Tetracyanodibenzotetrathiafulvalene Diimides: Design, Synthesis, and Property Study

Tetracyanodibenzotetrathiafulvalene diimide (TCDBTTF-DI), an isomer of core-expanded naphthalene diimides bearing two 2-(1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene)malononitrile moieties (NDI-DTYM2), has been designed and synthesized to explore the effect of its isomeric structure on the optical and electrochemical properties of the materials. UV–vis spectra show that TCDBTTF-DI exhibits variation in its absorption peaks while maintaining a similar optical band gap to NDI-DTYM2. Electrochemical studies indicate that TCDBTTF-DI can not only accept but also lose electrons, in contrast to the solely electron-accepting behavior of NDI-DTYM2.