Synthesis and Characterization of 9,9-diethyl-1-phenyl-1,9-dihydrofluoreno[2,3-d]imidazole-ended Fluorophores

A series ofπ-conjugated compounds ending with 9,9-diethyl-1-phenyl-1,9-dihydrofluoreno[2,3-d]imidazole were conveniently synthesized by condensation of the key intermediate9,9-diethyl-N^(2)-phenyl-9H-fluorene-2,3-diamine with the corresponding symmetric aryl phthalaldehydes under very mild conditions.The structures of these compounds were confirmed by^(1)H NMR,^(13)C NMR,and HRMS.Their UV-Vis spectroscopy data,fluorescent spectroscopy data,and further details of the electronic properties from cyclic voltammetry measurements and theoretical calculations were studied.Most compounds possess good fluorescence-emitting ability with quantum yield of fluorescence values in the region of 0.36-0.92 and display emission within 449-513 nm depending on the molecular nature.