Bright Solid‐State Emission of Disilane‐Bridged Donor–Acceptor–Donor and Acceptor–Donor–Acceptor Chromophores

The development of disilane‐bridged donor–acceptor–donor (D‐Si‐Si‐A‐Si‐Si‐D) and acceptor–donor–acceptor (A‐Si‐Si‐D‐Si‐Si‐A) compounds is described. Both types of compound showed strong emission (λ_em=ca. 500 and ca. 400 nm, respectively) in the solid state with high quantum yields (Φ: up to 0.85). Compound 4 exhibited aggregation‐induced emission enhancement in solution. X‐ray diffraction revealed that the crystal structures of 2 , 4 , and 12 had no intermolecular π–π interactions to suppress the nonradiative transition in the solid state.     

From Homoconjugated Push–Pull Chromophores to Donor–Acceptor‐Substituted Spiro Systems by Thermal Rearrangement

Series of homoconjugated push–pull chromophores and donor–acceptor (D–A)‐functionalized spiro compounds were synthesized, in which the electron‐donating strength of the anilino donor groups was systematically varied. The structural and optoelectronic properties of the compounds were investigated by X‐ray analysis, UV/Vis spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and computational analysis. The homoconjugated push–pull chromophores with a central bicyclo[4.2.0]octane scaffold were obtained in high yield by [2+2] cycloaddition of 2,3‐dichloro‐5,6‐dicyano‐p‐benzoquinone (DDQ) to N,N‐dialkylanilino‐ or N,N‐diarylanilino‐substituted activated alkynes. The spirocyclic compounds were formed by thermal rearrangement of the homoconjugated adducts. They also can be prepared in a one‐pot reaction starting from DDQ and anilino‐substituted alkynes. Spiro products with N,N‐diphenylanilino and N,N‐diisopropylanilino groups were isolated in high yields whereas compounds with pyrrolidino, didodecylamino, and dimethylamino substituents gave poor yields, with formation of insoluble side products. It was shown by in situ trapping experiments with TCNE that cycloreversion is possible during the thermal rearrangement, thereby liberating DDQ. In the low‐yielding transformations, DDQ oxidizes the anilino species present, presumably via an intermediate iminium ion pathway. Such a pathway is not available for the N,N‐diphenylanilino derivative and, in the case of the N,N‐diisopropylanilino derivative, would generate a strained iminium ion (A1,3 strain). The mechanism of the thermal rearrangement was investigated by EPR spectroscopy, which provides good evidence for a proposed biradical pathway starting with the homolytic cleavage of the most strained (CN)C?C(CN) bond between the fused four‐ and six‐membered rings in the homoconjugated adducts.     

Circular Photoinduced Electron Transfer in a Donor‐Acceptor‐Acceptor Triad

An electron‐donor‐acceptor‐acceptor (D‐A₁‐A₂) triad has been developed that provides the first proof‐of‐concept for a photoinitiated molecular circuit. After photoexcitation into an optical charge‐transfer transition between D and A₁, subsequent thermal electron‐transfer from A₁^.? to A₂ is followed by geometric rearrangement in the D^.+‐A₁‐A₂^.? charge‐separated state to form an ion‐pair contact. This facilitates “forward” charge recombination between A₂^.? and D^.+ to complete the molecular circuit with an estimated quantum efficiency of 4 % in toluene at 298 K.     

Donor‐Acceptor‐Functionalized Tetraethynylethenes with Nitrothienyl Substituents: Structure‐Property Relationships

Tetraethynylethenes (TEEs) functionalized with donor (4‐(dimethylamino)phenyl) and acceptor (5‐nitro‐2‐thienyl) groups were prepared by Pd⁰‐catalyzed Sonogashira cross‐coupling reactions (Schemes 1 – 6). The physical properties of these novel chromophores were examined and compared with those of analogous systems containing 4‐nitrophenyl instead of 5‐nitro‐2‐thienyl acceptor groups. X‐Ray crystal‐structure analyses showed the π‐conjugated frameworks of 2 , 11 , and 13 , including the TEE core and all aryl moieties, to be nearly perfectly planar (Figs. 1, 3, and 4). In contrast, one 4‐(dimethylamino)phenyl group in 10 is rotated almost 90° out of the molecular plane, presumably due to crystal‐packing effects (Fig. 2). The analysis of bond lengths and bond angles revealed little, if any, evidence of intramolecular ground‐state donor‐acceptor interactions. The electrochemical behavior of nitrothienyl‐substituted TEEs is similar to that of the corresponding nitrophenyl‐functionalized derivatives (Table 3). The nitrothienyl groups were reduced at −1.23 V (vs. the ferrocene/ferricinium couple, Fc/Fc⁺), regardless of the degree or pattern of other substitutions. For nonsymmetrical TEE 13 , the reduction of the nitrothienyl group at −1.23 V is followed by a reduction of the nitrophenyl group at −1.40 V, a potential typical for the reduction of other nitrophenyl‐substituted TEEs, such as 17 – 20 . UV/VIS Spectroscopy showed a consistently lower‐energy absorption cutoff for nitrothienyl derivatives compared with the analogous nitrophenyl‐substituted TEEs that confirms a lowering of the HOMO‐LUMO gap as a result of nitrothiophene substitution (Figs. 5 and 6). A comparison of the tetrakis‐arylated TEEs 11 , 13 , and 20 clearly showed a steady bathochromic shift of the longest‐wavelength absorption maximum and the end‐absorption upon sequential replacement of nitrophenyl by nitrothienyl groups. Quantum‐chemical computations were performed to explain a number of complex features of the electronic absorption spectra. All empirical features of relevance in the experimental UV/VIS spectra for 2 , 5 , 6 , and 17 – 19 were correctly reproduced by computation (Tables 4 and 5). The combination of theory and experiment was found to be very useful to explain the particular acceptor properties of the 5‐nitro‐2‐thienyl group.     

Synthesis and Molecular Properties of Acceptor‐Substituted Squaraine Dyes

A broad series of more than 20 acceptor‐substituted squaraines was synthesized that feature different acceptor functionalities at the central squaraine four‐membered ring. The influence of these acceptor units on the reactivity of semisquaraine precursors and stability of the respective squaraines were explored. Thereby the dicyanovinyl group was found to be the most versatile acceptor group that enabled various modifications at the donor moiety of the squaraine scaffold, leading to an extended series of dicyanovinyl‐functionalized squaraines. The variation of donor units afforded a set of NIR fluorophores that cover a wavelength region from the visible at about 650 nm far into the NIR up to 920 nm with fluorescence quantum yields between 0.93 and 0.11 and outstanding optical brightness. This excellent optical property is related to a rigid molecular scaffold that is fixed in an all‐cis configuration by the additional dicyanovinyl acceptor unit. The change of the molecular symmetry from C_2h to C_2v upon functionalization of the squaraine core with dicyanovinyl acceptor group has been confirmed in solution by electro‐optical absorption (EOA) spectroscopy, revealing permanent ground‐state dipole moments μ_g in the range between 4.3 and 6.4 D. These dipole moments direct an antiparallel packing of the molecules in the solid state according to single‐crystal X‐ray analyses achieved for four dicyanovinyl‐functionalized squaraines. The structural properties, the EOA results, as well as the band shapes of the optical spectra indicate that these polymethine dyes are cyanine‐type chromophores. It is worth noting that the orientation of the dipole moment vectors is orthogonal to the orientation of the transition dipole moment vectors, which is an uncommon but characteristic feature of this rather novel class of polymethine dyes. With regard to applications of these dyes in organic solar cells, their redox properties were also studied by cyclic voltammetry.     

Conjugated Donor‐Acceptor‐Acceptor (D‐A‐A) Molecule for Organic Nonvolatile Resistor Memory

A new donor‐acceptor‐acceptor (D‐A‐A) type of conjugated molecule, N‐(4‐(N′,N′‐diphenyl)phenylamine)‐4‐(4′‐(2,2‐dicyanovinyl)phenyl) naphthalene‐1,8‐dicarboxylic monoimide ( TPA‐NI‐DCN ), consisting of triphenylamine (TPA) donors and naphthalimide (NI)/dicyanovinylene (DCN) acceptors was synthesized and characterized. In conjunction with previously reported D ‐A based materials, the additional DCN moiety attached as end group in the D‐A‐A configuration can result in a stable charge transfer (CT) and charge‐separated state to maintain the ON state current. The vacuum‐deposited TPA‐NI‐DCN device fabricated as an active memory layer was demonstrated to exhibit write‐once‐read‐many (WORM) switching characteristics of organic nonvolatile memory due to the strong polarity of the TPA‐NI‐DCN moiety.     

Photoluminescent and Liquid‐Crystalline Properties of Donor–Acceptor‐Type 2,5‐Diarylthiazoles

The synthesis of donor–acceptor‐type 2,5‐diarylthiazoles that bear electron‐donating N,N‐dialkylamine and electron‐withdrawing cyano groups at the 2‐ and 5‐position, respectively, were carried out with transition‐metal‐catalyzed C? H arylation reactions developed by us. The compounds were synthesized by the C? H arylation of unsubstituted thiazole at the 2‐position with a palladium/copper catalyst in the presence of tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) as an activator. Further C? H arylation of the 2‐arylated thiazole at the 5‐position was carried out by the palladium‐catalyzed reaction in the presence of silver(I) fluoride to afford the donor–acceptor‐type 2,5‐diarylthiazoles with N,N‐dialkylamine groups of different chain lengths. The UV/Vis absorption, photoluminescence, and electrochemical behavior were similar regardless of chain length, whereas liquid‐crystalline behavior and thermal characteristics were found to be dependent on the alkyl‐chain length. The compounds with N,N‐diethylamine or N‐butyl‐N‐methyl groups showed a stable liquid‐crystalline phase over a wide temperature range as well as higher stability to thermal decomposition.     

Benzodipyrrole‐based Donor–Acceptor‐type Boron Complexes as Tunable Near‐infrared‐Absorbing Materials

Benzodipyrrole‐based donor–acceptor boron complexes were designed and synthesized as near‐infrared‐absorbing materials. The electron‐rich organic framework combined with the Lewis acidic boron co‐ordination enabled us to tune the LUMO energy level and the HOMO–LUMO gap (i.e.,the absorption wavelength) by changing the organic acceptor units, the number of boron atoms, and the substituents on the boron atoms.     

Reactions of Di(tert‐butyl)diazomethane with Acceptor‐Substituted Ethylenes

Di(tert‐butyl)diazomethane ( 4 ) is a nucleophilic 1,3‐dipole with strong steric hindrance at one terminus. In its reaction with 2,3‐bis(trifluoromethyl)fumaronitrile ((E)‐ BTE ), a highly electrophilic tetra‐acceptor‐substituted ethene, an imino‐substituted cyclopentene 9 is formed as a 1 : 2 product. The open‐chain zwitterion 10 , assumed as intermediate, adds the second molecule of (E)‐ BTE . The ¹⁹F‐ and ¹³C‐NMR spectra allow the structural assignment of two diastereoisomers, 9A and 9B . The zwitterion 10 can also be intercepted by dimethyl 2,3‐dicyanofumarate ( 11 ) and furnishes diastereoisomeric cyclopentenes 12A and 12B ; an X‐ray‐analysis of 12B confirms the ‘mixed’ 1 : 1 : 1 product. Competing is an (E)‐ BTE ‐catalyzed decomposition of 4 to give 2,3,4,4‐tetramethylpent‐1‐ene ( 7 )+N₂; the reaction of (E)‐ BTE with a trace of water appears to be responsible for the chain initiation. The H₂SO₄‐catalyzed decomposition of diazoalkane 4 , indeed, produced the alkene 7 in high yield. The attack on the hindered diazoalkane 4 by 11 is slower than that by (E)‐ BTE ; the zwitterionic intermediate 21 undergoes cyclization and furnishes the tetrasubstituted furan 22 . In fumaronitrile, electrophilicity and steric demand are diminished, and a 1,3‐cycloaddition produces the 4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐pyrazole derivative 25 . The reaction of 4 with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate leads to pyrazole 29 +isobutene.     

Tetrathiafulvalene‐Based Mixed‐Valence Acceptor–Donor–Acceptor Triads: A Joint Theoretical and Experimental Approach

This work presents a joint theoretical and experimental characterisation of the structural and electronic properties of two tetrathiafulvalene (TTF)‐based acceptor–donor–acceptor triads (BQ–TTF–BQ and BTCNQ–TTF—BTCNQ; BQ is naphthoquinone and BTCNQ is benzotetracyano‐p‐quinodimethane) in their neutral and reduced states. The study is performed with the use of electrochemical, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and UV/Vis/NIR spectroelectrochemical techniques guided by quantum‐chemical calculations. Emphasis is placed on the mixed‐valence properties of both triads in their radical anion states. The electrochemical and EPR results reveal that both BQ–TTF–BQ and BTCNQ–TTF–BTCNQ triads in their radical anion states behave as class‐II mixed‐valence compounds with significant electronic communication between the acceptor moieties. Density functional theory calculations (BLYP35/cc‐pVTZ), taking into account the solvent effects, predict charge‐localised species (BQ ^{. ?}–TTF–BQ and BTCNQ ^{. ?}–TTF–BTCNQ) as the most stable structures for the radical anion states of both triads. A stronger localisation is found both experimentally and theoretically for the BTCNQ–TTF–BTCNQ anion, in accordance with the more electron‐withdrawing character of the BTCNQ acceptor. CASSCF/CASPT2 calculations suggest that the low‐energy, broad absorption bands observed experimentally for the BQ–TTF–BQ and BTCNQ–TTF–BTCNQ radical anions are associated with the intervalence charge transfer (IV‐CT) electronic transition and two nearby donor‐to‐acceptor CT excitations. The study highlights the molecular efficiency of the electron‐donor TTF unit as a molecular wire connecting two acceptor redox centres.     

Acid–Base‐Responsive Intense Charge‐Transfer Emission in Donor–Acceptor‐Conjugated Fluorophores

Herein we report on the synthesis and acid‐responsive emission properties of donor–acceptor (D–A) molecules that contain a thienothiophene unit. 2‐Arylthieno[3,2‐b]thiophenes were conjugated with an N‐methylbenzimidazole unit to form acid‐responsive D–A‐type fluorophores. The D–A‐conjugated fluorophores showed intense intramolecular charge‐transfer (ICT) emission in response to acid. The effect of the substitution on their photophysical properties as well as their solvent‐dependence indicated non‐twisting ICT emission in protonated D–A molecules. The quinoidal character of 2‐arylthienothiophene as a donor part is discussed, as it is assumed that it contributes to suppression of the molecular twisting in the excited state, therefore decreasing the nonradiative rate constant, thereby resulting in the intense ICT emission. Acid–base‐sensitive triple‐color emission was also achieved by the introduction of a base‐responsive phenol group in the donor part.     

Two‐Dimensional Acetylenic Scaffolding: Extended Donor‐Substituted Perethynylated Dehydroannulenes

Starting from (Z)‐bis(N,N‐diisopropylanilino)‐substituted tetraethynylethene (TEE), perethynylated octadehydro[12]‐ and dodecadehydro[18]annulenes were prepared by oxidative Hay coupling. The dodecadehydro[18]annulene with six peripheral N,N‐diisopropylanilino substituents was characterized by X‐ray crystallography. Elongation of the Z‐bisdeprotected TEE by Cadiot–Chodkiewicz coupling with 1‐bromo‐2‐(triisopropylsilyl)ethyne provided a Z‐configured bis(butadiyne), which after alkyne deprotection afforded under Hay coupling conditions N,N‐diisopropylanilino‐substituted perethynylated hexadecadehydro[20]‐ and tetracosadehydro[30]an‐nulenes. The diisopropylanilino substituents enhance the properties of these unprecedented all‐carbon perimeters in several distinct ways. They ensure their solubility, increase their stability, and importantly, engage in strong intramolecular charge‐transfer interactions with the electron‐accepting all‐carbon cores, resulting in intense, bathochromically shifted charge‐transfer bands in the UV/Vis spectra. The charge‐transfer character of these bands was confirmed by protonation‐neutralization experiments. The redox properties of the new carbon‐rich chromophores were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and rotating disk voltammetry, which indicated different redox behavior for aromatic (4n+2 π electrons) and antiaromatic (4n π electrons) dehydroannulenes.