A Photocontrolled Molecular Rotor Based on Azobenzene-Strapped Mixed (Phthalocyaninato)(Porphyrinato) Rare Earth Triple-Decker
Wenxin Lu,
Tiantian Mu,
Yuehong Zhang,
Bo Chen,
Huantao Guo,
Luyang Zhao,
Peng Wang,
Yongzhong Bian
Affiliations
Wenxin Lu
College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Tiantian Mu
College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Yuehong Zhang
School of Advanced Manufacturing, Guangdong University of Technology, Jieyang 522000, China
Bo Chen
College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Huantao Guo
College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Luyang Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Peng Wang
College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Yongzhong Bian
Beijing Key Laboratory for Science and Application of Functional Molecular and Crystalline Materials, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Effectively regulating the rotary motions of molecular rotors through external stimuli poses a tremendous challenge. Herein, a new type of molecular rotor based on azobenzene-strapped mixed (phthalocyaninato)(porphyrinato) rare earth triple-decker complex Azo-1 is reported. Electronic absorption and 1H NMR spectra manifested the reversible isomerization of the rotor Azo-1 between the trans configuration and the cis configuration. The rotational behavior of phthalocyanine rotator in two configurations were investigated by VT-1H NMR experiments, and the results indicated that the phthalocyanine rotator possessed a smaller rotational energy barrier in the cis isomer than in the trans isomer, which was also supported by DFT calculations. This result demonstrates that the rotation of phthalocyanine rotator in (phthalocyaninato)(porphyrinato) rare earth triple-decker complex can be successfully modulated by photo-isomerization via altering irradiation.
