Three‐Coordinate Organoboron Compounds BAr2R (Ar = Mesityl, R = 7‐Azaindolyl‐ or 2,2′‐Dipyridylamino‐Functionalized Aryl or Thienyl) for Electroluminescent Devices and Supramolecular Assembly

Abstract
Eight novel three‐coordinate boron compounds with the general formula BAr2L, in which Ar is mesityl and L is a 7‐azaindolyl‐ or a 2,2′‐dipyridylamino‐functionalized aryl or thienyl ligand, have been synthesized by Suzuki coupling, Ullmann condensation methods, or simple substitution reactions (L = p‐(2,2′‐dipyridylamino)phenyl, 1; p‐(2,2′‐dipyridylamino)biphenyl, 2; p‐(7‐azaindolyl)phenyl, 3; p‐(7‐azaindolyl)biphenyl, 4; 3,5‐bis(2,2′‐dipyridylamino)phenyl, 5; 3,5‐bis(7‐azaindolyl)phenyl, 6; p‐[3,5‐bis(2,2′‐dipyridylamino)phenyl]phenyl, 7; 5‐[p‐(2,2′‐dipyridylamino)phenyl]‐2‐thienyl, 8). The structures of 1, 3, and 5–7 have been determined by X‐ray diffraction analyses. These new boron compounds are bright blue emitters. Electroluminescent devices using compound 2 or 8 as the emitter and the electron‐transport layer have been successfully fabricated. Molecular orbital calculations (Gaussian 98) have established that the blue emission of compounds 1–8 originates from charge transfer between the π orbital of the ligand L and the pπ orbital of the boron center. The ability of these boron compounds to bind to metal centers to form supramolecular assemblies was demonstrated by treatment of compound 2 with Zn(O2CCF3)2, which generated a 1:1 chelate complex {2⋅Zn(O2CCF3)2} (10), and also by treatment of compound 4 with AgNO3, yielding a 2:1 coordination compound {(4)2⋅Ag(NO3)} (11). In the solid state, compounds 10 and 11 form interesting head‐to‐head and tail‐to‐tail extended structures that host solvent molecules such as benzene.

This publication has 53 references indexed in Scilit: