| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 175861 | Dyes and Pigments | 2015 | 8 Pages |
•Absorption and fluorescence properties and X-ray crystal structures of six boron dipyrromethene laser dyes are investigated.•An empirical relationship between optical properties and structural perturbations is established.•Quantum chemical calculations and electronic constants are utilized to support and rationalize this relationship.
The absorption and fluorescence properties of six boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) laser dyes with simple non-aromatic substituents are rationalized by relating them to observable structural perturbations within the molecules of the dyes. An empirical relationship involving the structure and the optical properties is derived using a combination of single-crystal X-ray diffraction data, quantum chemical calculations and electronic constants: i.e. the tendency of the pyrrole bond lengths towards aromaticity and the UV–vis absorption and fluorescence wavelengths correlate with the electron-donor properties of the substituents. The effect of molecular conformation on the solid-state optical properties of the dyes is also discussed. The findings in this study also demonstrate the usefulness and limitations of using crystal structure data to develop structure-property relationships in this class of optical materials, contributing to the growing effort to design optoelectronic materials with tunable properties via molecular engineering.
Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide
