Color tunable benzothiadiazole-based small molecules for lightening applications

2,1,3-Benzothiadiazole (BTD) is a key motif for the chemistry of photoluminescence molecules and its application in lightening technology as well as cell imagining. Evaluating the characteristics and reaction mechanisms of the BTD derivatives in molecular is critical for molecular designing. Research has been turned to BTD-extended derivatives owing to their possible usage in organic photovoltaics, organic light-emitting diodes, liquid crystal devices, dye-sensitized solar cells, and many other applications. Herein, three small molecules with a BTD core, 4,7-di-m-tolylbenzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (NK1), 4,7-bis(3,4,5-trifluorophenyl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (NK2), and 4,7-bis(5-(m-tolyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (NK3), were designed and synthesized and their molecular structures were elucidated. Additionally, their photophysical and electrochemical behaviors as well as the aggregation-induced enhanced emission properties were examined to investigate their possible usage in cell imaging and organic electronic applications. The HOMO energy level of molecules has been found as -5.96, -5.58, and -5.60 eV, respectively. In the emission spectra, it was seen that molecules showed green, blue, and red emission, respectively.