Color tunable phosphorescent light-emitting diodes based on iridium complexes with substituted 2-phenylbenzothiozoles as the cyclometalated ligands

Several iridium complexes {iridium(III)bis[2-(3-methoxyphenyl)- 1,3-benzothiozolato-N,C-2'] acetylacetonate (MeO-BT)(2)Ir(acac), iridium(III)bis[2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-1,3-benzothiozolato-N,C-2'] acetylacetonate (2F-BT)(2)Ir(acac), and iridium(III)bis[2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-6-fluoro-1,3-benzothiozolato-N, C-2'] acetylacetonate (3F-BT)(2)Ir(acac)} having different substituents on 2-phenyl-benzothiazole have been synthesized. The phosphorescent light emitting diodes (PHOLEDs) using these iridium complexes as dopant emitters were fabricated. The,experimental results revealed that the emissive colors of PHOLEDs could be finely tuned by suitable modification of the substituents on the 2-phenylbenzothiazole ligands. Furthermore, these iridium Complexes show better emissive properties than the known iridium(III)bis(2-phenylbenzothiozolato-N,C-2') acetylacetonate (BT)(2)Ir(acac). (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.