Luminescent halogen-substituted 2-(N-arylimino)pyrrolyl boron complexes: the internal heavy-atom effect

Rodrigues, Ana I.; Krishnamoorthy, Paramasivam; Gomes, Clara S.B.; Carmona, Nicolas; Di Paolo, Roberto E.; Pander, Piotr; Pina, João; Sérgio Seixas de Melo, J.; Dias, Fernando B.; Calhorda, Maria José; Maçanita, António L.; Morgado, Jorge; Gomes, Pedro T.

Abstract

A group of new boron complexes [BPh2{2N,N’-NC4H3-2-C(H)=N-C6H4X}] (X= 4-Cl 4c, 4-Br 4d, 4-I 4e, 3-Br 4f, 2-Br 4g, 2-I 4h) containing different halogens as substituents in the N-aryl ring have been synthesized and characterized in terms of their molecular properties. Their photophysical characteristics have been thoroughly studied in order to understand whether these compounds exhibit internal heavy atom effect. Phosphorescence emission was found for some of the synthesized halogen-substituted boron molecules, in particular for 4g and 4h. DFT and TDDFT calculations showed that the lower energy absorption band resulted from the HOMO to LUMO (-*) transition, except for 2-I 4h, where the HOMO-1 to LUMO transition was also involved. The strong participation of iodine orbitals in HOMO-1 is reflected on the calculated absorption spectra of the iodine derivatives, especially 2-I 4h, when spin-orbit coupling (SOC) was included. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on these compounds, in the neat form or dispersed in a matrix, were also fabricated and tested. The devices based on films prepared by thermal vacuum deposition showed the best performance. When neat compounds were used, a maximum luminance (Lmax) of 1812 cd m-2 was obtained, with maximum external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) of 0.15%. An EQEmax of ca. 1% along with a maximum luminance of 494 cd m-2 were obtained for a device fabricated by co-deposition of the boron complex and a host compound (1,3-bis(N-carbazolyl)benzene, mCP).

Citation

Rodrigues, A. I., Krishnamoorthy, P., Gomes, C. S., Carmona, N., Di Paolo, R. E., Pander, P., Pina, J., Sérgio Seixas de Melo, J., Dias, F. B., Calhorda, M. J., Maçanita, A. L., Morgado, J., & Gomes, P. T. (2020). Luminescent halogen-substituted 2-(N-arylimino)pyrrolyl boron complexes: the internal heavy-atom effect. Dalton Transactions, 49(29), 10185-10202. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0dt01845g

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 29, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jun 29, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020-08
• Deposit Date: Aug 16, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 29, 2021
• Journal: Dalton Transactions
• Print ISSN: 1477-9226
• Electronic ISSN: 1477-9234
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 49
• Issue: 29
• Pages: 10185-10202
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d0dt01845g
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1258412