The Synthesis, X‐ray Structure Analysis, and Photophysical Characterization of 4‐[( E )‐2‐(4‐Carboxyphenyl)diazenyl]‐morpholine

4‐[( E )‐2‐(4‐Carboxyphenyl)diazenyl]‐morpholine ( 1 ) was prepared in 33% yield from a coupling reaction between morpholine and the diazonium ion formed from 4‐aminobenzoic acid. X‐ray structural analysis of 1 yielded two important insights into its structure: the geometry of the N―N double bond and the partial delocalization across the linear triazene moiety. The absorption spectra of 1 in dilute acetonitrile and 2‐methyltetrahydrofuran solutions both featured an intense ( ε  ≈ 20,000 M −1 cm −1 ) band centered at 320–324 nm that was assigned as a mixture of π → π* and n → π* transitions. Emission was observed at 383 and 379 nm from dilute acetonitrile and 2‐methyltetrahydrofuran solutions of 1 , respectively, with the latter being red‐shifted to 439 nm at 77 K. Emission lifetime data for compound 1 provided evidence that the emission was a mixture of two excited state transitions.