Heavy‐Atom‐Embedded Narrowband Multiple‐Resonance Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Emitters With Aromaticity Guided by Hückel's and Baird's Rules

View at publisher
Authors: Chuanqin Cheng, Minqiang Mai, Ke‐Qing Zhao, Haowen Li, Jianping Zhou, Chenglong Li, Dongdong Zhang, L. -M. Duan
Cited by: 3
References: 31

Abstract

ABSTRACT Multiple‐resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR‐TADF) emitters featuring rapid reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) are highly desirable for efficient triplet harvesting. Conventional heavy‐atom strategies often enhance RISC at the expense of spectral broadening, particularly when heavy atoms are embedded in 8π‐electron six‐membered rings, where aromaticity reversal between Hückel's and Baird's rules induces structural reorganization. Here, we report a design strategy through peripheral fusion of heavy‐atom‐containing five‐membered aromatic rings into a classical multiple‐resonance framework BCzBN. The rigid aromatic 6π‐electron rings maintain planarity in both ground and excited states for small reorganization energy, which effectively suppresses structural relaxation‐induced spectral broadening, while simultaneously enhancing spin–orbit coupling (SOC). The resulting emitters achieve narrowband pure‐green electroluminescence with a 27 nm full‐width at half‐maximum (FWHM) and Commission Internationale de l′Éclairage y ‐coordinate of 0.72, together with a RISC rate >10 6 s − 1 . Optimized organic light‐emitting diode devices show a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 31.3% with negligible efficiency roll‐off, maintaining EQEs of 31.2% and 25.6% at 1000 and 10 000 cd m − 2 , respectively. This work demonstrates the critical role of π‐electron counting in heavy‐atom integration and provides a general design principle for high‐performance MR‐TADF materials that concurrently achieve narrow emission and fast RISC kinetics.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Research Luminescence and Fluorescent Materials Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics

Publication details

Journal / source
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
65
Issue
13
Pages
e23890–e23890
Publication date
10 February 2026
Language
EN