Radical Anions of Trifluoromethylated Perylene and Naphthalene Imide and Diimide Electron Acceptors

A series of electron-deficient perylene and naphthalene imides and diimides (1–4) with varying degrees of trifluoromethylation were synthesized. Single crystal X-ray analysis afforded detailed structural information, while spectroelectrochemical and EPR spectroscopy provided characterization of the radical anions of 1–4. This study reveals that trifluoromethylation of the imides and diimides makes their one-electron reduction potentials substantially more positive relative to the unsubstituted counterparts, while their other properties remain largely unchanged.