Donor modification of thermally activated delayed fluorescence photosensitizers for organocatalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization

TADF donor-acceptor conjugates were applied as photosensitizers for organocatalyzed organic atom transfer radical polymerization. A donor-modification strategy was found to dramatically improve the control over the polymerization.

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence materials as organic photosensitizers

Photosensitizer molecules play a crucial role in materials and life sciences. Efforts to improve their performance and reduce the associated costs are therefore vital for advancing environmentally friendly light-driven technologies. In this Feature Article, we describe the use of photosensitizers that make use of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), their benefits compared to conventional fluorescent and phosphorescent sensitizers, and the efforts of our group and others to develop emitters with application-tailored properties. The key feature is the diversity of accessible excited state pathways, which may be tuned by molecular and supramolecular approaches to suit a particular problem. This unique property has allowed TADF emitters to become competitive for applications including TADF-sensitized fluorescence in light emitting diodes and chemical sensing, organic long persistent luminescence, photodynamic therapy, and non-coherent photon upconversion.

Preparation of Patterned and Multilayer Thin Films for Organic Electronics via Oxygen-Tolerant SI-PET-RAFT

An oxygen-tolerant approach is described for preparing surface-tethered polymer films of organic semiconductors directly from electrode substrates using polymer brush photolithography. A photoinduced electron transfer-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (PET-RAFT) approach was used to prepare multiblock polymer architectures with the structures of multi-layer organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), including electron-transport, emissive, and hole-transport layers. The preparation of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) and thermally assisted fluorescence (TAF) trilayer OLED architectures are described. By using direct photomasking as well as a digital micromirror device, we also show that the surface-initiated (SI)-PET-RAFT approach allows for enhanced control over layer thickness, and spatial resolution in polymer brush patterning at low cost.

Thermally Assisted Fluorescent Polymers: Polycyclic Aromatic Materials for High Color Purity and White-Light Emission

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) sensitization of fluorescence is a promising strategy to improve the color purity and operational lifetime of conventional TADF organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Here, we propose a new design strategy for TADF-sensitized fluorescence based on acrylic polymers with a pendant energy-harvesting host, a TADF sensitizer, and fluorescent emitter monomers. Fluorescent emitters were rationally designed from a series of homologous polycyclic aromatic amines, resulting in efficient and color-pure polymeric fluorophores capable of harvesting both singlet and triplet excitons. Macromolecular analogues of blue, green, and yellow fourth-generation OLED emissive layers were prepared in a facile manner by Cu(0) reversible deactivation radical polymerization, with emission quantum yields up to 0.83 in air and narrow emission bands with full width at half-maximum as low as 57 nm. White-light emission can easily be achieved by enforcing incomplete energy transfer between a deep blue TADF sensitizer and yellow fluorophore to yield a single white-emissive polymer with CIE coordinates (0.33, 0.39) and quantum yield 0.77. Energy transfer to the fluorescent emitters occurs at rates of 1-4 × 10⁸ s^-1, significantly faster than deactivation caused by internal conversion or intersystem crossing. Rapid energy transfer facilitates high triplet exciton utilization and efficient sensitized emission, even when TADF emitters with a low quantum yield are used as photosensitizers. Our results indicate that a broad library of untapped polymers exhibiting efficient TADF-sensitized fluorescence should be readily accessible from known TADF materials, including many monomers previously thought unsuitable for use in OLEDs.

Color-Tunable Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence in Oxadiazole-Based Acrylic Copolymers: Photophysical Properties and Applications in Ratiometric Oxygen Sensing

Polymer-based emitters are a promising route to the production of low-cost, scalable solution-processable luminescent materials. Here we describe a series of acrylic oxadiazole-based donor-acceptor monomers with tunable emission from blue to orange, with quantum yields as high as 96%. By introducing structural constraints that limit donor-acceptor orbital overlap, thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) was observed in these materials. Polymerization by Cu(0) reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) gave high-molecular-weight copolymers (M_n > 20 kDa) with dispersities ranging from 1.10 to 1.45, using a room-temperature procedure with Cu wire as a catalyst. One of these materials, which had phenothiazine as donor moiety, exhibited conformationally dependent dual emission, giving a mixture of prompt fluorescence and delayed fluorescence peaks, whose relative ratios varied based on the amount of O₂ present during measurement. We demonstrate that this material can combine prompt and delayed fluorescence to act as a single-component, all-organic, ratiometric oxygen sensor without external calibrant. Application to ratiometric oxygen sensing is demonstrated both using a polymer thin film and via incorporation of this material into water-soluble polymer dots (Pdots), with a ratiometric response to O₂ throughout the range of partial pressures relevant to biological environments.

Preparation and luminescence properties of a M16 heterometallic coinage metal chalcogenide cluster

A hexadeca-nuclear, N-heterocyclic carbene stabilized gold(i)-copper(i)-sulfido cluster is reported, which emits yellow-orange in the solid state. The nature of this emission is examined, supported by combined theoretical and spectroscopic studies.

Highly Electron-Deficient Pyridinium-Nitrones for Rapid and Tunable Inverse-Electron-Demand Strain-Promoted Alkyne-Nitrone Cycloaddition

Highly accelerated inverse-electron-demand strain-promoted alkyne-nitrone cycloaddition (IED SPANC) between a stable cyclooctyne (bicyclo[6.1.0]nonyne (BCN)) and nitrones delocalized into a C_α-pyridinium functionality is reported, with the most electron-deficient "pyridinium-nitrone" displaying among the most rapid cycloadditions to BCN that is currently reported. Density functional theory (DFT) and X-ray crystallography are explored to rationalize the effects of N- and C_α-substituent modifications at the nitrone on IED SPANC reaction kinetics and the overall rapid reactivity of pyridinium-delocalized nitrones.

Recent advances in the self-assembly of polynuclear metal–selenium and –tellurium compounds from 14–16 reagents

The use of reagents containing bonds between group 14 elements and Se or Te for the self-assembly of polynuclear metal–chalcogen compounds is covered. Background material is briefly reviewed and examples from the literature are highlighted from the period 2007–2017. Emphasis is placed on the different classes of 14–16 precursors and their application in the targeted synthesis of metal–chalcogen compounds. The unique properties arising from the combination of specific 14–16 precursors, metal atoms, and ancillary ligands are also described. Selected examples are chosen to underline the progress in (i) controlled synthesis of heterometallic (ternary) chalcogen clusters, (ii) chalcogen clusters with organic functionalized surfaces, and (iii) crystalline open-framework metal chalcogenides.

White light generation using Förster resonance energy transfer between 3-hydroxyisoquinoline and Nile Red

A simple mixture of 3-hydroxyisoquinoline with Nile Red in a polymeric matrix of polyvinyl alcohol is used to generate white light that is suitable for lighting applications through a fluorescence resonance energy transfer mechanism.

Origin of the step structure of molecular exchange–correlation potentials

The step structure of exact exchange–correlation potentials is linked to the properties of the average local electron energy (ALEE).