A series of disilane-bridged donor-acceptor architectures 1-9 containing strong electron-donating and -withdrawing substituents were designed and synthesized in acceptable yields. The substituents substantially affected the fluorescence and nonlinear optical properties of the compounds. In the solid state, the compounds showed purple-blue fluorescence (λ(em) = 360-420 nm) with high quantum yields (up to 0.81). Compound 3, which had p-N,N-dimethylamino and o-cyano substituents, exhibited optical second harmonic generation (activity 2.9 times that of urea, calculated molecular hyperpolarizability β = 1.6 × 10(-30) esu) in the powder state. Density functional theory calculations for the ground and excited states indicated that both the locally excited state and the intramolecular charge transfer excited state make important contributions to the luminescence behavior.

New important aspects of the hydrogen-bond (H-bond)-dynamics-based switching of electrical conductivity and magnetism in an H-bonded, purely organic conductor crystal have been discovered by modulating its tetrathiafulvalene (TTF)-based molecular π-electron system by means of partial sulfur/selenium substitution. The prepared selenium analogue also showed a similar type of phase transition, induced by H-bonded deuterium transfer followed by electron transfer between the H-bonded TTF skeletons, and the resulting switching of the physical properties; however, subtle but critical differences due to sulfur/selenium substitution were detected in the electronic structure, phase transition nature, and switching function. A molecular-level discussion based on the crystal structures shows that this chemical modification of the TTF skeleton influences not only its own π-electronic structure and π-π interactions within the conducting layer, but also the H-bond dynamics between the TTF π skeletons in the neighboring layers, which enables modulation of the interplay between the H-bond and π electrons to cause such differences.