Multifunctional Dithiadiazolyl Radicals: Fluorescence, Electroluminescence, and Photoconducting Behavior in Pyren-1′-yl-dithiadiazolyl

The pyren-1′-yl-functionalized dithiadiazolyl (DTDA) radical, C16H9CNSSN (1), is monomeric in solution and exhibits fluorescence in the deep-blue region of the visible spectrum (440 nm) upon excitation at 241 nm. The salt [1]­[GaCl4] exhibits similar emission, reflecting the largely spectator nature of the radical in the fluorescence process, although the presence of the radical leads to a modest quenching of emission (ΦF = 98% for 1 + and 50% for 1) through enhancement of non-radiative decay processes. Time-dependent density functional theory studies on 1 coupled with the similar emission profiles of both 1 + and 1 are consistent with the initial excitation being of predominantly pyrene π–π* character. Spectroscopic studies indicate stabilization of the excited state in polar media, with the fluorescence lifetime for 1 (τ = 5 ns) indicative of a short-lived excited state. Comparative studies between the energies of the frontier orbitals of pyren-1′-yl nitronyl nitroxide (2, which is not fluorescent) and 1 reveal that the energy mismatch and poor spatial overlap between the DTDA radical SOMO and the pyrene π manifold in 1 efficiently inhibit the non-radiative electron–electron exchange relaxation pathway previously described for 2. Solid-state films of both 1 and [1]­[GaCl4] exhibit broad emission bands at 509 and 545 nm, respectively. Incorporation of 1 within a host matrix for OLED fabrication revealed electroluminescence, with CIE coordinates of (0.205, 0.280) corresponding to a sky-blue emission. The brightness of the device reached 1934 cd/m2 at an applied voltage of 16 V. The crystal structure of 1 reveals a distorted π-stacked motif with almost regular distances between the pyrene rings but alternating long–short contacts between DTDA radicals. Solid state measurements on a thin film of 1 reveal emission occurs at shorter wavelengths (375 nm) whereas conductivity measurements on a single crystal of 1 show a photoconducting response at longer wavelength excitation (455 nm).