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We present a joint experimental and theoretical study of the through-space charge transfer (CT) TADF molecule TpAT-tFFO. The measured fluorescence has a singular Gaussian line shape but two decay components, coming from two distinct molecular CT conformers, energetically only 20 meV apart. We determined the intersystem crossing rate (1 × 107 s–1) to be 1 order of magnitude faster than radiative decay, and prompt emission (PF) is therefore quenched within 30 ns, leaving delayed fluorescence (DF) observable from 30 ns onward as the measured reverse intersystem crossing (rISC) rate is >1 × 106 s–1, yielding a DF/PF ratio >98%. Time-resolved emission spectra measured between 30 ns and 900 ms in films show no change in the spectral band shape, but between 50 and 400 ms, we observe a ca. 65 meV red shift of the emission, ascribed to the DF to phosphorescence transition, with the phosphorescence (lifetime >1 s) emanating from the lowest 3CT state. A host-independent thermal activation energy of 16 meV is found, indicating that small-amplitude vibrational motions (∼140 cm–1) of the donor with respect to the acceptor dominate rISC. TpAT-tFFO photophysics is dynamic, and these vibrational motions drive the molecule between maximal rISC rate and high radiative decay configurations so that the molecule can be thought to be “self-optimizing” for the best TADF performance.

The balance between strain relief and aromatic stabilization dictates the form and function of non-planar π-aromatics. Overcrowded systems are known to undergo geometric deformations, but the energetically favourable π-electron delocalization of their aromatic ring(s) is typically preserved. In this study we incremented the strain energy of an aromatic system beyond its aromatic stabilization energy, causing it to rearrange and its aromaticity to be ruptured. We noted that increasing the steric bulk around the periphery of π-extended tropylium rings leads them to deviate from planarity to form contorted conformations in which aromatic stabilization and strain are close in energy. Under increasing strain, the aromatic π-electron delocalization of the system is broken, leading to the formation of a non-aromatic, bicyclic analogue referred to as ‘Dewar tropylium’. The aromatic and non-aromatic isomers have been found to exist in rapid equilibrium with one another. This investigation demarcates the extent of steric deformation tolerated by an aromatic carbocycle and thus provides direct experimental insights into the fundamental nature of aromaticity.

Considering the relevance of room temperature phosphorescent (RTP) materials, we discuss the influence of donor and acceptor groups substituted on to a twisted three-fold symmetric hydrocarbon homotruxene, which presents a persistent RTP, even in the absence of donor or acceptor moieties, under ambient conditions as a result of the twisted π-system. Compared to a fluorine acceptor, a donor methoxy group increases the phosphorescence decay rate in solution, while in the solid-state, molecular aggregation and packing yield a very persistent phosphorescence visible by the eye. The RTP of the intrinsically apolar homotruxene is found to be modulated by polar substituents, whose main impact on the solid-state emission is due to altered packing in the crystal.

Heterocyclic dimers consisting of combinations of butterfly-shaped phenothiazine (PTZ) and its chemically oxidized form phenothiazine-5,5-dioxide (PTZ(SO2)) have been synthesized. A twist is imposed across the dimers by ortho-substituents including methyl ethers, sulfides and sulfones. X-ray crystallography, cyclic voltammetry and optical spectroscopy, underpinned by computational studies, have been employed to study the interplay between the oxidation state, conformational restriction, and emission mechanisms including thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) and room temperature phosphorescence (RTP). While the PTZ(SO2) dimers are simple fluorophores, the presence of PTZ induces triplet-mediated emission with a mixed PTZ-PTZ(SO2) dimer displaying concentration dependent hallmarks of both TADF and RTP.

Here two D–A3 regioisomers, comprising three dibenzothiophene-S,S-dioxide acceptor units attached to a central triazatruxene core, are studied. Both molecules show thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), however, the efficiency of the TADF mechanism is strongly affected by the D–A substitution position. The meta- substituted emitter (1 b) shows a slightly higher-lying singlet charge transfer state and a lower-lying triplet state than that observed in the para- substituted emitter (1 a), resulting in a larger singlet–triplet splitting (ΔEST) of 0.28 eV compared to only 0.01 eV found in 1 a. As expected, this ΔEST difference strongly impacts the reverse intersystem crossing (rISC) rates and the para- isomer 1 a exhibits a much faster delayed fluorescence emission. Calculations show that the triplet energy difference between the two isomers is due to steric hindrance variances along the donor–acceptor rotation axis in these molecules: as 1 b is less restricted, rotation of its acceptor unit leads to a lower T1 energy, further away from the region of high density of states (the region where larger vibronic coupling is found, favouring rISC). Therefore, our results show how the substitution pattern has a marked effect on triplet state energies and character, verifying the key structural designs for highly efficient TADF materials.

Control of photophysical properties is crucial for the continued development of electroluminescent devices and luminescent materials. Preparation and study of original molecules uncovers design rules towards efficient materials and devices. Here we have prepared 7 new compounds based on the popular donor–acceptor design used in thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters. We introduce for the first time benzofuro[3,2-e]-1,2,4-triazine and benzothieno[3,2-e]-1,2,4-triazine acceptors which were connected to several common donors: phenoxazine, phenothiazine, carbazole and 3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazole. DFT calculations, and steady-state and time-resolved photophysical studies were conducted in solution and in solid states. While derivatives with azine moieties are non-emissive in any form, the compounds comprising 3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazole display TADF in all cases. More interestingly, the two derivatives substituted with a carbazole donor are TADF active when dispersed in a polymer matrix and phosphorescent at room temperature in neat films (microcrystalline form).

A pair of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters with symmetric and asymmetric D-A-D structure are investigated. Despite displaying near-identical photoluminescence spectrum and quantum yields, the symmetric material possesses significantly better delayed fluorescence characteristics and OLED performance. Building on a previous study of analogous D-A materials we are able to explain these differences in terms of different strengths of electronic interactions between the two donor units. This interaction lowers the energy of the TADF-active triplet state in the asymmetric molecule, increasing its singlet–triplet energy gap and leading to worse performance. This result therefore demonstrates a new strategy to selectively control the triplet states of TADF molecules, in contrast to established control of singlet states using host environment. These results also show that multi-donor TADF emitters cannot be understood simply as the sum of their isolated parts; these parts have different electronic interactions depending on their relative positions, even when there is no scope for steric interaction.

Quantum chemical studies employing combined density functional and multireference configuration interaction methods suggest five excited electronic states to be involved in the prompt and delayed fluorescence emission of TpAT-tFFO. Three of them, a pair of singlet and triplet charge transfer (CT) states (S1 and T1) and a locally excited (LE) triplet state (T3), can be associated with the (Me → N) conformer, the other two CT-type states (S2 and T2) form the lowest excited singlet and triplet states of the (Me → Ph) conformer. The two conformers, which differ in essence by the shearing angle of the face-to-face aligned donor and acceptor moieties, are easily interconverted in the electronic ground state whereas the reorganization energy is substantial in the excited singlet state, thus explaining the two experimentally observed time constants of prompt fluorescence emission. Forward and reverse intersystem crossing between the singlet and triplet CT states is mediated by vibronic spin–orbit interactions involving the LE T3 state. Low-frequency vibrational modes altering the distance and alignment of the donor and acceptor π-systems tune the S1 and T3 states (likewise S2 and T3) into and out of resonance. The enhancement of intersystem crossing due to the interplay of vibronic and spin–orbit coupling is considered a general feature of organic through-space charge-transfer thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters.

The bridging phenyl group in a fluorescent phenoxazine-benzothiazole donor-acceptor dyad is replaced by either a naphthalene or a thiophene moiety to probe the influence of a more extended conjugated system or the presence of a sulfur-containing heteroaromatic spacer on the emissive properties. These seemingly small structural alterations strongly affect the relative positions of the excited states, the fluorescence intensity, and the emission mechanism. Consequently, thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) is observed at longer timescales for the materials with phenyl and naphthalene linkers, whereas the thiophene group promotes room temperature phosphorescence (RTP), both in the solid state and in solution, and enhances singlet oxygen generation. Phosphorescence in solution at ambient temperature from a purely organic molecule without heavy halogen functionalisation is quite rare, and this unique property calls for further specific attention. The authors thank the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO Vlaanderen) for financial support (projects G087718N, G0D1521N, I006320N, GOH3816NAUHL, the Scientific Research Community ‘Supramolecular Chemistry and Materials’ (W000620N), and PhD scholarship S. Paredis). The calculations were performed on the computers of the ‘Consortium des´equipements de Calcul Intensif (CE´CI)’ (http://www.ceci-hpc.be), including those of the ‘UNamur Technological Platform of High-Performance Computing (PTCI)’ (http://www.ptci.unamur.be), for which we gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the FNRS-FRFC, the Walloon Region, and the University of Namur (Conventions No. 2.5020.11, GEQ U.G006.15, U.G018.19, 1610468, and RW/GEQ2016). A. Danos and A. P. Monkman are supported by EU Horizon 2020 Grant Agreement No. 732013 (HyperOLED) and EPSRC grant EP/T02240X/1.

10H-Dibenzo[b,e][1,4]thiaborinine 5,5-dioxide (SO2B) - a high triplet (T1 = 3.05 eV) strongly electron-accepting boracycle was successfully utilised in thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters PXZ-Dipp-SO2B and CZ-Dipp-SO2B. We demonstrate the near-complete separation of highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals leading to a low oscillator strength of the S1→S0 CT transition, resulting in very long ca. 83 ns and 400 ns prompt fluorescence lifetimes for CZ-Dipp-SO2B and PXZ-Dipp-SO2B, respectively, but retaining near unity photoluminescence quantum yield. OLEDs using CZ-Dipp-SO2B as the luminescent dopant display high external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 23.3% and maximum luminance of 18600 cd m-2 with low efficiency roll off at high brightness. For CZ-Dipp-SO2B, reverse intersystem crossing (rISC) is mediated through the vibronic coupling of two charge transfer (CT) states, without involving the triplet local excited state (3LE), resulting in remarkable rISC rate invariance to environmental polarity and polarisability whilst giving high organic light-emitting diode (OLED) efficiency. This new form of rISC allows stable OLED performance to be achieved in different host environments.

Hidden photophysics is elucidated in the very well-known thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitter, DMAC-TRZ. A molecule that, based on its structure, is considered not to have more than one structural conformation. However, based on experimental and computational studies, two conformers, a quasi-axial (QA) and a quasi-equatorial (QE) are found, and the effect of their co-existence on both optical and electrical excitation isexplored. The relative small population of the QA conformer has a disproportionate effect because of its strong local excited state character. The energy transfer efficiency from the QA to the QE conformer is high, even at low concentrations, dependent on the host environment. The current accepted triplet energy of DMAC-TRZ is shown to originate from the QA conformer, completely changing the understanding of DMAC-TRZ. The contribution of the QA conformer in devices helps to explain the good performance of the material in non-doped organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Moreover, hyperfluorescence (HF) devices, using v-DABNA emitter show direct energy transfer from the QA conformer to v-DABNA, explaining the relatively improved Förster resonance energy transfer efficiency compared to similar HF systems. Highly efficient OLEDs where green light (TADF-only devices) is converted to blue light (HF devices) with the maximum external quantum efficiency remaining close to 30% are demonstrated.

Intramolecular hydrogen bonding between donor and acceptor segments in thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials is now frequently employed to─purportedly─rigidify the structure and improve the emission performance of these materials. However, direct evidence for these intramolecular interactions is often lacking or ambiguous, leading to assertions that are largely speculative. Here we investigate a series of TADF-active materials incorporating pyridine, which bestows the potential ability to form intramolecular H-bonding interactions. Despite possible indications of H-bonding from an X-ray analysis, an array of other experimental investigations proved largely inconclusive. Instead, after examining computational potential energy surfaces of the donor–acceptor torsion angle we conclude that the pyridine group primarily alleviates steric congestion in our case, rather than enabling an H-bond interaction as elsewhere assumed. We suggest that many previously reported “H-bonding” TADF materials featuring similar chemical motifs may instead operate similarly and that investigation of potential energy surfaces should become a key feature of future studies.

Ethynylene-bridged perylene diimides (PDIs) with different sized silane groups have been synthesized as a steric blocking group to prevent the formation of non-radiative trap sites, for example, strong H-aggregates and other dimers or excimers. Excited singlet-state exciton dynamics were investigated by time-resolved photoluminescence and ultrafast pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopy. The spectra of the excimer or dimer aggregates formed by the PDIs at high concentrations were also determined. Although the photophysical properties of the bare and shielded PDIs are identical at micromolar concentrations, more shielded PDI2 and PDI3 exhibited resistance to aggregation, retaining higher photoluminescence quantum yield even at 10 mM concentration and in neat films. The PDIs also exhibited high photostability (1 h of continuous excitation), as well as electrochemical stability (multiple cycles with cyclic voltammetry). Prevention of dimer/aggregate formation in this manner will extend the uses of PDIs to a variety of high concentration photonics and optoelectronic applications, such as organic light-emitting diodes, organic photovoltaics, and luminescent solar concentrators., Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) BIDEB-2214-A [1059B141800476]; TUBITAK [119F031]; HyperOLED project from the European Unions's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program [732013], E.A. thanks The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) BIDEB-2214-A (Appl. #1059B141800476) who supported this research financially. for time-resolved PL and ultrafast pump-probe TAS. E.A. and C.V. also thank the project support funds of TUBITAK (grant #119F031) for financial support of the synthesis, structural, electrochemical, and optical characterizations of perylene derivatives. A.D. and A.P.M. were supported by the HyperOLED project from the European Unions's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreement number 732013.

The properties of the ultrastrongly coupled Tamm plasmon cavity filled with a high-oscillator-strength organic material DPAVBi (4,4′-bis[4-(di-p-tolylamino)styryl]biphenyl) are studied using theore...

A series of four heterocyclic dimers has been synthesized, with twisted geometries imposed across the central linking bond by ortho‐alkoxy chains. These include two isomeric bicarbazoles, a bis(dibenzothiophene‐S,S‐dioxide) and a bis(thioxanthene‐S,S‐dioxide). Spectroscopic and electrochemical methods, supported by density functional theory, have given detailed insights into how para‐ vs. meta‐ vs. broken conjugation, and electron‐rich vs. electron‐poor heterocycles impact the HOMO–LUMO gap and singlet and triplet energies. Crucially for applications as OLED hosts, the triplet energy (E T) of these molecules was found to vary significantly between dilute polymer films and neat films, related to conformational demands of the molecules in the solid state. One of the bicarbazole species shows a variation in E T of 0.24 eV in the different media—sufficiently large to “make‐or‐break” an OLED device—with similar discrepancies found between neat films and frozen solution measurements of other previously reported OLED hosts. From consolidated optical and optoelectronic investigations of different host/dopant combinations, we identify that only the lower E T values measured in neat films give a reliable indicator of host/guest compatibility. This work also provides new molecular design rules for obtaining very high E T materials and controlling their HOMO and LUMO energies., A new series of high E T heterocyclic dimers has been synthesized with large dihedral angles enforced by steric hindrance. A meta‐conjugated carbazole dimer displays the highest E T of 3.07 eV in dilute polymer film, however in a neat film this falls to 2.83 eV. Similar variation is observed across the series. This work highlights that to reliably estimate host/guest compatibility, E T determined from phosphorescence of neat films must be reported for new host materials. The currently accepted practice of reporting values from frozen solution or polymer films is no substitute.

The molecular photophysics and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in spiro compounds are distinct because of the rigid orthogonal C–C bridging bond between donor and acceptor. The photophysics is found to be highly complex, with unprecedented multiple anti-Kasha emissions from three different singlet states, two of which are one-photon forbidden. The TADF mechanism is critically controlled by local acceptor nπ* states; the singlet nπ* state undergoes rapid intersystem crossing populating an energetically close acceptor ππ* triplet state. The acceptor triplet nπ* state couples nonadiabatically to a CT triplet state mediating reverse intersystem crossing. When the nπ* and CT states are energetically close, TADF is greatly enhanced with rISC rate reaching 107 s–1. We observe neither DF from the singlet nπ* state nor electron transfer (ET) to form the 1CT because there is no ET driving force; however, ET from the higher-energy donor singlet ππ* state readily occurs along with donor emission.

Herein, we expose how the antagonistic relationship between solid-state luminescence and photocyclization of oligoaryl alkene chromophores is modulated by the conjugation length of their alkenyl backbones. Heptaaryl cycloheptatriene molecular rotors exhibit aggregation-induced emission characteristics. We show that their emission is turned off upon breaking the conjugation of the cycloheptatriene by epoxide formation. While this modification is deleterious to photoluminescence, it enables formation of extended polycyclic frameworks by Mallory reactions. We exploit this dichotomy (i) to manipulate emission properties in a controlled manner and (ii) as a synthetic tool to link together pairs of phenyl rings in a specific sequence. This method to alter the tendency of oligoaryl alkenes to undergo photocyclization can inform the design of solid-state emitters that avoid this quenching mechanism, while also allowing selective cyclization in syntheses of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

We have designed and synthesized a pair of highly asymmetric D-aA-D′ type pyridyl-sulfonyl based isomers comprising phenothiazine (PTZ) and carbazole (Cz) donor units, which are able to emit thermally activated delayed fluorescence. PTZ-pS4-Py-2Cz and PTZ-mS4-Py-2Cz both possess spatial separation of HOMO/LUMO on the donor and acceptor moieties, resulting in small calculated singlet–triplet energy gaps (~0.25 eV). Both isomers exhibit dual emission, which is attributed to charge transfer states associated with the Cz and PTZ moieties at higher and lower energies, respectively. Photoluminescence quantum yields and time-resolved emission decays show significant differences for the two isomers, with the para- isomer exhibiting more efficient emission and stronger delayed fluorescence than the meta- isomer – in strong contrast to recently reported analogous Cz-Cz D-aA-D isomers. The findings clearly show that the interconversion of triplets via the rISC mechanism is promoted when parallel Cz and PTZ charge transfer states are allowed to interact, explaining the improved performance of the Cz-PTZ materials compared to the previous Cz-Cz ones. Finally, moderate device performance was achieved in warm-yellowish (CIE; 0.41; 0.53 & 0.49; 0.48) non-doped OLEDs, which exhibited 0.5% & 1.9% maximum external quantum efficiencies for the meta- and para- isomers, respectively.

Donor–donor′–acceptor molecules where the donor′ bridges the donor and acceptor have different possible interaction pathways for charge transfer. Here we study a series of donor–donor′–acceptor molecules, having the same acceptor and donor′ but different donors, and donor′–phenyl spacer–acceptor to change the spatial separation and overlap between potential through-space donor–acceptor charge transfer (CT) in competition with donor′–acceptor through-bond CT. We determine that the charge transfer driving force plays a large role in dictating which charge transfer channel is favoured. Strong donors and acceptors with large driving force favour through-space CT. We also find that solid state host packing plays an important role, with small molecule hosts that pack tightly, distorting the guest molecules, reducing D–A separation to stabilise the through-space CT state over the through-bond state. Only the through-space CT states give fast reverse intersystem crossing and efficient TADF. These results give the first insight into the photophysics of through-space CT compared to through-bond states on the same molecule.

Charge transfer in organic fluorophores is a fundamental photophysical process that can be either beneficial, e.g., facilitating thermally activated delayed fluorescence, or detrimental, e.g., mediating emission quenching. N-Alkylation is shown to provide straightforward synthetic control of the charge transfer, emission energy and quantum yield of amine chromophores. We demonstrate this concept using quinine as a model. N-Alkylation causes changes in its emission that mirror those caused by changes in pH (i.e., protonation). Unlike protonation, however, alkylation of quinine's two N sites is performed in a stepwise manner to give kinetically stable species. This kinetic stability allows us to isolate and characterize an N-alkylated analogue of an ‘unnatural’ protonation state that is quaternized selectively at the less basic site, which is inaccessible using acid. These materials expose (i) the through-space charge-transfer excited state of quinine and (ii) the associated loss pathway, while (iii) developing a simple salt that outperforms quinine sulfate as a quantum yield standard. This N-alkylation approach can be applied broadly in the discovery of emissive materials by tuning charge-transfer states., A versatile N-alkylation strategy controls the presence of charge-transfer excited states and the emission colour of N-heterocyclic chromophores.

We describe the photophysical processes that give rise to thermally activated delayed fluorescence in the excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) molecule, triquinolonobenzene (TQB). Using transient absorption and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, we fully characterize prompt and delayed emission, phosphorescence, and oxygen quenching to reveal the reverse intersystem crossing mechanism (rISC). After photoexcitation and rapid ESIPT to the TQB-TB tautomer, emission from S1 is found to compete with thermally activated ISC to an upper triplet state, T2, very close in energy to S1 and limiting photoluminescence quantum yield. T2 slowly decays to the lowest triplet state, T1, via internal conversion. In the presence of oxygen, T2 is quenched to the ground state of the double proton transferred TQB-TC tautomer. Our measurements demonstrate that rISC in TQB occurs from T2 to S1 driven by thermally activated reverse internal conversion from T1 to T2 and support recent calculations by Cao et al. (Cao, Y.; Eng, J.; Penfold, T. J. Excited State Intramolecular Proton Transfer Dynamics for Triplet Harvesting in Organic Molecules.

Emitters showing thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in electroluminescent devices rely on efficient reverse intersystem crossing (rISC) arising from small thermal activation barriers between the lowest excited triplet and singlet manifolds. A small donor–acceptor compound consisting of a demethylacridine donor and a methylbenzoate acceptor group is used as a model TADF emitter. The spectroscopic signatures of this system are characterized using a combination of photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation, and the photoluminescence decay dynamics are recorded between delays of 2 ns and 20 ms. Above T = 200 K, our data provide convincing evidence for TADF at intermediate delays in the microsecond range, whereas triplet–triplet annihilation and slow triplet decay at later times can be observed over the entire temperature range from T = 80 K to room temperature. Moreover, close to room temperature, we find a second and faster up-conversion mechanism, tentatively assigned to reverse internal conversion between different triplet configurations. An interpretation of these experimental findings requires a calculation of the deformation patterns and potential minima of several electronic configurations. This task is performed with a range-separated hybrid functional, outperforming standard density functionals or global hybrids. In particular, the systematic underestimation of the energy of charge transfer (CT) states with respect to local excitations within the constituting chromophores is replaced by more reliable transition energies for both kinds of excitations. Hence, several absorption and emission features can be assigned unambiguously, and the observed activation barriers for rISC and reverse internal conversion correspond to calculated energy differences between the potential surfaces in different electronic configurations.

Colour purity and stability in multi-donor thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters has significant implications for commercial organic light-emitting diode (OLED) design. The formation of emissive dimer states in the well-known 1,2,3,5-tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicyanobenzene (4CzIPN) chromophore at elevated dopant concentrations has recently been confirmed both experimentally and via theoretical calculations, indicating that multi-donor emitters such as 4CzIPN might suffer from a lack of colour stability due to the presence of multiple emissive states. This poses a serious issue for OLED manufacturers. In this work, dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole (DTP) is applied as an alternative donor unit in a TADF emitter for the first time. In combination with isophthalonitrile (IPN), the 4CzIPN analogue termed 4DTPIPN is obtained. The strong electron donating nature of the DTP moiety gives rise to a red shift of the emission with respect to that of 4CzIPN. We identify that 4DTPIPN has a very stable emission spectrum throughout all solid-state thin film concentrations and host materials. Rather interestingly, this colour stability is obtained via the formation of dimer/aggregate species that are present even at 0.01 wt% concentration. Unfortunately, the higher colour stability is paired with a low photoluminescence quantum yield, making 4DTPIPN unviable for device applications. Nonetheless, this work shows the importance of dimer contributions, even at dilute doping concentrations. This molecule and study provide important understanding of the aggregation behaviour of small-molecule emitters necessary for the successful application of doped and, especially, non-doped OLED architectures. Colour purity and stability in multi-donor thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters has significant implications for commercial organic light-emitting diode (OLED) design. The formation of emissive dimer states in the well-known 1,2,3,5-tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicyanobenzene (4CzIPN) chromophore at elevated dopant concentrations has recently been confirmed both experimentally and via theoretical calculations, indicating that multi-donor emitters such as 4CzIPN might suffer from a lack of colour stability due to the presence of multiple emissive states. This poses a serious issue for OLED manufacturers. In this work, dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole (DTP) is applied as an alternative donor unit in a TADF emitter for the first time. In combination with isophthalonitrile (IPN), the 4CzIPN analogue termed 4DTPIPN is obtained. The strong electron donating nature of the DTP moiety gives rise to a red shift of the emission with respect to that of 4CzIPN. We identify that 4DTPIPN has a very stable emission spectrum throughout all solid-state thin film concentrations and host materials. Rather interestingly, this colour stability is obtained via the formation of dimer/aggregate species that are present even at 0.01 wt% concentration. Unfortunately, the higher colour stability is paired with a low photoluminescence quantum yield, making 4DTPIPN unviable for device applications. Nonetheless, this work shows the importance of dimer contributions, even at dilute doping concentrations. This molecule and study provide important understanding of the aggregation behaviour of small-molecule emitters necessary for the successful application of doped and, especially, non-doped OLED architectures. This work is supported by the University of Namur and Hasselt University [PhD BILA scholarship T. Cardeynaels]. The authors also thank the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO Vlaanderen) for financial support [project G087718N, G0D1521N, I006320N, GOH3816NAUHL and PhD scholarship S. Paredis]. The calculations were performed on the computers of the `Consortium des e ' quipements de Calcul Intensif (CE ' CI)' (http://www.ceci-hpc.be), including those of the `UNamur Technological Platform of High-Performance Computing (PTCI)' (http://www.ptci.unamur.be), for which we gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the FNRS-FRFC, the Walloon Region and the University of Namur [Conventions No. 2.5020.11, GEQ U.G006.15, U.G018.19, 1610468 and RW/GEQ2016]. M. K. Etherington and A. P. Monkman are supported by EU Horizon 2020 Grant Agreement No. 732013 (HyperOLED). K. Stavrou and A. P. Monkman acknowledge the TADFlife project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020-MCSA-ITN Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no 812872.

The St Andrews team would like to thank the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2016-047) for financial support. Computational resources have been provided by the Consortium des Équipements de Calcul Intensif (CÉCI), funded by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifiques de Belgique (F. R. S.-FNRS) under Grant No. 2.5020.11, as well as the Tier-1 supercomputer of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, infrastructure funded by the Walloon Region under the grant agreement n1117545. We acknowledge support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the ITN TADFlife (GA 812872). Y.O. acknowledges funding by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique-FNRS under Grant no. F.4534.21 (MIS-IMAGINE). D. B. is a FNRS Research Director. EZ-C is a Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Senior Research fellow (SRF\R1\201089). In this work we present a new multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR-TADF) emitter paradigm, demonstrating that the structure need not require the presence of acceptor atoms. Based on an in silico design, the compound DiICzMes4 possesses a red-shifted emission, enhanced photoluminescence quantum yield, and smaller singlet-triplet energy gap, ΔEST, than the parent indolocarbazole that induces MR-TADF properties. Coupled cluster calculations accurately predict the magnitude of the ΔEST when the optimized singlet and triplet geometries are used. Slow yet optically detectable reverse intersystem crossing contributes to low efficiency in organic light-emitting diodes using DiICzMes4 as the emitter. However, when used as a terminal emitter in combination with a TADF assistant dopant within a hyperfluorescence device architecture, maximum external quantum efficiencies of up to 16.5% were achieved at CIE (0.15, 0.11). This represents one of the bluest hyperfluorescent devices reported to date. Simultaneously, recognising that MR-TADF emitters do not require acceptor atoms reveals an unexplored frontier in materials design, where yet greater performance may yet be discovered. Publisher PDF

Thermally-activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) compounds are promising materials used in emissive layers of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Their main benefit is that they allow the internal quantum efficiency of the OLED to reach up to 100% by converting non-radiative triplet states into radiative singlets. Besides the importance of having a high reverse intersystem-crossing rate, which governs triplet conversion, minimizing the non-radiative decay processes is also extremely important to reach high efficiency. In this study we provide a new method to quantify not only the most important decay rates involved in the TADF process, but also the non-radiative decay rates of both singlet and triplet states individually from transient and steady state experimental optical data. In addition, the different contribution that the two non-radiative decay pathways have on the internal quantum efficiency is investigated. Finally, the method is applied to experimental data from two TADF materials.

Seemingly not, but for unexpected reasons. Combining the triplet harvesting properties of TADF materials with the fast emission rates and colour purity of fluorescent emitters is attractive for developing high performance OLEDs. In this “hyperfluorescence” approach, triplet excitons are converted to singlets on the TADF material and transferred to the fluorescent material by long range Forster energy transfer. The primary loss mechanism is assumed to be Dexter energy transfer from the TADF triplet to the non-emissive triplet of the fluorescent emitter. Here we use optical spectroscopy to investigate energy transfer in representative emissive layers. Despite observing kinetics that at first appear consistent with Dexter quenching of the TADF triplet state, transient absorption, photoluminescence quantum yields, and comparison to phosphor-sensitised “hyperphosphorescent” systems reveal that this is not the case. While Dexter quenching by the fluorescent emitter is likely still a key loss mechanism in devices, we demonstrate that – despite initial appearances – it is inoperative under optical excitation. These results reveal a deep limitation of optical spectroscopy in characterizing hyperfluorescent systems.

In this work, we report synthesis and photophysical properties of deep-blue emitting donor-acceptor (D-A) and donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) molecules, where the molecules designed using carbazole as a donor (D) and a pyridyl (a)-sulfonyl (A) based bifunctional group as an acceptor. The work reveals how structural changes favor reverse intersystem crossing (rISC) by forming emissive charge transfer (CT) state, which is thoroughly investigated in different donor and asymmetric acceptor positions. Three comparison sets of regioisomers are investigated. 2,5-substituted pyridine derivatives in Set-1, are D-Aa, D-aA and D-Aa-D structures with asymmetric acceptor systems, revealing that the donor nearer to the pyridine group substantially controls the TADF properties In Set-2, modified the D-Aa-D structures reveal how ortho and meta positioned a relative to A (keeping the carbazole at meta to the A) affects the emission properties, deactivating TADF and promotion triplet-triplet annihilation. In the final set, 2,4-substituted pyridyl-sulfonyl derivatives show that the positioning of the donor far from the pyridine group has minimal influence. This final set of molecules show superior optical and physical properties though, indicating the importance of correct positioning between D, a, and A.

This work shows that trifluoromethyl (CF3) substituents can be used to increase the rate of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in conjugated organic molecules by tuning the excitonic character of the singlet and triplet excited states. The synthesis and detailed photophysical characterization of four new functionalized donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) compounds using CF3-substituted-thioxanthene-S,S-dioxide and dimethylacridine units are presented. Several compounds are reported to exhibit rapid blue/green thermally activated delayed fluorescence with major delayed fluorescence lifetime components of ≈1–2 μs. Changes in the orbital character of singlet and triplet states (local vs. charge transfer) result in significant changes in rates of delayed fluorescence, despite similar ΔEST values. The change in orbital character is well supported by TD-DFT calculations. Electrochemical measurements reveal strong shifts in redox potentials that can be induced by σ-electron withdrawing CF3 substituents. Trifluoromethyl substituted compounds with a wider ΔEST also perform more efficiently than might be expected due to the demonstrated changes in excited state character. This study reveals important photophysical and molecular design implications for the future development of TADF emitters.

Luminescent copper(I) complexes have drawn attention due to their promising performance as alternative optoelectronic materials to the well-known heavy transition metal complexes. Herein, we report the synthesis of six luminescent Cu(I) complexes with phosphines and 1,10-phenanthroline-derived ligands with thiadiazole and selenodiazole groups in order to evaluate the effect of the heavy atom on their photophysical properties. Steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy confirmed delayed fluorescence emission via a thermally activated delayed fluorescence mechanism in all cases. The experimental spectroscopic data were analyzed with detailed quantum-chemical calculations. Interestingly, these complexes did not show the expected “heavy atom effect” that enhances the spin–orbit coupling matrix elements, but nevertheless the addition of the heavier chalcogens contributed to reducing the photoluminescence lifetime to roughly 800 ns, which is the lowest reported so far for such TADF materials.

We report the synthesis and structural and photophysical characterization of two series of molecules with functionalized azatriangulene electron donor cores and three pendant electron acceptor units. The presented donor and acceptor units are joined by C–C bonds, instead of the usual C–heteroatom bonds often found in thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters. The effects of the donor–acceptor strength and donor–acceptor dihedral angle on the emission properties are assessed. The data establish that the singlet–triplet energy gap is >0.3 eV and that delayed emission is present in only specific host matrices, irrespective of host polarity. Specific host behavior is atypical of many TADF materials, and we suggest the delayed emission in this work does not occur by a conventional vibronically coupled TADF mechanism, as the ΔEST value is too large. Detailed photophysical analysis and supporting density functional theory calculations suggest that some presented azatriangulene molecules emit via an upper-triplet state crossing mechanism. This work highlights that several different mechanisms can be responsible for delayed emission, often with highly similar photophysics. Detailed photophysical analysis is required to establish which delayed emission mechanism is occurring. Our results also highlight a clear future direction toward vibronically coupled C–C bonded TADF materials.

A novel strong electron-acceptor unit, 9,10-difluorodithieno[3,2-a:2′,3′-c]phenazine (DTPz), is synthesized and applied in the design of two donor-acceptor type emitters displaying long-lived delayed emission. Using either 9,9-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridine (DMAC) or triisopropyl-substituted benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (BDT-TIPS) as the donor component, push-pull type chromophores exhibiting charge-transfer emission are obtained and found to afford either thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) for DMAC or room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) for BDT-TIPS.

We investigate a series of D-A molecules consisting of spiro[acridan-9,9'-fluorene] as the donor and 2-phenylenepyrimidine as the acceptor. In two of the materials, a spiro center effectively electronically isolates the D unit from (consequently) optically innocent yet structurally influential adamantyl side groups. In a third material, adamantyl groups attached directly to the acceptor strongly influence the electronic properties. Steady-state and time-resolved photophysical studies in solution, Zeonex polymer matrix, and neat films reveal that the substituents impact the efficiency of vibronic coupling between singlet and triplet states relevant to reverse intersystem crossing (rISC) and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), without significantly changing the singlet-triplet gap in the materials. The adamantyl groups serve to raise the segmental mass and inertia, thereby damping intramolecular motions (both vibrational and rotational). This substitution pattern reveals the role of large-amplitude (primarily D-A dihedral angle rocking) motions on reverse intersystem crossing (rISC), as well as smaller contributions from low-amplitude or dampened vibrations in solid state. We demonstrate that rISC still occurs when the high-amplitude motions are suppressed in Zeonex and discuss various vibronic coupling scenarios that point to an underappreciated role of intersegmental motions that persist in rigid solids. Our results underline the complexity of vibronic couplings in the mediation of rISC and provide a synthetic tool to enable future investigations of vibronic coupling through selective mechanical dampening with no impact on electronic systems.

In the search for high-performance donor-acceptor type organic compounds displaying thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), triisopropylsilyl-protected benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (BDT-TIPS) is presented as a novel donor component in combination with two known acceptors: dimethyl-9H-thioxanthenedioxide (TXO2) and dibenzo[a,c]phenazinedicarbonitrile (CNQxP). For a broader comparison, the same acceptors are also combined with the well-studied 9,9-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridine (DMAC) donor. Optimized BDT-TIPS-containing structures show calculated dihedral angles of around 50° and well-separated highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals, although varying singlet-triplet energy gaps are observed experimentally. By changing the acceptor moiety and the resulting ordering of excited states, room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) attributed to localized BDT-TIPS emission is observed for TXO2-BDT-TIPS, whereas CNQxP-BDT-TIPS affords a combination of TADF and triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) delayed emission. In contrast, strong and pure TADF is well-known for TXO2-DMAC, whereas CNQxP-DMAC shows a mixture of TADF and TTA at very long timescales. Overall, BDT-TIPS represents an alternative low-strength donor component for push-pull type TADF emitters that is also able to induce RTP properties.

Halogenation of a twisted three-fold symmetric hydrocarbon with F, Cl or Br leads to strong modulation of triplet–triplet annihilation and dual phosphorescence, one thermally activated and the other very persistent and visible by eye, with different relative contributions depending on the halide. The room temperature phosphorescence is highly unusual given the absence of lone-pair-contributing heteroatoms. The interplay between the spin–orbit coupling matrix elements and the spatial configuration of the triplet state induces efficient intersystem crossing and thus room temperature phosphorescence even without relying on heteroatomic electron lone pairs. A ninefold increase of the ISC rate after introduction of three bromine atoms is accompanied by a much higher 34-fold increase of phosphorescence rate., Twisted π-systems investigation showed a very unusual HAE, influencing independently the ISC and the dual phosphorescence emission, one being very persistent at room temperature and visible by eye in powder.

Ideal emitters for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are capable of efficiently harvesting non-emissive triplet states, have high colour stabilities, and possess high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs). Maintaining colour stability and PLQY is particularly challenging for multi-carbazole thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials that form persistent dimers due to intermolecular interactions of their extended aromatic systems (with altered electronic states). Addressing this challenge, three new emitters are presented, which demonstrate that, somewhat counterintuitively, sterically uncrowded acceptor units can suppress these undesirable interactions. They do so by allowing the surrounding carbazole donors to be arranged with lower dihedral angles, which in turn limits their availability for dimerization. A new pyrazine-centered emitter 4CzPyz is contrasted directly with the cyanopyridine and terephthalonitrile analogues, 4CzCNPy and 4CzTPN respectively. The pyrazine derivative demonstrates enhanced colour stability in the solid-state compared to the cyanopyridine and terephthalonitrile acceptors, which we assign to its absence of intermolecular face-to-face aromatic interactions. This suppression of dimer formation is shared by two cyanopyrazine emitters 2Cz2CNPyz and 3CzCNPyz, each of which feature reduced steric pressure and flatter Cz-Pyz dihedral angles than non-heterocyclic analogues. Flatter dihedral angles consequently lead to C–H bonds of the Cz donors extending outwards at angles that prevent the stacking required for dimerization. This expanded understanding of dimer formation in TADF materials will guide future efforts to maintain colour stability in higher performance TADF materials by curbing the prevalence of face-to-face aromatic interactions.

The photophysics of multiple resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence molecule ν-DABNA is described. We show coupling of a 285 cm–1 stretching/scissoring vibrational mode of peripheral phenyl rings to the S1 state, which dictates the ultimate emission full-width at half maximum. However, a separate high amplitude mode, 945 cm–1 of the N-biphenyl units, mediates the reverse intersystem crossing (rISC) mechanism. Concentration-dependent studies in solution and solid state reveal a second emission band that increases nonlinearly with concentration, independent of the environment assigned to excimer emission. Even at concentrations well below those used in devices, the excimer contribution affects performance. Using different solvents and solid hosts, rISC rates between 3–6 × 105 s–1 are calculated, which show negligible dependence on environmental polarity or host packing. At 20 K over the first 10 ns, we observe a broad Gaussian excimer emission band with energy on-set above the S1 exciton band. An optical singlet-triplet gap (ΔEST) of 70 meV is measured, agreeing with previous thermal estimates; however, the triplet energy is also found to be temperature-dependent. A monotonic increase of the exciton emission band full-width at half maximum with temperature indicates the role of hot transitions in forming vibrational excited states at room temperature (RT), and combined with an observed temperature dependency of ΔEST, we deduce that the rISC mechanism is that of thermally activated reverse internal conversion of T1 to TN (n ≥ 2) followed by rapid rISC of TN to S1. Organic light-emitting diodes with ν-DABNA as a hyperfluorescent emitter (0.5 wt % and 1 wt %) exhibit an increase of maximum external quantum efficiency, reaching 27.5% for the lower ν-DABNA concentration. On the contrary, a Förster radius analysis indicated that the energy transfer ratio is smaller because of higher donor–acceptor separation (>2.4 nm) with weak sensitizer emission observed in the electroluminescence. This indicates excimer quenching in 1 wt % devices.

High efficiency orange and green emitting perylene dyes have been synthesized and dispersed in an inert polymer host to form an optical downconversion layer. To avoid dye aggregation and allow controlled colour tuning, this layer was deposited in multiple low-concentration spin-coating steps, directly on top of a high performance blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) organic light emitting diode (OLED). the orange downconversion layer partially absorbs the blue OLED emission, while emitting a complementary orange to give white light. However, as energy transfer between the TADF and perylene downconverter is based on emission and reabsorption, absorptive filtering of the blue OLED emission band necessitates the inclusion of an additional green-emitting perylene top-layer to achieve optimal white balance. the optimised white OLED fabricated in this way displayed excellent white colour balance (CIE x, y; 0.33, 0.33) with perfect stability, good colour rendering (CRI 80), and a high maximum efficiency (maximum EQE 17.2%) with minimal losses compared to the base blue OLED. This approach is widely applicable for generating white emission from any kind of blue OLED, and is compatible with a wide range of downconverting dyes and host materials., Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) 2214-A ProgramTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [1059B141800476]; TUBITAK grantTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [119F031]; HyperOLED project from the European Unions's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program [732013], EA thanks the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) 2214-A Program (Appl. #1059B141800476) who supported this research financially. EA and CV thank to the project support funds of TUBITAK grant #119F031 for financial support on the synthesis of PDI1/2 and PTE. AD and APM were supported by the HyperOLED project from the European Unions's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreement number 732013.

Excitons in organic semiconductors possessing a large oscillator strength demonstrate strong coupling with cavity modes at room temperature. A large Stokes shift in some organic semiconductors enriches and complicates the picture of the emission in strongly coupled systems of organic excitons and light. Here we demonstrate strong coupling of excitons in 4,4-Bis(N-carbazolyl)-1,1-biphenyl (CBP) and Tamm plasmons in the UV band, accompanied by a bright emission from the structure. Reflection measurements demonstrate the pronounced formation of the lower and upper polariton modes with Rabi splitting of the magnitude of 0.3 eV, and the emission peak experiences a substantial red shift with respect to the lower polariton mode. Both radiative and non-radiative decay rates in the Tamm plasmon CBP structure are increased with respect to a bare CBP. Such peculiar behavior is attributed to the simultaneous manifestation of strong coupling and weak coupling of the CBP molecule emitters to the Tamm plasmons.

The thermally activated delayed fluorescence(TADF) donor−acceptor (D−A) molecule, DMAC−TRZ, isused as a TADF emitter “probe” to distinguish the environmentaleffects of a range of solid-state host materials in guest−hostsystems. Using the guest’s photophysical behavior in solution as abenchmark, a comprehensive study using a variety of typical TADForganic light-emitting diode hosts with different characteristicsprovides a clearer understanding of guest−host interactions andwhat affects emitter performance in solid state. We investigatewhich are the key host characteristics that directly affect chargetransfer(CT) state energy and singlet triplet energy gaps. Usingtime-resolved photoluminescence measurements, we use the CTstate energy distribution obtained from the full width at halfmaximum(fwhm) of the emission band and correlate this with other photophysical properties such as the apparent dynamic redshift of CT emission on-set to estimate the disorder-induced heterogeneity of D−A dihedral angles and singlet triplet gaps. Further,the delayed emission stabilization energy value and time-dependent CT band fwhm are shown to be related to a combination ofhost’s rigidity, emitter molecule packing, and the energy difference between guest and host lowest energy triplet states.Concentration dependence studies show that emitter dimerization/aggregation can improve as well as reduce emission efficiencydepending on the characteristics of the host. Two similar host materials, mCPCN and mCBPCN, with optimum host characteristicsshow completely different behaviors, and their hosting potential is extensively explored. We demonstrate that type I and type IIITADF emitters behave differently in the same host and that the materials with intrinsic small ΔEST have the smallest disorderinducedCT energy and reverse intersystem crossing rate dispersion. We also present an optimized method to define the actualtriplet energy of a guest−host system, a crucial parameter in understanding the overall mechanism of the TADF efficiency of thesystem.

This study focuses on the photophysics of a donor–acceptor molecule with 2,4,6-triphenyl-1,3,5-triazine and phenoselenazine acceptor and donor units. Selenium distinctively folds the phenoselenazine resulting in the appearance of two conformers, yielding both room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) and thermally-activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). This combination produces a unique in-depth picture of the mechanisms inherent to dual emission in TADF molecules. We revisit the photophysics of the phenothiazine analogue and observe similar behaviours. The dual emission comes from a short-lifetime quasi-axial conformer and longer-lifetime quasi-equatorial conformer giving efficient TADF. The quasi-axial conformer is not TADF active because it has a low energy local triplet that quenches the charge transfer states, giving rise to RTP. From sulphur to selenium, we point to an enhancement in the phosphorescence radiative decay with little effect on the reverse intersystem crossing (rISC) which means that adding a heavy atom to the donor does not affect the TADF performance. The interplay between TADF and RTP leads to yellow-green emitting devices with external quantum efficiencies of 17% from the optimisation of the conformer that gives rise to TADF. Therefore, the subtle effects enhanced by the phenoselenazine donor further add to our knowledge about how the molecular structure affects TADF photophysics.

Five new neutral heteroleptic iridium(III) complexes IrL2(pic) (2–6) based on the archetypical blue emitter FIrpic have been synthesised. The cyclometallating ligands L are derived from 2-(2,6-F2-3-pyridyl)-4-mesitylpyridine (7), 2-(3-cyano-2,6-F2-phenyl)-4-mesitylpyridine (8), 2-(2,6-F2-phenyl)-4-[2,7-(HexO)2-9H-carbazol-9-yl]pyridine (9), 2-(2,6-F2-3-pyridyl)-4-[2,7-(HexO)2-9H-carbazol-9-yl]pyridine (10) and 2-(3-cyano-2,6-F2-phenyl)-4-[2,7-(HexO)2-9H-carbazol-9-yl]pyridine (11) for complexes 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, respectively. The carbazole-functionalised ligands 9–11 show weak thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in solution. Complexes 5 and 6 reveal dual emission in polar solvents. A broad charge transfer (CT) band appears and increases in intensity relative to the higher energy emission band as solvent polarity is increased. The dual emission occurs when the energy of the ligand 3CT state is comparable to that of the 3MLCT state of the complex, resulting in fast interconversion between the two. Assignment of the ligand TADF and dual emission properties is supported by hybrid density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations. Phosphorescent organic light emitting devices (PhOLEDs) have been fabricated using these complexes as sky-blue emitters, and their performance is compared to devices using FIrpic and the previously reported complex IrL2(pic) 1 (L from the 2-(2,6-F2-phenyl)-4-mesitylpyridine ligand). For identical device structures, the device containing the carbazole complex 4 performs best out of the seven complexes. The dual emission observed in solution for complexes 5 and 6 is not observed in their devices.