13-8-13-Membered Tricyclic Ladder-Type Siloxanes Hybridized with BINOLs: Synthesis, Characterization, and Fluorescence Sensing of Fluorides

Inorg Chem. 2023 Sep 18;62(37):14991-14997. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c01780. Epub 2023 Sep 7.

Abstract

Developing fluorescent chemosensors with sensitivity and high specificity for recognizing fluorides is still challenging. Herein, four innovative compounds based on 13-8-13-membered tricyclic ladder-type siloxanes hybridized with BINOLs (abbreviated as TLS-BINOLs) were prepared through the B(C6F5)3-catalyzed Piers-Rubinsztajn reaction. The well-defined ladder-type structure of the TLS-BINOLs was determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Additionally, the fluorescent sensing ability of the TLS-BINOLs toward anions was studied. Our finding revealed that all four ladder-type compounds (TLS-BINOLs) exhibited high specificity in recognizing fluorides through fluoride-triggered structural decomposition. The detection limits for fluorides were determined to be 0.37, 0.35, 0.39, and 0.48 μM for the respective TLS-BINOLs. The nonemissive product induced by the fluorides was also determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.