Trinaphthylamines as Robust Organic Materials for Two-Photon-Induced Fluorescence

The synthesis of a novel pi-conjugated trinaphthylamines series is described. These original push-pull octupolar systems exhibit large two-photon action cross section (sigma(phi) up to 510 GM) increased by a factor of 2-3 as compared to their triphenylamines analogues. This substantial improvement of the two-photon absorption properties is attributed to the stronger donor character of the trinaphthyl core.