Electronic and Photophysical Properties of 9,10‐Anthrylene‐Bridged B‐π‐N Donor‐Acceptor Molecules with Solid‐State Emission in the Yellow to Red Region

Abstract 9,10‐Anthrylene‐bridged triarylborane‐triarylamine donor–acceptor compounds were prepared to examine the influence of the bulky π‐bridge on the electronic and photophysical properties of the compounds, with the aim of realizing their solid‐state emission. The intramolecular charge‐transfer (ICT) absorption and emission between the vacant p orbital on the boron center, p(B), and occupied p orbital on the nitrogen center, p(N), through the π orbital of the anthrylene, π(anthrylene), were observed, and it was demonstrated that the HOMO‐LUMO gap decreased with increasing number of introduced anthrylene units because of the effective lowering of LUMO originating from the p(B)‐π(anthrylene) orbital interaction. The compounds exhibited solid‐state emission with emission maxima at 560 nm and 643 nm, respectively, in the yellow to red region, with the corresponding absolute solid‐state quantum yield of 18 % and 31 %, as a result of the combination of the highly congested structure originating from the anthrylene π‐bridge and the introduction of bulky tert ‐butyl protecting groups.