Bright blue phosphorescence from cationic bis-cyclometalated iridium(III) isocyanide complexes

We report new bis-cyclometalated cationic iridium(III) complexes [(C(^)N)(2)Ir(CN-tert-Bu)(2)](CF(3)SO(3)) that have tert-butyl isocyanides as neutral auxiliary ligands and 2-phenylpyridine or 2-(4'-fluorophenyl)-R-pyridines (where R is 4-methoxy, 4-tert-butyl, or5-trifluoromethyl) as C(^)N ligands. The complexes are white or pale yellow solids that show irreversible reduction and oxidation processes and have a large electrochemical gap of 3.58-3.83 V. They emit blue or blue-green phosphorescence in liquid/solid solutions from a cyclometalating-ligand-centered excited state. Their emission spectra show vibronic structure with the highest-energy luminescence peak at 440-459 nm. The corresponding quantum yields and observed excited-state lifetimes are up to 76% and 46 μs, respectively, and the calculated radiative lifetimes are in the range of 46-82 μs. In solution, the photophysical properties of the complexes are solvent-independent, and their emission color is tuned by variation of the substituents in the cyclometalating ligand. For most of the complexes, an emission color red shift occurs in going from solution to neat solids. However, the shift is minimal for the complexes with bulky tert-butyl or trifluoromethyl groups on the cyclometalating ligands that prevent aggregation. We report the first example of an iridium(III) isocyanide complex that emits blue phosphorescence not only in solution but also as a neat solid.     

Tuning solid state luminescent properties in a hydrogen bonding-directed supramolecular assembly of bis-cyclometalated iridium(III) ethylenediamine complexes

Synthesis, crystal structural determination and photophysical properties of a series of heteroleptic cationic cyclometalated iridium(III) derivatives of general formula [(ppy)(2)Ir(en)]X (X = ClO(4)(-) (1), PF(6)(-) (2), Cl(-) (3), BPh(4)(-) (4)), are described. The assembly of the common molecular building block allows to get highly luminescent crystalline materials or to assemble poorly luminescent supramolecular channelled architectures, for which the additional contribution of oxygen quenching effects has been observed. Moreover, the high reproducibility of the preparations of the crystalline materials in their specific crystalline phases, makes the control of the supramolecular organization of photo-active iridium(III) complexes within the crystalline structures a useful synthetic procedure for the construction of highly luminescent materials.     

Pure red electrophosphorescence from polymer light-emitting diodes doped with highly emissive bis-cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes

In order to develop highly emissive red phosphorescent materials for OLED application, novel bis-cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes were developed using the 1-(dibenzo[b,d]furan-4-yl)isoquinolinato-N,C^3′ (dbfiq) cyclometalating ligand. When 1,3-bis(3,4-dibutoxyphenyl)propane-1,3-dionate (bdbp) is employed as an ancillary ligand, Ir(dbfiq)₂(bdbp) 1 exhibits red photoluminescence (PL) at 640 nm with a quantum yield (Φ_PL) of 0.61 (in toluene, 298 K). Replacement of bdbp to dipivaloylmethanate (dpm) and acetylacetonate (acac) (Ir(dbfiq)₂(dpm) 2 and Ir(dbfiq)₂(acac) 3, respectively) does not affect the PL spectrum, but reduces Φ_PL to 0.55 and 0.49 for 2 and 3, respectively. Similar tendency is also found in the doped poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film, and 1 is more emissive (Φ_PL = 0.17) than 2 and 3 (Φ_PL = 0.08 and 0.06, respectively). Using 1 as a phosphorescent dopant, polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) were fabricated, of which structure was ITO/PEDOT:PSS (40 nm)/PVCz:1:PBD (100 nm)/CsF (1 nm)/Al (250 nm). Pure red electroluminescence (EL) is obtained from the fabricated PLEDs, affording a CIE chromaticity coordinate of (0.68, 0.31). When 0.51 mol% of 1 is incorporated in the PVCz-based emitting layer, the PLED shows maximum luminance of 7270 cd m⁻² at 16.5 V, power efficiency of 1.4 lm W⁻¹ at 7.5 V, and external quantum efficiency of 6.4% at 9.0 V. PLEDs with the same structure and components were also fabricated using 2 and 3, and their device characteristics were investigated. In proportion to the PL quantum yields, 1 affords better device performance than 2 and 3. Owing to four butoxy groups introduced to the bdbp ligand, 1 exhibits high solubility in organic solvents such as chloroform and toluene, and thus, is an excellent red phosphorescent dopant for solution-processed OLEDs.     

Green chemiluminescence from a bis-cyclometalated iridium(III) complex with an ancillary bathophenanthroline disulfonate ligand

The reaction of a fluorinated iridium complex with cerium(IV) and organic reducing agents generates an intense emission with a significant hypsochromic shift compared to contemporary chemically-initiated luminescence from metal complexes.     

Study on a set of bis-cyclometalated Ir(III) complexes with a common ancillary ligand

Bis-cyclometalated iridium(iii) complexes [Ir(F(2)ppy)(2)] (), [Ir(F(2)CNppy)(2)] (), [Ir(DMAF(2)ppy)(2)] () and [Ir(MeOF(2)ppy)(2)] () (F(2)ppy = 4',6'-difluoro-2-phenylpyridinate, F(2)CNppy = 5'-cyano-4',6'-difluoro-2-phenylpyridinate, DMAF(2)ppy = 4',6'-difluoro-4-dimethylamino-2-phenylpyridinate, MeOF(2)ppy = 4',6'-difluoro-4-methyl-2-phenylpyridinate and = 3,5-dimethylpyrazole-N-carboxamide) emitting in the sky blue region were synthesized. We studied the effect of the ancillary ligand and the substituents on the cyclometalating ligands on the crystal structures, photophysical and electrochemical properties and the frontier orbitals. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation results indicate that in and the cyclometalating ligands show negligible participation in the HOMO, the ancillary ligand being the main participant along with the Ir(iii) d-orbitals. exhibits the maximum photoluminescence quantum efficiency and radiative emission rates along with the dominant low frequency metal-ligand vibrations and maximum reorganization energy in the excited state. All the substituted complexes show more polar characteristics than , possessing the highest dipole moment among the complexes. The performances of the solution-synthesised organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) of , and doped in a blend of mCP (m-bis(N-carbazolylbenzene)) and polystyrene are studied.     

Electrochemiluminescence of cyclometalated iridium (III) complexes

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Bright electrochemiluminescence of iridium(III) complexes

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of four bright iridium(III) complexes containing aryltriazole cyclometallated ligands is reported. The ECL mechanisms, spectra and high efficiencies via annihilation and coreactant paths have been investigated.     

Acid-induced degradation of phosphorescent dopants for OLEDs and its application to the synthesis of tris-heteroleptic iridium(III) bis-cyclometalated complexes

Investigations of blue phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on [Ir(2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)pyridine)(2)(picolinate)] (FIrPic) have pointed to the cleavage of the picolinate as a possible reason for device instability. We reproduced the loss of picolinate and acetylacetonate ancillary ligands in solution by the addition of Br?nsted or Lewis acids. When hydrochloric acid is added to a solution of a [Ir(C^N)(2)(X^O)] complex (C^N = 2-phenylpyridine (ppy) or 2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)pyridine (diFppy) and X^O = picolinate (pic) or acetylacetonate (acac)), the cleavage of the ancillary ligand results in the direct formation of the chloro-bridged iridium(III) dimer [{Ir(C^N)(2)(μ-Cl)}(2)]. When triflic acid or boron trifluoride are used, a source of chloride (here tetrabutylammonium chloride) is added to obtain the same chloro-bridged iridium(III) dimer. Then, we advantageously used this degradation reaction for the efficient synthesis of tris-heteroleptic cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes [Ir(C^N(1))(C^N(2))(L)], a family of cyclometalated complexes otherwise challenging to prepare. We used an iridium(I) complex, [{Ir(COD)(μ-Cl)}(2)], and a stoichiometric amount of two different C^N ligands (C^N(1) = ppy; C^N(2) = diFppy) as starting materials for the swift preparation of the chloro-bridged iridium(III) dimers. After reacting the mixture with acetylacetonate and subsequent purification, the tris-heteroleptic complex [Ir(ppy)(diFppy)(acac)] could be isolated with good yield from the crude containing as well the bis-heteroleptic complexes [Ir(ppy)(2)(acac)] and [Ir(diFppy)(2)(acac)]. Reaction of the tris-heteroleptic acac complex with hydrochloric acid gives pure heteroleptic chloro-bridged iridium dimer [{Ir(ppy)(diFppy)(μ-Cl)}(2)], which can be used as starting material for the preparation of a new tris-heteroleptic iridium(III) complex based on these two C^N ligands. Finally, we use DFT/LR-TDDFT to rationalize the impact of the two different C^N ligands on the observed photophysical and electrochemical properties.     

Ruthenium(III) and iridium(III) complexes with nicotine

A new chloride-dimethylsulfoxide-ruthenium(III) complex with nicotine trans-[Ru^IIICl₄(DMSO)[H-(Nicotine)]] (1) and three related iridium(III) complexes; [H-(Nicotine)]trans-[Ir^IIICl₄(DMSO)₂] (2), trans-[Ir^IIICl₄(DMSO)[H-(Nicotine)]] (3) and mer-[Ir^IIICl₃(DMSO)(Nicotine)₂] (4) have been synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic techniques and by single crystal X-ray diffraction (1, 2, and 4). Protonated nicotine at pyrrolidine nitrogen is present in complexes 1 and 3 while two neutral nicotine ligands are observed in 4. In these three inner-sphere complexes coordination occurs through the pyridine nitrogen. Moreover, in the outer-sphere complex 2, an electrostatic interaction is observed between a cationic protonated nicotine at the pyrrolidine nitrogen and the anionic trans-[Ir^IIICl₄(DMSO)₂]^¯ complex.     

Effects of electron-rich ancillary ligands on green and yellow-emitting bis-cyclometalated iridium complexes

Abstract

Six new green to yellow-emitting heteroleptic bis-cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes of the type Ir(C?N)₂(L?X) (C?N?=?cyclometalating ligand, L?X?=?monoanionic chelating ancillary ligand) bearing two widely used cyclometalating ligands (C?N?=?2-(2-thienyl)pyridine (thpy) and 2-phenylbenzoxazole (bo)) and six different ancillary ligands were prepared. In this study, the complexes include structurally diverse ancillary ligands that allow us to investigate several aspects of structure-property relationships. Ancillary ligands used in this study are small-bite-angle N-phenylacetamidate (paa), N-isopropylbenzamidate (ipba) and N,N′-diisopropylbenzamidinate (dipba), and larger bite-angle β-ketoiminate (acNac), β-diketiminate (NacNac), and β-thioketoiminate (SacNac). The emission color is governed by the choice of the cyclometalating ligand, but the ancillary ligands influence the electrochemical and photophysical properties. Electrochemical analysis shows that the energy of the HOMO varies substantially as the L?X structure is altered, whereas the energy of LUMO remains nearly constant. The emission maxima range from 537?nm to 590?nm, with solution quantum yields between 0.0094 and 0.60 and microsecond lifetimes. The results here reveal the ancillary ligands provide a channel to control redox properties and excited-state dynamics in cyclometalated iridium complexes that luminesce in the middle regions of the visible spectrum.     

Cationic bis-cyclometalated iridium(III) diimine complexes and their use in efficient blue, green, and red electroluminescent devices

A series of cationic Ir(III) complexes with the general formula (C/N)2Ir(N/N)(+)PF6- featuring bis-cyclometalated 1-phenylpyrazolyl-N,C2' (C/N) and neutral diimine (N/N, e.g., 2,2'-bipyridyl) ligands were synthesized and their electrochemical, photophysical, and electroluminescent properties studied. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the highest occupied molecular orbital of the compounds is comprised of a mixture of Ir d and phenylpyrazolyl-based orbitals, while the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital has predominantly diimine character. The oxidation and reduction potentials of the complexes can be independently varied by systematic modification of either the C/N or N/N ligands with donor or acceptor substituents. The electrochemical redox gaps (E(ox)-E(red)) were adjusted to span a range between 2.39 and 3.08 V. All of the compounds have intense absorption bands in the UV region assigned to 1(pi-pi*) transitions and weaker charge-transfer (CT) transitions that extend to the visible region. The complexes display intense luminescence both in fluid solution and as neat solids at 298 K that is assigned to emission from a triplet metal-ligand-to-ligand CT (3MLLCT) excited state. The energy of the 3MLLCT state varies in nearly direct proportion to the size of the electrochemical redox gap, which leads to emission colors that vary from red to blue. Three of the (C/N)2Ir(N/N)(+)PF6- complexes were used as active materials in single-layer light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs). Single-layer electroluminescent devices were fabricated by spin-coating the Ir complexes onto an ITO-PEDOT/PSS substrate followed by deposition of aluminum contacts onto the organic film. Devices were prepared that give blue, green, and red electroluminescence spectra (lambda(max) = 492, 542, and 635 nm, respectively), which are nearly identical with the photoluminescence spectra of thin films of the same materials. The single-layer LECs give peak external quantum efficiencies of 4.7, 6.9, and 7.4% for the blue, green, and red emissive devices, respectively.     

Studies on ruthenium(III), rhodium(III) and iridium(III) complexes of indazoles

Summary New complexes of the general formula M(L)₃Cl₃ and M(5-AInz)₂Cl₃ · n H₂O (where M = Ru^III, Rh^III and Ir^III; L = indazole and 5-nitroindazole; n=1–2) have been synthesized and characterised by elemental analysis, molar conductance, magnetic susceptibility and i.r. and electronic spectral measurements. All the complexes are covalent and apparently have an octahedral geometry. The ligands are monocoordinated through the pyrrole nitrogen. From the far i.r. spectra amer configuration has been assigned to the indazole and 5-nitroindazole complexes.     

Square-planar iridium(II) and iridium(III) amido complexes stabilized by a PNP pincer ligand

Squaring the circle: the novel dienamido pincer ligand N(CHCHPtBu(2))(2)(-) affords the isolation of the unusual square-planar iridium(II) and iridium(III) amido complexes [IrCl{N(CHCHPtBu(2))(2)}](n) (n=0 (1), +1 (2)). In contrast, the corresponding iridium(I) complex of the redox series (n=-1) is surprisingly unstable. The diamagnetism of 2 is attributed to strong N→Ir π donation.     

Preparation of benzyl azide complexes of iridium(III)

Hydride complexes IrHCl(2)(PiPr(3))P(2) (1) and IrHCl(2)P(3) (2) [P = P(OEt)(3) and PPh(OEt)(2)] were prepared by allowing IrHCl(2)(PiPr(3))(2) to react with phosphite in refluxing benzene or toluene. Treatment of IrHCl(2)P(3), first with HBF(4).Et(2)O and then with an excess of ArCH(2)N(3), afforded benzyl azide complexes [IrCl(2)(eta(1)-N(3)CH(2)Ar)P(3)]BPh(4) (3, 4) [Ar = C(6)H(5), 4-CH(3)C(6)H(4); P = P(OEt)(3), PPh(OEt)(2)]. Azide complexes reacted in CH(2)Cl(2) solution, leading to the imine derivative [IrCl(2){eta(1)-NH=C(H)C(6)H(5)}P(3)]BPh(4) (5). The complexes were characterized by spectroscopy and X-ray crystal structure determination of [IrCl(2)(eta(1)-N(3)CH(2)C(6)H(5)){P(OEt)(3)}(3)]BPh(4) (3a) and [IrCl(2){eta(1)-NH=C(H)C(6)H(5)}{P(OEt)(3)}(3)]BPh(4) (5a). Both solid-state structure and (15)N NMR data indicate that the azide is coordinated through the substituted Ngamma [Ir]-Ngamma(CH(2)Ar)NNalpha nitrogen atom.     

Aggregation-induced phosphorescent emission (AIPE) of iridium(III) complexes

A novel aggregation-induced phosphorescent emission (AIPE) was observed for iridium(III) complexes. This interesting phenomenon was attributed to the intermolecular packing, resulting in a switch from the non-emissive 3LX excited state to the emissive 3MLLCT transition, which is confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies as well as theoretical calculations.     

Stabilisation of iridium(III) fluoride complexes with NHCs

The first neutral, [IrClF(2)(NHC)(COD)] and [IrClF(2)(CO)(2)(NHC)] (NHC = IMes, IPr), and cationic, [IrF(2)py(IMes)(COD)][BF(4)] and [IrF(2)L(CO)(2)(NHC)][BF(4)] (NHC = IMes, L = PPh(2)Et, PPh(2)CCPh, py; NHC = IPr, L = py), NHC iridium(III) fluoride complexes, have been synthesised by the xenon difluoride oxidation of iridium(I) substrates. The stereochemistries of these iridium(III) complexes have been confirmed by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy in solution and no examples of fluoride-trans-NHC arrangements were observed. Throughout, CO was found to be a better co-ligand for the stabilisation of the iridium(III) fluoride complexes than COD. Attempts to generate neutral trifluoroiridium(III) complexes, [IrF(3)(CO)(NHC)], via the ligand substitution reaction of [IrF(3)(CO)(3)] with the free NHCs were unsuccessful.     

Highly efficient phosphorescent iridium (III) diazine complexes for OLEDs: Different photophysical property between iridium (III) pyrazine complex and iridium (III) pyrimidine complex

The synthesis and luminescence of four new iridium (III) diazine complexes (1-4) were investigated. HOMO and LUMO energy levels of the complexes were estimated according to the electrochemical performance and the UV-Vis absorption spectra, showing the pyrimidine complexes have a larger increase for the LUMO than the HOMO orbital in comparison with the pyrazine complexes. Several high-efficiency yellow and green OLEDs based on phosphorescent iridium (III) diazine complexes were obtained. The devices emitting yellow light based on 1 with turn-on voltage of 4.1 V exhibited an external quantum efficiency of 13.2% (power efficiency 20.3 lm/W), a maximum current efficiency of 37.3 cd/A. The electroluminescent performance for the green iridium pyrimidine complex of 3 is comparable to that of the iridium pyridine complex (PPY)₂Ir(acac) (PPY = 2-phenylpyridine), which is among the best reported.     

Voltammetric behaviour of dichlorobis(2,2′-bipyridine) iridium(III) and dichlorobis(1,10-phenanthroline) iridium(III) complexes

The electrochemical behaviour of [Ir(bipy)₂Cl₂]⁺ and [Ir(phen)₂Cl₂]⁺ (bipy = 2,2′-bipyridine; phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) has been investigated in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). In potential sweep voltammetry [Ir(bipy)₂Cl₂]⁺ exhibits four reduction peaks. The first two processes involve one electron and are reversible in our conditions. The third reduction step is irreversible and has been attributed to the addition of three electrons to [Ir(bipy)₂Cl₂]⁺ followed by fast liberation of ligands. The data obtained for the fourth peak are consistent with a one-electron reversible process. The behaviour of [Ir(phen)₂Cl₂]⁺ is more complicated than that found for the bipy complex. In this case in fact, in addition to the four peaks observed in the case of the bipy complex, two other peaks appear. The latter have been attributed to the reduction of phen molecules liberated by the reduction of the complex. A qualitative MO discussion of the nature of the molecular levels involved in the reduction processes is also reported.