Synthesis of 2,3-diiodoindenes and their applications in construction of 13H-indeno[1,2-l]phenanthrenes

A series of 2,3-diiodoindene were synthesized at first, and 13H-indeno[1,2-l]phenanthrenes were then constructed via a Suzuki coupling reaction and subsequently a Scholl reaction. Structures of synthesized compounds were fully characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and HRMS. Their photophysical properties, such as UV–vis and FL spectra were investigated, and electronic properties were theoretically calculated by the software of Gaussian 03. The results suggested that these modified indene and indenophenanthrene compounds might have potential applications as light emitting materials.