Bay- and Ortho-Octasubstituted Perylenes

A key intermediate compound, 2,5,8,11-tetrabromo-1,6,7,12-tetrabutoxyperylene (Per-4Br), was synthesized from 3,6-dibromo-2,7-dioxylnaphthalene via simple regioselective oxidative radical–radical coupling, followed by reduction and nucleophilic substitution. Various bay- and ortho-octasubstituted perylenes containing cyano, methoxy and aryl groups were then obtained by nucleophilic substitution or Pd-catalyzed coupling reactions. X-ray crystallographic analyses reveal that these new perylene molecules process a twisted structure due to steric congestion at the bay-regions and there is no obvious intermolecular π–π interaction. As a result, they exhibit moderate fluorescence quantum yields even in solid state. Therefore, Per-4Br can serve as a versatile building block for various functional perylene dyes with tunable optoelectronic property.