3,3,4,4,5,5-Hexafluoro-1-[2-methyl-5-(2-fluorophenyl)-3-thienyl]-2-(2-methyl-5-phenyl-3-thienyl)cyclopent-1-ene, a new photochromic dithienylethene

Abstract

The title compound, C27H17F7S2, a new unsymmetrical photochromic dithienylethene with an ortho-fluoro­phenyl substituent, is one of the most promising candidates for photoelectronic applications, such as optical storage, photoswitches and waveguides. There are two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. Both adopt a photoactive anti-parallel conformation. For one mol­ecule, the distance between the two reactive C atoms is 3.572 (6) Å; the dihedral angles between the central cyclo­pentene ring and the thio­phene rings are 49.7 (2) and 45.9 (2)°, and those between the thio­phene rings and the adjacent benzene rings are 8.1 (2) and 25.5 (1)°. For the other mol­ecule, the distance between the two reactive C atoms is 3.588 (6) Å; the dihedral angles between the central cyclo­pentene ring and the thio­phene rings are 43.7 (2) and 46.8 (2)°, and those between the thio­phene rings and the adjacent benzene rings are 27.5 (1) and 11.1 (2)°.