Coordination-Driven Deep-Blue Fluorescence in Conjugated Bicyclic Lactams

Deep-blue emissions were achieved in conjugated aromatic lactams with high quantum yields in both solution and PMMA films. The optical and physical properties of isoindolinone (IIN) and boron-diaza-methene (BODAZA) fluorophores were investigated. A generalized synthetic methodology was developed for both IINs and BODAZAs and used successfully to access multiple targets. The resultant lactams were all found to be strongly emissive both in solution and in the solid state. Although the two classes of compounds are structurally related, they display significant differences in their photophysical properties as well as in their thermal and kinetic properties, which can be fine-tuned via changes to the aromatic backbone.