Highly Efficient Near-Infrared Organic Light-Emitting Diode Based on a Butterfly-Shaped Donor-Acceptor Chromophore with Strong Solid-State Fluorescence and a Large Proportion of Radiative Excitons

π-Extended Hexapyrrolylbenzenes: Exploring Charge-Transfer Phenomena in Donor-Acceptor Propellers

A family of propeller-shaped donor-acceptor hexapyrrolylbenzenes (HPBs) were designed and synthesized by sequential nucleophilic substitution of hexafluorobenzene with π-extended pyrroles. In particular, four hybrids were obtained, containing various combinations of electron-rich and electron-poor acenaphthylene-fused pyrroles. Additionally, to probe the efficiency of ortho transfer interactions, a system was designed containing unique donor and acceptor subunits spatially separated with four unfunctionalized pyrroles. DFT calculations showed propeller-shaped geometries of all HPB molecules and separation of frontier molecular orbitals between donor and acceptor subunits. Steady-state and time-resolved photophysical measurements revealed charge-transfer (CT) character of the emission with strong positive dependence on solvent polarity. The principal CT pathway involves ortho-positioned pairs of donors and acceptors and requires bending of the acceptor in the excited state.

A Feasible Strategy for a Highly Efficient Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Emitter Over 900 nm Based on Phenalenone Derivatives

Near-infrared (NIR) organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) suffer from the low external electroluminescence (EL) quantum efficiency (EQE), which is a critical obstacle for potential applications. Herein, 1-oxo-1-phenalene-2,3-dicarbonitrile (OPDC) is employed as an electron-withdrawing aromatic ring, and by incorporating with triphenylamine (TPA) and biphenylphenylamine (BBPA) donors, two novel NIR emitters with thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) characteristics, namely OPDC-DTPA and OPDC-DBBPA, are first developed and compared in parallel. Intense NIR emission peaks at 962 and 1003 nm are observed in their pure films, respectively. Contributed by the local excited (LE) characteristics in the triplet (T1 ) state in synergy with the charge transfer (CT) characteristics for the singlet (S1 ) state to activate TADF emission, the solution processable doped NIR OLEDs based on OPDC-DTPA and OPDC-DBBPA yield EL peaks at 834 and 906 nm, accompanied with maximum EQEs of 0.457 and 0.103 %, respectively, representing the state-of-the-art EL performances in the TADF emitter-based NIR-OLEDs in the similar EL emission regions so far. This work manifests a simple and effective strategy for the development of NIR TADF emitters with long wavelength and efficiency synchronously.

Critical Role of Removing Impurities in Nickel Oxide on High-Efficiency and Long-Term Stability of Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells

The performance enhancement of inverted perovskite solar cells applying nickel oxide (NiO_x ) as the hole transport layer (HTL) has been limited by impurity ions (such as nitrate ions). Herein, we have proposed a strategy to obtain high-quality NiO_x nanoparticles via an ionic liquid-assisted synthesis method (NiO_x -IL). Experimental and theoretical results illustrate that the cation of the ionic liquid can inhibit the adsorption of impurity ions on nickel hydroxide through a strong hydrogen bond and low adsorption energy, thereby obtaining NiO_x -IL HTL with high conductivity and strong hole-extraction ability. Importantly, the removal of impurity ions can effectively suppress the redox reaction between the NiO_x film and the perovskite film, thus slowing down the deterioration of device performance. Consequently, the modified inverted device shows a striking efficiency exceeding 22.62 %, and superior stability maintaining 92 % efficiency at a maximum power point tracking under one sun illumination for 1000 h.

Donor–acceptor strategy to construct near infrared AIEgens for cell imaging

A donor–acceptor strategy was applied to construct NIR AIEgens. Six new AIEgens were obtained and among them, DMNIC exhibited the longest emission maximum at 694 nm and was successfully applied for NIR cell imaging.

Dark to bright fluorescence state by inter-connecting fluorophores: concentration-dependent blue to NIR emission and live cell imaging applications

Interconnected AIEgens produced concentration dependent tunable emission from blue to NIR.

Structure-controlled intramolecular charge transfer in asymmetric pyrene-based luminogens: synthesis, characterization and optical properties

Four asymmetric D–A type pyrene-based luminogens with tunable optical properties were synthesized, which provide an efficient strategy to achieve pyrene-based full-color photoelectric materials.

Exciton maps for thermally activated delayed fluorescence active/inactive carbazole benzonitrile derivatives

The all-electron first-principles GW+Bethe-Salpeter method was applied to six carbazole benzonitrile (CzBN) derivatives, which were recently reported to be both thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) active and inactive despite their singlet-triplet splittings being commonly around 0.2 eV. The present method successfully reproduced very similar photoabsorption spectra as experiments from the viewpoint of the peak positions and relative peak heights. We also performed exciton analysis with the exciton wave functions for several lowest singlet and triplet exciton states to reveal the details of the optical properties. We applied this to not only the present six CzBN derivatives but also 18 other TADF molecules and proposed a new exciton map to classify the molecules as the TADF active/inactive by using the exciton binding energy in the vertical axis and the ratio of electron and hole delocalization in the horizontal axis. Our results suggest two possible TADF mechanisms: spatially less localized hole states than the electron states where the exciton binding energy is proportional to the ratio of hole and electron delocalization and spatially more localized hole states than the electron states where the exciton binding energy should be large.

High-Performance Ultraviolet Organic Light-Emitting Diode Enabled by High-Lying Reverse Intersystem Crossing

Ultraviolet (UV) organic emitters that can open up applications for future organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are of great value but rarely developed. Here, we report a high-quality UV emitter with hybridized local and charge-transfer (HLCT) excited state and its application in UV OLEDs. The UV emitter, 2BuCz-CNCz, shows the features of low-lying locally excited (LE) emissive state and high-lying reverse intersystem crossing (hRISC) process, which helps to balance the color purity and exciton utilization of UV OLED. Consequently, the OLED based on 2BuCz-CNCz exhibits not only a desired narrowband UV electroluminescent (EL) at 396 nm with satisfactory color purity (CIE_{x, y} =0.161, 0.031), but also a record-high maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 10.79 % with small efficiency roll-off. The state-of-the-art device performance can inspire the design of UV emitters, and pave a way for the further development of high-performance UV OLEDs.

Tuning the UV/Vis Absorption Spectra of Electrochromic Small Molecular Radicals Through Bridge Modulation

Studies on the optical properties of donor-bridge-acceptor (DBA) materials in their radical anion state are rare but important. Such investigations can help to extend the application of DBA materials to opto-electrochemical devices and no longer limit them to optical physics research. In this work, a series of new DBA materials, TACzs, for overcoming this limitation are reported. All TACzs show strong intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) in their photoexcited states, leading to noticeable solvatochromism. Besides, the electronic structures of their radical anions show great variability, displaying different absorption spectra and diverse colors. Moreover, the potential application of TACzs as electrochromic and electro-fluorochromic materials are discussed. This work demonstrates that manipulating the π bridge between the donor and acceptor in the DBA system is an effective pathway not only to tailor the ICT properties of materials in their neutral state, but also to tune the absorption characteristics of their radical anion state, which makes them very promising for applications in electroluminescent and electrochemical devices.

Efficient Red Electroluminescence From Phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole-Naphtho[2,3-c][1,2,5]thiadiazole Donor-Acceptor Derivatives

Red emission is one of the three primary colors and is indispensable for full color displays. Fluorescent materials that can generate efficient red electroluminescence (EL) are limited and need to be developed. In this work, we report efficient red emitters based on phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole-naphtho[2,3-c][1,2,5]thiadiazole donor-acceptor derivatives. The molecules, abbreviated as PINzP and PINzPCN, exhibited high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) up to unity in doped films. They can also reach a relatively high PLQY of ∼30% in neat films. PINzP and PINzPCN were capable of generating efficient red EL in doped devices with a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 6.96% and 5.92%, respectively.

Green-, Red-, and Infrared-Emitting Polymorphs of Sterically Hindered Push-Pull Substituted Stilbenes

The synthesis, XRD single-crystal structure, powder XRD, and solid-state fluorescence of two new DPA-DPS-EWG derivatives (DPA=diphenylamino, DPS=2,5-diphenyl-stilbene, EWG=electron-withdrawing group, that is, carbaldehyde or dicyanovinylene, DCV) are described. Absorption and fluorescence maxima in solvents of various polarity show bathochromic shifts with respect to the parent DPA-stilbene-EWGs. The electronic coupling in dimers and potential twist elasticity of monomers were studied by density functional theory. Both polymorphs of the CHO derivative emit green fluorescence (527 and 550 nm) of moderate intensity (10 % and 5 %) in polycrystalline powder form. Moderate (5 %) red (672 nm) monomer-like emission was also observed for the first polymorph of the DCV derivative, whereas more intense (32 %) infrared (733 nm) emission of the second polymorph was ascribed to the excimer fluorescence.

Near-Infrared (>1000 nm) Light-Harvesters: Design, Synthesis and Applications

Organic molecules can absorb or emit light in UV, visible and infra-red (IR) region of solar radiation. Fifty percent of energy of solar radiation lies in the IR region of solar spectrum and extended π-conjugated molecules containing low optical band gap can absorb NIR radiations. Recently IR molecules have grabbed the attention of synthetic chemists. Although only few molecules have been reported so far such as derivative of BODIPY, naphthalimide, porphyrins, perylene, BBT etc., they have shown highest absorbing capacity towards greater than 1100 nm. These compounds have potential applications in different fields, such as for biomedical and optoelectronic applications. In this review, we present different classes of light-harvesters with harvesting range above 1000 nm.

Triphenylamine/Tetracyanobutadiene-Based π-Conjugated Push-Pull Molecules End-Capped with Arene Platforms: Synthesis, Photophysics, and Photovoltaic Response

π-Conjugated push-pull molecules based on triphenylamine and 1,1,4,4-tetracyanobuta-1,3-diene (TCBD) have been functionalized with different terminal arene units. In solution, these highly TCBD-twisted systems showed a strong internal charge transfer band in the visible spectrum and no detectable photoluminescence (PL). Photophysical and theoretical investigations revealed very short singlet excited state deactivation time of ≈10 ps resulting from significant conformational changes of the TCBD-arene moiety upon photoexcitation, opening a pathway for non-radiative decay. The PL was recovered in vacuum-processed films or when the molecules were dispersed in a PMMA matrix leading to a significant increase of the excited state deactivation time. As shown by cyclic voltammetry, these molecules can act as electron donors compared to C₆₀ . Hence, vacuum-processed planar heterojunction organic solar cells were fabricated leading to a maximum power conversion efficiency of ca. 1.9 % which decreases with the increase of the arene size.

Hetero-bichromophore Dyad as a Highly Efficient Triplet Acceptor for Polarity Tuned Triplet-Triplet Annihilation Upconversion

Triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA UC) was intensively investigated for developing efficient photosensitizers and emitters. But an emission wavelength tunable TTA UC system with only one emitter was rarely reported. A novel hetero-bichromophore dyad, HB-An, showing solvatochromic emission and high fluorescence quantum yields in weakly polar solvents (such as n-hexane, dichloromethane (DCM), and so on) was used as triplet energy acceptor/emitter for polarity tuned TTA UC. A high TTA UC quantum yield up to 25% was achieved and the UC emission wavelengths can be fine-tuned from cyan to yellow by changing the media polarity. This information will be useful for constructing efficient emitting-light-tunable TTA UC system.

Temperature-Controlled Locally Excited and Twisted Intramolecular Charge-Transfer State-Dependent Fluorescence Switching in Triphenylamine-Benzothiazole Derivatives

Triphenylamine-benzothiazole derivatives, N-(4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenyl)-N-phenylbenzenamine (1), N-(4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-3-methoxyphenyl)-N-phenylbenzenamine (2), and 2-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-5-(diphenylamino)phenol (3), showed unusual temperature-controlled locally excited (LE) and twisted intramolecular charge-transfer (TICT) state fluorescence switching in polar solvents. The detailed photophysical studies (absorption, fluorescence, lifetime, and quantum yield) in various solvents confirmed polarity-dependent LE and TICT state formation and fluorescence tuning. 1 and 2 exhibited strong fluorescence with short lifetime in nonpolar solvents compared to polar solvents. 1, 2, and 3 in dimethylformamide (DMF) at room temperature showed low-energy weak TICT state fluorescence, whereas high-energy strong LE state fluorescence was observed at -196 °C. Interestingly, further increasing the temperature from 20 to 100 °C, the DMF solution of 1 and 2 exhibited rare fluorescence enhancement with a slight blue shift of λ_max via activating more vibrational bands of the TICT state. Thus, 1 and 2 showed weak TICT state fluorescence at room temperature, strong LE state fluorescence at -196 °C, and activation of TICT state at 100 °C. Moreover, molecular conformation and aggregation in the solid state influenced strongly on the fluorescence properties of 1, 2, and 3. Solid-state fluorescence and pH-responsive imidazole nitrogen have been exploited for demonstrating halochromism-induced fluorescence switching. Computational studies provided further insights into the fluorescence tuning and switching. The present studies provide understanding and opportunity to make use of D-A organic molecules in the LE and TICT states for achieving fluorescence switching and tuning.

Simply Structured Near-Infrared Emitters with a Multicyano Linear Acceptor for Solution-Processed Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Near-infrared (NIR) organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) show great potential in a variety of applications including sensors, night vision, and information security. Despite the superiority of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in 100 % exciton harvesting, the development of NIR TADF OLEDs is still a great challenge, especially in terms of solution-processing technology. In this work, a multicyano acceptor of 2-dicyanomethylene-3-cyano-4,5,5-trimethyl-2,5-dihydrofurance (TCF) with strong electron-withdrawing ability was employed to construct solution-processible NIR emitters, CzTCF and tBCzTCF, with the feature of donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) structure. The significantly enhanced intermolecular charge transfer effects not only render the deep-red and NIR emissions of CzTCF and tBCzTCF films, respectively, but also lead to their typical TADF characteristics. Consequently, the nondoped solution-processed NIR OLED based on tBCzTCF was successfully demonstrated with the peak wavelength of 715 nm, which paves the way for developing NIR emitters without polycyclic aromatic cores and heavy-metal ions.

Efficient full-colour organic light-emitting diodes based on donor–acceptor electroluminescent materials with a reduced singlet–triplet splitting energy gap

A series of efficient blue-emitting materials, namely, Cz-DPVI, Cz-DMPVI, Cz-DEPVI and TPA-DEPVI, possessing a donor–acceptor architecture with dual carrier transport properties and small singlet–triplet splitting is reported. These compounds exhibit excellent thermal properties with a very high glass-transition temperature (T_g), and thus, a stable uniform thin film was formed during device fabrication. Among the weak donor compounds, specifically, Cz-DPVI, Cz-DMPVI and Cz-DEPVI, the Cz-DEPVI-based device showed the maximum efficiencies (L: 13 955 cd m⁻², η_ex: 4.90%, η_c: 6.0 cd A⁻¹, and η_p: 5.4 lm W⁻¹) with CIE coordinates of (0.15, 0.06) at 2.8 V. The electroluminescent efficiencies of Cz-DEPVI were higher than that of the strong donor TPA-DEPVI-based device (L: 13 856 cd m⁻², η_ex: 4.70%, η_c: 5.7 cd A⁻¹, and η_p: 5.2 lm W⁻¹). Furthermore, these blue emissive materials were used as hosts to construct efficient green and red phosphorescent OLEDs. The green device based on Cz-DEPVI:Ir(ppy)₃ exhibited the maximum L of 8891 cd m⁻², η_ex of 19.3%, η_c of 27.9 cd A⁻¹ and η_p of 33.4 lm W⁻¹ with CIE coordinates of (0.31, 0.60) and the red device based on Cz-DEPVI:Ir(MQ)₂(acac) exhibited the maximum L of 40 565 cd m⁻², η_ex of 19.9%, η_c of 26.0 cd A⁻¹ and η_p of 27.0 lm W⁻¹ with CIE coordinates of (0.64, 0.37).

The Cz-DEPVI device showed high efficiencies of L: 13955 cd m⁻², η_ex: 4.90%, η_c: 6.0 cd A⁻¹, η_p: 5.4 lm W⁻¹ and CIE coordinates of (0.15, 0.06) at 2.8 V.

Dual phosphorescence emission of dinuclear platinum(ii) complex incorporating cyclometallating pyrenyl-dipyridine-based ligand and its application in near-infrared solution-processed polymer light-emitting diodes

Two novel mono- and binuclear cyclometalated platinum(ii) complexes of (BuPyrDPy)Pt(dpm) and (BuPyrDPy)[Pt(dpm)]₂ incorporating a pyrenyl-dipyridine-based cyclometalated ligand were synthesized and characterized, respectively. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction of the two materials revealed each complex's coordination mode; their photophysical, electrochemical as well as electroluminescent properties were also investigated. Both complexes exhibited good solubility and excellent thermal stability. (BuPyrDPy)[Pt(dpm)]₂ presented dual phosphorescence emissive character at room-temperature and showed an increased quantum efficiency compared to that of (BuPyrDPy)Pt(dpm). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to model their photophysical process, and found a significant contribution of the second Pt center to the LUMO plot, giving the T₁ and T₂ states considerable LMCT nature, which is quite rare in metallic complexes. A device with the structure of ITO/PEDOT (40 nm)/PVK : 30 wt% OXD-7 : 16 wt% (BuPyrDPy)[Pt(dpm)]₂ (60 nm)/TPBI (30 nm)/Ba (4 nm)/Al (100 nm) showed a stable NIR emission peak at 695 nm accompanied by two shoulders at 599 nm and 762 nm, with a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 0.31% and a radiance of 26.9 mW cm^-2, which are about 2 and 1.4 times higher than those of (BuPyrDPy)Pt(dpm)-doped devices. This study provides an efficient strategy to simultaneously design novel biluminescent materials and achieve NIR emission through adjusting the emissive triplet states by introducing a second metal into an asymmetric bimetallic system.

Novel phenanthroimidazole-based blue AIEgens: reversible mechanochromism, bipolar transporting properties, and electroluminescence

Multifunctional materials are crucial and have promising applications in a wide range of organic electronics.

Stimuli-responsive fluorescence switching of cyanostilbene derivatives: ultrasensitive water, acidochromism and mechanochromism

A novel donor–π–acceptor structure stimuli-responsive fluorescent material of (Z)-2-(4′-(diphenylamino)-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)-3-(pyridin-2-yl)acrylonitrile (oN-TPA) was designed and synthesized, with the cyano-group and pyridine as the acceptors (A) and triphenylamine as the donor (D). oN-TPA exhibits an obvious solvatochromic effect and the excited state is confirmed to be a hybridized local and charge-transfer (HLCT) state that simultaneously possesses the locally-excited (LE) state and charge transfer (CT) state characters. The LE state ensures relatively high fluorescence efficiency while the CT state provides multi-stimuli responsive fluorescence behaviors because it is easily tuned by the surrounding environment. Firstly, oN-TPA exhibits “on–off–on” fluorescence properties in the mixture of water/tetrahydrofuran (THF) with the increasing water content. For the “on–off” part, a good linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and water fraction is achieved, which is ascribed to the synergistic effect of protons in water and intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) effect depending on solvent polarity. The “off–on” part demonstrates the aggregation-induced enhanced emission (AIEE) character of oN-TPA. Secondly, oN-TPA can be used as a protonic acid sensor to detect trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in solvent and HCl vapour in the solid state due to the binding of the proton to the pyridine group. Finally, oN-TPA presents remarkable and reversible mechanochromic fluorescence switching between 552 nm and 642 nm (90 nm red-shift) during the pressurizing–depressurizing process. This work not only comprehensively demonstrates the stimuli-responsive fluorescence behaviors of oN-TPA, but also provides a D–π–A structure fluorescent material possessing potential applications in detection and sensing with remarkable fluorescence changes.

A donor–acceptor dye exhibits high luminescence efficiency and high-contrast piezochromism with HLCT properties. The doped films show the ratiometric photo-luminescence peak shift under high pressure, interestingly, making them piezo-sensors.

Tailoring the molecular design of twisted dihydrobenzodioxin phenanthroimidazole derivatives for non-doped blue organic light-emitting devices

Three fused polycyclic aryl fragments, namely, naphthyl, methoxynaphthyl, and pyrenyl have been used to construct blue-emissive phenanthroimidazole-functionalized target molecules, i.e., 1-(2,3-dihydrobenzo[b][1,4]dioxin-6-yl)-2-(naphthalen-1-yl)-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole (1), 1-(2,3-dihydrobenzo[b][1,4]dioxin-6-yl)-2-(1-methoxynaphthalen-4-yl)-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole (2), and 1-(2,3-dihydrobenzo[b][1,4]dioxin-6-yl)-2-(pyren-10-yl)-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole (3). The up-conversion of triplets to singlets via a triplet–triplet annihilation (TTA) process is dominant in these compounds due to 2E_T1 > E_S1. The pyrenyl dihydrobenzodioxin phenanthroimidazole (3)-based nondoped OLED exhibits blue emission (450 nm) with CIE (0.15, 0.14), a luminance of 53 890 cd m⁻², power efficiency of 5.86 lm W⁻¹, external quantum efficiency of 5.30%, and current efficiency of 6.90 cd A⁻¹. The efficient device performance of pyrenyl dihydrobenzodioxin phenanthroimidazole is due to the TTA contribution to the electroluminescent process.

Efficient blue emitters, 1-(2,3-dihydrobenzodioxinyl)-2-naphthylphenanthroimidazole, 1-(2,3-dihydrobenzodioxinyl)-2-methoxynaphthylphenanthroimidazole and 1-(2,3-dihydrobenzodioxinyl)-2-pyrenylphenanthroimidazole have been reported.

Iodide capped PbS/CdS core-shell quantum dots for efficient long-wavelength near-infrared light-emitting diodes

PbS based quantum dots (QDs) have been studied in great detail for potential applications in electroluminescent devices operating at wavelengths important for telecommunications (1.3-1.6 μm). Despite the recent advances in field of quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED), further improvements in near-infrared (NIR) emitting device performance are still necessary for the widespread use and commercialization of NIR emitting QLED technology. Here, we report a high-performance 1.51-μm emitting QLED with inverted organic-inorganic hybrid device architecture and PbS/CdS core-shell structured quantum dots as emitter. The resultant QLEDs show a record device performance for the QLEDs in 1.5 μm emission window, with a maximum radiance of 6.04 Wsr^-1 m^-2 and peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 4.12%, respectively.

Deep-Red to Near-Infrared Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence in Organic Solid Films and Electroluminescent Devices

The design and synthesis of highly efficient deep red (DR) and near-infrared (NIR) organic emitting materials with characteristic of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) still remains a great challenge. A strategy was developed to construct TADF organic solid films with strong DR or NIR emission feature. The triphenylamine (TPA) and quinoxaline-6,7-dicarbonitrile (QCN) were employed as electron donor (D) and acceptor (A), respectively, to synthesize a TADF compound, TPA-QCN. The TPA-QCN molecule with orange-red emission in solution was employed as a dopant to prepare DR and NIR luminescent solid thin films. The high doped concentration and neat films exhibited efficient DR and NIR emissions, respectively. The highly efficient DR and NIR organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) were fabricated by regulating TPA-QCN dopant concentration in the emitting layers.

Fluorescence via Reverse Intersystem Crossing from Higher Triplet States in a Bisanthracene Derivative

To elucidate the high external quantum efficiency observed for organic light-emitting diodes using a bisanthracene derivative (BD1), non-radiative transition processes as well as radiative ones are discussed employing time-dependent density functional theory. It has been previously reported that the observed high external quantum efficiency of BD1 cannot be explained by the conventional thermally activated delayed fluorescence involving T1 exciton nor triplet-triplet annihilation. The calculated off-diagonal vibronic coupling constants of BD1, which govern the non-radiative transition rates, suggest a fluorescence via higher triplets (FvHT) mechanism, which entails the conversion of a high triplet exciton generated during electrical excitation into a fluorescent singlet exciton. This mechanism is valid as long as the relaxation of high triplet states to lower states is suppressed. In the case of BD1, its pseudo-degenerate electronic structure helps the suppression. A general condition is also discussed for the suppression of transitions in molecules with pseudo-degenerate electronic structures.

Charge-transfer states in triazole linked donor-acceptor materials: strong effects of chemical modification and solvation

A series of 1,2,3-triazole linked donor-acceptor chromophores are prepared by Click Chemistry from ene-yne starting materials. The effects of three distinct chemical variations are investigated: enhancing the acceptor strength through oxidation of the sulphur atom, alteration of the double bond configuration, and variation of the triazole substitution pattern. A detailed photophysical characterization shows that these alterations have a negligible effect on the absorption while dramatically altering the emission wavelengths. In addition, strong solvatochromism is found leading to significant red shifts in the case of polar solvents. The experimental findings are rationalized and related to the electronic structure properties of the chromophores by time-dependent density functional theory as well as the ab initio algebraic diagrammatic construction method for the polarization propagator in connection with a new formalism allowing to model the influence of solvation onto long-lived excited states and their emission energies. These calculations highlight the varying degree of intramolecular charge transfer character present for the different molecules and show that the amount of charge transfer is strongly modulated by the conducted chemical modifications, by the solvation of the chromophores, and by the structural relaxation in the excited state. It is, furthermore, shown that enhanced charge separation, as induced by chemical modification or solvation, reduces the singlet-triplet gaps and that two of the investigated molecules possess sufficiently low gaps to be considered as candidates for thermally activated delayed fluorescence.