Photochromic anthracene systems containing hydrogen bonding sites

The work will involve the synthesis and study of a series of receptor compounds that can bind charged or neutral organic compounds through hydrogen bonding interactions. The receptors will contain appropriate recognition motifs (crown ethers, amidopyridine units etc.) for binding barbiturates, imides, DNA strands and amino acid derivatives. These compounds and/or their hydrogen-bonded complexes will each contain two anthracene units to enable them to undergo reversible photodimerisation reactions. Detailed studies will be carried out on these photochromic systems using a variety of spectroscopic and analytical techniques. It is expected that both the efficiency of photodimerisation (the closing process) and the rate of the reverse reaction (the opening process) will be strongly affected by complex formation. Receptor synthesis (apart from DNA synthesis) and complexation studies (titrations and Job plots using NMR spectroscopy) will be carried out in Exeter by a PDRA. Detailed photophysical (UV/vis and fluorescence spectroscopy) and photochemical studies (reaction quantum yields) will be carried out by the PDRA in Bordeaux.