Crystal structure, tautomerism and photostability of 2-(2-pyridyl)-phenalene-1,3-dione

Abstract

Tautomerism of cyclic β-diketones has been of scientific interest for decades due to the practical applications it can render, from sensors to photostable materials. In this work the tautomerism of 2-(2-pyridyl)-phenalene-1,3-dione (PPD) was studied in solid state, in solution, and in gas phase through a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of PPD revealed its existence in diketo form in the solid state with protonated pyridyl nitrogen that is stabilized by the intramolecular hydrogen bond of N-H···O type. A very large Stokes shift was observed in the emission spectra in DMSO (ca. 177 nm) and in ethanol (ca. 160 nm), indicating on possible excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process. DFT calculations in ground state (gas phase and water medium) and in the excited singlet state (B3LYP-6311++G(d,p)) agree very well with the experimental data and suggest reverse order of the possible OH and NH tautomers in the ground and the excited singlet state, namely the diketo NH tautomer is the most stable one in the ground state whereas in the excited singlet state the enol OH form is more stable. The photostability of PPD was estimated by irradiation experiments that were performed in comparison with 2-acetylindan-1,3-dione (2AID), which is a compound with proven high photostability in ethanol and fast ESIPT. The data showed that unlike 2AID, the 2-(2-pyridyl)-phenalene-1,3-dione exhibits lower photostability in ethanol. These results could suggest that either the ESIPT process is not the only transformation that takes place in the excited state of PPD, or it is not as fast as the one of 2AID.