Structures, Photoresponse Properties, and Biological Activity of Dicyano-Substituted 4-Aryl-2-pyridone Derivatives

Described in this work is the synthesis of a novel dicyano-substituted N -2-aminoethyl-4-(3-pyridinyl)-2-pyridone organic compound ( 1 ) that is characterized by several spectroscopic methods. Compound ( 1 ) was utilized for the preparation of its perchlorate ( 2 ), chloride ( 3 ), and bromide ( 4 ) salts. Single-crystal X-ray structures of these three salts were determined, and noncovalent weak interactions involving the aromatic rings, anions, and water molecules in ( 2 - 4 ) were investigated in detail. Solid-state UV-vis spectrum of the reported compounds ( 1 - 4 ) was utilized to calculate their optical band gaps, which clearly indicated that they belong to the semiconductor family. Under illumination condition, the magnitudes of electrical properties of ( 1 ) and its salts ( 2 - 4 ) improve remarkably although the improvement differs from salt to salt and the result was analyzed theoretically. Salt ( 2 ) was tested for its DNA binding ability.