Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence in Cu(I) Complexes Originating from Restricted Molecular Vibrations

Li, G.; Nobuyasu, R.; Zhang, B.-H.; Geng, Y.; Yao, B.; Xie, Z.-Y.; Zhu, D.-X.; Shan, G.-G.; Che, W.-L.; Yan, L.-K.; Su, Z.-M.; Dias, F.B.; Bryce, M.R.

Abstract

The mechanism of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in molecules in aggregated or condensed solid states has been rarely studied and is not well understood. Nevertheless, many applications of TADF emitters are strongly affected by their luminescence properties in the aggregated state. In this study, two new isomeric tetradentate Cu(I) complexes which simultaneously show aggregation induced emission (AIE) and TADF characteristics are reported for the first time. We provide direct evidence that effectively restricting the vibrations of individual molecules is a key requisite for TADF in these two Cu(I) complexes through in-depth photophysical measurements combined with kinetic methods, single crystal analysis and theoretical calculations. These findings should stimulate new molecular engineering endeavours in the design of AIE-TADF active materials with highly emissive aggregated states.

Citation

Li, G., Nobuyasu, R., Zhang, B., Geng, Y., Yao, B., Xie, Z., …Bryce, M. (2017). Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence in Cu(I) Complexes Originating from Restricted Molecular Vibrations. Chemistry - A European Journal, 23(49), 11761-11766. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201701862

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 14, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Aug 10, 2017
• Publication Date: Sep 4, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jul 26, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 26, 2017
• Journal: Chemistry - A European Journal
• Print ISSN: 0947-6539
• Electronic ISSN: 1521-3765
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 49
• Pages: 11761-11766
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201701862
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1353772