Rigid pi-conjugated mono-, bis-, and tris(2,2':6',2' '-terpyridines).

A set of rigid, pi-conjugated linear mono- and bisterpyridines and star-shaped tristerpyridines have been synthesized using Pd(0)-catalyzed coupling reactions and the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction. The terpyridyl ligands obtained feature strong emission in the blue range with high quantum yields in dilute solution and thin films.