A combined experimental
and theoretical study of the electron donor
4-dimethylaminopyridine (4-DMAP) with the electron acceptor 2, 3-dichloro-5,
6-dicyano-
p
-benzoquinone (DDQ) has been made in acetonitrile
(ACN) and methanol (MeOH) media at room temperature. The stoichiometry
proportion of the charge transfer (CT) complex was determined using
Job’s and photometric titration methods and found to be 1:1.
The association constant (
K
CT
), molar
absorptivity (ε), and spectroscopic physical parameters were
used to know the stability of the CT complex. The CT complex shows
maximum stability in a high-polar solvent (ACN) compared to a less-polar
solvent (MeOH). The prepared complex was characterized by Fourier
transform infrared, NMR, powder X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron
microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The nature of
DNA binding ability of the complex was probed using UV–visible
spectroscopy, and the binding mode of the CT complex is intercalative.
The intrinsic binding constant (
K
b
) value
is 1.8 × 10
6
M
–1
. It reveals a primary
indication for developing a pharmaceutical drug in the future due
to its high binding affinity with the CT complex. The theoretical
study was carried out by density functional theory (DFT), and the
basis set is wB97XD/6-31G(d,p), with gas-phase and PCM analysis, which
supports experimental results. Natural atomic charges, state dipole
moments, electron density difference maps, reactivity parameters,
and FMO surfaces were also evaluated. The MEP maps indicate the electrophilic
nature of DDQ and the nucleophilic nature of 4-DMAP. The electronic spectrum computed using time-dependent
DFT (TD-DFT) via a polarizable continuum salvation approach, PCM/TD-DFT,
along with natural transition orbital analysis is fully correlated
with the experimental outcomes.