Synthesis, Crystal Structure, Spectroscopic Properties, and DFT Studies of 7,9-Dibromobenzo[h]quinolin-10-ol

Abstract

7,9-Dibromobenzo[h]quinolin-10-ol (1), a benzo[h]quinolin-10-ol derivative, was synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystal belongs to monoclinic space group P21/n, with a = 3.9573(4), b = 18.0416(18), c = 15.8210(16) Å, α = 90°, β = 96.139(3)°, and γ = 90°. Compound 1 exhibits an intramolecular six-membered-ring hydrogen bond, from which excited-state intramolecular proton transfer takes place, resulting in a proton-transfer tautomer emission of 625 nm in cyclohexane. The crystal structure is stabilized by intermolecular π–π interactions, which links a pair of molecules into a cyclic centrosymmetric dimer. Furthermore, the geometric structures, frontier molecular orbitals, and potential energy curves (PECs) for 1 in the ground and the first singlet excited state were fully rationalized by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations.

Keywords

• 7,9-dibromobenzo[h]quinolin-10-ol
• ESIPT
• X-ray diffraction
• DFT calculations