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Published on: November 29, 2018
Nor[7]circulenyl Neutral Radical and Its Charged Species: Synthesis, Structures, and Efficient NIR-II Photothermal
Xiaoqi Tian1, Mingzhe Wang1, Xiaonan Ma1
1Institute of Molecular Plus, Department of Chemistry, Tianjin University and Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, 92 Weijin Road, Tianjin, 300072, P.R. China.
None:
[n]Circulenes have attracted considerable research interest; however, open-shell [n]circulene-type structures remain elusive. In this study, we report the synthesis of a highly stable nor[7]circulenyl radical (nor[7]CR) and its isolation in the crystalline phase. nor[7]CR exhibits a distinct four-stage amphoteric redox behavior, as revealed by cyclic voltammetry. The stable cation (nor[7]CR+) was obtained via chemical oxidation and isolated in crystalline form, and the corresponding anionic species were characterized spectroscopically. Remarkably, nor[7]CR+ exhibits strong NIR-II absorption at 1105 nm with a high photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) of 93%, as well as a high maximum photothermal temperature (Tmax) under low optical power density. The applications of nor[7]CR+ in photothermal imaging and laser ignition were demonstrated, highlighting its great potential as a photothermal material.
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