Red electrophosphorescence from osmium complexes

We report red electrophosphorescence from light-emitting diodes based on osmium (Os) complexes. Efficient red emission was achieved using an in situ polymerized tetraphenyldiaminobiphenyl-containing polymer as the hole-transporting layer and Os complexes doped blend of poly(N-vinylcarbazole) and 2-tert-butylphenyl-5-biphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole as the emitting layer. The emission peaks of the reported Os complexes, ranging from 620 to 650 nm, can be tuned by changing the structures of the ligands because the emission originates from triplet metal-to-ligand-charge-transfer excited state. The Os complexes trap both electrons and holes, which facilitates the direct recombination of holes and electrons on the complex sites. The peak external quantum efficiency and brightness achieved from the complexes were 0.82% and 970 cd/m(2), respectively. The Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage chromaticity coordinates (x,y) for the best red emission from the complexes are (0.65, 0.33). (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.