Two fluorophores
bound with a short photoreactive bridge are fascinating
structures and remained unexplored. To investigate the synthesis and
photolysis of such dyes, we linked two rhodamine dyes via a diazoketone
bridge (−COCN
2
−) attached to position 5′
or 6′ of the pendant phenyl rings. For that, the mixture of
5′- or 6′-bromo derivatives of the parent dye was prepared,
transformed into 1,2-diarylacetylenes, hydrated to 1,2-diarylethanones,
and converted to diazoketones Ar
1
COCN
2
Ar
2
. The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation
gave four individual regioisomers of Ar
1
COCN
2
Ar
2
. Photolysis of the model compound—C
6
H
5
COCN
2
C
6
H
5
—in
aqueous acetonitrile at pH 7.3 and under irradiation with 365 nm light
provided diphenylacetic acid amide (Wolff rearrangement). However,
under the same conditions, Ar
1
COCN
2
Ar
2
gave mainly α-diketones Ar
1
COCOAr
2
.
The migration ability of the very bulky dye residues was low, and
the Wolff rearrangement did not occur. We observed only moderate fluorescence
increase, which may be explained by the insufficient quenching ability
of diazoketone bridge (−COCN
2
−) and its transformation
into another (weaker) quencher, 1,2-diarylethane-1,2-dione.