Cruciforms' polarized emission confirms disjoint molecular orbitals and excited states.

Steady-state and time-resolved polarized spectroscopy studies reveal that electronic excitation to the third excited state of 1,4-distyryl-2,5-bis(arylethynyl)benzene cruciforms results in fluorescence emission that is shifted an angle of ca. 60°. This result is consistent with quantum chemical calculations of the lowest electronic excited states and their transition dipole moments.

General approach to low-molecular-weight metallogelators via the coordination-induced gelation of an L-glutamate-based lipid.

A twin-tailed glutamate-based lipid with a pyridine headgroup was prepared in good yield using standard amide coupling and protection/deprotection chemistry. The resulting Lewis basic lipid gels a wide array of hydrocarbon solvents at a critical gelation concentration (C(g)) of 0.3 wt %.

Discrimination of organic acids using a three molecule array based upon cruciform fluorophores.

A small array was obtained from three reactive cruciform fluorophores in six different solvents. The array discerned 10 different aromatic carboxylic acids by protonation-induced fluorescence shifts, which were recorded by digital photography. This simple array can discern acids that have closely spaced pK(a) values.

Hydroxydialkylamino cruciforms: amphoteric materials with unique photophysical properties.

Two amphoteric cruciforms 6 and 7 (XF; 4,4'-[(1E,1'E)-(2,5-bis{[4-(dibutylamino)phenyl]ethynyl}-1,4-phenylene)bis(ethene-2,1-diyl)]diphenol, 4,4'-[{2,5-bis[(E)-4-(dibutylamino)styryl]-1,4-phenylene}bis(ethyne-2,1-diyl)]diphenol) were prepared by a Horner reaction followed by a Sonogashira coupling and subsequent deprotection. The XFs display significant changes in absorption and emission when exposed to trifluoroacetic acid, tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, and metal triflates. The substitution pattern of 6 and 7 leads to spatial separation of the frontier molecular orbitals, which allows the HOMO or LUMO of the XF to be addressed independently by acidic or basic agents.

Cross-conjugated cruciform fluorophores.

In optoelectronic devices, chromophores can be designed at the molecular level to create materials with properties desired for advanced applications. Organic fluorophores in particular can be constructed with macroscopic properties that arise from two distinct contributions: (i) the collective impact of the molecular backbone and substituents and (ii) the connectivity within the molecule (that is, the spatial molecular architecture). Accordingly, the exploration of novel conjugated architectures is a productive area of current research.