The three organic two-photon-absorbing cycloalkanone chromophores 2,4-bis[4-(diethylamino)benzylidene]cyclobutanone, C26H32N2O (I), 2,5-bis[4-(diethylamino)benzylidene]cyclopentanone, C27H34N2O (II), and 2,6-bis[4-(diethylamino)benzylidene]cyclohexanone, C28H36N2O (III), were obtained by a reaction between 4-(diethylamino)benzaldehyde and the corresponding cycloalkanone and were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies, as well as density functional theory (DFT) quantum-chemical calculations. Molecules of this series have three main fragments, i.e. central acceptor (A) and two terminal donors (D1 and D2) and represent examples of the D1-π-A-π-D2 molecular design. All three compounds crystallize with two crystallographically independent molecules in the asymmetric unit (A and B) and are distinguished by the conformations of both the molecular Et2N-C6H4-C=C-C(=O)-C=C-C6H4-NEt2 backbone (arcuate or linear) and the terminal diethylamino substituents (syn- or antiperiplanar to the plane of the molecule). The central four- and five-membered rings in I and II are almost planar, and the six-membered ring in III adopts a sofa conformation. In the crystals of I-III, the two independent molecules A and B form hydrogen-bonded [A...B] dimers via intermolecular C-H...O hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, the [A...B] dimers in I are bound by intermolecular C-H...O hydrogen bonds into two-tier puckered layers, whereas in the crystals of II and III, the [A...B] dimers are stacked along the c and a axes, respectively. Taking into account the decreasing steric strain upon expanding the central ring, compound I might be more efficient as a two-photon absorption chromophore than compounds II and III, which corresponds to the results of spectroscopic studies.
Keywords: chromophore; crystal structure; cycloalkanone; two-photon absorption.