Synthesis and performance of novel n-type EC/AIE energy storage electrode materials containing triphenylamine and quinazolin groups

The potential use of n-type small organic molecules in electrodes has attracted significant attention in organic electronics owing to the easy, high-yield purification processes of organic compounds. However, only few studies have reported high-efficiency supercapacitors based on n-type organic materials. Nevertheless, most n-type organic compounds possess low capacitance and poor cycling efficiency. Therefore, it is crucial to develop n-type organic compounds that demonstrate good electrochemical properties for use in electrodes. Herein, both the (E)-N-(4-(diphenylamino)benzylidene)-6,6,10,10-tetramethyl-4-phenyl-6,7,8,9,10,10a-hexahydro-5H-6a,9-methanobenzo[H]quinazolin-2-amine (TPAB) and (E)-N-(4-(diphenylamino)benzylidene)-4-(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl)-6,6,10,10-tetramethyl-6,7,8,9,10,10a-hexahydro-5H-6a,9-methanobenzo [h]quinazolin-2-amine (TPANB) compounds containing electrochromic (EC) and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) groups were synthesized from triphenylamine (TPA) and quinazoline derivatives, and their structure and properties were investigated. These novel electrode materials demonstrate high EC and fluorescence performance just as a typical n-type semiconductor. The coloring time of a TPANB film is 4.00 s, whereas the bleaching time is 3.00 s. Compared with TPANB, TPAB electrode material demonstrate a high area-specific capacitance (2.38 mF cm −2 at 0.05 mA cm −2 ), outstanding the charge and discharge rate performance (93% with the current density of 0.05–0.25 mA cm −2 ), and excellent cycling performance (78.51%) after 300 cycles. Above all, the multifunctional materials hold good potential for intelligent display energy storage. Graphical Abstract