文摘
(rac)-1,1鈥?Binaphthyl鈥揵ased simple receptors 1 and 2 have been designed, synthesized and studied theoretically. The receptors utilize naphthyridine as the binding motifs for complexation of dicarboxylic acids in CHCl3. The emission of the BINOL moiety was monitored experimentally to ascertain the selectivity and sensitivity of the receptors. Receptor 1 distinguishes maleic acid from isomeric fumaric acid by exhibiting different fluorescence behavior and demonstrates stronger binding in the excited state. Modulation of the binding sites of 1 leads to a new receptor structure 2, which was found to be less efficient in distinguishing maleic from fumaric acid, fluorometrically. Both 1 and 2 also recognize other hydroxy di- and tricarboxylic acids. The binding interactions were monitored by 1H NMR, fluorescence and UV鈥搗is spectroscopic methods. Structures of apo-hosts, guests and host鈥揼uest complexes were determined using force-field based conformational searching. Low energy ensembles were grouped into geometrically similar families, and low energy structures from each family were verified using B3LYP/6-31G*/PB-SCRF(CHCl3) calculations. The atomistic calculations provide insight into the differential dicarboxylic acid binding behavior of receptors 1 and 2.