Intersystem Crossing in Naphthalenediimide–Oxoverdazyl Dyads: Synthesis and Study of the Photophysical Properties

Oxoverdazyl (Vz) radical units were covalently linked to the naphthalenediimide (NDI) chromophore to study the effect of the radical on the photophysical properties, especially the radical enhanced intersystem crossing (REISC), which is a promising approach to develop heavy‐atom‐free triplet photosensitizers. Rigid phenyl or ethynylphenyl linkers between the two moieties were used, thus REISC and formation of doublet (D1, total spin quantum number S=1/2) and quartet states (Q1, S=3/2) are anticipated. The photophysical properties of the dyads were studied with steady‐state and femtosecond/nanosecond transient absorption (TA) spectroscopies and DFT computations. Femtosecond transient absorption spectra show a fast electron transfer (