Characterization, photophysical and DFT calculation study on 2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline ligand

The synthesized imidazole derivative 2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10] phenanthroline (dfpmpip) has been characterized using IR, mass, 1H, 13C NMR and elemental analysis. The photophysical properties of dfpmpip have been studied using UV–visible and fluorescence spectroscopy in different solvents. The solvent effect on the absorption and fluorescence bands has been analyzed by a multi-component linear regression. Theoretically calculated bond lengths, bond angles and dihedral angles are found to be slightly higher than that of X-ray Diffraction (XRD) values of its parent compound. The charge distribution has been calculated from the atomic charges by non-linear optical (NLO) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. Since the synthesized imidazole derivative has the largest μgβ0 value, the reported imidazole can be used as potential NLO material. The energies of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels and the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) energy surface studies evidenced the existence of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) within the molecule. Theoretical calculations regarding the chemical potential (μ), hardness (η) and electrophilicity index (ω) have also been calculated.

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► Catalan–Taft parameter shows acidity of the solvent, Cα or CSA has a negative value.
► The steric interaction must be reduced in order to obtain larger β0 values.
► NBO analysis: Elucidates the intramolecular, hybridization and delocalization within the molecule.
► Electronic properties: Probable charge transfer (CD) taking place inside the chromophore.
► The charge distribution was calculated by the NBO and Mulliken methods.