Rational Molecular Design and Synthesis of Highly Thermo‐ and Photostable Near‐Infrared‐Absorbing Heptamethine Cyanine Dyes with the Use of Fluorine Atoms

Highly thermo‐ and photostable, near‐infrared‐absorbing heptamethine cyanine dyes were achieved with the use of fluorine‐containing components. In particular, one prepared heptamethine cyanine dye, bearing a tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate as a counter anion and an N ‐ethyl‐2,2,2‐trifluoroacetamido group at the meso position, showed not only a high decomposition temperature ( T dt ), but also very high photostability toward white LED irradiation.