Fluorescence of 5-Arylvinyl-5′-Methyl-2,2′-Bipyridyl Ligands and Their Zinc Complexes

The photophysical properties of 5-arylvinyl-5'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridyls (AVMBs, 1-9, 11) and their zinc complexes were studied. Similar 2,2'-bipyridyl-based ligands have been applied as optical sensors for metal ions and sensitizers for solar energy conversion. The goal of this investigation is to reveal the factors that determine the emission band shift and fluorescence quantum yield change of the title ligand system upon zinc binding. The outcome of this study will not only advance the fundamental understanding of the coordination-driven photophysical processes embodied in the AVMB platform but facilitate the rational design of fluorescent probes for metal ions, particularly zinc. The AVMB ligands were synthesized using the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction. AVMBs containing electron-donating aryl groups show absorption and emission in the visible region, which can be assigned to charge-transfer transitions as supported by solvent-dependency and computational studies. The binding between AVMB ligands and zinc ion in acetonitrile was studied using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). A multicomponent equilibrium model is suggested that explains the multiple transitions evidenced in fluorescence titration isotherms. Coordination to zinc ion stabilizes the charge-transfer excited state of an AVMB ligand with an electron-donating aryl substituent, consequently results in bathochromic shifts in both absorption and emission. However, unlike the emission band shift, the fluorescence quantum yield change upon zinc complex formation does not have an intuitive correlation with the electronic nature of the aryl group. Lifetime measurements using the Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting method enabled the determination of nonradiative and radiative decay rate constants. Both rates of an AVMB ligand decrease upon zinc binding. The collective effect gives rise to the change in fluorescence quantum yield with the apparent lack of correlation with the electronic property of the aryl group.