Molecular Motion and Performance Enhancement of BORAZAN Fluorescent Dyes

The preparation of three 2,6-dipyrazolyl-4-X-anilines, H(pz2AnX) (X = p-CF3, Cl, tBu) using CuI-catalyzed amination is described. Subsequent reactions of H(pz2AnX) with triphenylboron proceeds with benzene elimination to give the corresponding Ph2B(pz2AnX) compounds in high yields. The Ph2B(pz2AnX) are more highly emissive in the solid state than the previously reported BORAZAN fluorophores, Ph2B(pzAnX), their monopyrazolyl counterparts. As with the Ph2B(pzAnX), the color of emission in Ph2B(pz2AnX) can be tuned simply by varying the para-aniline substituent where the emission of Ph2B(pz2AnX) is red-shifted relative to the corresponding Ph2B(pzAnX) derivatives. The electronic properties were studied by cyclic voltammetry and electronic absorption/emission spectroscopy as well as by density functional calculations (B3LYP/6-31G*). The di-pyrazolyl derivatives exhibit greater stability toward solvolysis and higher photoluminescent quantum yields (despite the red-shift in emission) compared to their monopyrazolyl counterparts presumably due to kinetic stabilization of the chromophore imparted by the second pyrazolyl ligand. For Ph2B(pz2AnX), evidence for intramolecular motion of the diphenylboryl moiety traversing both pyrazolyl groups was detected by variable temperature 1H NMR spectroscopy. The rate increases with increasing electron-donor abilities of the para-aniline substituent

Abundance of a chlorophyll a precursor and the oxidation product hydroxychlorophyll a during seasonal phytoplankton community progression in the Western English Channel

This study presents the first in-situ measurements of the chlorophyll a oxidation product, hydroxychlorophyll a as well as the chlorophyll a precursor, chlorophyll aP276 conducted over an annual cycle. Chlorophyll a oxidation products, such as hydroxychlorophyll a may be associated with the decline of algal populations and can act as an initial step in the degradation of chlorophyll a into products which can be found in the geochemical record, important for studying past climate change events. Here, hydroxychlorophyll a and chlorophyll aP276 were measured at the long-term monitoring station L4, Western Channel Observatory (UK, www.westernchannelobservatory.org) over an annual cycle (2012). Weekly measurements of phytoplankton species composition and abundance enabled detailed analysis of possible sources of hydroxychlorophyll a. Dinoflagellates, 2 diatom species, the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis spp. and the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi were all associated with hydroxychlorophyll a occurrence. However, during alternate peaks in abundance of the diatoms, no association with hydroxychlorophyll a occurred, indicating that the oxidation of chlorophyll a was dependant not only on species but also on additional factors such as the mode of mortality, growth limiting factor (i.e. nutrient concentration) or phenotypic plasticity. Surface sediment samples contained 10 times more hydroxychlorophyll a (relative to chlorophyll a) than pelagic particulate samples, indicating that more chlorophyll a oxidation occurred during sedimentation or at the sediment-water interface, than in the pelagic environment. In addition, chlorophyll aP276 correlated with chl-a concentration, thus supporting its assignment as a chl-a precursor