RSC Mechanochemistry has published its first articles. To celebrate this, we asked the authors to discuss their work in some more detail.
In this edition, we hear from Takumi Yamamoto about their study titled Diverse metastable diarylacetonitrile radicals generated by polymer mechanochemistry.
“In this study, we have carried out a comprehensive investigation of metastable diarylacetonitrile (DAAN) radicals with different substituents generated by polymeric mechanochemical reactions. Normally, metastable fluorescent radicals are difficult to measure fluorescence in solution systems due to dimerisation reactions between radicals. However, by using mechanoradicals generated in solid polymers to generate DAAN radicals, the polymers suppressed DAAN motility, allowing fluorescence spectra to be measured in the solid state.”
“The most difficult part of this research was predicting the fluorescence wavelength of DAAN radicals and their reactivity with mechanoradicals by density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations, taking into account the possible molecular skeletons that could be synthesised. In particular, the fluorescence wavelengths required time-dependent DFT calculations, which took a long time to converge.”
“The biggest surprise of this study was the revelation that it is possible to modulate the fluorescence wavelength of radicals by more than 100 nm just by changing the functional group of the aromatic ring. We believe that this study demonstrates the importance of the functional group in fluorescent radicals.”
“Based on the results of this study, we expect that further research on fluorescent radicals will be developed and applied not only in mechanochemistry, but also in a wide range of fields such as chemosensors, bioimaging and organic light-emitting diodes.”
Want to know more about their work? Read the full paper here!
Diverse metastable diarylacetonitrile radicals generated by polymer mechanochemistry
Takumi Yamamoto, Daisuke Aoki, Koichiro Mikami, Hideyuki Otsuka
RSC Mechanochem. 2024, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/D3MR00031A
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RSC Mechanochemistry offers you an inclusive and dedicated home for the ideas, scientific language and approaches that cut across the many disciplines mechanochemistry touches. Here we are seeking to build knowledge, as well as foster innovation and discovery at this forefront of chemistry. Whether you are seeking to understand the fundamentals of mechanochemistry, or you are excited by its applications and potential, this journal is for you.
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