Benzofulvene Synthesis and Emission Based Spectroscopy

Abstract

Benzofulvenes and their derivatives have implications as synthetic precursors, molecular materials, and in medicinal applications. The interesting conjugation-based properties of benzofulvenes raises the possibility of color tunability and other optical properties. Our work focuses on the synthesis of various benzofulvenes and investigations into their optical effects through absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy. We are specifically looking to explore push/pull dynamics related to different substituents on our title compounds regarding conjugation and optical effects. This will allow us to determine the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital-Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO-LUMO) energy gaps that may be tunable based on which substituents are involved. Overall, our goal is to increase the reproducibility of benzofulvene synthesis, optimize yield, and manipulate the compounds with varying substituents to gain a better understanding of their optical properties and implications in applied scenarios. At this point in our research, we have gathered strong evidence supporting the tunability of our benzofulvene dimers.