8-Hydroxyquinoline-substituted boron-dipyrromethene compounds: synthesis, structure, and OFF-ON-OFF type of pH-sensing properties.

A series of four novel 8-hydroxyquinoline-substituted boron-dipyrromethene derivatives, namely 4,4-difluoro-8-(5-(8-hydroxyquinoline))-3,5-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (1), 4,4-difluoro-8-(5-(8-hydroxyquinoline))-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (2), 4,4-difluoro-8-(5-azastyryl-(8-hydroxyquinoline))-3,5-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (3), and 4,4-difluoro-8-(5-azastyryl-(8-hydroxyquinoline))-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (4), have been synthesized and characterized by a series of spectroscopic methods. The molecular structures of 1 and 2 have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. The two methyl substituents attached at C-1 and C-7 positions of boron-dipyrromethene (Bodipy) in compound 2 was revealed to prevent the free rotation of the 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ) moiety, resulting in an almost vertical 8-HQ-Bodipy configuration of this compound. This is obviously different from those for 1 with the dihedral angle between 8-hydroxyquinoline and Bodipy moieties of 65.44 and 66.79° due to the lack of methyl substituents in the latter compound. The intense fluorescence from the Bodipy subunit of these compounds was revealed to gradually get diminished along with either decreasing or increasing the pH value under acidic and basic conditions, respectively, in particular for 1, 2, and 4 because of the photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer from excited Bodipy moiety to 8-HQ unit and just an opposite process. This renders these compounds the first OFF-ON-OFF type of pH-dependent fluorescent sensors. Nevertheless, both the intrinsic fluorescence of these compounds and their fluorescent quenching properties along with the change in the pH value have been found to depend on the steric configuration as well as the linking group between 8-hydroxyquinoline and Bodipy moieties, revealing the effect of molecular structure on their fluorescence properties.