The curvature of a molecule becomes an integral part of the molecular design, enabling careful control and engineering with desired chemical and surface properties. Both Coronene and Corannulene are polyatomic, aromatic hydrocarbons and are 1/3 of the size of a well-known buckminsterfullerene (C60) molecule. The extended π-conjugation of Coronene and Corannulene allows UV-visible light absorption and hence paves the way to have triplet reactivity yielding reactive oxygen species. Under the optimum conditions, these molecules might have advantages over the clinically applied photosensitizers for mediating photodynamic therapy. The curved structure of the corannulene molecule might have an added advantage over the flat coronene molecule in approaching biological systems. Hence, we compared and contrasted the photoreactivity of Corannulene and Corenene in solution and in the solid-state, using transient absorption spectroscopy. The differences in intermolecular interactions between coronene and corannulene will be discussed using ‘crystal explorer’ molecular energy calculations for the obtained X-ray crystallographic molecular architectures. The real-time microscopic imaging of the crystals of each molecule would further provide clear evidence for the differences in bonding strength upon light irradiation.

Effect of molecular curvature on molecular photodynamics: Wannier

ACS Spring 2022

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