A new tetrathiafulvalene–perylene diimide dyad with a pentaoxa-heptadecane chain as the spacer: metal-ions-induced aggregation

A new TTF–perylene diimide dyad 1 with a pentaoxa-heptadecane chain as the spacer was synthesized and characterized. Absorption and fluorescent spectral studies of dyad 1 and reference compounds 2 and 3 indicate that aggregation of dyad 1 and compound 2 occurs in the presence of metal ions. Such metal-ions-induced aggregation is likely due to the synergic action of the coordination of metal ions with the oligoethylene glycol unit and the π–π stacking of the perylene diimide unit.