Using a terbium complex as an energy bridge to enhance energy transfer between polyvinyl carbazole and europium complexes

In electroluminescent devices with polyvinyl carbazole (PVK) and europium complexes, inefficient energy transfer between PVK and the europium complex often results in poor luminescent performance. Here, a terbium complex, which is an ideal energy acceptor from PVK and a good energy donor to Eu3+, is used as an energy bridge to enhance energy transfer between the PVK matrix and europium complexes. The experimental results confirm that both photoluminescent and electroluminescent performance of PVK/europium complex are improved significantly upon introducing the terbium complex.