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3,4‐Dimethylenecyclobutene (DMCB) is an unusual isomer of benzene. Motivated by recent synthetic progress to substituted derivatives of this scaffold, we carried out a theoretical and computational analysis with a particular focus on the extent of (anti)aromatic character in the lowest excited states of different multiplicities. We found that the parent DMCB is non‐aromatic in its singlet ground state (S0), lowest triplet state (T1), and lowest singlet excited state (S1), while it is aromatic in its lowest quintet state (Q1) as this state is represented by a triplet multiplicity cyclobutadiene (CBD) ring and two uncoupled same‐spin methylene radicals. Interestingly, the Q1 state, despite having four unpaired electrons, is placed merely 4.8 eV above S0, and there is a corresponding singlet tetraradical 0.16 eV above. The DMCB is potentially a highly useful structural motif for the design of larger molecular entities with interesting optoelectronic properties. Here, we designed macrocycles composed of fused DMCB units, and according to our computations, two of these have low‐lying nonet states (i. e., octaradical states) at energies merely 2.40 and 0.37 eV above their S0 states as a result of local Hückel‐ and Baird‐aromatic character of individual 6π‐ and 4π‐electron monocycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We synthesized and characterized a series of dyes built from a spirofluorene or truxene core. The quadrupolar spirofluorene system is the initial building unit for the design and preparation of more complex star‐shaped dyes consisting of a truxene core bearing three di‐ or triphenylamine moieties with or without a thiophene connector. Their photophysical, electrochemical, and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) properties were first investigated in solution. Structure/activity relationships were derived and rationalized by comparing the quadrupolar system and trigonal truxene‐core derivatives using computational studies. The photophysical and redox characteristics are drastically tuned by the introduction of a thiophene bridge and electron‐donor substituents at their terminal branches. These comparative studies show the essential role of the stability of both radical cations and anions to obtain efficient ECL dyes. The stabilization of the radicals is directly related to the charge delocalization due to the π‐conjugation by the thiophene bridge. The brightest ECL is achieved by annihilation and coreactant (benzoyl peroxide) pathways with the blue‐emitting truxene dye, which is 2‐ and 4.5‐times greater than that of the quadrupolar compound and reference [Ru(bpy)3]2+ emitter, respectively. Such an extensive study on these extended π‐conjugated molecules presenting different core structures may guide the design and synthesis of new ECL dyes with a strong efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the synthesis of a series of covalently linked dimers of quadrupolar curcuminoid‐BF2 dyes and the detailed investigation of their solvent‐dependent spectroscopic and photophysical properties. In solvents of low polarity, intramolecular folding induces the formation of aggregated chromophores, the UV/Vis absorption spectra of which display the optical signature characteristic of weakly‐coupled H‐aggregates. The extent of folding and, in turn, of ground‐state aggregation is strongly dependent on the nature of the flexible linker. Steady‐state and time‐resolved fluorescence emission spectroscopies show that the Frenkel exciton relaxes into a fluorescent symmetrical excimer state with a long lifetime. Furthermore, our in‐depth studies show that a weakly emitting excimer lies on the pathway toward a photocyclomer. Two‐dimensional 1H NMR spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) allowed the structure of the photoproduct to be established. To our knowledge, this represents the first example of a [2π+2π] photodimerization of the curcuminoid chromophore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of a double photochrome molecular switch are reported for the first time by considering the four trans forms of a dithienylethene-indolinooxazolidine hybrid. The four forms are characterized by means of hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) experiments and quantum chemical calculations. Experimental measurements provide evidence that the pH- and light-triggered transformations between the different forms of the hybrid are accompanied by large variations of the first hyperpolarizability, which makes this compound an effective multistate NLO switch. Quantum chemical calculations conducted at the time-dependent Hartree-Fock and time-dependent DFT levels agree with the experimental data and allow a complete rationalization of the NLO responses of the different forms. The HRS signal of the forms with an open indolinooxazolidine moiety are more than one order of magnitude larger than that measured for the other forms, whereas the open/closed status of the dithienylethene subunit barely influences the dynamic NLO properties. However, extrapolation of the NLO responses to the static limit leads to univocally distinguishable intrinsic responses for three of the various forms. This hybrid system thus acts as a highly efficient multistate NLO switch for eventual exploitation in optical memory systems with multiple storage and nondestructive readout capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Merocyanine dyes that exhibit antithetic cyanine-like behaviour and giant first-order hyperpolarisability ( β) values have been designed. These cyanine-type dyes open up an intriguing route towards molecular-based electro-optic materials as well as new second-harmonic generation dyes for imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The base-catalyzed intramolecular hydroamination of 1-ethylaminocyclohexa-2,5-dienes is described. The transformation proceeds through isomerization of the cyclohexa-1,4-dienyl fragment into the corresponding conjugated 1,3-diene prior to the hydroamination step. Attaching a chiral glycinol ether auxiliary on the amino group allows the protonation to occur with complete diastereocontrol. The resulting lithium amide then adds onto the 1,3-dienyl moiety, affording the desired fused pyrrolidine ring along with the corresponding lithium allylic anion. Protonation of the latter then proceeds with high regiocontrol to favor the resulting allylic amines. In contrast, when the reaction was performed on primary amines, fused pyrrolidines bearing a homoallylic amino group were obtained. The stereochemical course of the process and determination of the reaction pathways were established based on calculations performed at the DFT level. Finally, application of the methodology to the enantioselective synthesis of (+)- epi-elwesine, a crinane alkaloid, is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New π-conjugated structures are constantly the subject of research in dyes and pigments industry and electronic organic field. In this context, the triphenodioxazine (TPDO) core has often been used as efficient photostable pigments and once integrated in air stable n-type organic field-effect transistor (OFET). However, little attention has been paid to the TPDO core as soluble materials for optoelectronic devices, possibly due to the harsh synthetic conditions and the insolubility of many compounds. To benefit from the photostability of TPDO in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), an original synthetic pathway has been established to provide soluble and dissymmetric molecules applied to a suitable design for the sensitizers of DSC. The study has been pursued by the theoretical modeling of opto-electronic properties, the optical and electronic characterizations of dyes and elaboration of efficient devices. The discovery of new synthetic pathways opens the way to innovative designs of TPDO for materials used in organic electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]