A novel fused two-dimensionally π-expanded triangular porphyrinoid has been designed. The synthesis is based on facile hexaazatrinaphthalene chemistry in combination with well-established condensation procedures to simultaneously close three porphyrinic cavities. A series of different functionalized π-expanded triangular derivatives were synthesized and their optical and electrochemical properties, as well as their supramolecular organization investigated. Low lying HOMO‒LUMO energy gaps between 1.11–1.32 eV were found for the highly π-conjugated planar triangular hexaazatrinaphthalene derivatives which organize into discotic liquid crystalline columnar stacks. Thereby, derivatives with alkoxy substituents reveal significantly higher order due to their improved flexibility in comparison to their alkyl counterparts.
Trans- A 2 B 2-tetrakis(arylethynyl)porphyrins with suitable solubility in CH 2 Cl 2, CHCl 3, EtOAc , acetone and toluene have been obtained for the first time. Among two possible strategies the one comprising the synthesis of 5,15-dibromo-10,20-bis[(isopropylsilyl)ethynyl]porphyrin proved to be more efficient. The pathway towards densely substituted arylacetylenes has been optimized. The use of previously identified 3,4,5-trialkoxyaryl substituent was crucial for achieving the reasonable solubility. The optical properties of meso-substituted tetrakis(arylethynyl)porphyrins were studied showing that strong polarization imparted by direct conjugation of all four substituents with porphyrin core resulted not only in strong absorption of red light but also in a relatively long triplet lifetime. Meso-tetrakis(arylethynyl)porphyrins have a significantly longer lifetime of T1 state than bis(arylethynyl)porphyrins and in their case all the states are mixtures of transitions between the HOMO-1, HOMO and LUMO, LUMO+1 MOs. We show that the presence of two additional arylethynyl substituents at meso-positions enhance the maximum two-photon absorption cross-section of trans- A 2 B 2-tetrakis(arylethynyl)porphyrins by more than one order of magnitude. Maximum values as high as σ2 = 500 GM at 950 nm result from realization of suitable conditions for effective resonance enhancement along with a lowering of the energy and intensification of the two-photon allowed transitions in the Soret region.
Development of luminescent room temperature columnar discotic liquid crystals as efficient deep-blue emitters in solution-processable OLEDs.