Electroluminescent Properties of Anthracene Chromophore with Naphthylethenyl Substituents

New electroluminescent materials based on anthracene chromophore with naphthylethenyl substituent, 9,10-bis($\alpha$-naphthylethenyl)anthracene (a-BNA), as well as four kinds of its derivatives were synthesized, and luminescent properties of these materials were investigated. Electrolumineecent(EL) emission band was discussed based on their substituent structure differences. It was found that the emission band strongly depends on the molecular structure of introduced substituent. It can be tuned from 557 nm to 591 nm by changing the substituent structures. On the other hand, the anthracene chromophore with bulky substituent possessed high melting point and they gave stable films through vacuum-sublimation. The double layer EL device of ITO/TPD/emission layer/Mg:Ag was employed, and exhibited efficient orange light originating from emitting materials. EL emission with a maximum luminance was observed in the b-BNA emitting material, : maximum luminance was about 8,060 cd $m^{-2}$ at an applied voltage of 10 V and current density of 680 $mA/cm^2$. In conclusion, the electroluminescent properties also showed good difference with their substituent structure.