A Unimolecular Half-Subtractor Based on Effective Photoinduced Electron Transfer and Intramolecular Charge Transfer Processes of 1,8-Naphthalimide Derivative

We report a unimolecular system as a combinatorial logic half-subtractor based on a naphthalimide derivative. Chemical inputs (OH– and H+) can significantly change the absorption and fluorescence characteristics through modulating intramolecular charge transfer and photoinduced electron transfer process upon protonation or deprotonation of the molecule. An XOR gate is obtained following the absorbance variations at 485 nm, and an INHIBIT gate is induced when the output signal is monitored at 535 nm in the fluorescence spectra. Large differences in output signals allow unequivocal assignment of logic-0 and logic-1 of both logic gates, which may function in parallel to implement the half-subtractor.