A highly modular synthesis of BNB- and BOB-doped phenalenyls is presented. Treatment of the 1,8-naphthalenediyl-bridged boronic acid anhydride 1 with LiAlH4/Me3SiCl afforded the corresponding 1,8-naphthalenediyl-supported diborane(6) 2, which served as the starting material for all subsequent transformations. Upon addition of MesMgBr/Me3SiCl, 2 was readily converted to the tetraorganyl diborane(6) 5. The further heteroatoms were finally introduced through the reaction of 2 with (Me3Si)2NR′ or 5 with H2NR′ or H2O (R′ = H, Me, p-Tol). A helically twisted, fully BNB-embedded PAH 11 was prepared by combining 2 with a dibrominated m-terphenylamine, followed by a Grignard-mediated double ring-closure reaction. All compounds devoid of B–H bonds show favorable optoelectronic properties, such as luminescence and reversible reduction behavior. In the case of the BNB-phenalenyl 7 (BMes, NMe), the radical-anion salt K­[7 •] was generated through chemical reduction with K metal and characterized by EPR spectroscopy. K­[7 •] is not long-term stable in a THF/c-hexane solution, but abstracts an H atom with formation of the diamagnetic BNB-doped 1H-phenalene K­[7H].

Replacing both meso carbon atoms of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) bisanthene by boron atoms creates an efficient blue fluorophore with a strong electron-accepting character. The corresponding meso-B,S-doped bisanthene exhibits a solvent-dependent green-to-orange photoluminescence and undergoes a reversible reduction at E1/2 =-2.06 V (vs. FcH/FcH(+) ). After oxidation of the sulfur atom, the resulting sulfoxide emits in the blue range of the spectrum, shows only negligible solvatochromism, and a reversible redox transition at E1/2 =-1.74 V. Several related B, N- and B, S-containing PAHs have been prepared following the same modular synthetic procedure and are also described herein. In order to systematically compare their optoelectronic properties, all products have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry as well as UV/Vis absorption/emission spectroscopy.