Polynaphthalene-Based Oxazaborinine Complexes Formulated as Red Light Emitters and High-Performance Asymmetric Supercapacitors.

Abstract

Developing a solid organic emitter based on an oxazaborinine complex with improved photophysical characteristics has become essential to fulfilling the rising need for optical and electrochemical technology. Two oxazaborinine complexes (TNB (a tri-naphthalene boron complex) and DNB (a di-naphthalene boron complex)) decorated with naphthalene and triphenylamine have been developed, which show emission in the red light region in the solid phase. Their effectiveness as asymmetric supercapacitor electrodes in aqueous electrolytes is also being studied. Polynapthaldimine-substituted DNI (di-naphthalene imine) and TNI (tri-naphthalene imine) have been initially synthesized and converted to a N,O-linked boron complex. TNB in solids (λem 660 nm) and the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite (λem 632 nm) emit pure red light. The optimized structure has been generated, and the HOMO-LUMO energy was calculated with the help of density functional theory (DFT). Due to the higher conjugation effect and lower HOMO-LUMO energy difference, TNB could be used as a supercapacitor electrode. In a three-electrode configuration, TNB has a maximum specific capacitance of 896.25 F/g. Furthermore, an asymmetric supercapacitor device (ASC) was fabricated in an aqueous electrolyte using TNB as a positive electrode having a high specific capacitance of 155 F/g. Even in an aqueous electrolyte, the ASC device reached the operating potential window of 0 to 1.4 V with an enhanced energy density of 42.19 W h/kg and ∼96% cyclic stability after 10 000 cycles. The reported oxazaborinine complex and its electrochemical efficiency in aqueous electrolytes make it ideal for supercapacitor applications and directly impact the development of advanced electrodes for next-generation supercapacitors.