Self-Assembly of a Highly Emissive Pure Organic Imine-Based Stack for Electroluminescence and Cell Imaging

We demonstrated that a purely organic stack, namely, TPE-3-stack, can be assembled in high yield by using dynamic imine chemistry. TPE-3-stack emits strong fluorescence not only in the solid state (phi(PL) = 83%) but also in dilute solutions (e.g., phi(PL) = 82% in DMSO), which is significantly distinct from the case of the aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) chromophores. In addition, it shows high spectral, thermal, and chemical stabilities as well as excellent solubility in common solvents. Therefore, this stack is feasible for fabricating a solution-processed electroluminescent device, which displays brightness over 1000 cd m(-2) and a current efficiency up to 2.3 cd A(-1). TPE-3-stack is also demonstrated as a promising fluorescent visualizer for lysosome imaging. Such characteristics of the stack compound were attributed to the efficient suppression of intramolecular rotation and vibration by locking its structure into the rigid framework by means of a self-assembly strategy.