Efficient Layers of Emitting Ternary Lanthanide Complexes for Fabricating Red, Green, and Yellow OLEDs

A series of novel nona- and octacoordinate highly volatile and luminescent complexes, [Eu­(hfaa)3­(indazole)3] and [Ln­(hfaa)3­(indazole)2] (Ln = Tb, Dy, and Lu), were synthesized using a monoanionic bidentate hexafluoroacetylacetone (hfaa–) and a neutral monodentate indazole ligand. The X-ray diffraction analyses of their single-crystals indicate that the complexes are mononuclear. The Eu complex is nonacoordinate and has a distorted monocapped square antiprismatic structure whereas the terbium and dysprosium complexes are octacoordinate and possess a trigonal bicapped prism geometry. The indazole units are involved in π–π stacking interaction and N–H···F hydrogen bonding with the fluorine atoms of hfaa–. The photophysical studies of indazole and the complexes show that the triplet states are at the appropriate positions and make ligand-to-metal energy transfer process efficient. A strong protective shield is provided by the coordination of three hfaa– moieties (which have low frequency C–F vibrational oscillators), and two/three ancillary indazole ligands around these metal ions ascribe higher quantum yields and longer radiative life times (ΦEu = 69% ± 10, 989 ± 1 μs, ΦTb = 33% ± 10, 546 ± 1 μs, and ΦDy = 2.5% ± 10, 13.6 ± 1 μs) to these novel compounds. The emission from europium, terbium, and dysprosium are, respectively, red, green, and yellow. Finally, these compounds were used, as emitting layers, to fabricate electroluminescent devices of their respective colors. The best devices are found with the following structure: ITO/CuPc (15 nm)/[Eu complex]:CBP or [Tb complex]:CBP or [Dy complex]:CBP (80 nm)/BCP (25 nm)/AlQ (30 nm)/LiF (1 nm)/Al (100 nm), which indicates an improved EL performance for the Eu device over the Eu devices reported in the literature. The ligand, indazole, is a good sensitizer for trivalent europium, terbium, and dysprosium ions. It together with hfaa– plays an important role in fabricating OLEDs, especially, processed at low temperature.