Study on synthesis and properties of novel luminescent hole transporting materials based on N,N′-di(p-tolyl)-N,N′-diphenyl-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine core

Abstract

Abstract Four novel blue luminescent hole transporting materials with N,N′-di(p-tolyl)-N,N′-diphenyl-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine as the core, containing triphenylamine units and olefinic linkers were synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR and HRMS. Their optical, electrochemical and thermal properties were investigated. Quantum-chemical calculations were performed to obtain their optimized structures and the electron distribution of the molecular orbital energy levels, and the experimental findings suggest that monosubstituted compounds have a similar energy gap to the bisubstituted compounds. The UV–Vis and photoluminescence spectra indicate that these compounds are blue luminescent materials. Cyclic voltammetry measurements show that the four compounds embody suitable highest occupied molecular orbital levels (in a range of −5.08 ∼ −5.14 eV) for hole injection. All of the compounds have excellent thermal stability, with decomposition temperatures above 400 °C and glass transition temperatures above 100 °C, which is of benefit to form stable amorphous glassy states.