Selective tuning of the band gap of pi-conjugated dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]phospholes toward different emission colors

The systematic extension of the pi-conjugated system of strongly blue-luminescent dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]phospholes has been investigated with the goal of obtaining different emission colors. Functionalization of the 2- and 6-position of the dithienophosphole scaffold with halogen substituents provided functional building blocks for subsequent cross-coupling experiments with various homo- and heteroaryls to selectively decrease the band gap of the materials. By this strategy materials with different emission colors ranging from green via yellow to orange could be obtained. This feature supports their suitability for organic light-emitting diodes with respect to an application in full-color flat-panel displays. The experimental results were nicely supported by theoretical DFT calculations providing a deeper understanding of the electronic structure in the extended materials, and also allowing for the design of future materials based on a dithienophosphole core. Furthermore, the phosphorus center in the extended molecular materials can efficiently be fine-tuned in subsequent simple chemical functionalizations. This allows for a tailoring of the optoelectronic properties of the extended dithienophospholes to suit the requirements of potential applications.