Improved aggregation-induced emission behavior in D-π-A architectures by modifying the donor units

With the development of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) in optoelectronic devices, stimulus-responsive sensors, optical storage and bioimaging, the design and synthesis of efficient AIE luminogens remains a challenge. Herein, a series of asymmetric pyrene derivatives were prepared by stepwise functionalization at the 1-, 3-positions using traditional reactions. The experimental results show that a promising white-light emitting material (Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE): x = 0.32, y = 0.31), namely TPxzPy, which has completely separated the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMOs) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMOs) distribution, was produced. Moreover, a new strategy was established to construct pyrene-based AIE luminogens along the short axis. All compounds exhibited higher emission efficiency in the solid or aggregated state versus in solution, especially for TTPaPy with a competitive photoluminescence quantum yield as high as 76.2 %. The present work provides a feasible strategy to construct pyrene-based AIE materials for optoelectronic devices.