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A pair of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters with symmetric and asymmetric D-A-D structure are investigated. Despite displaying near-identical photoluminescence spectrum and quantum yields, the symmetric material possesses significantly better delayed fluorescence characteristics and OLED performance. Building on a previous study of analogous D-A materials we are able to explain these differences in terms of different strengths of electronic interactions between the two donor units. This interaction lowers the energy of the TADF-active triplet state in the asymmetric molecule, increasing its singlet–triplet energy gap and leading to worse performance. This result therefore demonstrates a new strategy to selectively control the triplet states of TADF molecules, in contrast to established control of singlet states using host environment. These results also show that multi-donor TADF emitters cannot be understood simply as the sum of their isolated parts; these parts have different electronic interactions depending on their relative positions, even when there is no scope for steric interaction.

Room temperature phosphorescence materials offer great opportunities for applications in optoelectronics, due to their unique photophysical characteristics. However, purely organic emitters that can realize distinct electrophosphorescence are rarely exploited. Herein a new approach for designing heavy-atom-free organic room temperature phosphorescence emitters for organic light-emitting diodes is presented. The subtle tuning of the energy diagrams of singlet and triplet excited states by appropriate choice of host matrix allows tailored emission properties and switching of emission channels between thermally activated delayed fluorescence and room temperature phosphorescence. Moreover, an efficient and heavy-atom-free room temperature phosphorescence organic light-emitting diodes using the developed emitter is realized.

Naphthalene diimides (NDIs) are shown to arrange spontaneously co-facially with cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) in an aqueous environment through purely non-covalent interactions. The resultant 2 : 2 supramolecular complex of NDI and CB[8] is highly fluorescent (>30 times more than the constituent NDIs) due to the formation of NDI-NDI excimers within the supramolecular complex.

A new class of thermally activated delayed fluorescent donor-acceptor-donor-acceptor (D-A-D-A) π-conjugated macrocycle comprised of two U-shaped electron-acceptors (dibenzo[a,j]phenazine) and two electron-donors (N,N'-diphenyl-p-phenyelendiamine) has been rationally designed and successfully synthesized. The macrocyclic compound displayed polymorphs-dependent conformations and emission properties. Comparative studies on physicochemical properties of the macrocycle with a linear surrogate have revealed significant effects of the structural cyclization of the D-A-repeating unit, including more efficient thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). Furthermore, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) device fabricated with the macrocycle compound as the emitter has achieved a high external quantum efficiency (EQE) up to 11.6%, far exceeding the theoretical maximum (5%) of conventional fluorescent emitters and that with linear analogue (6.9%).

Analysis of stochastic processes can be used to engender critical thinking. Quantum dots have a reversible, stochastic transition between luminescent and non-luminescent states. The luminescence intermittency is known as blinking, and is not evident from ensemble measurements. In order to stimulate critical thinking, students design, perform, and analyze a semiconductor quantum dot blinking laboratory experiment. The design of the experiment and stochastic nature of the data collected require students to make judgements throughout the course of the single-particle measurement and analysis. Some of the decisions do not have uniquely correct answers, challenging the students to engage in critical thinking. We propose that students' self-examined decision making develops a constructivist view of science. The experiment is visually striking, interdisciplinary, and develops higher order thinking., Comment: 30 pages, 5 figures

We expose significant changes in the emission color of carbazole-based thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters that arise from the presence of persistent dimer states in thin films and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Direct photoexcitation of this dimer state in 1,2,3,5-tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicyanobenzene (4CzIPN) reveals the significant influence of dimer species on the color purity of its photoluminescence and electroluminescence. The dimer species is sensitive to the sample preparation method, and its enduring presence contributes to the widely reported concentration-mediated red shift in the photoluminescence and electroluminescence of evaporated thin films. This discovery has implications on the usability of these, and similar, molecules for OLEDs and explains disparate electroluminescence spectra presented in the literature for these compounds. The dimerization-controlled changes observed in the TADF process and photoluminescence efficiency mean that careful consideration of dimer states is imperative in the design of future TADF emitters and the interpretation of previously reported studies of carbazole-based TADF materials.

The development of brightly emissive compounds is of great research and commercial interest, with established and emerging applications across chemistry, biology, physics, medicine and engineering. Among the many types of molecules available, naphthalene diimides have been widely used for both fundamental photophysical studies and in practical applications that utilise fluorescence as an information readout. The monomeric naphthalene diimide is weakly fluorescent, however through various methods of core-derivatisation, it can be developed to be highly fluorescent and further functionalised to add utility. In this review, we highlight recent advances made in naphthalene diimide chemistry that have led to development of molecules with improved optical properties, and the design strategies utilised to produce bright fluorescence emission as small molecules or in supramolecular architectures.

In this work we report the synthesis, electrochemical and optical properties of five new, star shaped compounds containing both carbazole and triphenylamine moieties, further endcapped with thiophene or 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene units. Electrochemical, UV–visible spectroscopy and fluorescence methods were employed to study the properties of these compounds as well as their electropolymers. The basic characteristics such as the band gaps, HOMO and LUMO values, absorption and emission maximum wavelengths of the monomers and the polymers are reported and discussed.

This study shows a molecular design strategy for controlling the dihedral angle of two carbazole donors linked to a 2,4-diphenyl-1,3,5-triazine acceptor by a phenyl unit. Using this approach, six thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters were synthesized with donors placed in various positions around a central phenyl core, and the photophysical relationship between the donor position and its dihedral angle was investigated. We demonstrate that this angle can affect both the strength of the charge transfer state and the conjugation across the entire molecule, effectively changing the singlet-triplet energy gap of the system. We conclude that materials containing two substituted -ortho donors or one -ortho and an adjacent -meta have the smallest energy gaps and the shortest delayed fluorescence lifetimes. On the other hand, emitters with no -ortho substituted donors have larger energy gaps and slow-to-negligible delayed fluorescence. When applying these materials to organic light-emitting diodes, these blue-emitting devices have a range of electrical properties, the best producing efficiencies as high as 21.8% together with high resistance to roll-off that correlate with the reverse intersystem crossing rates obtained.

A novel twisted donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) π-conjugated compound that contains flexible and moderately-electron-donating units has been designed and synthesized. It exhibited not only multi-color-changing mechanochromic luminescence and thermally activated delayed fluorescence, but also, unexpectedly, room-temperature phosphorescence in a host layer.

Two new donor (D)–acceptor (A) type molecules, PXZ-DBTO2 and PXZ-Ph-DBTO2, configured with phenoxazine donor and dibenzothiophene-S,S-dioxide acceptor are reported. PXZ-Ph-DBTO2, with a phenyl group introduced at the ortho position of PXZ, was used to probe the effects of the congested aryl substitution on the molecular conformation and electronic coupling toward the acceptor core, as well as the thermally activated delayed fluorescence behavior. The highly twisted donor–acceptor configurations of these two molecules were confirmed by X-ray analysis. Different D–A conformations stemmed from the steric interactions between the phenyl group and acceptor core, which leads the nitrogen lone pair electrons of the PXZ-Ph-DBTO2 donor to conjugate across the D–A bridge, whereas in PXZ-DBTO2 the lone pairs remain localized on the donor and strongly mix with the donor π electrons. However, both PXZ-Ph-DBTO2 and PXZ-DBTO2 have the same energy splitting between the charge-transfer states and local donor triplet states, ΔEST, close to 70 meV. PXZ-DBTO2 exhibits a far more efficient thermally activated delayed fluorescence due to nearly 2 orders of magnitude faster reverse intersystem crossing rate as compared to that of PXZ-Ph-DBTO2. Detailed photophysical analysis of both molecules indicates that the presence of the phenyl group on the donor disrupts the π–π*/n−π* orbital mixing across the N–C bridge that plays a fundamental role in the excited state dynamics and vibronic coupling governing the reverse intersystem crossing rate and thus the efficiency of thermally activated delayed fluorescence. Devices employing PXZ-DBTO2 as an emitting dopant gave an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 16.7% (42 cd m–2) and a limited efficiency roll-off (15.7% at 1000 cd m–2), whereas the device based on PXZ-Ph-DBTO2 produced a maximum EQE up to 20.6%, but with a significant efficiency roll-off (8.8% at 1000 cd m–2) ascribed to the much faster reverse intersystem crossing rate of PXZ-DBTO2.

In this work, we present the electrochemical polymerisation process of triarylamine-xanthone derivatives and behaviour of the formed polymers using various potentiodynamic techniques. The formed electropolymers have limited conjugation but show very promising electrochromic behaviour. Furthermore, by coupling the electrochemical analysis with each polymer's spectroscopic output, we were able to evaluate doping processes and the type of charge carriers formed. Through careful analysis, we were able to describe the electropolymerisation process and formed triarylamine-based polyxanthone derivatives. The polymers were found to exhibit good stability and good colouration efficiency to suggesting that they have potential application in electrochromic devices.

It is demonstrated that a naphthalene diimide core disubstituted with triphenylamine can be used as a thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitter in organic light emitting diodes. Detailed spectroscopic studies demonstrated unusual host effects on the photophysical properties of this material. In particular, we were able to deduce recombination pathways and the role of the host and temperature in increasing/decreasing the TADF contribution in overall emission. Furthermore, stemming from these host effects on the geometry of the emitter we discover different local triplet states involved in the TADF mechanism. We elucidate this confusing situation to show that simply measuring low-temperature phosphorescence does not always give the energy of the local triplet involved in TADF. The studies carried out in a non-polar polymer and the OLED host were completed by NIR OLED fabrication showing promising characteristics.

Symmetrically and dissymmetrically core-substituted amino naphthalene diimides (cNDIs) with water-soluble substituents have been synthesised. The compounds display characteristic steady-state optical properties absorbing and emitting light in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Time-resolved fluorescence studies reveal long emission lifetimes of ∼10 ns in chloroform, ∼8 ns in methanol and ∼4 ns in water. Suitability for use in biophysical applications is demonstrated by encapsulation into reverse micelles and liposomes. Fluorescence lifetime is shown to indicate cavity size in the reverse micelles and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy measurements of cNDI loaded liposomes successfully determined diffusion coefficients and hydrodynamic radii of the liposomes.

Small, apolar aromatic groups, such as phenyl rings, are commonly included in the structures of fluorophores to impart hindered intramolecular rotations, leading to desirable solid-state luminescence properties. However, they are not normally considered to take part in through-space interactions that influence the fluorescent output. Here, we report on the photoluminescence properties of a series of phenyl-ring molecular rotors bearing three, five, six, and seven phenyl groups. The fluorescent emissions from two of the rotors are found to originate, not from the localized excited state as one might expect, but from unanticipated through-space aromatic-dimer states. We demonstrate that these relaxed dimer states can form as a result of intra- or intermolecular interactions across a range of environments in solution and solid samples, including conditions that promote aggregation-induced emission. Computational modeling also suggests that the formation of aromatic-dimer excited states may account for the photophysical properties of a previously reported luminogen. These results imply, therefore, that this is a general phenomenon that should be taken into account when designing and interpreting the fluorescent outputs of luminescent probes and optoelectronic devices based on fluorescent molecular rotors.

Regio- and conformational isomerization are fundamental in chemistry, with profound effects upon physical properties, however their role in excited state properties is less developed. Here two regioisomers of bis(10H-phenothiazin-10-yl)dibenzo[b,d]thiophene-S,S-dioxide, a donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) thermally-activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitter, are studied. 2,8-bis(10H-phenothiazin-10-yl)dibenzo[b,d]thiophene-S,S-dioxide exhibits only one quasi-equatorial conformer on both donor sites, with charge-transfer (CT) emission close to the local triplet state leading to efficient TADF via spin-vibronic coupling. However, 3,7-bis(10H-phenothiazin-10-yl)dibenzo[b,d]thiophene-S,S-dioxide displays both a quasi-equatorial CT state and a higher-energy quasi-axial CT state. No TADF is observed in the quasi-axial CT emission. These two CT states link directly to the two folded conformers of phenothiazine. The presence of the low-lying local triplet state of the axial conformer also means that this quasi-axial CT is an effective loss pathway both photophysically and in devices. Importantly, donors or acceptors with more than one conformer have negative repercussions for TADF in organic light-emitting diodes., The search for brighter emitting materials is essential to the development of OLED devices. Etherington et al. show how the presence of two regioisomers of a donor-acceptor-donor thermally-activated delayed fluorescence molecule affects the device efficiency, with one acting as a triplet quencher.

Novel U-shaped donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) π-conjugated multi-functional molecules comprising dibenzo[a,j]phenazine (DBPHZ) as an acceptor and phenothiazines (PTZ) as donors have been developed. Most importantly, the D–A–D compounds exhibit not only distinct tricolor-changeable mechanochromic luminescence (MCL) properties but also efficient thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). Quantum chemical calculations, X-ray diffraction analysis, and systematic studies on the photophysical properties indicated that the “two-conformation-switchable” PTZ units play a highly important role in achieving multi-color-changing MCL. Time-resolved photophysical measurements revealed that the developed D–A–D compounds also exhibit efficient orange-TADF. Furthermore, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) devices fabricated with the new TADF emitters have achieved high external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) up to 16.8%, which significantly exceeds the theoretical maximum (∼5%) of conventional fluorescent emitters.

Naphthalene diimides undergo single electron reduction processes either chemically or electrochemically at modest potential to yield the corresponding radical anion in high yield. The diimide radical anion has well-behaved properties, including stability, excellent photophysical behaviour and well-structured EPR signals. These properties, combined with the vast array of functionality now possible on the core represent strong candidates for pragmatic photovoltaic devices. This chapter describes the development of naphthalene diimides in photovoltaic systems supported by a theoretical basis for energy and electron transfer mechanisms.

Anisotropy within three TADF materials has been observed using steady-state fluorescence polarisation. This technique has allowed for the observation of differences in polarisation within dilute solution, and both un-stretched and stretched films; the latter producing highly aligned molecules within the sample. Using these aligned films differences in anisotropy can be observed between the emission from the 1LE and 1CT states and upon exciting different absorption bands. Furthermore, polarisation observed from time-resolved measurements, highlights the strong vibronic coupling between charge-transfer and local triplet states.

The synthesis and spectroscopic properties of a dissymmetrically core-extended naphthalene diimides derived from o-phenylenediamine and cyanoethene dithiolate were explored. The push-pull nature of the peripheral substituents allows these naphthalene diimide dyes and their progenitors to display interesting photophysical and electrochemical properties, with the target system acting as a highly reversible and quantitative molecular switch with clear absorption and emission readouts based on chemical oxidation and reduction processes.

The synthesis and spectroscopic characterisation of a new amino core-substituted naphthalene diimide is reported. The compound exhibits H + sensing properties leading to a change in optical output through both absorption and emission. On addition of trifluoroacetic acid, an increase in the fluorescence quantum yield from 0.5 to 0.67 and a ∼500–550 cm −1 blue shift of absorption and emission maxima are observed. Addition of triethylamine fully reverses these effects and the cycle is repeatable many times. The increase in fluorescence emission is attributed to protonation blocking weakly competitive photoinduced electron transfer operative in the neutral form of the molecule.

A new core-substituted naphthalene diimide (cNDI) compound that is sensitive to both H(+) and solvent polarity has been synthesised and characterised. Optical absorption and emission change upon protonation while emission quantum yield and decay kinetics of the unprotonated form vary significantly with solvent polarity due to delayed fluorescence.

Exploration of optoelectronic properties of novel phosphorus-embedded π-conjugated compounds would provide us with fundamental information about the design of hitherto unknown electroactive organic materials. Herein, detailed photophysical and electrochemical profiles of a series of benzene-cored diketophosphanyl compounds were investigated with steady and time-resolved spectroscopic and spectroelectrochemical techniques. The comparative studies revealed the impact of phosphorus and nitrogen atoms on their triplet energies and on the behaviour of electrochemical processes to form radical species.

NAK, HFH, MKE, and APM acknowledge the EU’s Horizon 2020 for funding the PHEBE project under grant no. 641725. NAK, MKE, AD, NH and APM acknowledge the EU’s Horizon 2020 for funding the HyperOLED project under grant no. 641725. APM thanks EPSRC grant EP/L02621X/1 for funding. ANB acknowledges an EPSRC Doctoral Training Grant. We report on the properties of the three positional isomers of (2,7-di-tert-butyl-9,9-dimethylacridin-10(9H)-yl)benzonitrile, which are found to have comparable donor steric environments and donor–acceptor dihedral angles. An unexpected intramolecular dipole interaction imparts a unique molecular geometry to the ortho-linked isomer, while comparison of the meta- and para-isomers uncovers how positional differences in acceptor strengths (a consequence of differences in aromatic π-system electron density) lead to very different triplet harvesting and emission properties. These positional-isomer effects on TADF follow the well-known aromatic directing rules from organic synthesis, in keeping with their common origin arising from contributions of multiple electronic resonance structures. Understanding these positional effects and methods of dihedral control is critical to the future design of efficient TADF emitters. Publisher PDF

Knowing the underlying photophysics of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) allows proper design of high efficiency organic light-emitting diodes. We have proposed a model to describe reverse intersystem crossing (rISC) in donor–acceptor charge transfer molecules, where spin–orbit coupling between singlet and triplet states is mediated by one of the local triplet states of the donor (or acceptor). This second order, vibronically coupled mechanism describes the basic photophysics of TADF. Through a series of measurements, whereby the energy ordering of the charge transfer (CT) excited states and the local triplet are tuned in and out of resonance, we show that TADF reaches a maximum at the resonance point, substantiating our model of rISC. Moreover, using photoinduced absorption, we show how the populations of both singlet and triplet CT states and the local triplet state change in and out of resonance. Our vibronic coupling rISC model is used to predict this behaviour and describes how rISC and TADF are affected by external perturbation.