An adduct of Cl-substituted benzotriazole and hydroxy benzophenone as a novel UVA/UVB absorber: Theory-guided design, synthesis, and calculations

A novel UVA/UVB absorber UV-D, a combination of Cl-substituted benzotriazole (ClBTZ) and hydroxybenzophenone (HBP) anti-UV functional groups in one molecule, which absorbs UVA and UVB radiation with high efficiency, was synthesized based on the first principle theory-guided design. The synthesized UV absorber was characterized by 1H NMR, FT-IR and UV spectroscopy in detail. Systematic quantum chemistry calculations were performed to investigate the stable structure and UV electronic absorption bands of UV-D. Structure parameters, atoms in molecule (AIM) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis show that the intramolecular hydrogen bond (IMHB) in HBP part is stronger than that in ClBTZ part. This work shows that the combination of the first principle theory-guided design and organic synthesis can be used to develop highly efficiency UV absorbers effectively.

► A high efficiency UVA/UVB absorber UV-D was synthesized guided on quantum chemistry calculations.
► The excellent absorption of UV-D comes from three electronic transition bands (S0 → S1, S0 → S2, S0 → S6).
► Structural parameters, AIM and NBO analysis show IMHB in HBP group is stronger than that in ClBTZ.