Novel donor–acceptor materials for organic light-emitting diodes based on α-cinnamoyl cyclic ketene dithioacetals

A new family of α-cinnamoyl cyclic ketene dithioacetals (CCKDA) based on a typical donor-π-acceptor structure were designed and synthesized. These unsymmetrical π-conjugated molecules consisted of different electron-donating moiety and the same ketene dithioacetals acceptor. The introduction of different donor moieties changed energy level parameters of the molecules and allowed a fine tuning of their optical and electrical properties. It is promising to apply these compounds in organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) as light-emitting and electron-transporting materials.