Aromatic Fumaronitrile Core-Based Donor−Linker−Acceptor−Linker−Donor (D-π-A-π-D) Compounds: Synthesis and Photophysical Properties

A new class of aromatic fumaronitrile core-based compounds with different donors and linkers has been synthesized and well characterized. Compounds 1 and 2 have indole and 2-phenylindole groups as electron donors, respectively. Compounds 3 and 4 have a diphenylamino group as the electron donor, and compound 5 has a 3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazole group as an electron donor. These compounds absorb in the blue-to-green region and emit in the blue-to-red region depending on the electron donor, linker, and solvents. The quantum yields of fluorescence of these compounds in solution are measured and found to be moderate, but in solid states, they are high. These compounds display strong emission solvatochromism that is reflected by a large shift in their fluorescence emission maxima on changing the solvents. This change is accompanied by a successive decrease in fluorescence intensity. The fluorescence lifetimes of these compounds are measured in different solvent and found to vary from