Synthesis and Properties of Azulene-Substituted Donor-Acceptor Chromophores Connected by Arylamine Cores: Azulene-Substituted Donor-Acceptor Chromophores with Arylamine Cores

1-Ethynylazulenes connected by several arylamine cores reacted with tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) and 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) in a formal [2+2] cycloaddition–cycloreversion reaction to afford the corresponding tetracyanobutadiene (TCBD) and dicyanoquinodimethane (DCNQ) chromophores, respectively, in excellent yields. The intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) characters between the donor (azulene and arylamine cores) and acceptor (TCBD and DCNQ units) moieties were investigated by UV/Vis spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. The redox behavior of the new TCBD and DCNQ derivatives was examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), which revealed their multistep electrochemical reduction properties. Moreover, significant color changes were observed by visible spectroscopy under the electrochemical reduction conditions.