Understanding the Hot‐Exciplex Emission in U‐Shaped Donor–Acceptor Functionalized Phenylanthracenes for Triplet Harvesting Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes

Incorporating high‐energy charge transfer states into the triplet harvesting mechanism of anthracene bridged exciplexes, provides high‐efficiency organic light‐emitting devices, in which the delayed emission is indistinguishable from the prompt emission. However, such hot exciplex emitters have not been optimized with regard to their photoluminescence quantum yield and overall efficiency. In this study, we vary the electron‐donating and electron‐withdrawing units that are unilaterally connected to an anthracene bridge. We present optimized donor–acceptor combinations with high fluorescence efficiency and we perform TD‐DFT calculations to understand their influence on the emission characteristics. The most promising compound is finally employed in a light‐emitting diode, which shows superior performance compared to previous hot exciplex emitters.