Photolysis of the BODIPY dye activated by pillar[5]arene

Here, a pseudo[3]rotaxane comprising a fluorescent BODIPY derivative and pillar[5]arene was conveniently fabricated via host–guest complexation. Importantly, in this system, the efficient photodecomposition of the BODIPY derivative in the presence of pillar[5]arene was witnessed upon irradiation at 311 nm light, which was demonstrated via UV-Vis absorption, fluorescence emission, NMR and HR-MS spectroscopy techniques, but the only BODIPY dye in the absence of pillar[5]arene couldn't undergo photodegradation. We demonstrated that pillar[5]arene could act as an activator to trigger the photodegradation reaction of BODIPY derivatives via free radical reactions even without supramolecular interactions. The present results provide a new strategy for the efficient photolysis of organic dyes.