Versatile deep blue fluorescent materials based on the hybridization of phenanthroimidazole and fluorene derivatives

Blue fluorescent materials are an essential part of commercial OLED displays and lightings. However, the market lacks highly efficient, short-emission wavelength blue fluorescent materials. Herein, two new blue fluorescent materials, SAFPI-3 and SAFPI-2, are developed based on a phenanthroimidazole derivative and spiro fluorene triphenylamine by replacing the substitution sites, which tactfully utilize the spatial configuration of the molecules to achieve higher external quantum efficiency and a shorter emission wavelength at the same time. Furthermore, the versatility of SAFPI-3 and SAFPI-2 can be demonstrated as non-doped emitters for blue OLEDs and as the hosts of yellow phosphorescent OLEDs, which have achieved a high external quantum efficiency of 23.98% with extremely low-efficiency roll-off.