Evaluating effect of donors and their linking position on photophysical properties of 2-phenylfuro[2,3-b]quinoxaline-based donor-π-acceptor molecules

•Two linear D-π-A molecules, pCz-FQ and TPA-FQ, and one folded molecule, oCz-FQ, are synthesized.•The TPA-FQ shows better photoluminescence and electroluminescence than pCz-FQ.•Increasing of electron donating capability of donor, the T2-T1 energy gap of compound can be raised to 0.89 eV.•Changing linear molecule pCz-FQ to folded molecule oCz-FQ can significantly enhance S1-Tn spin-orbital coupling.