Synthesis and characterization of ultraviolet light-emitting organic acids

Three ultraviolet light-emitting organic acids of 3,3'-(4-phenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3,5-diyl)dibenzoic acid (Tz-1), 4,4',4″-(4H-1,2,4-triazole-3,4,5-triyl)tribenzoic acid (Tz-2), and 4,4'-(4-(4'-carboxy-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3,5-diyl)dibenzoic acid (Tz-3) were successfully synthesized and fully characterized by the (1)H NMR, the IR absorption spectra, and the X-ray single crystal diffraction. It was found that Tz-1, Tz-2, and Tz-3 could give out the ultraviolet photoluminescent spectra centered at 369 nm, 365 nm and 350 nm, respectively. The luminescence quantum yields of Tz-1 and Tz-2 were measured to be 0.20 and 0.14, respectively. Additionally, the density functional theory (DFT) and the time-dependent DFT calculations were also carried out for Tz-1, Tz-2, and Tz-3.