Nitrogen-centered buckybowls with sulfur decoration at the rim were synthesized and characterized. The buckybowls demonstrate tunable properties depending on the state of the sulfur atom.

A concave indolo[3,2,1-jk]carbazole-based compound was synthesized and characterized, which was further compared with the property of its planar congener. The results reveal that the change in molecular shape alters the molecular electronic structure, thus leading to the reduced aromaticity and divergent energy levels of frontier molecular orbitals of the concave compound. Moreover, the bowl-shaped molecule demonstrates a blue-shift in the UV/Vis absorption and a redshift in the weakened fluorescence emission due to the vibration of the concave face.