Synthesis and luminescent properties of carbazole end-capped phenylene ethynylene compounds

Abstract A class of highly fluorescent and stable carbazole end-capped phenylene ethynylene compounds have been synthesized and the comparative photophysical studies are presented. These compounds exhibit intense violet-blue emission in CH 2 Cl 2 solution ( λ max em ≈383–420 nm, Φ F ≈0.36–0.88, τ F ≈1.14–6.63 ns), and show a red-shifted emission in the solid state relative to that in solution. The extent of the shift is highly dependent on the nature of the substituents and the π -conjugation length of phenylene ethynylene component. Their photophysical properties and structural characterization have been investigated with the aim to provide a basis for elucidating the structure–property correlations and developing new blue-emitting materials in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).