Air-Stable, Room-Temperature Emissive Disilenes with π-Extended Aromatic Groups

pi-Conjugated disilenes with 2-naphthyl or 2-fluorenyl groups on the silicon atoms have been synthesized as air-stable emissive red solids using the bulky 1,1,3,3,5,5,7,7-octaethyl-s-hydrindacen-4-yl (Eind) groups. The strong a pi-pi* absorptions and distinct emission at room temperature, both in solution and in the solid state, have been observed due to the substantial contribution of the 3p(pi)*(Si-Si)-2p(pi)*(carbon pi-electron system) conjugation.