Star shaped ferrocenyl substituted triphenylamines

Abstract

This manuscript reports design and synthesis of star shaped ferrocenyl substituted triphenylamine conjugates (Fc-TPA) 3a-3c by the Pd-catalyzed Sonogshira cross-coupling reaction. Their photophysical and electrochemical properties were investigated, which are a function of the conjugation length. The time dependent density functional (TD-DFT) studies were performed to understand and support the experimental findings. The LUMO could be significantly stabilized by increasing the conjugation. The thermal stability of Fc-TPA 3a-3c can be improved by increasing the conjugation length. The single crystal X-ray structure of Fc-TPA 3a is reported, which show interesting supramolecular interactions leading to the formation of 2D-network. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.