LAUSR

Abstract The aim of this study was to design and develop new fluorinated light-emitting materials with multi-color photoluminescence that are not limited by their states. For this purpose, fluorinated bistolanes with an amino substituent, such as carbazol-9-yl, diphenylamino, and dimethylamino groups, as an electron-donating moiety were synthesized from readily available N,N-disubstituted 4-bromoaniline derivatives through five easy steps. The new fluorinated bistolane derivatives were found to display photoluminescence in dilute solutions as well as in the solid state. The luminescent color varied depending on the type of electron-donating group, and the emission color could be controlled from blue to yellowish-green depending on the electron-density distribution induced by electron-withdrawing pentafluorophenyl and electron-donating amino moieties. Moreover, the bistolanes with a large molecular dipole were found to exhibit solvatochromic photoluminescence. Therefore, multi-color luminescence from blue to yellow could be achieved in a single molecule depending on solvent polarity.