化学学报 ›› 2018, Vol. 76 ›› Issue (3): 196-201.DOI: 10.6023/A17110509 上一篇    下一篇

研究论文

含BN旋转轴的光驱动分子马达的理论设计和机理研究

郭妮, 王斌, 刘峰毅   

  1. 陕西师范大学化学化工学院 陕西省大分子科学重点实验室 西安 710119
  • 投稿日期:2017-11-27 发布日期:2018-01-22
  • 通讯作者: 刘峰毅 E-mail:fengyiliu@snnu.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:

    项目受国家自然科学基金(Nos.21473107,21636006)和中央高校基本科研业务费(No.GK201502002)专项资金资助.

Theoretical Design and Mechanistic Study on a Light-Driven Molecular Rotary Motor with B=N Axis

Guo Ni, Wang Bin, Liu Fengyi   

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Key Laboratory for Macromolecular Science of Shaanxi Province, Xi'an 710119, China
  • Received:2017-11-27 Published:2018-01-22
  • Contact: 10.6023/A17110509 E-mail:fengyiliu@snnu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21473107, 21636006) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. GK201502002).

依据B=N键与C=C键的电子结构相似性,以Feringa型二苯乙烯型光驱动分子马达(CC-stilbene)为母体,设计了含极性旋转轴的模型马达BN-stilbene.CASPT2//CASSCF计算结果表明,优化所得的BN-stilbene分子的基态存在四个与CC-stilbene马达结构相似、相对能量一致的螺旋异构体;B=N极性共价双键对BN-stilbene的基态和激发态电子结构有显著影响.对BN-stilbene模型马达的工作机理研究表明,极性旋转轴的引入使得BN-stilbene中S1/S0-CI与激发态中间体构型更加相似且能量更低,同时可增加旋转的驱动力,起到改进分子马达光异构化过程的单向性的目的.

关键词: 光异构化, 分子马达, 圆锥交叉, 无辐射跃迁, 极性旋转轴

Light-driven molecular motors have attracted overwhelming attention due to their potential applications in a wide range of fields. Despite of the great successes obtained in alkene-based light-driven molecular motors and switches, scientists pursuing high-efficient alternatives with superior working mechanisms have never suspended. In this report, a promising model of light-driven rotary motor, namely BN-stilbene motor, constructed by replacing the central C=C axis of a CC-stilbene rotary motor with a polar B=N bond, was rationally designed. Multireference Complete Active Space Self-Consistent Field (CASSCF) method and Time-Dependent Density Functional (TDDFT) theory were applied to study the mechanism of BN-stilbene, along with the Complete Active Space Second-Order Perturbation Theory (CASPT2) energy corrections. Our calculations show that the B=N axis well preserves the conjugation of between the rotor and stator, leading to four ground-state helical conformers (i.e., cis-stable, trans-unstable, trans-stable and cis-unstable), whose geometries and energies are in line with their counterparts in CC-stilbene motor; in addition, BN-stilbene has similar absorption spectra and more slopped excited-state potential energy curves at Franck-Condon region, which can fascinate a spontaneous rotary motion around B=N axis, thus generates directional photo-induced isomerization from cis-stable to trans-unstable (or from trans-stable to cis-unstable). Moreover, the barriers for helical inversions (trans-unstable → trans-stable or cis-unstable → cis-stable) are found to be lower than those of the reversed thermal rotations (i.e., cis-stable → trans-unstable and trans-stable → cis-unstable), which further insures the unidirectionality of rotation. These features sufficiently allow BN-stilbene to serve as a candidate for light-driven molecular rotary motor. Finally and most importantly, as compared with that of CC-stilbene, the photoisomerization mechanism of BN-stilbene motor shows advantages in nonadiabatic transition:Due to the introducing of polar B=N axis, the S1/S0 conical intersections of BN system are both geometrically and energetically closer to the excited-state intermediate, which is thus expected to improve the nonadiabatic transition probabilities and the unidirectionality of the rotation. Therefore, the BN-stilbene motor is expected to perform a unidirectional, repetitive 360° rotation upon sequential applying of photo and thermal inputs. The findings suggest BN-hetero stilbene as a promising type of light-driven rotary motor and may inspire the design and synthesis of novel molecular motors.

Key words: photoisomerization, molecular motor, conical intersection, nonradiative transition, polar axis of rotation