Issue 9, 2014

A fluorene-based material containing triple azacrown ether groups: synthesis, characterization and application in chemosensors and electroluminescent devices

Abstract

We design a novel multifunctional fluorene-based material containing triple azacrown ether (FTC) not only for application in aqueous solution as a chemosensor towards Fe3+ but also to enhance the electroluminescence of PLEDs using an environmentally stable aluminum cathode. The photo-physical and sensing properties were investigated by absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The FTC exhibited specific selectivity and high sensitivity toward Fe3+, with the Stern–Volmer coefficients (Ksv) being 1.59 × 105 M−1 in a solvent mixture of tetrahydrofuran and water (THF–H2O = 9/1, v/v). The FTC maintained high selectivity toward Fe3+ in the presence of ten interfering metal cations. The HOMO and LUMO levels were estimated to be −5.88 eV and −2.88 eV, respectively. The FTC significantly enhances the emission performance of PLEDs [ITO/PEDOT:PSS/MEH-PPV/EIL/Al] when used as an electron injection layer (EIL), especially in the presence of metal carbonates. Particularly, the device using K2CO3 doped FTC as the electron-injection layer (EIL) exhibited significantly enhanced performance compared to the one without EIL. The performance was significantly enhanced to 11 630 cd m−2 and 1.47 cd A−1, respectively, from 230 cd m−2 and 0.03 cd A−1 of the non-FTC device. Current results indicate that multifunctional fluorene-based material FTC is a potential candidate for selective detection of Fe3+ and as an effective electron injection layer to enhance the performance of MEH-PPV.

Graphical abstract: A fluorene-based material containing triple azacrown ether groups: synthesis, characterization and application in chemosensors and electroluminescent devices

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Oct 2013
Accepted
20 Dec 2013
First published
23 Dec 2013

Org. Biomol. Chem., 2014,12, 1419-1429

A fluorene-based material containing triple azacrown ether groups: synthesis, characterization and application in chemosensors and electroluminescent devices

C. Wu, Y. Lin and Y. Chen, Org. Biomol. Chem., 2014, 12, 1419 DOI: 10.1039/C3OB42054J

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