Tungsten and molybdenum oxo complexes of tetrakis(phenyldiazenyl)calix[4]arene substituted derivatives: EHMO calculations, spectroscopic characterization, and perturbations of the photophysical properties by neutral guest molecules

Abstract

Bowl-shaped chromophores fabricated with tungsten and molybdenum oxo complexes of calix[4]arenes substituted at the para positions with phenyldiazenyl (R2C6H3N2) derivatives are investigated. The nature of the lowest energy excited states has been addressed theoretically using Extended Hückel Molecular Orbital (EHMO) calculations and experimentally using UV-visible, luminescence, and polarized emission spectroscopy at 77 K. The lowest energy excited states are intraligand (azobenzene fragment) ππ* (S2 and T2) and ππ*states (S1, and T1). The compounds are weakly luminescent in the 600–630 nm range exhibiting emissions arising from the 1(ππ*) states [Formula: see text]. The region located above 900 nm was not investigated. Evidence for guest–host chemistry has been demonstrated by1H-NMR spectroscopy, and the binding constants for two of the compounds with pyridine in toluene as a solvent were obtained by UV–visible spectroscopy. The presence of a guest molecule inside the luminescent metal oxo complex of a calix[4]arene hosts decreases the emission lifetimes.Key words: host–guest, photophysics, calix[4]arene, EHMO, fluorescence