, i.e., formamide, illustrate these trends (Figure 3). Many of the frontier orbitals have nonbonding or σ-character distribution over the plane of the amide bond and cannot mix with the π-orbitals of coplanar aromatic rings. Even though the amide LUMO has a π character, its high energy level makes such π-conjugation unfavorable, which is consistent with the observed trends in the reduction potentials and the EA (Table 2).

Figure 3.

Figure 3

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Molecular-orbital diagram of CHONH2 showing the frontier orbitals obtained from DFT calculation at the B3LYP/6-311G(3df,3dp) level of theory with implementation of MeCN as a solvation medium (Inline graphic, IE – EA = 7.2 eV, Inline graphic, i.e., 222 nm, EA•+|A ≈ 1.8 V vs SCE40).

The HOMO – 1 of the amide reveals the underlying reason for the orientation dependence of the observed effects. The HOMO – 1 has a π-character with a node on the carbon (Figure 3) that would suppress π-conjugation with coplanar aromatic rings connected directly to the carbonyl carbon. The HOMOs of pyrene connected to the amide nitrogen, however, could interact with the HOMO – 1 of the amide. The HOMO – 2 of the amide is its only π-orbital with no orthogonal nodal planes but its much lower energy (than the HOMO) makes mixing with the frontier orbitals of pyrene energetically unfavorable. Overall, attaching the amide group directly to the pyrene chromophore via the nitrogen favors mixing between the HOMO – 1 of the amide and the HOMOs of pyrene. Conversely, mixing with the HOMOs of pyrene is much less favorable when the amide is attached via its carbon.

Unlike conventional Hammett sigma constants, the Swain–Lupton field Inline graphic and resonance Inline graphic parameters for substituent effects45 of an amide group capture this dependence on the bonding orientation and thus provide a much better rationalization of the experimentally observed trends than the Hammett sigma values. For −CONHCH3, the Swain–Lupton parameters are Inline graphic and Inline graphic and for −NHCOCH3, Inline graphic and Inline graphic.44 Hence, the inductive or field effects are indicative of electron withdrawal and would be expected to be similar for both bonding orientations. In contrast, the electron-donating mesomeric effect of the electron pair on nitrogen should dominate in the latter orientation, consistent with the observed difference between the properties of PyN-C and PyC-N.

The Swain–Lupton empirical parameters can also rationalize the differences between the effects observed here for amides and those of other carbonyl substituents. As an example, for an acetyl group, −COCH3, Inline graphic and Inline graphic. These values indicate that the propensity of −COCH3 for mesomeric electron withdrawal should be stronger than that of −CONHCH3. Indeed, alkanoyl pyrene derivatives not only undergo reduction at potentials that are less negative than those of PyC-N(54) but also exhibit a bathochromic shift of the first π → π* absorption band to 400 nm.85

This example emphasizes another important point. Bathochromic spectral shifts indicate that the substituent lowers the energies of the excited states more than that of the ground state. In our compounds, such shifts do not occur even when the amide is directly attached to the pyrene moiety. Such direct attachment, however, does affect the reduction potentials (Table 2), implying that the amide substituents have much stronger effects on the radical ions than on the singlet excited states. In classical terms, this trend is consistent with through-resonance, which is pronounced for electron-donating substituents bound to aromatic rings with positively charged groups and for electron-withdrawing substituents bound to aromatics with negatively charged groups. The pyrene derivatives under investigation have only one substituent. Nevertheless, upon electrochemical oxidation or reduction, the doublet states of the radical ions are considerably more susceptible to through-resonance interactions with the amides than is the case for the electroneutral singlet states.

Although the Swain–Lupton parameters for methylene-linked amides suggest the possibility of a hyperconjugation effect across the methylene group (i.e., for −CH2NHCOCH3Inline graphic and for −CH2CONHCH3Inline graphic),44 DFT calculations reveal that the frontier orbitals of PymN-C and PymC-N are practically the same: localized on the pyrene chromophore with a negligible delocalization over the amide group. The HOMO of PyC-N shows similar patterns. In contrast, the HOMO and the LUMO of PyN-C are heavily delocalized over the amide and pyrene rings (Figure 4). These DFT results agree with the spectroscopic and electrochemical trends and confirm that the amide effects arise from differences in the propensity for π-conjugation between the different bonding orientations.

Figure 4.

Figure 4

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Frontier orbitals of the pyrene derivatives obtained from DFT calculations at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level of theory: HOMO and LUMO, showing the different extents of delocalization over the amide substituents, which is most pronounced for PyN-C and least pronounced for PymN-C and PymC-N. In fact, the delocalization in the HOMO of PyC-N is quite similar to that in the HOMOs of PymN-C and PymC-N.

4. Conclusions

This study demonstrates that amides are not benign linking groups and manifest additional complexity in the interaction of their electronic structures with π-conjugated chromophores. Along with their enormous electric dipoles and ability to form ordered hydrogen-bonded networks, the judicious inclusion and orientation of amide substituents provides a powerful tool for molecular, supramolecular, and materials designs. Elucidation of the origins of the observed effects in the present set of duly chosen pyrene conjugates suggests that the present findings can be safely extrapolated to other amide-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon derivatives, as well as to other π-conjugated chromophores in general.

5. Experimental Section

5.1. Synthetic Procedures

All reagents and solvents were purchased from TCI America, Sigma-Aldrich or Alfa Aesar and used as received. The reaction progress was monitored by means of thin-layer chromatography, which was performed with aluminum foil plates, covered with silica gel 60 F254 (Merck). Product purification was done by the means of column chromatography on Kieselgel 60 (Merck). All reported 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra were recorded on 300 or 400 MHz spectrometers. Chemical shifts (δ ppm) were determined using the solvent peaks as internal references. High-resolution mass spectra (HRMS) were obtained via electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

5.1.1. N-(Heptan-4-yl)-2-(pyren-1-yl)acetamide (PymC-N)

1-Pyreneacetic acid (200 mg, 0.77 mmol), chloro-N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylformamidinium hexafluorophosphate (TCFH, 384 mg, 1.15 mmol), and 4-dimethylamino pyridine (10 mg, 0.082 mmol) were placed in a 50 mL round bottom flask equipped with a magnetic stir bar. While purging with argon, 5 mL of dry DCM was added and the reaction vessel was immersed in a dry ice/acetone bath. 4-Heptylamine (92 μL, 0.615 mmol) was slowly added, followed by the slow addition of 4-methylmorpholine (0.5 mL, 4.5 mmol). The reaction mixture was allowed to warm up to room temperature and was stirred overnight. The solution was diluted with 25 mL of DCM and washed with water (3 × 100 mL). The organic layer was collected, dried over Na2SO4, and concentrated in vacuo. Purification using flash chromatography (stationary phase: silica gel: eluent gradient: from 100% hexanes to 100% ethyl acetate) afforded 118 mg (0.330 mmol, 43% yield) of PymC-N as a yellow powder; 55 mg (0.15 mmol) of the sample was recrystallized from ethanol to afford 37 mg (0.10 mmol, 67% recrystallization yield and 29% overall yield) of PymC-N. 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ/ppm: 8.07 (8H, m), 7.86 (1H, d, J = 7.6 Hz), 4.91 (1H, d, J = 8.8 Hz), 4.26 (2H, s), 3.91 (1H, td, J1 = 8.3, J2 = 4.2 Hz), 1.2 (2H, m), 1.02 (6H, m), 0.72 (6H, t, J = 7.1 Hz). 13C NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ/ppm: 170.58, 131.41, 131.15, 130.98, 129.70, 128.79, 128.65, 128.35, 127.71, 127.47, 126.36, 125.62, 125.55, 125.25, 124.77, 123.19, 49.00, 42.43, 37.21, 19.03, 14.01. HRMS (m/z): [M + H]+ calculated for C25H28NO+, 358.2171; found 358.2174.

5.1.2. 2-Propyl-N-(pyren-1-ylmethyl)pentanamide (PymN-C)

1-Pyrenemethylamine hydrochloride (200 mg, 0.75 mmol) was placed in a 50 mL round bottom flask equipped with a magnetic stir bar. While purging with argon, 5 mL of dry DCM was added and the reaction vessel was immersed in a dry ice/acetone bath. 2-Propylpentanoyl chloride (193 μL, 1.125 mmol) was slowly added, followed by the slow addition of 4-methylmorpholine (0.6 mL, 5.45 mmol). The reaction mixture was allowed to warm up to room temperature and was stirred overnight. The solution was diluted with 25 mL of DCM and washed with water (3 × 100 mL). The organic layer was collected, dried over Na2SO4, and concentrated in vacuo. The crude solid was dissolved in 5 mL of DCM, and the clear solution was slowly diluted with 25 mL of hexane. The precipitate formed was collected and dried to produce 213 mg (0.6 mmol, 80%) of PymN-C; 45 mg (0.13 mmol) of the sample was recrystallized from ethanol to afford 25 mg (0.07 mmol, 57% recrystallization yield and 46% overall yield) of PymN-C. 1H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3) δ/ppm: 8.15 (3H, m), 8.08 (1H, s), 8.05 (1H, d, J = 2.3 Hz), 7.97 (3H, m), 7.88 (1H, d, J = 7.9 Hz), 5.83 (1H, s), 5.07 (2H, d, J = 5.3 Hz), 2.00 (1H, dt, J1 = 9.2 Hz, J2 = 4.7 Hz), 1.65 (2H, m), 1.28 (6H, m), 0.85 (6H, m). 13C NMR (300 MHz, CDCl3) δ/ppm: 176.21, 131.84, 131.78, 131.34, 129.59, 128.60, 128.09, 127.89, 126.65, 125.92, 125.56, 125.26, 123.61, 48.37, 42.47, 35.89, 21.50, 14.76. HRMS (m/z): [M + H]+ calculated for C25H28NO+, 358.2171; found 358.2187.

5.1.3. N-(Heptan-4-yl)pyrene-1-carboxamide (PyC-N)

1-Pyrenecarboxylic acid (205 mg, 0.83 mmol), chloro-N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylformamidinium hexafluorophosphate (TCFH, 404 mg, 1.22 mmol), and 4-dimethylamino pyridine (10 mg, 0.082 mmol) were placed in a 50 mL round bottom flask equipped with a magnetic stir bar. While purging with argon, 5 mL of dry DCM was added and the reaction vessel was immersed in a dry ice/acetone bath. 4-Heptylamine (101 μL, 0.675 mmol) was slowly added, followed by the slow addition of 4-methylmorpholine (0.5 mL, 4.5 mmol). The reaction mixture was allowed to warm up to room temperature and stirred overnight. The solution was diluted with 25 mL of DCM and washed with water (3 × 100 mL). The organic layer was collected, dried over Na2SO4, and concentrated in vacuo. Purification using flash chromatography (stationary phase: silica gel; eluent gradient: from 100% hexanes to 100% ethyl acetate) afforded 100 mg (0.29 mmol, 36% column yield) of PyC-N as a white powder; 49 mg (0.14 mmol) of the sample were recrystallized from ethanol to afford 38 mg (0.11 mmol, 78% recrystallization yield and 28% overall yield) of PyC-N. 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ/ppm: 8.51 (1H, d, J = 9.2 Hz), 8.18 (2H, d, J = 7.6 Hz), 8.08 (3H, m), 8 (3H, m), 5.84 (1H, d, J = 9.2 Hz), 4.34 (1H, m), 1.56 (9H, m), 1.01 (6H, m). 13C NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ/ppm: 169.84, 132.49, 131.12, 131.39, 130.94, 128.79, 128.67, 128.62, 127.30, 126.48, 125.90, 125.83, 124.94, 124.66, 124.62, 124.46, 124.43, 49.85, 37.93, 19.58, 14.37. HRMS (m/z): [M + H]+ calculated for C24H26NO+, 344.2014; found 344.2001.

5.1.4. 2-Propyl-N-(pyren-1-yl)pentanamide (PyN-C)

1-Aminopyrene (104 mg, 0.48 mmol) was placed in a 50 mL round bottom flask equipped with a magnetic stir bar. While purging with argon, dry DCM (5 mL) was added and the reaction vessel was immersed in a dry ice/acetone bath. 2-Propylpentanoyl chloride (118 μL, 0.69 mmol) was slowly added, followed by the slow addition of pyridine (116 μL, 1.4 mmol). The reaction mixture was allowed to warm up to room temperature and was stirred overnight. The solution was diluted with 25 mL of DCM and washed with water (3 × 100 mL). The organic layer was collected, dried over Na2SO4, and concentrated in vacuo. Purification using flash chromatography (stationary phase: silica gel; eluent gradient: from 100% hexanes to 100% ethyl acetate) afforded 115 mg (0.336 mmol, 70% column yield) of PyN-C as a white powder; 55 mg (0.16 mmol) of the column-purified sample was recrystallized from ethanol to afford 49 mg (0.14 mmol, 88% recrystallization yield and 62% overall yield) of PyN-C. 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ/ppm: 8.36 (1H, d, J = 7.8 Hz), 8.1 (4H, m), 7.97 (1H, m), 7.79 (1H, s), 2.47 (1H, m), 1.83 (2H, m), 1.54 (8H, m), 1.01 (6H, m). 13C NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ/ppm: 175.33, 131.52, 130.97, 130.47, 129.28, 128.16, 127.54, 127.00, 126.31, 125.67, 125.34, 125.20, 124.94, 123.79, 122.84, 120.29, 48.98, 35.83, 21.32, 14.48. HRMS (m/z): [M + H]+ calculated for C24H26NO+, 344.2014; found 344.2140.

5.2. Optical Spectroscopy

Steady-state absorption spectra are recorded in the transmission mode using a JASCO V-670 spectrophotometer (Tokyo, Japan). The steady-state emission spectra and the time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) fluorescence decays are measured using a FluoroLog-3 spectrofluorometer (Horiba Jobin Yvon, Edison, NJ), equipped with a pulsed diode laser (λ = 278 nm, 0.9 ns pulse width), as previously reported.86−88

The wavelengths of the maxima of the absorption and emission spectra were obtained from fitting the spectral peaks with Gaussian functions. For estimating zero-to-zero energy, Inline graphic, of a conjugate, we plot its absorption and fluorescence spectra on the same graph where the fluorescence maximum is adjusted to be equal to the maximum of the band at the red edge of the absorption spectrum. Inline graphic is estimated from the wavelength at which the thus normalized spectra cross (Table 1a). The fluorescence quantum yields, φf (Table 1), were determined by comparing the integrated emission intensities of the samples with those of the reference, an ethanol solution of Coumarin 151 (φf0 = 0.49)89−93

5.2. 1

where F(λ) is the fluorescence intensity at wavelength λ, A(λex) is the absorbance at the excitation wavelength, n is the refractive index of the medium, and the subscript “0” indicates the quantities for the reference solution.

5.3. Electrochemistry

Cyclic voltammetry was conducted using a Reference 600TM potentiostat/galvanostat/ZRA (Gamry Instruments, PA), connected to a three-electrode cell, as previously described.82,83 Glassy carbon electrode and platinum wire were used for the working and counter electrodes, respectively. A saturated calomel electrode (Gamry Instruments) was used for a reference electrode. To prevent contamination, the reference electrode was brought in contact with the sample solution via a salt bridge. When not in use, the reference electrode is stored submersed in saturated potassium chloride solution.

Anhydrous aprotic solvents with different polarity, dichloromethane (DCM) and acetonitrile (MeCN), were employed with different concentrations of tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate ((n-C4H9)4NPF6) as the supporting electrolyte. Prior to recording each voltammogram, the sample was extensively purged with argon while maintaining its volume constant by adding more anhydrous solvent. For each solvent, a set of voltammograms was recorded from 25 to 200 mM, increasing the electrolyte concentration in increments of 25 mM. The half-wave potentials, E(1/2), were determined from the midpoints between the cathodic and anodic peak potentials for reversible or quasireversible voltammograms and from the inflection points of the waves for irreversible oxidation and reduction. The anodic and cathodic peak potentials, Ea and Ec, respectively, were determined from the zeros of the first derivatives of the voltammograms, i.e., as the potentials at which ∂I/∂E = 0 when ∂E/∂t = constant. The inflection points were determined from the zeros of the second derivatives of the voltammograms, ∂2I/∂E2 = 0 at ∂E/∂t = constant.81,94 The second derivatives of the reversible and quasireversible voltammograms indicated that the inflection-point potentials were quite close to the midpoints between Ea and Ec, ensuring the reliability for the estimates of E(1/2) from the inflection points of the irreversible voltammograms. The voltammograms were recorded at a scan rate of 100 mV s–1. To correct for potential drifts in the reference electrode (SCE, connected to the cell via a salt bridge), ferrocene was used as a standard (E(1/2) = 0.45 ± 0.01 V vs SCE for MeCN, 100 mM NBu4BF4).82 Voltammograms of the standard were recorded before and after each set of measurements. To correct for the dependence of E(1/2) on the electrolyte concentration, the potentials in neat electrolyte-free solvent were estimated from extrapolations to zero supporting electrolyte concentration (Figure 2b).82,83

5.4. Computational Analysis

The pyrene derivatives (Chart 1) were modeled using density functional theory (DFT). For simplicity, the aliphatic chains were truncated to two carbons, i.e., to ethyl groups (Figure 3). The DFT calculations were performed at the at the B3LYP/6-311G(3df,3dp) level of theory for the formamide and at the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level of theory for the pyrene derivatives95−97 for the gas phase using Gaussian 09.98 Although the calculations for formamide are sensitive to the selection of basis set, the results for the pyrene derivatives were practically the same for the different levels of theory tested (see Supporting Information). On the basis of Koopman’s theorem, we estimate IE and EA from the energies of the radical-ion doublet states and the ground states. Spin-unrestricted calculations are used for the calculations of the radical-cation and radical-anion doublet states. Solvent effects were estimated by comparing the results from gas-phase calculations to those in an integral equation formalism polarizable continuum model (PCM).99

Acknowledgments

We thank the U.S. National Science Foundation (grants CHE 1465284 and CHE 1800602) for funding this work. V.I.V. extends his gratitude to the Fulbright Commission Brazil for supporting his collaboration with the University of São Paulo. F.H.Q. thanks the CNPq (Universal grant 408181/2016-3), INCT-Catálise (CNPq 465454/2014-3), and NAP-PhotoTech for support and the CNPq for a research productivity fellowship. We also extend our gratitude to Dr. Maksim Y. Livshits and Prof. Elena Jakubikova for their assistance with the DFT calculations.

Supporting Information Available

The Supporting Information is available free of charge on the ACS Publications website at DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.8b01581.

  • 1H and 13C NMR spectra of the synthesized pyrene–amide derivatives, along with their ionization energies and the electron affinities calculated at different levels of theory (PDF)

Author Present Address

# PrimusLabs, Santa Maria, California 93455, United States (D.B.).

Author Present Address

∇ Swampscott High School, 200 Essex Street, Swampscott, Massachusetts 01907, United States (B.G.).

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Supplementary Material

ao8b01581_si_001.pdf (1.3MB, pdf)

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