Phthalimide Compounds Containing a Trifluoromethylphenyl Group and Electron-Donating Aryl Groups: Color-Tuning and Enhancement of Triboluminescence.

Trifluoromethylphenyl-substituted phthalimide derivatives favorably form triboluminescence (TL) active noncentrosymmetric crystals. Oligothienyl-, oligophenyl-, and naphthyl-substituted phthalimide derivatives were successfully developed as a series of metal free TL compounds. X-ray crystal structure analyses of bithienyl and naphthyl derivatives revealed noncentrosymmetric layer structures in the same direction. Introduction of suitable electron rich π-units such as thienyl groups enhances their photoluminescence and TL characteristics, and the colors can be also controlled in the visible region. A rigid naphthyl-substituted imide derivative exhibits extremely high TL performance.