Engineering frontier energy levels in donor-acceptor fluoren-9-ylidene malononitriles versus fluorenones.

Donor-acceptor molecules incorporating fluoren-9-ylidene malononitrile acceptor units conjugated to trimethoxystyrene and/or diarylamine donor units were synthesized, and their electronic spectral properties and electrochemical behaviors were evaluated by comparison to those of the analogous fluorenones. Frontier energy level and optical transition energy trends are explained based on a quantitative, modular donor-acceptor interaction model. A connectivity effect on absorption transition moment strength is also described.