Abstract
Boron/nitrogen (B/N)-doped multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) molecules have emerged as benchmark narrowband emitters for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). However, these emitters face persistent challenges in synthesis and optoelectronic performance, notably aggregation-induced spectral-broadening and inefficient reverse intersystem crossing (RISC). Here, we introduce a molecular design that incorporates a B–N–B covalent-bond into a multiple resonance (MR) framework, synergistically combining narrowband emission of para-positioned B/N with a helically distorted B–N–B configuration that enhances spin-orbit coupling and suppresses molecular aggregations. A lithium-free, stepwise nitrogen-directed borylation enables high-synthesis-yield ( > 80%) targeted emitters, affording deep-blue (452 nm) and greenish (495 nm) TADF emissions with full-width-at-half-maximum of merely 12–14 nm, near-unity photoluminescence quantum yields and accelerated RISC rates ( > 105 s−1). Corresponding OLEDs simultaneously achieve high maximum external quantum efficiencies of 37.9–38.3%, narrow electroluminescence bandwidths of 15–17 nm and decent operational stabilities. This work establishes B–N–B integrated MR-TADF systems as a versatile platform toward high-performance organic optoelectronics.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 52573200, 52222308 and U25A20569), the National Key Research and Development Program (grant nos. 2023YFE0203300 and 2024YFB3612100).
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D.D.Z. and L.D. conceived and supervised this work. D.D.Z. proposed the molecular design concept and designed the experiments. J.Z. synthesized materials, carried out the quantum chemical calculations, fabricated the devices and wrote the paper. C.L., Q.W., and D.W.Z. helped synthesize materials. H.Z. helped measure the device's performance. G.M. helped revise the paper. D.D.Z. discussed the results and wrote and revised the paper with input from all authors.
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Zhou, J., Meng, G., Zhang, H. et al. B–N–B Embedded multiple-resonance polyaromatic enabling efficient narrowband electroluminescence. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70915-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70915-0
