Synthesis and properties of novel blue-light-emitting bianthracene-based derivatives

Abstract Novel blue-light-emitting materials, 10,10′-bis(4′-methyl-phenyl-biphenyl-2-yl)-9,9′-bianthracene (MDTPBA) and 10,10′-bis(4′-(t-butyl)phenyl-biphenyl-2-yl)-9,9′-bianthracene (TDTPBA), were synthesized and identified by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR and elemental analysis. Their properties were characterized by UV–Vis, PL, CV, DSC and TGA. The results indicated that the maximum emission peaks of the materials are both at 456 nm, which are the typical blue fluorescence. Their fluorescence quantum yields are 0.76 and 0.77 by using 9,10-diphenylanthracene ( ϕ = 0.90) as a calibration standard, respectively. The compounds also present high thermal stability, and the glass transition temperature of TDTPBA is up to 182 °C. SEM images show that the thin films of materials are very smooth and compact, indicating that they may have potential applications for OLEDs.