A B4N4-heteropentalene (see structure) featuring a large HOMO–LUMO gap was synthesized and found to exhibit excellent thermal and chemical stability. The compound has a high T1 energy and can therefore emit short-wavelength phosphorescence comparable to that of benzene. Owing to its photophysical properties, the B4N4-heteropentalene served as a good host material for a phosphorescent organic light-emitting diode.
Replacement of the carbon–carbon bonds of antiaromatic compounds with polar boron–nitrogen bonds often provides isoelectronic BN compounds with excellent thermodynamic stability and interesting photophysical properties. By this element-substitution strategy, we synthesized a new B4N4-heteropentalene derivative, 1, which is fully substituted with mesityl groups. Owing to kinetic protection by the sterically bulky substituents, 1 is remarkably stable toward air and even water. Single-crystal X-ray analysis of 1 revealed the bonding characteristics of the B4N4-heteropentalene structure. In a glassy matrix, 1 emitted short-wavelength phosphorescence with an onset at 350 nm, indicating that the triplet energy is substantially high. DFT calculations reasonably explained the ground- and excited-state electronic structures of 1 as well as its emission properties. Motivated by the high-energy triplet state of 1, we used it as a host material to fabricate a phosphorescent organic light-emitting diode with an external quantum efficiency of 15 %.