Synthesis and characterization of dendritic multichromophores based on rylene dyes for vectorial transduction of excitation energy

The synthesis of dendritic multichromophores based on a rigid polyphenylene scaffold is presented. Different rylene chromophores are incorporated into the core, the branches, and the surface of the dendrimer. In this way, two generations of dendritic dyads consisting of a terrylenediimide core, a stiff polyphenylene scaffold, and a perylenemonoimide periphery were obtained. Furthermore, the first synthetic approach to a dendritic triad is introduced. The outer sphere of this macromolecule is formed by naphthalenemonoimide chromophores, whereas perylenemonoimide groups are located in the dendritic scaffold, and the terrylenediimide chromophore serves as a core molecule. This multichromophore absorbs over the whole range of the visible spectrum and shows well-separated absorption envelopes. In the course of dendrimer synthesis new attempts towards a straightforward functionalization strategy for rylene dyes are also presented.