NIR‐Absorbing Donor–Acceptor Based 1,1,4,4‐Tetracyanobuta‐1,3‐Diene (TCBD)‐ and Cyclohexa‐2,5‐Diene‐1,4‐Ylidene‐Expanded TCBD‐Substituted Ferrocenyl Phenothiazines

A series of unsymmetrical (D‐A‐D₁, D₁‐π‐D‐A‐D₁, and D₁‐A₁‐D‐A₂‐D₁; A=acceptor, D=donor) and symmetrical (D₁‐A‐D‐A‐D₁) phenothiazines ( 4 b , 4 c , 4 c′ , 5 b , 5 c , 5 d , 5 d′ , 5 e , 5 e′ , 5 f , and 5 f′ ) were designed and synthesized by a [2+2] cycloaddition–electrocyclic ring‐opening reaction of ferrocenyl‐substituted phenothiazines with tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) and 7,7,8,8‐tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ). The photophysical, electrochemical, and computational studies show a strong charge‐transfer (CT) interaction in the phenothiazine derivatives that can be tuned by varying the number of TCNE/TCNQ acceptors. Phenothiazines 4 b , 4 c , 4 c′ , 5 b , 5 c , 5 d , 5 d′ , 5 e , 5 e′ , 5 f and 5 f′ show redshifted absorption in the λ =400 to 900 nm region, as a result of a low HOMO–LUMO gap, which is supported by TD‐DFT calculations. The electrochemical study exhibits reduction waves at low potential due to strong 1,1,4,4‐tetracyanobuta‐1,3‐diene (TCBD) and cyclohexa‐2,5‐diene‐1,4‐ylidene‐expanded TCBD acceptors. The incorporation of cyclohexa‐2,5‐diene‐1,4‐ylidene‐expanded TCBD stabilized the LUMO energy level to a greater extent than TCBD.