A New Platform of B/N-Doped Cyclophanes: Access to a π-Conjugated Block-Type B₃N₃ Macrocycle with Strong Dipole Moment and Unique Optoelectronic Properties

We herein describe a new design principle to achieve B/N-doped cyclophane where an electron-donor block of three triarylamines (Ar₃N) and an acceptor block of three triarylboranes (Ar₃B) are spatially separated on opposite sides of the π-extended ring system. DFT computations revealed the distinct electronic structure of the block-type macrocycle MC-b-B3N3 with a greatly enhanced dipole moment and reduced HOMO–LUMO energy gap in comparison to its analogue with alternating B and N sites, MC-alt-B3N3. The unique arrangement of borane acceptor Ar₃B and amine donor Ar₃N components in MC-b-B3N3 induces exceptionally strong intramolecular charge transfer in the excited state, which is reflected in a largely red-shifted luminescence at 612 nm in solution. The respective linear open-chain oligomer L-b-B3N3 was also synthesized for comparison. Our new approach to donor–acceptor macrocycles offers important fundamental insights and opens up a new avenue to unique optoelectronic materials.