New carbazole-substituted siloles for the fabrication of efficient non-doped OLEDs

Luminogenic molecules with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property are free of aggregation-caused quenching and thus have great potential in the fabrication of efficient non-doped OLEDs. Herein, a series of new carbazole-substituted siloles have been synthesized and characterized. Their crystal and electronic structures, thermal stabilities, electrochemical behaviors, and photophysical properties are thoroughly investigated. These silole derivatives exhibit prominent AIE characteristics with high emission efficiencies in solid films. They can function as light-emitting layers in non-doped OLEDs, affording eminent electroluminescence efficiencies of 17.59 cd/A, 12.55 lm/W and 5.63%, amongst the most efficient non-doped OLEDs based on fluorescent emitters, indicating their promising applications in OLEDs. (C) 2018 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.