An optical study of a distyrylbenzene derivative with bulky substituents

A distyrylbenzene derivative with two tert-butyl groups and one benzyloxy group as bulky substituents in each outer phenylene ring (b-DSB) was synthesized. The compound dispersed in the polycarbonate (PC) matrix showed an emission in the blue region of 400–500 nm with a maximum intensity at 432 nm. When it was dispersed with 2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD) in the PC matrix, an efficient energy transfer occurred from the photo-excited PBD to b-DSB in the ground state, resulting in a significant enhancement in the photoluminescence intensity of b-DSB. For example, up to five-fold increase of photoluminescence intensity of b-DSB was observed from the film containing 5 wt.% b-DSB and 30 wt.% PBD and four-fold increase from the film containing 20 wt.% b-DSB and 30 wt.% PBD.