Photochemical Ion Receptor Based on a Structurally Distorted Ruthenium(II) Complex Having a Crown-Ether Moiety at the 3,3′-Positions on the 2,2′-Bipyridine Ligand

Ru(bpy)2(CE-bpy)2+ was prepared where bpy and CE-bpy were 2,2'-bipyridine and bpy having a crown-ether moiety at the 3,3'-positions, respectively. Although Ru(bpy)2(CE-bpy)2+ showed only very weak emission in acetonitrile, recognition of Na+, Li+, or K+ by the crown-ether moiety in CE-bpy resulted in increases in both the emission intensity and the lifetime of the complex, demonstrating that it acted as a photoreceptor. The results were discussed in terms of a steric hindrance between the 3,3'-substituents on CE-bpy and structural changes in both CE-bpy and the complex upon ion recognition, as studied by variable-temperature 1H-NMR and steady-state/dynamic emission spectroscopy of the complex.