Achieving Complexity at the Bottom. 2,6-Bis(arylidene)​cyclohexanones and Anthocyanins: The Same General Multistate of Species

As in supramolecular chemistry, complexity could also be achieved through a bottom-up approach. Anthocyanins and related compounds such as the compound (<i>E</i>)-6-(dimethylamino)-4-(4-(dimethylamino)-2-hydroxybenzylidene)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroxanthylium chloride (<b>1</b>), here reported, exhibit this type of complexity. The thermodynamics and kinetics of the complex multistate of species of compound <b>1</b> were studied by conventional and stopped-flow UV–visible spectrophotometry as well as by NMR. The system follows the same multistate of species of anthocyanins, except for the presence at moderately basic pH values of a species possessing a spiro carbon. The introduction of two dimethylamino substituents in positions 4′ and 7, modulates deeply the thermodynamic and kinetics of the system. A beautiful pH-dependent palette of colors is obtained, including a blue flavylium cation at unusually high pH values. The protonation of the dimethylamino substituents is the key aspect for explaining the details of the spiro opening kinetics. The system was fully characterized by representing the mole fraction distribution and the relative energy level diagram of all multistate species as a function of pH.