Following the proposed research plan, a series of experimental and theoretical investigations were conducted, yielding significant scientific progress. The main work performed, and key achievements are summarized as follows: i) Synthesis and photophysical study of a pyrene-functionalized molecular motor: A novel artificial molecular motor incorporating pyrene luminogens was successfully synthesized. This system exhibits efficient photoisomerization and displays distinct fluorescent signals in its single-molecule versus aggregated states. This tunable emission is attributed to modulations in through-space interactions (TSI) between the pyrene units upon conformational change. ii) Development of a molecular motor with an intramolecular noncovalent lock: A new molecular motor architecture was designed and synthesized, featuring an intramolecular noncovalent interaction that serves as a conformational lock. This design provides a precise means to control molecular geometry and probe the influence of constrained TSI on motor function. iii) Theoretical analysis of photophysical processes: A detailed theoretical study was performed to elucidate the electronic factors governing photoisomerization and photoluminescence in artificial molecular motors. Analyses included computations of electron-cloud redistribution, charge-transfer strength, and molecular skeleton reorganization during photoexcitation, establishing clear structure–property relationships. iv) Mechanistic investigation of a photoclick reaction: The excited-state mechanism of the photoclick reaction involving 9,10-phenanthrenequinone was elucidated, with a focus on how electronic effects dictate the reaction pathway and efficiency.
Main achievements: the primary scientific output to date is an open-access publication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 35903). Additionally, two further manuscripts are currently in preparation, detailing the other core findings of the project. In addition to promoting the research communications and career development, the researcher also attended several international conferences, including ArtMoMa_Final Conference Groningen, The 18th International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry, Molecular Nanotour Symposium 2024, as well as ACS Fall 2024. In recognition of the research excellence, the researcher was awarded the ACS PHYS Young Investigator Award (American Chemical Society) during the project period, which is a global accolade granted to only four researchers worldwide each year.
