Mesitylated trityl radicals, a platform for doublet emission: symmetry breaking, charge-transfer states and conjugated polymers

Petri Murto, Rituparno Chowdhury, Sebastian Gorgon, Erjuan Guo, Weixuan Zeng, Biwen Li, Yuqi Sun, Haydn Francis, Richard H. Friend () and Hugo Bronstein ()
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Petri Murto: University of Cambridge
Rituparno Chowdhury: University of Cambridge
Sebastian Gorgon: University of Cambridge
Erjuan Guo: University of Cambridge
Weixuan Zeng: University of Cambridge
Biwen Li: University of Cambridge
Yuqi Sun: University of Cambridge
Haydn Francis: University of Cambridge
Richard H. Friend: University of Cambridge
Hugo Bronstein: University of Cambridge

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Neutral π-radicals have potential for use as light emitters in optoelectronic devices due to the absence of energetically low-lying non-emissive states. Here, we report a defect-free synthetic methodology via mesityl substitution at the para-positions of tris(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)methyl radical. These materials reveal a number of novel optoelectronic properties. Firstly, mesityl substituted radicals show strongly enhanced photoluminescence arising from symmetry breaking in the excited state. Secondly, photoexcitation of thin films of 8 wt% radical in 4,4’-bis(carbazol-9-yl)-1,1’-biphenyl host matrix produces long lived (in the order of microseconds) intermolecular charge transfer states, following hole transfer to the host, that can show unexpectedly efficient red-shifted emission. Thirdly, covalent attachment of carbazole into the mesitylated radical gives very high photoluminescence yield of 93% in 4,4’-bis(carbazol-9-yl)-1,1’-biphenyl films and light-emitting diodes with maximum external quantum efficiency of 28% at a wavelength of 689 nm. Fourthly, a main-chain copolymer of the mesitylated radical and 9,9-dioctyl-9H-fluorene shows red-shifted emission beyond 800 nm.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39834-2

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