Nitro-substituted dipyrrolyldiketone bf2 complexes as electronic-state-adjustable anion-responsive π-electronic systems

Abstract

Nitro-substituted π-electronic molecules are fascinating because of their unique electronic and optical properties and the ease of their transformation into various functional derivatives. Herein, nitro-introduced dipyrrolyldiketone BF2 complexes as anion-responsive π-electronic molecules were synthesized, and their electronic properties and anion-binding abilities were investigated by spectroscopic analyses and theoretical studies. The obtained nitro-substituted derivatives showed solvent-dependent UV/vis spectral changes and high anion-binding affinities due to the easily pyrrole-inverted conformations and polarized pyrrole NH sites upon the introduction of electron-withdrawing moieties.