Synthesis and characterization of organic light-emitting molecules possessing 3-(4-methoxyphenyl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene and boron

The donor-acceptor (DA) system, which is one of the main methods implemented in material chemistry, has been widely used to construct low band-gap semiconductors. It is desirable that donor molecules have πconjugation in these structures. Thienothiophene (TT) derivatives have been used extensively as donors and are preferred in optoelectronic applications. As a strong acceptor, boron unit with a vacant p orbital is linked to donor TT groups. Bulky tetraphenylethylene (TPE) subunits were appended as end groups to afford an aggregation-induced emission (AIE).