Do Phenyl Substituents Affect the Properties of Azobenzocrown Derivatives?

Abstract

New products of photo- and thermal rearrangements of 19-membered azoxybenzocrown with phenyl substituents in benzene rings in the para positions to oligooxyethylene fragments are characterized. The yields of photochemical transformations depend on the solvent. Para-hydroxyazocrown is formed with yields over 50% in propan-2-ol. Ortho-hydroxyazobenzocrown is obtained with yields up to 70% in toluene/acetic acid mixture. Macrocyclic Ph-20-ester is obtained in yield 90% under thermochemical rearrangement conditions. Structure of new hydroxyazobenzocrowns and also atypical product of rearrangements, 20-membered ester, was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Azophenol⇄quinone-hydrazone tautomeric equilibrium of new hydroxyazobenzocrowns and the influence of metal cations on tautomeric equilibrium was investigated using 1H NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopy in acetonitrile. The highest value of stability constant (logK 7.25) was obtained for strontium complex of p-hydroxyazobenzocrown. For the first time p-hydroxyazobenzocrown was used as a chromoionophore in the receptor layer of an optical sensor. Comparative analysis with data obtained previously for series 19-membered analogs have shown the influence of the presence of substituents in benzene rings for the course and products distribution of photo- and thermal rearrangement. The effect of substituents was also discussed against the tautomeric equilibrium and metal cation complexation properties.