Replacing Phenyl Ring with Thiophene: An Approach to Longer Wavelength Aza-dipyrromethene Boron Difluoride (Aza-BODIPY) Dyes

In the orignial 1,3,5,7-tetraphenyl aza-BODIPY, replacing the phenyl rings with thiophene achieved significant bathochromic shifts. One of the target molecules, DPDTAB, emitting strong NIR fluorescence with a quantum yield of 0.46 in acetonitrile, is a very competitive NIR fluorophore.