Tuning emission of luminescent 2-7 disubstituted sila-and germafluorenes with -(trifluoromethyl)phenyl, -(malononitrile)phenyl, and -nitrobenzene substituents

2,7-Disubstitution and DFT-guided design have been used to tune emission wavelengths for three new fluorescent 2,7-alkynyl(aryl)-3,6-dimethoxy-9,9-diphenyl-sila- and germafluorenes. Two germafluorenes with trifluoromethyl phenyl and nitrobenzene substituents were prepared using a Pd-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reaction to incorporate alkynyl(aryl) groups at the 2,7-positions of the ring. Another new silafluorene was prepared by modifying a benzaldehyde-substituted silafluorene to incorporate a malononitrile group. These compounds were characterized utilizing multinuclear NMR, UV-Vis, and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. The germafluorene with the trifluoromethyl phenyl substituent was also characterized via elemental analysis and X-ray crystallography. These metallafluorenes (MFs), which are yellow or red-orange crystals in the solid state, showed a wide range of quantum yields and spectroscopic features, with the malononitrile-containing MF exhibiting significantly red-shifted emission relative to other MFs. These data demonstrate the value in applying DFT to MF design and the dramatic impact the 2,7-substituent has on the optical properties of this class of compounds.