Preparation and photophysical properties of quinazoline-based fluorophores

The donor–acceptor design is a classic method of synthesizing new fluorescent molecules. In this study, a series of new fluorescent compounds (1–10) were synthesized based on 2-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-quinazoline acceptor and various amino donors. The fluorescent emissions of 1–10 cover the spectrum from 414 nm to 597 nm in cyclohexane solutions with various amino donors on 4- or 7-positions of quinazoline. Ultimately, compounds 1 and 2 presented the highest photoluminescence quantum yield (QY) over 80%, while compound 10 provided the largest Stokes shift (161 nm) in cyclohexane. Most of them have strong emissions in aggregated states such as in nanoparticles, in powders, in crystals and in films. Mechanochromic properties were observed for compounds 1, 2, 4 and 7. Furthermore, blue OLEDs were fabricated by using compound 2 or 7 as the active layer.