Synthesis and properties of novel perylenebisimide-cored dendrimers

A group of perylenebisimide-cored dendrimers with polyphenylene dendrons at four bay positions were synthesized and characterized. The electron-deficient pentafluorophenyl or cyano groups were grafted at the dendrimer surface with the aim to further increase the n-type features of the resulted dendrimers. The electrochemical and optical properties were investigated. All the dendrimers show good solubility and film-forming properties, high EA values of 3.8–3.9 eV, and high fluorescent quantum yields. All these merits indicate that they are potential multifunctional materials for application in optoelectronic devices such as solar cells or organic light-emitting devices.

► We report synthesis and properties of new perylenebisimide-cored dendrimers.
► The F- or CN- surface groups increase electron affinity to 3.9 eV.
► Higher generation dendrimers have lower fluorescent quantum yields.
► Potential use as light-harvesting electron acceptors for solar cells.
► Potential use as red emitters in organic light-emitting diodes.