Homoconjugation-induced enhancements of photophysical properties in donor–acceptor triptycenes arise from interplay between intramolecular charge transfer and exciton states

Strategies for tuning the optical properties of organic chromophores generally focus on shifting the edges of the spectrum: this might be red-shifting the longest absorbance band to improve solar absorbance, or blue-shifting of the highest energy emission band towards deep blue emission. In contrast, strategies to enhance molar absorptivity and control excited state rate constants are less obvious, with intermolecular excitons such as J-aggregates providing arguably the most powerful approach. Here, a homologous series of π-extended triptycenes is presented which reveal opportunities to control both aspects. These molecules have electronic spectra consisting of two distinct regimes, a low energy intramolecular charge transfer and a mid-spectral progression which has characteristics similar to that of a J-aggregate in several respects. This reveals that a homoconjugated framework can be utilised rationally to separate and independently control distinct regions of the electronic structure of the molecule, here leading to controllably amplified mid-spectrum absorbance intensities and high fluorescence quantum yields.