Symmetry breaking and the turn-on fluorescence of small, highly strained carbon nanohoops.

ABSTRACT: [n]Cycloparaphenylenes, or "carbon nanohoops," are unique conjugated macrocycles with radially oriented π-systems similar to those in carbon nanotubes. The centrosymmetric nature and conformational rigidity of these molecules lead to unusual size-dependent photophysical characteristics. To investigate these effects further and expand the family of possible structures, a new class of related carbon nanohoops with broken symmetry is disclosed. In these structures, referred to as meta[n]cycloparaphenylenes, a single carbon-carbon bond is shifted by one position in order to break the centrosymmetric nature of the parent [n]cycloparaphenylenes. Advantageously, the symmetry breaking leads to bright emission in the smaller nanohoops, which are typically non-fluorescent

SUBMITTER: Lovell TC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6446961 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature