Cyclotriveratrylene–carbazole cage for self-assembly of C60

A novel open-bowl pyramidal compound cyclotriveratrylene–carbazole (CTV–CZ) was designed and synthesized. Its absorption and emission spectroscopic properties in different organic solvents were characterized. Three absorption peaks of CTV–CZ around 235   nm, 260   nm and 290   nm were observed. The fluorescence emission peaks were at about 353   nm and 368   nm using a solution of ∼10 −7   M CTV–CZ. The intermolecular interaction between CTV–CZ and fullerene (C 60 ) was studied in detail by UV–vis absorption and fluorescence spectra . CTV–CZ could associate with C 60 to form supramolecular complex with 1:1 molar ratio and the binding constant was estimated to be 5.0(6)×10 4   M −1 by fluorimetry. The formation of inclusion complex for CTV–CZ and C 60 was further confirmed by 1 H NMR and cyclic voltammetry . The downfield shift of protons of CTV–CZ in its 1 H NMR spectrum and the decrease of redox currents on addition of C 60 showed that photo induced electron transfer (PET) occurred from the electron donor CTV and CZ units to the electron acceptor C 60 .