Synthesis of 1,1’‐diphenyl‐2‐thienyl‐2’‐(4‐substituted‐styryl)ethenes via oxidative Heck coupling reaction and photophysical studies

Abstract

In this paper, we report the synthesis of four new 1,1’‐diphenyl‐2‐thienyl‐2’‐(4‐substituted‐styryl) ethenes via one‐step oxidative Heck coupling reaction of 1,1’‐diphenyl‐2,2’‐dithienylethene (DPDTE). This is a useful method to alkenylate DPDTE in order to enhance its fluorescence as well as its aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) properties. 1,1’‐Diphenyl‐2‐thienyl‐2’‐(4‐methylstyryl)ethene showed low fluorescent intensity in CHCl3 solution but very high AIE intensities. On the other hand, 1,1’‐diphenyl‐2‐thienyl‐2’‐(4‐acetoxystyryl)ethene showed both high fluorescence in CHCl3 solution and AIE intensities.