A novel electron acceptor, namely, tetra-phthalimide end-fused bifluorenylidene (3D-imide) was designed and synthesized. In comparison to its framework analogue 12,12'-bidibenzo[b,h]fluorenylidene (BF-3), the electron withdrawing capability and optical absorption were strengthened and enlarged, respectively. Moreover, photoluminescence quenching experiments were carried out, which confirmed 3D-imide could be a good candidate for nonfullene organic photovoltaics. Finally, we gained more insight into its electronic properties through density functional theory calculation.
