Photochemical Synthesis of Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) for Modern Next-gen Electronic Display

Pyrene and its derivatives are Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) that found uses in organic electronic devices such as OLEDs, OFETs, and OPVs due to their high fluorescence quantum yields and inherent deep-blue emission. New synthetic strategies are essential for selective functionalization of the pyrene core and modular control of its physical properties. In this work, we have developed a new strategy for the synthesis of unsymmetrical pyrenes and higher order PAHs via a one-pot double photocyclization sequence of simple and readily available starting materials. In the first part, we describe the development and optimization of this one-pot process to synthesize different unsymmetrical pyrenes containing functional groups of different donor and acceptor ability. The second part expands this new approach to the synthesis of higher order PAHs.

Key Words : LEDs, Chemical Synthesis, Flexible Displays