Synthesis and electronic properties of ferrocene-containing organic dyads

Novel ferrocene–oligothiophenylene–cyanoacrylic acid in the form of donor–spacer–acceptor dyads was synthesized. The compound with a single unit of thiophenylene showed the lowest energy transition in neutral state. For radical cations, the lowest energy transition appears red-shifted along with the increased number of thiophenylene units. These results suggested that the electronic structure of radical cations is significantly different from that of neutral molecules.