Theoretical insights into UV-Vis absorption spectra of difluoroboron β-diketonates with an extended π system: An analysis based on DFT and TD-DFT calculations.

The UV–Vis absorption spectra of difluoroboron β-diketonates with aromatic substituents at the β-carbon are studied thoroughly using DFT and TD-DFT with the CAM-B3LYP functional. The complicated experimental spectra of these dyes can be correctly interpreted by considering their structural features. A closer look at the calculated data shows that the conformational flexibility of these compounds markedly influences their spectral shape. For the complexes with an extended π system, several conformers with significantly different absorption spectra are present in the equilibrium mixture in solution. Introducing a donor group alters the electronic structure of the complexes, so the charge distribution asymmetry in the molecules increases and the nature of the electronic transitions changes. Thus, both types of substituents, aromatic and donor ones, affect the spectral shape. Understanding their roles may help one to explain the absorption spectra of these and similar compounds and predict their response to analytes and other factors.