Color tunable phosphorescent light-emitting diodes based on iridium complexes with substituted 2-phenylbenzothiozoles as the cyclometalated ligands

Several iridium complexes {iridium(III)bis2-(3-methoxyphenyl)-1,3-benzothiozolato-N,C^2′] acetylacetonate (MeO-BT)₂Ir(acac), iridium(III)bis2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-1,3-benzothiozolato-N,C^2′] acetylacetonate (2F-BT)₂Ir(acac), and iridium(III)bis2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-6-fluoro-1,3-benzothiozolato-N,C^2′] acetylacetonate (3F-BT)₂Ir(acac)} having different substituents on 2-phenylbenzothiazole have been synthesized. The phosphorescent light emitting diodes (PHOLEDs) using these iridium complexes as dopant emitters were fabricated. The experimental results revealed that the emissive colors of PHOLEDs could be finely tuned by suitable modification of the substituents on the 2-phenylbenzothiazole ligands. Furthermore, these iridium complexes show better emissive properties than the known iridium(III)bis(2-phenylbenzothiozolato-N,C^2′) acetylacetonate (BT)₂Ir(acac).