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Blue fluorophores comprised of tetraphenylethene and imidazole: aggregation-induced emission and electroluminescence

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Abstract

By melting tetraphenylethene (TPE) and 1,2,4,5-tetraphenyl-1H-imidazole (TPI) units together through different linking positions, three new fluorophores are synthesized, and their optical, electronic and electroluminescence (EL) properties are fully studied. Owing to the presence of TPE unit(s), these fluorophores are weak emitters in solutions, but are induced to emit strongly in the aggregated state, presenting typical aggregation-induced emission characteristics. The experimental and computational results reveal that different connection patterns between TPE and TPI could impact the molecular conjugation greatly, leading to varied emission wavelength, fluorescence quantum yield and EL performance in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). The fluorophore built by attaching TPE unit to the 1-position of imidazole ring shows bluest fluorescence, and its EL device emits at deep blue region (445 nm; CIE = (0.16, 0.15)). And the device based on the fluorophore by linking TPE to the 2- position of imidazole ring shows EL at 467 nm (CIE = (0.17, 0.22)) with good efficiencies of 3.17 cd∙A–1, and 1.77%.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 310036, China

    Jiayun Xiang, Jian Zhou & Zujin Zhao

  2. Guangdong Innovative Research Team, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Han Nie, Zujin Zhao & Ben Zhong Tang

  3. Center for Display Research, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

    Yibin Jiang & Hoi Sing Kwok

  4. Department of Chemistry, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

    Ben Zhong Tang

Authors
  1. Jiayun Xiang
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  2. Han Nie
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  3. Yibin Jiang
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  4. Jian Zhou
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  5. Hoi Sing Kwok
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  6. Zujin Zhao
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  7. Ben Zhong Tang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zujin Zhao or Ben Zhong Tang.

Additional information

Jiayun Xiang received his B.S. degree in polymer materials from Hangzhou Normal University in 2012. He is now working toward his M.S. degree in the Zhao’s group at Hangzhou Normal University. His research interest is mainly in the development of new aggregation-induced emission molecules and exploration of their optoelectronic device applications.

Han Nie received his B.S. degree in materials chemistry from Sichuan Normal University in 2012. He is now working toward his Ph.D. degree in the Tang’s group at South China University of Technology. His research interest is mainly in the exploration of high-tech applications of aggregation-induced emission materials in optoelectronic devices.

Yibin Jiang received his B.S. degree in optical engineering from Zhejiang University in 2011. Now he is pursuing his Ph.D. degree in Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research interests include organic light emitting diode technologies, quantum dot materials, and thin film transistor technologies.

Jian Zhou received his Ph.D. degree in materials from Zhejiang University in 2009. He joined Hangzhou Normal University in 2010, where he is currently an associate professor. His current research focuses on the design and synthesis of functional conjugated polymers and exploration of their applications in sensors and optoelectronic devices.

Hoi Sing Kwok received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Northwestern University in 1973. He then studied with Professor Nicolaas Bloembergen (Nobel Laureate, 1981) at Harvard University, where he received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in applied physics in 1974 and 1978 respectively. From 1978 to 1980, he worked at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory with Professor Y. T. Lee (Nobel Laureate, 1986). From 1980 to 1992, he was in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, where he was a Professor since 1985. He joined The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 1992. He has chaired and was a member of program committees of many international conferences. He was awarded a US Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1984; the New York State/UUP Excellence Award in 1991. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, a Fellow of IEEE and a Fellow of Society for Information Display.

Zujin Zhao received his B.S. degree in 2003 and Ph.D. degree in 2008 in chemistry from Zhejiang University. In 2008–2010, he conducted his postdoctoral work under supervision of Prof. Ben Zhong Tang at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. From 2010 to 2013, he worked in Hangzhou Normal University. Now, he is a full professor of State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices in South China University of Technology. His research is mainly focused on the development of efficient functional materials including organic small molecules and conjugated polymers and the exploration of their optoelectronic applications.

Ben Zhong Tang received his B.S. and Ph. D. degrees from South China University of Technology and Kyoto University in 1982 and 1988, respectively. He conducted his postdoctoral work at the University of Toronto and worked as a senior scientist in Neos Co., Ltd. in 1989–1994. Now he is a Chair Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Division of Biomedical Engineering, Stephen K. C. Cheong Professor of Science at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and also honorary professor at South China University of Technology. He was elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2009. His research interest lies in the creation of new molecules with novel structures and unique properties with implications for high-tech applications. He is currently an Associate Editor of Polymer Chemistry and is on the editorial board of a dozen journals.

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Xiang, J., Nie, H., Jiang, Y. et al. Blue fluorophores comprised of tetraphenylethene and imidazole: aggregation-induced emission and electroluminescence. Front. Optoelectron. 8, 274–281 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-015-0522-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-015-0522-y

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