Issue 33, 2024

Binuclear iridium(iii) complexes for efficient near-infrared light-emitting electrochemical cells with electroluminescence up to 800 nm

Abstract

Near infrared (NIR) emitting optoelectronic devices have great potential for applications in communication, encryption technologies, night-vision display and photodynamic biomedical devices. Nevertheless, their development is currently hampered by the lack of efficient NIR-emissive materials. Herein, a novel class of cationic binuclear Ir(III) emitters (Ir-D1 and Ir-D2) based on a ditopic coordinating scaffold featuring the π-deficient thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole and π-accepting moiety (either pyridine or pyrazine), is described and fully characterized using photophysical and computational techniques. Comparison with the parental mononuclear derivatives Ir-M1 and Ir-M2 is provided as well. Remarkably, the binuclear complexes display NIR photoluminescence in solution with a maximum up to λem = ca. 840 nm, which represent some rare examples of metal complexes emitting in this spectral region. Interestingly, NIR photoluminescence is retained in polymer-matrix thin-film for the binuclear counterparts. These findings prompt the successful use of these NIR emitters as electroactive materials in light emitting electrochemical cells (LECs). Binuclear complexes Ir-D1 and Ir-D2 yield electroluminescence peaking at λEL = 750 and 800 nm, respectively, and device performances that are the highest reported for LECs in this spectral region to date for molecular (i.e. non-excimer) emitters. This work demonstrates the superior performances of the binuclear design strategy for achieving efficient NIR electroluminescence.

Graphical abstract: Binuclear iridium(iii) complexes for efficient near-infrared light-emitting electrochemical cells with electroluminescence up to 800 nm

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 May 2024
Accepted
05 Jul 2024
First published
09 Jul 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2024,12, 12769-12783

Binuclear iridium(III) complexes for efficient near-infrared light-emitting electrochemical cells with electroluminescence up to 800 nm

L. Ballerini, W. Zhang, T. Groizard, C. Gourlaouen, F. Polo, A. Jouaiti, H. Su and M. Mauro, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2024, 12, 12769 DOI: 10.1039/D4TC02040E

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