The helical handedness in achiral self-assemblies is mostly complex due to spontaneous symmetry breaking or kinetically controlled random assembly formation. Here an attempt has been made to address this issue through chiral anion exchange. A new class of cationic achiral C3-symmetric gelator devoid of any conventional gelation assisting functional units is found to form both right- and left-handed helical structures. A chiral counteranion exchange-assisted approach is successfully introduced to control the chirality sign and thereby to obtain preferred homochiral assemblies. Formation of anion-assisted chiral assembly was confirmed by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, microscopic images, and crystal structure. The X-ray crystal structure reveals the construction of helical assemblies with opposite handedness for (+)- and (-)-chiral anion reformed gelators. The appropriate counteranion driven ion-pair-assisted hydrogen-bonding interactions are found responsible for the helical bias control in this C3-symmetric gelator.

The proton-coupled electron-transfer (PCET) reaction is investigated for a newly synthesized imidazole-anthraquinone biomimetic model with a photoactive Ru -polypyridyl moiety that is covalently coupled to the imidazole fragment. Intramolecular H-bonding interactions between imidazole and anthraquinone moieties favor the PCET process; this can be correlated to an appreciable positive shift in the one-electron reduction potential of the coordinated anthraquinone moiety functionalized with the imidazole fragment. This can also be attributed to the low luminescence quantum yield of the Ru -polypyridyl complex used. The dynamics of the intramolecular electron-transfer (ET) and PCET processes are studied by using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The steady-state spectroscopic studies and the results of the time-resolved absorption studies confirm that H-bonded water molecules play a major role in both ET and PCET dynamics as a proton relay in the excited state. The electron-transfer process is followed by a change in the H-bonding equilibrium between AQ and imidazole in acetonitrile solvent, and protonation of AQ by water leads to PCET in the presence of water. A slower forward and backward electron-transfer rate is observed in the presence of D O compared with that in H O. These results provide further experimental support for a detailed understanding of the PCET process.

Hydrogen bonding interaction plays an essential role in the early phases of molecular recognition and colorimetric sensing of various anions in aprotic media. In this work, the host-guest interaction between fac-[Re(CO)3Cl(L)] with L = 4-([2,2'-bipyridin]-4-yl)phenol and fluoride ions is investigated for the hydrogen bond dynamics and the changing local coordination environment. The stoichiometric studies using (1)H NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopies have shown that proton transfer in the H-bonded phenol-fluoride complex activates the dissociation of the CO ligand in the Re(I) center. The phenol-to-phenolate conversion during formation of HF2(-) ion induces nucleophilic lability of the CO ligand which is probed by intraligand charge transfer (ILCT) and ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) transitions in transient absorption spectroscopy. After photoexcitation, phenol-phenoxide conversion rapidly equilibrates in 280 fs time scale and the ensuing excited state [Re(II)(bpy•(-)-phenolate¯) (CO)3Cl]* undergoes CO dissociation in the ultrafast time scale of ∼3 ps. A concerted mechanism of hydrogen cleavage and coordination change is established in anion sensing studies of the rhenium complex.

The synergestic effect of oxygen, light, and photosensitizer has found application in photodyanmic therapy (PDT).

BODIPY derivative, SF-1, exclusively shows a fluorescence ON response to HOCl and images endogenously generated HOCl in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Widefield and super resolution structured illumination microscopy images confirm localization in the Golgi complex and lysosomes, and hence specifically detects HOCl generated in these organelles. SF-1 is compatible with 3D-SIM imaging of individual cells.