Understanding Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence Efficiency in Blue‐Shifted Iridium(III)‐Complexes: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

Compared to tris(2‐phenylpyridine)iridium(III) ([Ir(ppy)₃]), iridium(III) complexes containing difluorophenylpyridine (df‐ppy) and/or an ancillary triazolylpyridine ligand [3‐phenyl‐1,2,4‐triazol‐5‐ylpyridinato (ptp) or 1‐benzyl‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐ylpyridine (ptb)] exhibit considerable hypsochromic shifts (ca. 25–60 nm), due to the significant stabilising effect of these ligands on the HOMO energy, whilst having relatively little effect on the LUMO. Despite their lower photoluminescence quantum yields compared with [Ir(ppy)₃] and [Ir(df‐ppy)₃], the iridium(III) complexes containing triazolylpyridine ligands gave greater electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) intensities (using tri‐n‐propylamine (TPA) as a co‐reactant), which can in part be ascribed to the more energetically favourable reactions of the oxidised complex (M⁺) with both TPA and its neutral radical oxidation product. The calculated iridium(III) complex LUMO energies were shown to be a good predictor of the corresponding M⁺ LUMO energies, and both HOMO and LUMO levels are related to ECL efficiency. The theoretical and experimental data together show that the best strategy for the design of efficient new blue‐shifted electrochemiluminophores is to aim to stabilise the HOMO, while only moderately stabilising the LUMO, thereby increasing the energy gap but ensuring favourable thermodynamics and kinetics for the ECL reaction. Of the iridium(III) complexes examined, [Ir(df‐ppy)₂(ptb)]⁺ was most attractive as a blue‐emitter for ECL detection, featuring a large hypsochromic shift (λ_max=454 and 484 nm), superior co‐reactant ECL intensity than the archetypal homoleptic green and blue emitters: [Ir(ppy)₃] and [Ir(df‐ppy)₃] (by over 16‐fold and threefold, respectively), and greater solubility in polar solvents.     

含C^N-螯合配体的环戊二烯基铱抗癌配合物

合成、表征了8个半三明治结构环戊二烯基金属铱配合物[（η⁵-Cp^x）Ir（C^N）Cl],其中Cp^x分别为四甲基环戊二烯基（C₅Me₄H）,五甲基环戊二烯基（Cp^*）,四甲基（苯基）环戊二烯基（Cp^xph）,四甲基（联苯）环戊二烯基（Cp^xbiph）,C^N为苯亚甲基甲胺（BIMA）,N-（4-甲氧基苯亚甲基）苯胺（MBIA）。测定了其中3个配合物的单晶结构。所有配合物对Hela人宫颈癌细胞显示出很强的细胞毒性,IC₅₀值为1.7~32.9 μmol·L^-1。经检测Cp^x铱配合物的抗癌活性顺序为Cp^xbiph > Cp^xph > C₅Me₄H > Cp^*。配合物[（η⁵-Cp^xbiph）Ir（BIMA）Cl]（A4）和[（η⁵-Cp^xbiph）Ir（MBIA）Cl]（B4）表现出了最高的抗癌活性,比临床铂类药物顺铂活性高4倍以上。经检测,铱配合物A1~B4不与9-甲基腺嘌呤和9-乙基鸟嘌呤反应,与pBR322 DNA也没有作用,但这些配合物能够作为氢转移催化剂,将辅酶NADH转化为NAD⁺。机理研究表明配合物A4、B4处理Hela细胞时会引起明显的细胞凋亡和细胞周期的变化,并大幅增加细胞内活性氧（ROS）的水平。     

含C^N-螯合配体的环戊二烯基铱抗癌配合物

合成、表征了8个半三明治结构环戊二烯基金属铱配合物[（η⁵-Cp^x）Ir（C^N）Cl],其中Cp^x分别为四甲基环戊二烯基（C₅Me₄H）,五甲基环戊二烯基（Cp^*）,四甲基（苯基）环戊二烯基（Cp^xph）,四甲基（联苯）环戊二烯基（Cp^xbiph）,C^N为苯亚甲基甲胺（BIMA）,N-（4-甲氧基苯亚甲基）苯胺（MBIA）。测定了其中3个配合物的单晶结构。所有配合物对Hela人宫颈癌细胞显示出很强的细胞毒性,IC₅₀值为1.7~32.9 μmol·L^-1。经检测Cp^x铱配合物的抗癌活性顺序为Cp^xbiph > Cp^xph > C₅Me₄H > Cp^*。配合物[（η⁵-Cp^xbiph）Ir（BIMA）Cl] （A4）和[（η⁵-Cp^xbiph）Ir（MBIA）Cl] （B4）表现出了最高的抗癌活性,比临床铂类药物顺铂活性高4倍以上。经检测,铱配合物A1~B4不与9-甲基腺嘌呤和9-乙基鸟嘌呤反应,与pBR322 DNA也没有作用,但这些配合物能够作为氢转移催化剂,将辅酶NADH转化为NAD⁺。机理研究表明IC₅₀浓度的配合物A4、B4处理Hela细胞时会引起明显的细胞凋亡和细胞周期的变化,并大幅增加细胞内活性氧（ROS）的水平。     

Emissive Iridium(III) Complexes with Phosphorous‐Containing Ancillary

Ir(III) metal complexes and related emitters bearing all kind of cyclometalated chromophoric chelates and non‐chromophoric ancillary are extensively studied during the past three decades. Many of them have been found to display bright room temperature phosphorescence from triplet excited states in both solution and solid states, offering a possible application in contemporary optoelectronic technologies, including organic light emitting diodes, electrochemiluminescence, biological imaging and chemical sensing. Among reported materials, there are Ir(III) complexes with at least one phosphorus (P)‐containing ligand and/or ancillary chelate, together with cyclometalates or equivalents that are in control of the actual emission energy. Particularly, possession of P‐based donor can lead to divergent structural and photophysical properties compared to the traditional designs. This review aims to provide a literature overview as well as the authors’ personal account to the development of relevant Ir(III) based phosphors bearing these P‐donors. To the readers’ convenience, the contents are subdivided into six sessions, according to whether or not they are charge natural, or with mono‐ or dianionic electronic character, and in accordance to their divergent bonding modes, i. e. monodentate, bidentate and tripodal coordination. In many cases, the P‐based ancillaries offer an easy accessible route to the formation of efficient sky‐blue and true‐blue emitters due to their π‐accepting property, together with enlarged emission energy gap and destabilized upper lying quenching state.     

Bimetallic Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Diastereomers with Non‐Innocent Bridging Ligands for High‐Efficiency Phosphorescent OLEDs

Two phosphorescent dinuclear iridium(III) diastereomers (ΛΔ/ΔΛ) and (ΛΛ/ΔΔ) are readily separated by making use of their different solubilities in hot hexane. The bridging diarylhydrazide ligand plays an important role in the electrochemistry and photophysics of the complexes. Organic light‐emitting devices (OLEDs) that use these complexes as the green‐emissive dopants in solution‐processable single‐active‐layer architectures feature electroluminescence efficiencies that are remarkably high for dinuclear metal complexes, achieving maximum values of 37 cd A^?1, 14 lm W^?1, and 11 % external quantum efficiency.     

Phosphorescent Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes That Contain Substituted 2‐Acetylbenzo[b]thiophen‐3‐olate Ligand for Red Organic Light‐Emitting Devices

We report the synthesis of a new class of thermally stable and strongly luminescent cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes 1 – 6 , which contain the 2‐acetylbenzo[b]thiophene‐3‐olate (bt) ligand, and their application in organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs). These heteroleptic iridium(III) complexes with bt as the ancillary ligand have a decomposition temperature that is 10–20 % higher and lower emission self‐quenching constants than those of their corresponding complexes with acetylacetonate (acac). The luminescent color of these iridium(III) complexes could be fine‐tuned from orange (e.g., 2‐phenyl‐6‐(trifluoromethyl)benzo[d]thiazole (cf₃bta) for 4 ) to pure red (e.g., lpt (Hlpt=4‐methyl‐2‐(thiophen‐2‐yl)quinolone) for 6 ) by varying the cyclometalating ligands (C‐deprotonated C^N). In particular, highly efficient OLEDs based on 6 as dopant (emitter) and 1,3‐bis(carbazol‐9‐yl)benzene (mCP) as host that exhibit stable red emission over a wide range of brightness with CIE chromaticity coordinates of (0.67, 0.33) well matched to the National Television System Committee (NTSC) standard have been fabricated along with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) and current efficiency of 9 % and 10 cd A^?1, respectively. A further 50 % increase in EQE (>13 %) by replacing mCP with bis[4‐(6H‐indolo[2,3‐b]quinoxalin‐6‐yl)phenyl]diphenylsilane (BIQS) as host for 6 in the red OLED is demonstrated. The performance of OLEDs fabricated with 6 (i.e., [(lpt)₂Ir(bt)]) was comparable to that of the analogous iridium(III) complex that bore acac (i.e., [(lpt)₂Ir(acac)]; 6 a in this work) [Adv. Mater.­ 2011 , 23, 2981] fabricated under similar conditions. By using ntt (Hnnt=3‐hydroxynaphtho[2,3‐b]thiophen‐2‐yl)(thiophen‐2‐yl)methanone) ligand, a substituted derivative of bt, the [(cf₃bta)₂Ir(ntt)] was prepared and found to display deep red emission at around 700 nm with a quantum yield of 12 % in mCP thin film.     

Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence of Donor–Acceptor Molecules with Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence

The electrochemistry and electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of four kinds of electron donor–acceptor molecules exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) is presented. TADF molecules can harvest light energy from the lowest triplet state by spin up‐conversion to the lowest singlet state because of small energy gap between these states. Intense green to red ECL is emitted from the TADF molecules by applying a square‐wave voltage. Remarkably, it is shown that the efficiency of ECL from one of the TADF molecule could reach about 50 %, which is comparable to its photoluminescence quantum yield.     

Achieving High-Performance Pure-Red Electrophosphorescent Iridium(III) Complexes Based on Optimizing Ancillary Ligands

Two new iridium(III) complexes were synthesized by introducing two trifluoromethyl groups into an ancillary ligand to develop pure-red emitters for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The electron-donating ability of the ancillary ligands is suppressed, owing to the electron-withdrawing nature of trifluoromethyl groups, which can reduce the HOMO energy levels compared with those of compounds without trifluoromethyl groups. However, the introduction of trifluoromethyl groups into the ancillary ligand has little impact on the LUMO energy levels. Therefore, a well-tuned, pure-red, excited-state energy was achieved by regulating the relative energy level between the HOMO and LUMO. OLEDs with these complexes as emitters showed high external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 26 % and realized high EQEs of about 25 % and fairly low driving voltages of 3.3–3.6 V for practical luminance of 1000 cd m⁻², as well as excellent Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.66, 0.33) and (0.67, 0.33); thus, this demonstrates the successful molecular design strategy by modifying the electron-donating ability of ancillary ligand.     

Sublimable Cationic Iridium(III) Complexes with 1,10‐Phenanthroline Derivatives as Ancillary Ligands for Highly Efficient and Polychromic Electroluminescence

A novel series of four sublimable cationic iridium(III) complexes have been prepared with 1,10‐phenanthroline derivatives as ancillary ligands and the same negative counter‐ion, tetrakis[3,5‐bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate, which has a large steric hindrance and widely dispersed charges, thereby increasing the ionic radii, reducing the electrostatic interaction, and thus improving the volatility. Their structural, photophysical, electrochemical, and thermal properties have been fully characterized. Upon excitation, these compounds show polychromic emission varying from green to orange in solution, which are blue‐shifted in the solid state to different extents due to π–π conjugate effects in the ancillary ligands and the resulting molecular aggregation. OLEDs fabricated by vacuum evaporation deposition demonstrated desirable device performance with high efficiency and brightness, exhibiting various electroluminescent colors dependent upon doping concentration.     

螺芴对含三齿磷配体的铱配合物光电性能的影响

合成了一种含4,5-二氮-9,9-螺二芴(sb)配体的三齿磷铱配合物Ir(tpit)(sb)Cl(tpitH2=亚磷酸三苯基酯),通过核磁共振氢谱和磷谱及高分辨质谱对其结构进行了确定。X射线单晶衍射分析表明,sb配体的存在扭曲了分子结构,有助于降低分子聚集及发光淬灭。与存在分子内π-π堆积的模型配合物Ir(tpit)(bpy)Cl(bpy=2,2′-联吡啶)对比进行了光电性能的研究。结果表明在聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(质量分数1%)中配合物Ir(tpit)(sb)Cl的发光波长为512 nm,相对配合物Ir(tpit)(bpy)Cl的波长(520 nm)有了8 nm蓝移。配合物Ir(tpit)(sb)Cl的发光量子效率为30%,与配合物Ir(tpit)(bpy)Cl的94%相比有明显降低,说明了分子内π-π堆积作用在降低柔性基团非辐射跃迁率方面的重要作用。基于配合物Ir(tpit)(sb)Cl的有机电致发光器件,最大电流效率和外量子效率分别为14 cd·A-1和4.5%。而由于分子内π-π堆积作用,基于配合物Ir(tpit)(bpy)Cl器件的最大电流效率和外量子效率分别高达60 cd·A-1和18.2%。     

Photophysical Properties of Heteroleptic Iridium Complexes Containing Carbazole‐Functionalized β‐Diketonates

Twelve iridium complexes with general formula of Ir(C^N)₂(LX) [C^N represents the cyclometalated ligand, i.e. 2‐(2,4‐difluorophenyl) pyridine (dfppy), 2‐phenylpyridine (ppy), dibenzo{f, h}quinoxaline (DBQ); LX stands for β‐diketonate, i.e. acetyl acetonate (acac), 1‐(carbazol‐9‐yl)‐5,5‐dimethylhexane‐2,4‐diketonate (CBDK), 1‐(carbazol‐9‐yl)‐5,5,6,6,7,7,7‐heptafluoroheptane‐2,4‐diketonate (CHFDK), 1‐(N‐ethyl‐carbazol‐3‐yl)‐4,4,5,5,6,6,6‐heptafluorohexane‐1,3‐diketonate (ECHFDK)] are synthesized, characterized and their photophysical properties are systemically studied. In addition, crystals of Ir(DBQ)₂(CHFDK) and Ir(DBQ)₂(acac) are obtained and characterized by single crystal X‐ray diffraction. The choice of these iridium complexes provides an opportunity for tracing the effect of the triplet energy level of ancillary ligands on the photophysical and electrochemical behaviors. Data show that if the triplet energy level of the β‐diketonate is higher than that of the Ir(C^N)₂ fragment and there is no superposition on the state density map, strong ³LC or ³MLCT‐based phosphorescence can be obtained. Alternatively, if the state density map of the two parts are in superposition, the ³LC or ³MLCT‐based transition will be quenched at room temperature. Density functional theory calculations show that these complexes can be divided into two categories. The lowest excited state is mainly determined by C^N but not β‐diketonate when the difference between the triplet energy levels of the two parts is large. However, when this difference is very small, the lowest excited state will be determined by both sides. This provides a satisfactory explanation for the experimental observations.     

Electrochemiluminescence Bioassays with a Water‐Soluble Luminol Derivative Can Outperform Fluorescence Assays

The most efficient and commonly used electrochemiluminescence (ECL) emitters are luminol, [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺, and derivatives thereof. Luminol stands out due to its low excitation potential, but applications are limited by its insolubility under physiological conditions. The water‐soluble m‐carboxy luminol was synthesized in 15 % yield and exhibited high solubility under physiological conditions and afforded a four‐fold ECL signal increase (vs. luminol). Entrapment in DNA‐tagged liposomes enabled a DNA assay with a detection limit of 3.2 pmol L^?1, which is 150 times lower than the corresponding fluorescence approach. This remarkable sensitivity gain and the low excitation potential establish m‐carboxy luminol as a superior ECL probe with direct relevance to chemiluminescence and enzymatic bioanalytical approaches.     

Efficient Green‐Light‐Emitting Electrochemical Cells Based on Ionic Iridium Complexes with Sulfone‐Containing Cyclometalating Ligands

A new approach to obtain green‐emitting iridium(III) complexes is described. The synthetic approach consists of introducing a methylsulfone electron‐withdrawing substituent into a 4‐phenylpyrazole cyclometalating ligand in order to stabilize the highest‐occupied molecular orbital (HOMO). Six new complexes have been synthesized incorporating the conjugate base of 1‐(4‐(methylsulfonyl)phenyl)‐1 H‐pyrazole as the cyclometalating ligand. The complexes show green emission and very high photoluminescence quantum yields in both diluted and concentrated films. When used as the main active component in light‐emitting electrochemical cells (LECs), green electroluminance is observed. High efficiencies and luminances are obtained at low driving voltages. This approach for green emitters is an alternative to the widely used fluorine‐based substituents in the cyclometalating ligands and opens new design possibilities for the synthesis of green emitters for LECs.     

Smart Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) Containing Iridium(III) Complexes as Water‐Soluble Phosphorescent Probe for Sensing and Bioimaging of Homocysteine and Cysteine

Homocysteine (Hcy) and cysteine (Cys) are two important kinds of amino acids in human bodies. Herein, we synthesized an iridium(III) complex‐functionalized poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) and its hydrogel, which could be used as the excellent phosphorescent bioprobe for sensing Hcy and Cys. Their detection can be realized in aqueous system through the variations in absorption and photoluminescence spectra. Furthermore, living cell imaging experiments demonstrate that the phosphorescent bioprobe is membrane permeable and can monitor the changes of Hcy and Cys within living cells. In addition, the probe is also thermoresponsive, and its photoluminescence intensified with increasing temperature. These results suggests that this bioprobe has promising application in biomedical fields.     

Electrocatalytic Carbon Dioxide Reduction by Using Cationic Pentamethylcyclopentadienyl–Iridium Complexes with Unsymmetrically Substituted Bipyridine Ligands

Eight [Ir(bpy)Cp*Cl]⁺‐type complexes (bpy= bipyridine, Cp*=1,2,3,4,5‐pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) containing differently substituted bipyridine ligands were synthesized and characterized. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) of the complexes in Ar‐saturated acetonitrile solutions showed that the redox behavior of the complexes could be fine tuned by the electronic properties of the substituted bipyridine ligands. Further CV in CO₂‐saturated MeCN/H₂O (9:1, v/v) solutions showed catalytic currents for CO₂ reduction. In controlled potential electrolysis experiments (MeCN/MeOH (1:1, v/v), E_app=?1.80 V vs Ag/AgCl), all of the complexes showed moderate activity in the electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ with good stability over at least 15 hours. This electrocatalytic process was selective toward formic acid, with only traces of dihydrogen or carbon monoxide and occasionally formaldehyde as byproducts. However, the turnover frequencies and current efficiencies were quite low. No direct correlation between the redox potentials of the complexes and their catalytic activity was observed.     

IrIII and RuII Complexes Containing Triazole‐Pyridine Ligands: Luminescence Enhancement upon Substitution with β‐Cyclodextrin

Novel 2‐(1‐substituted‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl)pyridine (pytl) ligands have been prepared by “click chemistry” and used in the preparation of heteroleptic complexes of Ru and Ir with bipyridine (bpy) and phenylpyridine (ppy) ligands, respectively, resulting in [Ru(bpy)₂(pytl‐R)]Cl₂ and [Ir(ppy)₂(pytl‐R)]Cl (R=methyl, adamantane (ada), β‐cyclodextrin (βCD)). The two diastereoisomers of the Ir complex with the appended β‐cyclodextrin, [Ir(ppy)₂(pytl‐βCD)]Cl, were separated. The [Ru(bpy)₂(pytl‐R)]Cl₂ (R=Me, ada or βCD) complexes have lower lifetimes and quantum yields than other polypyridine complexes. In contrast, the cyclometalated Ir complexes display rather long lifetimes and very high emission quantum yields. The emission quantum yield and lifetime (Φ=0.23, τ=1000 ns) of [Ir(ppy)₂(pytl‐ada)]Cl are surprisingly enhanced in [Ir(ppy)₂(pytl‐βCD)]Cl (Φ=0.54, τ=2800 ns). This behavior is unprecedented for a metal complex and is most likely due to its increased rigidity and protection from water molecules as well as from dioxygen quenching, because of the hydrophobic cavity of the βCD covalently attached to pytl. The emissive excited state is localized on these cyclometalating ligands, as underlined by the shift to the blue (450 nm) upon substitution with two electron‐withdrawing fluorine substituents on the phenyl unit. The significant differences between the quantum yields of the two separate diastereoisomers of [Ir(ppy)₂(pytl‐βCD)]Cl (0.49 vs. 0.70) are attributed to different interactions of the chiral cyclodextrin substituent with the Δ and Λ isomers of the metal complex.