Carbonyl‐Based Narrowband Emitters Peripherally Decorated by Sulfone‐Containing Spiro Structures

Abstract

Abstract Sulfone group plays a pivotal role in narrowing emission spectra, while, precise modification with sulfone group for carbonyl‐based narrowband emitters that maintain high color purity remains challenging. Herein, a comprehensive exploration of the function of the sulfone group is performed with various sulfur valences and positions fused into traditional carbonyl‐based narrowband emission unit QAO, namely SpiroS‐QAO, SpiroSO 2 ‐QAO, SpiroO‐QAO, and SpiroOSO 2 ‐QAO. A rigid molecular skeleton with a spiro structure as an intramolecular lock enables the four emitters to exhibit narrowband emissions. After full oxidization of sulfur, the emission band of SpiroSO 2 ‐QAO is further narrowed, with full width at half maximum of 32 nm, compared to that of 43 nm for sulfane‐decorated SpiroS‐QAO, which is attributed to the suppressed C─S bond‐length variation by the introduction of sulfone group. Nearly identical spectra of SpiroO‐QAO and SpiroOSO 2 ‐QAO suggest that the sulfone group should be directly linked to the emission core to maximize its function. Maximum external quantum efficiencies of 30.8%, 30.3%, and 29.2% are achieved for SpiroO‐QAO, SpiroOSO 2 ‐QAO, and SpiroS‐QAO‐based sensitized organic light‐emitting diodes with highly efficient thermally activated delayed fluorescence assistant host. These results offer a comprehensive understanding of the sulfone group embedded into the narrowband emission core with respect to the narrowing emission band.