Tunable Fluorophores Based on 2‐(N‐Arylimino)pyrrolyl Chelates of Diphenylboron: Synthesis,Structure, Photophysical Characterization,and Application in OLEDs

Reactions of 2‐(N‐arylimino)pyrroles (HNC₄H₃C(H)?N‐Ar) with triphenylboron (BPh₃) in boiling toluene afford the respective highly emissive N,N′‐boron chelate complexes, [BPh₂{κ²N,N′‐NC₄H₃C(H)?N‐Ar}] (Ar=C₆H₅ ( 12 ), 2,6‐Me₂‐C₆H₃ ( 13 ), 2,6‐iPr₂‐C₆H₃ ( 14 ), 4‐OMe‐C₆H₄ ( 15 ), 3,4‐Me₂‐C₆H₃ ( 16 ), 4‐F‐C₆H₄ ( 17 ), 4‐NO₂‐C₆H₄ ( 18 ), 4‐CN‐C₆H₄ ( 19 ), 3,4,5‐F₃‐C₆H₂ ( 20 ), and C₆F₅ ( 21 )) in moderate to high yields. The photophysical properties of these new boron complexes largely depend on the substituents present on the aryl rings of their N‐arylimino moieties. The complexes bearing electron‐withdrawing aniline substituents 17 – 20 show more intense (e.g., ?_f=0.71 for Ar=4‐CN‐C₆H₄ ( 19 ) in THF), higher‐energy (blue) fluorescent emission compared to those bearing electron‐donating substituents, for which the emission is redshifted at the expense of lower quantum yields (?_f=0.13 and 0.14 for Ar=4‐OMe‐C₆H₄ ( 15 ) and 3,4‐Me₂‐C₆H₃ ( 16 ), respectively, in THF). The presence of substituents bulkier than a hydrogen atom at the 2,6‐positions of the aryl groups strongly restricts rotation of this moiety towards coplanarity with the iminopyrrolyl ligand framework, inducing a shift in the emission to the violet region (λ_max=410–465 nm) and a significant decrease in quantum yield (?_f=0.005, 0.023, and 0.20 for Ar=2,6‐Me₂‐C₆H₃ ( 13 ), 2,6‐iPr₂‐C₆H₃ ( 14 ), and C₆F₅ ( 21 ), respectively, in THF), even when electron‐withdrawing groups are also present. Density functional theory (DFT) and time‐dependent DFT (TD‐DFT) calculations have indicated that the excited singlet state has a planar aryliminopyrrolyl ligand, except when prevented by steric hindrance (ortho substituents). Calculated absorption maxima reproduce the experimental values, but the error is higher for the emission wavelengths. Organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been fabricated with the new boron complexes, with luminances of the order of 3000 cd m^?2 being achieved for a green‐emitting device.