Abstract
Organic chromophores emerged as diverse functional materials in the areas of organic
catalysis, toxic materials sensing, bio-imaging, and organic electronic devices. With
rich chemical and electronic structures, main-group elements have been extensively
implanted in organic chromophores to fine-tune the chemical/electronic structures
and optoelectronic properties. In this Synpact article, we present a concise overview
of the development of phosphorus (P)-containing organic chromophores, further highlighting
our recent contributions in the field. A new aspect of combining the P element with
the indole moiety was pursued to construct a new series of seven-membered P-organic
chromophores; namely, indole-functionalized phosphepines. The new combination endowed
the system with rich chemical and electronic structures, for which intriguing photophysical
properties were consequently revealed. The combination provided an efficient synthetic
protocol to access new P-heterocycles and also offered a new strategy to design functional
organic chromophores.
Key words
heterocycles - phosphepines - organic chromophores - conformation - photophysical
property