Small organic molecules : building blocks of functional materials

The potential of phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes (phOLEDs) in full-color flat-panel display solid state lighting devices is fueling the interest in high triplet energy materials. 4,4′-Bis(9-carbazolyl)–biphenyl is one of the most widely used host material in phOLEDs. Because of its triplet energy of 2.56 eV, it is a suitable hole transporting material for green phosphorescent emitters, such as tris(2-phenylpyridine)iridium(III). However, the commonly used dye bis[(4,6-difluorophenyl)-pyridinato-N,C2]-picolinateiridium(III) in blue phOLEDs exhibits a triplet energy of 2.65 eV. Therefore, new high-triplet energy host materials are required to allow for efficient OLED-devices. The design of blue pixel host materials is based on the idea of reducing the level of conjugation between the carbazole subunit and the biphenyl backbone. Therefore, a series of CBP derivatives was synthesized and studied with spatially restricted degrees of freedom in their biphenyl-N-carbazole junctions by introducing spatial demanding methyl moieties either in positions 1 and 8 of the carbazole unit or in positions 3,5,3’,5’ of the biphenyl backbone. Moreover, the electronic features of the carbazole synthons were investigated by attaching electron-withdrawing or electron-donating groups in the positions 3 and 6 or positions 2 and 7 of the carbazole subunits

New 4,4'-Bis(9-carbazolyl)-Biphenyl Derivatives with Locked Carbazole-Biphenyl Junctions: High-Triplet State Energy Materials

We synthesized a series of 4,4'-bis(9-carbazolyl)-biphenyl (CBP) derivatives, using methyl groups as spatially demanding groups, locking the angle between the carbazole subunit and the biphenyl backbone as potential matrix material for blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The locked rotation was achieved by four methyl groups either in positions 1 and 8 of the carbazole subunit (1) or in positions 3, 5, 3', and 5' of the biphenyl subunit (2), and the fixed spatial arrangement was confirmed by X-ray analysis. The physical properties of CBP derivatives based on parent structure 2 were further tailored by electron-withdrawing CF3 groups in positions 3 and 6 (3) or positions 2 and 7 of the carbazole subunits (4) or alternatively by electron-donating CH3O groups in positions 2 and 7 (5) of the same building blocks. Increased triplet energies (ET) compared to that of the parent compound CBP were found for all synthesized CBP derivatives 1-5. Enhanced glass transition temperatures ranging between 129 and 202 °C further corroborate the application potential of these derivatives for matrix material in blue OLEDs

Electrochemical Multiplexing: Control over Surface Functionalization by Combining a Redox-Sensitive Alkyne Protection Group with "Click"-Chemistry

Local functionalization of surfaces is a current technological challenge. An electrochemically addressable alkyne protection group is presented enabling the site-selective liberation of alkynes exclusively on electrified electrodes. This controlled deprotection is based on a mendione chromophore which becomes a strong enough nucleophile upon reduction to intramolecularly attack the trialkylsilane alkyne protection group. The site-selective liberation of the alkyne is demonstrated by immobilizing the protected alkyne precursor on a transparent TiO2 electrode and subsequently immobilizing red and blue azide dyes by azide-alkyne "click"-chemistry. While the proof-of-principle is based on colorations visible to the bare eye, the technique presented is generic also to nontransparent electrodes, microscale separations, and functional moieties other than dyes. It may open manifold applications where site-selective functionalization is required but hardly realizable with conventional methods

Exploring antiaromaticity in single-molecule junctions formed from biphenylene derivatives

We report the synthesis of a series of oligophenylene-ethynylene (OPE) derivatives with biphenylene core units, designed to assess the effects of biphenylene antiaromaticity on charge transport in molecular junctions. Analogues with naphthalene, anthracene, fluorene and biphenyl cores are studied for comparison. The molecules are terminated with pyridyl or methylthio units. Single-molecule conductance data were obtained using the mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ) technique. It is found that when electrons pass from one electrode to the other via a phenylene ring, the electrical conductance is almost independent of the nature of the pendant π-systems attached to the phenylene ring and is rather insensitive to antiaromaticity. When electrons pass through the cyclobutadiene core of the biphenylene unit, transport is sensitive to the presence of the relatively weak single bonds connecting the two phenylene rings of biphenylene, which arise from partial antiaromaticity within the cyclobutadiene core. This leads to a negligible difference in the molecular conductance compared to the fluorene or biphenyl analogues which have standard single bonds. This ability to tune the conductance of molecular cores has no analogue in junctions formed from artificial quantum dots and reflects the quantum nature of electron transport in molecular junctions, even at room temperature

Heteroatom-Induced Molecular Asymmetry Tunes Quantum Interference in Charge Transport through Single-Molecule Junctions

We studied the interplay between quantum interference (QI) and molecular asymmetry in charge transport through a single molecule. Eight compounds with five-membered core rings were synthesized, and their single-molecule conductances were characterized using the mechanically controllable break junction technique. It is found that the symmetric molecules are more conductive than their asymmetric isomers and that there is no statistically significant dependence on the aromaticity of the core. In contrast, we find experimental evidence of destructive QI in five-membered rings, which can be tuned by implanting different heteroatoms into the core ring. Our findings are rationalized by the presence of antiresonance features in the transmission curves calculated using nonequilibrium Green’s functions. This novel mechanism for modulating QI effects in charge transport via tuning of molecular asymmetry will lead to promising applications in the design of single-molecule devices

Exploring antiaromaticity in single-molecule junctions formed from biphenylene derivatives.

We report the synthesis of a series of oligophenylene-ethynylene (OPE) derivatives with biphenylene core units, designed to assess the effects of biphenylene antiaromaticity on charge transport in molecular junctions. Analogues with naphthalene, anthracene, fluorene and biphenyl cores are studied for comparison. The molecules are terminated with pyridyl or methylthio units. Single-molecule conductance data were obtained using the mechanically controllable break junction (MCBJ) technique. It is found that when electrons pass from one electrode to the other via a phenylene ring, the electrical conductance is almost independent of the nature of the pendant π-systems attached to the phenylene ring and is rather insensitive to antiaromaticity. When electrons pass through the cyclobutadiene core of the biphenylene unit, transport is sensitive to the presence of the relatively weak single bonds connecting the two phenylene rings of biphenylene, which arise from partial antiaromaticity within the cyclobutadiene core. This leads to a negligible difference in the molecular conductance compared to the fluorene or biphenyl analogues which have standard single bonds. This ability to tune the conductance of molecular cores has no analogue in junctions formed from artificial quantum dots and reflects the quantum nature of electron transport in molecular junctions, even at room temperature

In-situ formation of one-dimensional coordination polymers in molecular junctions

Organometallic frameworks have raised considerable interest in the area of nanoelectronics, but they are usually prepared at the ensemble level resulting in limited control. Vladyka et al. control the formation of single oligomer chains, unit by unit, in a mechanically controllable break-junction setup

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk