Photophysical properties of acid-responsive triphenylamine derivatives bearing pyridine fragments: Towards white light emission

The synthesis, thermal, electrochemical, and optical properties of a series of triphenylamine derivatives bearing pyridine fragments and their trifluoroacetate salts are described. A dramatic increase in the intramolecular charge transfer is observed upon protonation, as evidenced by a significant reduction in the HOMO-LUMO gap and a red shift of both the absorption and the emission band. White photoluminescence was obtained in solution by the controlled protonation of blue emitting pyridine derivatives, which resulted in the yellow -orange emissive acidified form. In the solid state the emission color of doped polystyrene thin films could be tuned from steel blue to lawn green when the ratio of the protonated form was increased. These compounds have potential applications in the fabrication of multicolor OLEDs based on only one material. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.