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Published on: December 27, 2018
Naphthyl Substituted Impurities Induce Efficient Room Temperature Phosphorescence
Weiguo Qiao1, Ming Yao1, Jingwen Xu2
1Key Laboratory for Material Chemistry of Energy Conversion and Storage, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China.
Commercial triphenylamine (TPA) exhibits room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) due to specific naphthyl-substituted impurities. This study identifies these impurities and demonstrates a general host/guest strategy for creating efficient organic RTP materials.
Area of Science:
- Organic Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Photophysics
Background:
- Commercial triphenylamine (TPA) displays ultralong room temperature phosphorescence (RTP), unlike highly pure synthesized TPA.
- The source of this RTP in commercial TPA was previously unidentified.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify the specific impurities responsible for the RTP in commercial TPA.
- To investigate the mechanism and applicability of a host/guest strategy for inducing RTP.
Main Methods:
- Chemical analysis to identify impurities in commercial TPA.
- Spectroscopic characterization to study RTP emission.
- Controlled doping experiments with various host materials.
Main Results:
- Two N, N-diphenyl-naphthylamine isomers were identified as the RTP-inducing impurities in TPA.
- RTP emission was observed even at extremely low impurity concentrations (10^6:1 mass ratio).
- The triplet-to-triplet energy transfer mechanism was confirmed as the basis for RTP.
- This doping strategy was successfully applied to triphenylphosphine and benzophenone systems.
Conclusions:
- Naphthyl-substituted N, N-diphenyl-naphthylamine isomers are key impurities for achieving RTP in TPA.
- A general and efficient host/guest strategy enables the development of diverse, high-performance organic RTP materials.
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