Impact of 2,6-connectivity in azulene: optical properties and stimuli responsive behavior

The possible incorporation of the redox active, small donor acceptor molecule azulene as a core structure for potential optoelectronic applications has been evaluated. The synthesis and characterization of different isomers of di(phenylethynyl)azulene 1-4 have been successfully carried out. The photophysical properties as well as their stimuli responsive behavior reflecting their corresponding electronic properties were also investigated. The experimental observations show that 2,6-connection (3) exhibits intense luminescence and shows the strongest stimuli responsive behavior upon acid treatment. DFT calculations of 3 reveal the highest contributions of the alkyne substituents at the 2- and 6-position of the azulene to the ground-and excited state that makes the 2,6-connectivity at azulene a very promising candidate for low band-gap conjugated materials.