Anthracene-Fused BODIPYs as Near-Infrared Dyes with High Photostability

An anthracene unit was successfully fused to the zigzag edge of a boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) core by an FeCl3-mediated oxidative cyclodehydrogenation reaction. Meanwhile, a dimer was also formed by both intramolecular cyclization and intermolecular coupling. The anthracene-fused BODIPY monomer la and dimer 7b showed small energy gaps (similar to 1.4 eV) and near-Infrared absorption/emission. Moreover, they exhibited high photostability.