1,1,4,4-Tetracyanobutadiene-Functionalized Anthracenes: Regioselectivity of Cycloadditions in the Synthesis of Small Near-IR Dyes
Clotilde Philippe, Anh Thy Bui, Sabrinah Batsongo-Boulingui, Ziemowit Pokładek, Katarzyna Matczyszyn, Olivier Mongin, Loı̈c Lemiègre, Frédéric Paul, Trevor A. Hamlin, Yann Trolez
Abstract
Two small 1,1,4,4-tetracyanobutadiene-functionalized chromophores were obtained by careful leverage of the regioselectivity of the cycloaddition reaction of tetracyanoethylene with anthracene-ynamide derivatives, inducing either a [2 + 2] or a [4 + 2] Diels-Alder process. DFT calculations unraveled the mechanism of the [2 + 2] cycloaddition-retroelectrocyclization reaction sequence with ynamides and elucidated the differing mechanisms in the two substrates. The synthesized dyes presented panchromatic absorption extending into the near-IR and far-red/near-IR photoluminescence in the solid state up to 1550 nm.