A Stable Room-Temperature Luminescent Biphenylmethyl Radical.

There is only one family of room-temperature luminescent radicals, the triphenylmethyl radicals, to date. Herein, we synthesize a new stable room-temperature luminescent radical, (N-carbazolyl)bis(2,4,6-tirchlorophenyl)methyl radical (CzBTM), which has improved properties compared to the triphenylmethyl radicals. X-ray crystallography, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and magnetic susceptibility measurements confirmed the radical structure. CzBTM shows room-temperature deep-red to near-infrared emission in various solutions. Both thermal and photo stability were significantly enhanced by the replacement of trichlorobenzene by the carbazole moiety. The electroluminescence results of CzBTM verify its potential application to circumvent the problem of triplet harvesting in traditional fluorescent OLEDs. A new family of stable luminescent radicals based on CzBTM is anticipated.