posted on 2005-03-18, 00:00authored byXuefeng Mei, Christian Wolf
The rigid, highly congested structure of 1,8-diacridylnaphthalenes has been studied in solution
and in the solid state. The unique geometry of these compounds forces the acridyl rings to undergo
face-to-face interactions while rendering T-shaped orientations and face-to-edge interactions
impossible. Crystallographic analysis shows that splaying between the heteroaryl rings decreases
while twisting between the cofacial rings increases as the acridyl nitrogens of the 1,8-diacridylnaphthalene framework are subsequently oxidized. The peri-acridyl rings are slightly splayed but
remain perfectly planar in all cases. The significant decrease in splaying indicates enhanced π−π-attraction between the electron-rich acridyl N-oxide moieties, which is in agreement with recently
reported symmetry-adapted perturbation theory calculations. The π-stacking and the molecular
geometry between the acridyl rings observed in the solid state have been confirmed through in-solution studies showing characteristic proton NMR upfield shifts and optical properties indicative
of static intramolecular arene−arene interactions. Acridyl protons located directly above the adjacent
aryl moiety as a consequence of twisting between the heteroaryl rings were identified by COSY
NMR measurements and found to intrude into the π-cloud and diamagnetic ring current of the
neighboring acridine. Different shapes and strong red shifts of the fluorescence emission maxima
of the diacridylnaphthalenes in comparison to parental acridyl monomers have been attributed to
static excimer emission.