Synthesis and Computational Study of Semicroconaines and non-Symmetric Croconaines

The synthesis of two new dye families of croconic acid derivatives, semicroconaine and non-symmetric croconaine dyes, is reported for the first time. These compounds show strong absorption in the UV-visible and NIR, respectively. Semicroconaine dyes were obtained by a scalable and efficient condensation of croconic acid with aromatic heterocyclic methylene-active compounds. The subsequent reaction of the semicroconaine dyes with aromatic heterocyclic compounds affords non-symmetric croconaines. The structure and electronic properties of the synthesized compounds have been investigated by preliminary theoretical calculations at DFT level of approximation.