Electroluminescent Properties of LECs Based on Ionic Transition Metal Complexes Using Tetrazole-Based Ancillary Ligand

Light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) are a promising type of electroluminescent device for display and lighting applications. In this study, LECs based on ionic iridium complexes utilizing a tetrazole based ancillary ligand were fabricated and their electrical properties were investigated. Two new iridium(III) complexes with tetrazole based ancillary ligands, namely, Ir(ppy)₂(tetrazole)]PF₆ (complex 1) and Ir(dfppy)₂(tetrazole)]PF₆ (complex 2) (where ppy is 2-phenylpyridine, dfppy is 2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)pyridine, tetrazole is 5-bromo-2-(2-methyl-2H-tetrazol-5-yl)-pyridine and PF₆ is hexafluorophosphate), have been synthesized and characterized. These synthesized complexes were used for the fabrication of LEC devices. LECs based on complex 1 result in orange light emission (576 nm) with the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.45, 0.49), while complex 2 emits green (518 nm) electroluminescence with the CIE coordinates of (0.33, 0.49). Our work suggests that the light emission of cationic iridium complexes can easily be tuned by the substituents on the cyclometalated ligands.