The synthesis, characterization and optical properties of novel 2-acyl 6-arylindolizines.

A series of novel 2-acyl-6-aryl substituted indolizine derivatives was synthesized by a novel tandem reaction between 4-acyl-pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde derivatives and ethyl 4-bromo-3-arylbut-2-enoate under mild conditions. The compounds were characterized using IR, (1)H NMR (13)C NMR and HRMS. The crystal structure of 7a was determined using single crystal X-ray crystallography. The absorption results showed that compounds 7a-e presented their absorption maxima at ca. 270 nm, while compounds 7f and 7g with a larger conjugation system exhibited red-shifted absorption character (ca. 280 nm). Fluorescence spectra revealed that these compounds exhibited blue fluorescence (434-456 nm) in dilute solutions and showed quantum yields of fluorescence between 0.02 and 0.39 in dichloromethane.