Three-coordinate organoboron compounds BAr2R (Ar = mesityl, R=7-azaindolyl- or 2,2′-dipyridylamino-functionalized aryl or thienyl) for electroluminescent devices and supramolecular assembly

Eight novel three-coordinate boron compounds with the general formula BAr2L, in which Ar is mesityl and L is a 7-azaindolyl- or a 2,2'-dipyridylamino-functionalized aryl or thienyl ligand, have been synthesized by Suzuki coupling, Ullmann condensation methods, or simple substitution reactions (L = p-(2,2'-dipyridylamino)phenyl, 1; p-(2,2'-dipyridylamino)biphenyl, 2; p-(7-azaindolyl)phenyl, 3; p-(7-azaindolyl)biphenyl, 4; 3,5-bis(2,2'-dipyridylamino)phenyl, 5; 3,5-bis(7-azaindolyl)phenyl, 6; p-[3,5-bis(2,2'-dipyridylamino)phenyl]phenyl, 7; 5-[p-(2,2'-dipyridylamino)phenyl]-2-thienyl, 8). The structures of 1, 3, and 5-7 have been determined by X-ray diffraction analyses. These new boron compounds are bright blue emitters. Electroluminescent devices using compound 2 or 8 as the emitter and the electron-transport layer have been successfully fabricated. Molecular orbital calculations (Gaussian 98) have established that the blue emission of compounds 1-8 originates from charge transfer between the pi orbital of the ligand L and the p(pi) orbital of the boron center. The ability of these boron compounds to bind to metal centers to form supramolecular assemblies was demonstrated by treatment of compound 2 with Zn(O2CCF3)(2), which generated a 1:1 chelate complex {2(.)Zn(O2CCF3)(2)} (10), and also by treatment of compound 4 with AgNO3, yielding a 2:1 coordination compound {(4)(2)Ag-.(NO3)} (11). In the solid state, compounds 10 and 11 form interesting head-to-head and tail-to-tail extended structures that host solvent molecules such as benzene.