Aryleneethynylene trapezoids were synthesized to study their electronic properties when a transition metal is present. Binding of the transition metal to the two pyridine arms results in the formation of a metal-ligand complex. In the parent molecule, which contains a central benzene ring with two pyridine arms, transition metal binding should not significantly inhibit free rotation of the aromatic core. To introduce steric bulk to the central ring, two addition aryleneethynylene trapezoid molecules were created with alkoxy groups bonded to the central benzene ring in a <i>para</i> configuration. The primary focus of this study was to determine how the presence of transition metal binding would influence the rotation of the alkoxy-functionalized, central benzene ring. To see if these effects were size dependent, one trapezoid had small, dimethoxy side chains added and the other had large, dialkoxy side chains. Electronic property studies were done via UV-vis to compare and contrast the aryleneethynylene trapezoids. In the parent system, there seems to be a modest increase in conjugation upon transition metal binding. The dimethoxy and dialkoxy side groups, on the other hand, seem to negate this electronic effect.

Generation and study of trapezoidal arylene ethynylene complexes

251st National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.