Efficient amplified spontaneous emission from oligofluorene-pyrene starbursts with improved electron affinity property

A series of monodisperse starburst molecules as optical gain media have been investigated in detail. The starburst molecules were composed of a pyrene core with four short oligofluorene arms capped by cyanophenyl moieties. The compounds exhibited low amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) thresholds of 30 nJ pulse and high maximum net gain coefficient of 55 cm under optically pump. Our study demonstrates that the introducing of electron-withdrawing cyanophenyl end-capper onto pyrene centered starburst molecules does not disadvantage their optical gain properties while leading to reduced LUMO level, therefore, improved electron affinity. This study suggested a promising approach for organic gain material synthesis to address the challenge of electrically pumped organic laser.