Solution-processed orange organic light-emitting diodes based on phosphorescent iridium(III) complexes with coumarin 6 as the main ligand

Abstract

Four ionic orange phosphorescent iridium(III) complexes (Ir1, Ir2, Ir3, Ir4) were successfully synthesized using coumarin 6 as the cyclometalated ligand and 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) derivatives with different number and position of methyl groups as the auxiliary ligand. The effects of substituents in the auxiliary ligands on their properties were systematically investigated. These four complexes exhibited orange emission at wavelengths of 590, 588, 587, and 586 nm, respectively, with excellent solubility and remarkable photophysical properties in different solvents. Furthermore, they were further applied in the organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on solution method. The maximum luminance of the devices based on Ir1/Ir2/Ir3/Ir4 reached 1907.0/932.6/760.8/519.3 cd/m2, with corresponding maximum current efficiency (CE), power efficiency (PE), and external quantum efficiency (EQE) values of 1.56/1.71/1.97/1.52 cd/A, 0.33/0.32/0.35/0.27 lm/W, and 0.77/0.82/0.90/0.72 %, respectively. Although there is room for improvement in the performance of OLEDs, this strategy inspires us to modulate the novel photoluminescent and electroluminescent properties of iridium(III) complexes through rational modifications of their ancillary ligands.