Alkylated indolo[3,2,1-jk]carbazoles as new building blocks for solution processable organic electronics

Abstract

A facile strategy for the introduction of tert -butyl and hexyl chains to the indolo[3,2,1- jk ]carbazole scaffold is presented. With these building blocks six materials based on three different 4,4′-bis( N -carbazolyl)-1,1-biphenyl derivatives with varying degree of planarization were prepared. Characterization of the materials showed that the alkyl chains have only minor effects on the photophysical properties of the compounds. In contrast, thermal robustness towards decomposition and electrochemical stability are increased by the introduced alkyl chains. Detailed investigation of the solubility in five different solvents revealed that the incorporation of the alkyl chains increases the solubility significantly. The increased solubility of the materials allowed the application as host materials in red, green and sky-blue solution processed phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes. Hence, this work presents the first solution processed light emitting devices based on the indolo[3,2,1- jk ]carbazole scaffold. • Strategy for introducing alkyl chains to the indolo [3,2,1- jk ]carbazole (ICz) scaffold. • Significant increase of solubility. • Minor impact on photophysical properties. • Improved stability. • First solution processed PhOLEDs based on ICz.