Theobromine and direct arylation: a sustainable and scalable solution to minimize aggregation caused quenching

A green and scalable method to synthesize organic luminophores with minimal aggregation caused quenching (ACQ) is reported where direct arylation is used to attach alkylated theobromine moieties onto luminophores. The resulting compounds demonstrated high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) in solution and as aggregates. The minimized ACQ can be ascribed to the large dihedral angles that theobromine moieties introduce into these molecules, preventing interactions between the luminophores. Furthermore, the large dihedral angles promote the formation of hybridized local and charge-transfer states in these molecules. Finally, amplified spontaneous emission measurements were performed to explore their potential in lasers. Green chemistry and a natural product together provide a cost-effective, safe and scalable solution to create luminophores with suppressed aggregation quenching in organic semiconductors.