Highly Efficient Deep Blue Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Imidazole: Significantly Enhanced Performance by Effective Energy Transfer with Negligible Efficiency Roll-off

Sterically Crowded Donor-Rich Imidazole Systems as Hole Transport Materials for Solution-Processed OLEDs

Imidazole, being an interesting dinitrogenic five-membered heterocyclic core, has been widely explored during the last several decades for developing various fascinating materials. Among the different domains where imidazole-based materials find wide applications, the area of optoelectronics has seen an overwhelming growth of functional imidazole derivatives developed through remarkable design and synthesis strategies. The present work reports a design approach for integrating bulky donor units at the four terminals of an imidazole core, leading to the development of sterically populated imidazole-based molecular platforms with interesting structural features. Rationally chosen starting substrates led to the incorporation of a bulky donor at the four terminals of the imidazole core. In addition, homo- and cofunctional molecular systems were synthesized through a suitable combination of initial ingredients. Our approach was extended to develop a series of four molecular systems, i.e., Cz3PhI, Cz4I, Cz3PzI, and TPA3CzI, containing carbazole, phenothiazine, and triphenylamine as known efficient donors at the periphery. Given their interesting structural features, three sterically crowded molecules (Cz4I, Cz3PzI, and TPA3CzI) were screened by using DFT and TD-DFT calculations to investigate their potential as hole transport materials (HTMs) for optoelectronic devices. The theoretical studies on several aspects including hole reorganization and exciton binding energies, ionization potential, etc., revealed their potential as possible candidates for the hole transport layer of OLEDs. Single-crystal analysis of Cz3PhI and Cz3PzI established interesting structural features including twisted geometries, which may help attain high triplet energy. Finally, the importance of theoretical predictions was established by fabricating two solution-process green phosphorescent OLED devices using TPA3CzI and Cz3PzI as HTMs. The fabricated devices exhibited good EQE/PE and CE of ∼15%/56 lm/W/58 cd/A and ∼13%/47 lm/W/50 cd/A, respectively, at 100 cd/m2.

Deep-Blue Triplet-Triplet Annihilation Organic Light-Emitting Diode (CIEy ≈ 0.05) Using Tetraphenylimidazole and Benzonitrile Functionalized Anthracene/Chrysene Emitters

Herein, new deep-blue triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) molecules, namely 4-(10-(4-(1,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl)anthracen-9-yl)benzonitrile (TPIAnCN) and 4-(12-(4-(1,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl)chrysen-6-yl)benzonitrile (TPIChCN), are designed, synthesized, and investigated as emitters for organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). TPIAnCN and TPIChCN are composed of polyaromatic hydrocarbons of anthracene (An) and chrysene (Ch) as the cores functionalized with tetraphenylimidazole (TPI) and benzonitrile (CN) moieties, respectively. The experimental and theoretical results verify their excellent thermal properties, photophysical properties, as well as electrochemical properties. Particularly, their emissions are in the deep blue region, with TTA emissions being observed in their thin films. By utilization of these molecules as emitters, deep blue TTA OLEDs with CIE coordinates of (0.15, 0.05), high external quantum efficiency of 6.84%, and high exciton utilization efficiency (η_s) of 48% were fabricated. This result manifests the potential use of chrysene as an alternate building block to formulate new TTA molecules for accomplishing high-performance TTA OLEDs.

Small Molecules Containing Amphoteric Imidazole Motifs as Sensitizers for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: An Overview

Organic dyes, porphyrins and inorganic complexes containing imidazole (IM) motifs have been demonstrated as a new class of sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Particularly, the amphoteric nature of IM-based motifs allows them to be used as donors (D), auxiliary donors (D_A), linker/branch (π), or acceptors (A) in D-π-A-based organic dyes and porphyrins and also employed as cyclometalated heteroleptic and ancillary ligands in the Ru(II) and Ir(III) complexes for DSSCs. It is noteworthy that the introduction of IM chromophores in the dyes of D-π-A configuration can improve the light-harvesting properties and prohibit the charge recombination reactions due to the extension of the π-conjugated structures and hydrophobic nature. Similarly, in the case of inorganic complexes, the presence of IM motifs as ligands can improve the light-harvesting ability, give facilely tuned HOMO and LUMO energy levels, increase the charge recombination resistance and photostability. This results in enhanced photocurrent (J_SC) and photovoltage (V_OC) and consequently solar-to-power conversion efficiency (η) of DSSC devices based on Ru(II) and Ir(III) complexes. Considering the interesting DSSC applications of IM-derived molecules, in this review, we therefore comprehensively discuss their photophysical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties reported so far and establish their structure-activity relationship to further advance the η of DSSCs. To the best of our knowledge, there is no such a review interpreting the importance of molecules possessing IM-motifs for DSSC applications to date.

Efficient blue organic electrochemiluminescence luminophore based on a pyrenyl-phenanthroimidazole conjugate

A pyrenyl-phenanthroimidazole (Py-PI) conjugate emitted strong blue electrochemiluminescence (ECL) emission via the reductive-oxidation co-reactant pathway, with an ECL efficiency 3.3 times higher than that of the 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA) reference compound.

Unipolar 1-phenylimidazo[1,5-a]pyridine: A new class of ultra-bright sky blue emitters for solution-processed organic light emitting diodes

Three fluorophores based on Imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine (ImPy) decorated with aromatic π-system (C3 position of ImPy is decorated with naphthalene, methoxy-naphthalene and pyrene) were designed and synthesized by one-pot synthesis method. The...

Rational Design of Chrysene-Based Hybridized Local and Charge-Transfer Molecules as Efficient Non-Doped Deep-Blue Emitters for Simple-Structured Electroluminescent Devices

Herein, we present a molecular design of chrysene-based deep-blue emissive materials (TC, TpPC, TpXC, and TmPC), in which chrysene as a core is functionalized with different triphenylamine moieties to realize a fine-tuning deep-blue fluorescence with superior electroluminescent (EL) performance. The photophysical analyses and density functional theory (DFT) calculations disclose that TC, TpPC, and TpXC possess HLCT characteristics with intense deep-blue emission in the solid-state, good hole-transporting ability, and high thermal and electrochemical stabilities. They are successfully employed as non-doped emitters in simple structured OLEDs (ITO/PEDOT : PSS : NF/emitter/TPBi/LiF : Al). In particular, TC-based device emits a deep-blue light with an emission peak at 446 nm and CIE color coordinates of (0.148, 0.096), a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE_max ) of 4.31%, and a low turn-on voltage of 2.8 V.

Polymer Dots with Enhanced Photostability, Quantum Yield, and Two-Photon Cross-Section using Structurally Constrained Deep-Blue Fluorophores

Semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots) have emerged as versatile probes for bioanalysis and imaging at the single-particle level. Despite their utility in multiplexed analysis, deep blue Pdots remain rare due to their need for high-energy excitation and sensitivity to photobleaching. Here, we describe the design of deep blue fluorophores using structural constraints to improve resistance to photobleaching, two-photon absorption cross sections, and fluorescence quantum yields using the hexamethylazatriangulene motif. Scanning tunneling microscopy was used to characterize the electronic structure of these chromophores on the atomic scale as well as their intrinsic stability. The most promising fluorophore was functionalized with a polymerizable acrylate handle and used to give deep-blue fluorescent acrylic polymers with M_n > 18 kDa and Đ < 1.2. Nanoprecipitation with amphiphilic polystyrene-graft-(carboxylate-terminated poly(ethylene glycol)) gave water-soluble Pdots with blue fluorescence, quantum yields of 0.81, and molar absorption coefficients of (4 ± 2) × 10⁸ M^-1 cm^-1. This high brightness facilitated single-particle visualization with dramatically improved signal-to-noise ratio and photobleaching resistance versus an unencapsulated dye. The Pdots were then conjugated with antibodies for immunolabeling of SK-BR3 human breast cancer cells, which were imaged using deep blue fluorescence in both one- and two-photon excitation modes.

Twisted Phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole Derivatives as Non-doped Emitters for Efficient Electroluminescent Devices with Ultra-Deep Blue Emission and High Exciton Utilization Efficiency

Herein, two deep-blue emissive molecules (SAF-PI and SAF-DPI) are designed and synthesized using spiro[acridine-9,9'-fluorene] as a donor (D) substituted with 2-(3-methylphenyl)-1-phenyl-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole as an acceptor (A), forming twisted D-A and A-D-A structures, respectively. The photophysical studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that both molecules exhibit hybridized local excited and charge transfer (HLCT) characteristics with deep blue emission color. They are effectively applied as non-doped emitters in OLEDs. Particularly, SAF-PI-based device achieves the high-definition television (HDTV) standard blue color emission peaked at 428 nm with CIE coordinate of (0.156, 0.053), a narrow full width at half maximum of 55 nm, a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE_max ) of 4.57% and an exciton utilization efficiency of 65%.

Electroluminescent materials toward near ultraviolet region

Near ultraviolet (NUV) light-emitting materials and devices are significant due to unique applications in anti-counterfeit, manufacturing industries, and hygienic treatments. However, the development of high-efficiency NUV electroluminescent devices encounters great challenges and is far behind their RGB emitter counterparts. Besides the photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of NUV materials being higher than 40%, charge injection and lopsided carrier transport also determine the device performance, leading to great efforts in optimizing the frontier molecular orbitals to fit the adjacent function layer. In the exploration of NUV materials, organic molecules are one of the primary candidates, given their preparative facility and structural variability. Recently, all-inorganic quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) of Cd-based, ZnSe, graphene and inorganic perovskite emitters and organic-inorganic hybrid lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) were demonstrated for achieving NUV electroluminescence. Owing to the great efforts devoted to NUV material engineering and device configuration, NUV materials and devices have achieved great advances over the last two decades. In this review, we retrospect the development of NUV materials and devices covering all promising systems, which may inspire the enthusiasm of researchers to explore the huge potential in the NUV region.

Simple luminescent phenanthroimidazole emitters for solution-processed non-doped organic light-emitting electrochemical cells

Organic luminescent materials with leveraging properties have attracted urgent demand for their commercial application in lighting devices.

Violet-Blue Emitters Featuring Aggregation-Enhanced Emission Characteristics for Nondoped OLEDs with CIEy Smaller than 0.046

High emission efficiency and finite molecular conjugation in the aggregate state are two desirable features in violet-blue emitters. Aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) have emerged as promising luminescent materials that offer these features. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a group of violet-blue tetraphenylbenzene-based AIEgens with photoluminescence quantum yields over 98% in their film states. When utilizing these AIEgens as nondoped emitting layers, the fabricated organic light-emitting diode exhibits a maximum external quantum efficiency of 4.34% with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.159, 0.035), which is amenable to the next-generation ultrahigh-definition television (UHDTV) display standard.

Fluorescence Sensors for Bismuth (III) Ion from Pyreno[4,5-d]imidazole Derivatives

Three pyreno[4,5-d]imidazole derivatives are synthesized and evaluated as fluorescent sensors for bismuth (III) ion. The target compounds are prepared in 55-86% yields from a condensation reaction between pyrene-4,5-dione and aromatic aldehydes. The compound bearing a phenolic group can selectively detect bismuth (III) ion via fluorescence enhancement with a detection limit of 1.20 μm in CH₃ CN-DMSO mixture and 3.40 μm in 10% pH5 aqueous in CH₃ CN-DMSO mixture. The sensing mechanism involving a formation of coordination complex is investigated by UV-VIS and fluorescence titrations, ¹ H-NMR and the decomplexation of the bismuth complex by sulfide ion. The application of this sensor for quantitative analysis of spiked bismuth (III) ion in real water samples from two different sources is demonstrated.

Endowing TADF luminophors with AIE properties through adjusting flexible dendrons for highly efficient solution-processed nondoped OLEDs

The amalgamation of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties, termed AIE-TADF, is a promising strategy to design novel robust luminescent materials. Herein, we transform 2,3,4,5,6-penta(9H-carbazol-9-yl)benzonitrile (5CzBN) from an ACQ molecule into an AIEgen by simply decorating the 5CzBN core with alkyl chain-linked spirobifluorene dendrons. By increasing the number of flexible dendrons, these materials can not only show obvious AIE-TADF characteristics and uniform film morphology, but can also exhibit better resistance to isopropyl alcohol, which are beneficial to fully solution-processed OLEDs. Notably, 5CzBN-PSP shows great device efficiency with an external quantum efficiency (EQE), current efficiency and power efficiency of 20.1%, 58.7 cd A-1 and 46.2 lm W-1, respectively and achieved record-breaking efficiency in solution-processed nondoped OLEDs based on AIE emitters. This work demonstrates a general approach to explore new efficient emitters by the marriage of AIE and TADF which could potentially improve their performance in various areas.

Pyrenoimidazole-fused phenanthridine derivatives with intense red excimer fluorescence in the solid state

A new series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), namely, various pyrene-fused phenanthridines PyFPs having different substituents were developed as fluorescent emitters for optoelectronic applications.

Highly Efficient Deep-Blue Electroluminescence Based on a Solution-Processable A-π-D-π-A Oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene) Small Molecule

The development of solution-processable fluorescent small molecules with highly efficient deep-blue electroluminescence is of growing interest for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) applications. However, high-performance deep-blue fluorescent emitters with external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) over 5% are still scarce in OLEDs. Herein, a novel highly soluble oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene)-based small molecule, 1,4-bis((2-cyanophenyl)ethynyl)-2,5-bis(2-ethylhexyloxy)benzene (2EHO-CNPE), is designed, synthesized, and fully characterized as a wide band gap (2.98 eV) and highly fluorescent (Φ_PL = 0.90 (solution) and 0.51 (solid-state)) deep-blue emitter. The new molecule is functionalized with cyano (-CN)/2-ethylhexyloxy (-OCH₂CH(C₂H₅)C₄H₉) electron-withdrawing/-donating substituents, and ethynylene is used as a π-spacer to form an acceptor (A)-π-donor (D)-π-acceptor (A) molecular architecture with hybridized local and charge transfer (HLCT) excited states. Physicochemical and optoelectronic characterizations of the new emitter were performed in detail, and the single-crystal structure was determined. The new molecule adopts a nearly coplanar π-conjugated framework packed via intermolecular "C-H···π" and "C-H···N" hydrogen bonding interactions without any π-π stacking. The OLED device based on 2EHO-CNPE shows an EQE_max of 7.06% (EQE = 6.30% at 200 cd/m²) and a maximum current efficiency (CE_max) of 5.91 cd/A (CE = 5.34 cd/A at 200 cd/m²) with a deep-blue emission at CIE of (0.15, 0.09). The electroluminescence performances achieved here are among the highest reported to date for a solution-processed deep-blue fluorescent small molecule, and, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that a deep-blue OLED is reported based on the oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene) π-framework. TDDFT calculations point to facile reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) processes in 2EHO-CNPE from high-lying triplet states to the first singlet excited state (T₂/T₃ → S₁) (hot-exciton channels) that enable a high radiative exciton yield (η_r ∼ 69%) breaking the theoretical limit of 25% in conventional fluorescent OLEDs. These results demonstrate that properly designed fluorescent oligo(p-phenyleneethynylenes) can be a key player in high-performance deep-blue OLEDs.

Synthesis and Configurational Character Study of Novel Structural Isomers Based on Pyrene-Imidazole

Isomers provide more possibilities for the structure of organic compounds. Molecular structures determine their corresponding properties, therefore the intrinsic relationship between structure and properties of isomers is of great research value. Isomers with a stable structure and excellent performance possess more potential for development and application. In this paper, we design and synthesize structural isomers with different molecular symmetries based on the asymmetric structure of imidazole and the symmetrical structure of pyrene. Isomers with stable molecular structures can be obtained by a simple and efficient “one-pot” reaction, involving axisymmetric configuration and centrosymmetric configuration. Using this “click-like” reaction, the structure of target molecules is controllable and adjustable. Furthermore, the effect of molecular configurations on molecular stacking of crystal is studied. The variation of the optical and thermal properties, the optimized structures, and orbital distributions of isomers depends on different molecular geometry with different symmetry, which are revealed by crystallographic analysis. This present strategy provides an efficient synthetic method for the design and synthesis of structural isomers based on pyrene–imidazole.

Design of Efficient Exciplex Emitters by Decreasing the Energy Gap Between the Local Excited Triplet (3LE) State of the Acceptor and the Charge Transfer (CT) States of the Exciplex

A series of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) exciplex based on the TX-TerPy were constructed. The electronic coupling between the triplet local excited states (³LE) of the donors and acceptor and the charge transfer states had a great influence on the triplet exciton harvesting and Φ_PL. Herein, based on this strategy, three donor molecules TAPC, TCTA, and m-MTDATA were selected. The local triplet excited state (³LE) of the three donors are 2.93, 2.72 and 2.52 eV in pure films. And the ³LE of TX-TerPy is 2.69 eV in polystyrene film. The energy gap between the singlet charge transfer (¹CT) states of TAPC:TX-TerPy (7:1), TCTA:TX-TerPy (7:1) and the ³LE of TX-TerPy are 0.30 eV and 0.20 eV. Finally, the Φ_PL of TAPC:TX-TerPy (7:1) and TCTA:TX-TerPy (7:1) are 65.2 and 69.6%. When we changed the doping concentration of the exciplex from 15% to 50%, the ratio of the triplet decreased, and Φ_PL decreased by half, perhaps due to the increased energy gap between ¹CT and ³LE. Therefore, optimizing the ¹CT, ³CT, and ³LE facilitated the efficient exciplex TADF molecules.

Naphthalimide end-capped diphenylacetylene: a versatile organic semiconductor for blue light emitting diodes and a donor or an acceptor for solar cells

A novel compound NAI-PVP-NAI was utilized as a blue emissive layer for organic light emitting diodes and as an acceptor and a donor for organic solar cells.

Pyrenoimidazolyl-Benzaldehyde Fluorophores: Synthesis, Properties, and Sensing Function for Fluoride Anions

Two structural isomers of (9H-pyreno[4,5-d]imidazol-10-yl)-benzaldehyde, with para and meta substitution patterns, were synthesized by condensation of 4,5-pyrenedione with terephthalaldehyde and isophthalaldehyde, respectively. These new pyrenoimidazole derivatives were characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry to elucidate their structural, solid-state packing, and electronic properties. Interactions of these compounds with fluoride anions in polar organic solvents (acetone and dimethyl sulfoxide) were investigated by NMR, UV-vis, and fluorescence techniques in conjunction with density functional theory calculations. UV-vis analysis showed that the binding of the two pyrenoimidazolyl benzaldehydes with fluoride anions resulted in significant colorimetric responses, while fluorescence studies showed that the para-pyrenoimidazolyl benzaldehyde behaved as an intramolecular charge transfer fluorescent probe, exhibiting ratiometric sensing performance to efficiently detect and quantify fluoride anions at the sub-millimolar level.

Tuning the Photophysical and Electroluminescence Properties in Asymmetrically Tetrasubstituted Bipolar Carbazoles by Functional Group Disposition

Carbazoles decorated with both donor and acceptor fragments offer a classical way to optimize bipolar functional properties. In this work, a series of carbazoles featuring triphenylamine donors and cyano acceptors are synthesized and their structure-property relationship is studied. The effects of connectivity and the chromophore number density on photophysical and electroluminescence properties are investigated. The position of the triphenylamine donor on the 3,6-dicyanocarbazole nucleus significantly affected the photophysical and electroluminescence properties. The dye possessing triphenylamine on C2 and C7 displayed a red shift in absorption when compared with the structural analogue with triphenylamine tethered to C1 and C8. The emission wavelength of the dyes are tunable from blue to green, by altering the position of triphenylamine and cyano substituents. All of the dyes exhibited positive solvatochromism in emission, attributable to the photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer from the triphenylamine donor to the cyano acceptor. However, the extent of charge transfer and hybridization of local and charge-transfer-excited states is highly dependent on the position of triphenylamine and cyano groups on the carbazole nucleus. Dyes containing cyano substituents at C2 and C7 showed a prolonged excited state lifetime, broad emission, and large Stokes shifts, indicating the presence of a higher charge transfer component in the excited state. The dyes displayed exceptional thermal stability with the onset decomposition temperature (10% weight loss) > 350 °C. Electrochemical measurements revealed low oxidation potential for dyes containing triphenylamine at C3 and/or C6. Addition of a cyano acceptor on carbazole led to the stabilization of lowest unoccupied molecular orbital. Furthermore, the materials were tested as emitting dopants in solution-processable multilayer organic light emitting diodes and found to display deep-blue/sky-blue electroluminescence with external quantum efficiency as high as 6.5% for a deep-blue emitter (CIE y ∼ 0.06).

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.

2-(2-Hydroxyphenyl)imidazole-based four-coordinate organoboron compounds with efficient deep blue photoluminescence and electroluminescence

Four-coordinate organoboron compounds that can realize efficient electroluminescence with a CIE coordinate close to that of standard blue light (0.14, 0.08) have been developed.

Structure-Property Study on Two New D-A Type Materials Comprising Pyridazine Moiety and the OLED Application as Host

In this paper, two new pyridazine based donor-acceptor type materials, i.e., 3CzPyaPy: 9,9'-(3-(6-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)pyridazin-3-yl)pyridine-2,6-diyl)bis(9H-carbazole) and 4CzPyPyaPy: 3,6-bis(2,6-di(9H-carbazol-9-yl)pyridin-3-yl)pyridazine, were synthesized with high yields. These two materials exhibited strong absorption/emission with high molar extinction coefficients and moderate photoluminescence quantum yield. The glass transition temperature of 3CzPyaPy was detected to be as high as 131 °C, showing its high thermal stability. Although the absorption energies and oxidation/reduction behaviors of the two materials were similar, the emission from 4CzPyPyaPy with longer effective-conjugation length presented hypsochromic shift both in films and in dilute solutions, contradicting to the common sense. The single crystal structure study disclosed their different space stretching and packing: 3CzPyaPy was twisted in larger angles and adopted dimerlike packing, while 4CzPyPyaPy showed smaller torsion angles and exhibited slipped herringbone packing. The dimerlike packing in 3CzPyaPy is responsible for its bathochromic shift of emission in solid state, while its unsymmetrical molecular structure accounts for that in solution. We believe that the unsymmetrical molecular structure of 3CzPyaPy is partially responsible for its high thermal-stability and also responsible for its HOMO dispersion which renders it slightly more difficult to oxidize. 3CzPyaPy was proved to be a bipolar-transport material and when served as a phosphor host, a green phosphorescent device achieved maximum efficiencies of 54.0 cd A^-1, 42.4 lm W^-1, and 17.7%, which are among the best with nonoptimized device structure, demonstrating its great potential for optoelectronic application. Furthermore, the new synthesized pyridazine derivatives and the corresponding structural and molecular-packing influences on material properties give a new insight into molecule tailoring.

Achieving efficient violet-blue electroluminescence with CIE y <0.06 and EQE >6% from naphthyl-linked phenanthroimidazole-carbazole hybrid fluorophores

Naphthyl-linked donor–π–acceptor fluorophores were utilized to achieve high performance and good color purity violet-blue emission in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs).

In this work, we revealed a new approach for the development of efficient violet-blue emitting materials featuring a hybrid local and charge transfer (HLCT) excited state through the incorporation of naphthyl group(s) as a weak n-type π spacer in a donor–π–acceptor (D–π–A) system. The resulting materials (TPINCz and TPIBNCz) show improved intramolecular charge transfer properties and highly efficient violet-blue fluorescence. It is demonstrated that the pattern of the π spacers has significant influence on the photophysical properties. The incorporation of a naphthyl/binaphthyl spacer between the donor and acceptor moieties can alleviate the common dilemma that enhancing device performance by increasing the charge transfer excited properties often leads to red-shifted emissions. A device using TPINCz as an emissive dopant shows a violet-blue emission with CIE coordinates of (0.153, 0.059) and a record high EQE of 6.56 ± 0.11% at a brightness of 1000 cd m^–2. To the best of our knowledge, this performance is the highest among the reported devices with CIE_y ≤0.08. Our study provides a new pathway for the design of high-performance violet-blue emitters with a D–π–A architecture in organic electroluminescence applications.

Efficient phenanthroimidazole-styryl-triphenylamine derivatives for blue OLEDs: a combined experimental and theoretical study

Blue emitting devices based on 2-(4′-9H-carbazol-9-yl)-[1,1′-styryl]-4-yl-1-benzylpiperidine-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole (Cz-BPIS) exhibits blue emission with CIE coordinates of (0.16, 0.09), current density of 1.91 cd/A, power efficiency of 1.63 lm/W and external quantum efficiency of 2.61%.

Efficient non-doped deep-blue electroluminescence devices based on unsymmetrical and highly twisted pyrene derivatives

Pyrene derivatives with unsymmetrical and highly twisted structure appropriately confined the conjugation extent of molecules resulting in efficient deep-blue emissions.

Structure–property relationship of blue solid state emissive phenanthroimidazole derivatives

A series of phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole derivatives featuring multifunctional properties of ambipolar transport have been synthesized, a deep blue emission with high fluorescence quantum yield is observed, and the formation of thermally stable molecular glass is described.

A new molecular design based on hybridized local and charge transfer fluorescence for highly efficient (>6%) deep-blue organic light emitting diodes

A new molecular design featuring a carbazole-derivative as an acceptor and a triphenylamine donor and displaying hybridized local and charge transfer (HLCT) fluorescence is demonstrated.

Synthesis and photophysical properties of phenanthroimidazole–triarylborane dyads: intriguing ‘turn-on’ sensing mediated by fluoride anions

Phenanthroimidazole-based triarylborane compounds with an N-phenyl or N-biphenyl bridge were prepared and these compounds show ratiometrical ‘turn-on’ response in PL spectra upon fluoride binding to the borane moiety.