Design and Synthesis of Conjugated Starburst Molecules for Optoelectronic Applications

In recent years, conjugated starburst molecules, which possess a core unit with radial arms linked to the central axle, have become the research topic owing to their well-defined chemical structures, good solution processability, excellent reproducibility, and superior optoelectronic properties. The increasing interest in starburst systems is evidenced by progressively more frequent investigation on the use of these materials in optoelectronics. The ability to modify chemical structures through control over the core and arms on a molecular level can directly affect the electronic and electroluminescent characteristics of the resulting materials. In this review, we summarize and discuss main progress in our group concerning the rapidly developing field, in which strategies for the design and construction of starbursts are presented at length. Moreover, their application in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic semiconductor lasers (OSLs) are demonstrated as well, exploring the influence of molecular structures on the optoelectronic properties. Challenges and outlooks are also given at last.