Three push-pull chromophores comprising a triphenylamine (TPA) as electron-donating moiety and functionalized beta-diketones as electron acceptor units are studied by various spectroscopic techniques. The time-correlated single-photon counting data shows that increasing the number of electron acceptor units accelerates photoluminescence relaxation rate of compounds. Transient spectra data shows that intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) takes place from TPA units to beta-diketones units after photoexcitation. Increasing the number of electron acceptor units would prolong the generation process of ICT state, and accelerate the excited molecule reorganization process and the relaxation process of ICT state. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.