New Charge Transfer Complex between 4-Dimethylaminopyridine and DDQ: Synthesis, Spectroscopic Characterization, DNA Binding Analysis, and Density Functional Theory (DFT)/Time-Dependent DFT/Natural Transition Orbital Studies

[Image: see text] A combined experimental and theoretical study of the electron donor 4-dimethylaminopyridine (4-DMAP) with the electron acceptor 2, 3-dichloro-5, 6-dicyano-p-benzoquinone (DDQ) has been made in acetonitrile (ACN) and methanol (MeOH) media at room temperature. The stoichiometry proportion of the charge transfer (CT) complex was determined using Job’s and photometric titration methods and found to be 1:1. The association constant (K(CT)), molar absorptivity (ε), and spectroscopic physical parameters were used to know the stability of the CT complex. The CT complex shows maximum stability in a high-polar solvent (ACN) compared to a less-polar solvent (MeOH). The prepared complex was characterized by Fourier transform infrared, NMR, powder X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The nature of DNA binding ability of the complex was probed using UV–visible spectroscopy, and the binding mode of the CT complex is intercalative. The intrinsic binding constant (K(b)) value is 1.8 × 10(6) M(–1). It reveals a primary indication for developing a pharmaceutical drug in the future due to its high binding affinity with the CT complex. The theoretical study was carried out by density functional theory (DFT), and the basis set is wB97XD/6-31G(d,p), with gas-phase and PCM analysis, which supports experimental results. Natural atomic charges, state dipole moments, electron density difference maps, reactivity parameters, and FMO surfaces were also evaluated. The MEP maps indicate the electrophilic nature of DDQ and the nucleophilic nature of 4-DMAP. The electronic spectrum computed using time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) via a polarizable continuum salvation approach, PCM/TD-DFT, along with natural transition orbital analysis is fully correlated with the experimental outcomes.