Bent naphthodithiophenes: synthesis and characterization of isomeric fluorophores.

Thiophene-containing heteroarenes are one of the most well-known classes of π-conjugated building blocks for photoactive molecules. Isomeric naphthodithiophenes (NDTs) are at the forefront of this research area due to their straightforward synthesis and derivatization. Notably, NDT geometries that are bent - such as naphtho[2,1-:3,4-']dithiophene (α-NDT) and naphtho[1,2-:4,3-']dithiophene (β-NDT) - are seldom employed as photoactive small molecules.