Stabilisation of a heptamethine cyanine dye by rotaxane encapsulation.
Yau CMS., Pascu SI., Odom SA., Warren JE., Klotz EJF., Frampton MJ., Williams CC., Coropceanu V., Kuimova MK., Phillips D., Barlow S., Brédas J-L., Marder SR., Millar V., Anderson HL.
The crystal structure of a cyanine dye rotaxane shows that the cyclodextrin is tightly threaded round the polymethine bridge of the dye; encapsulation dramatically increases the kinetic chemical stability of the radicals formed on oxidation and reduction of the dye, making it possible to observe the rotaxane radical dication by ESR and UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy.