Highly Efficient Red Emitting OLEDs Prepared from Nona-Coordinated Europium(III) Complexes

Rashid Ilmi, Xiaoyang Xai, José D.L. Dutra, Gabriel Silva Santos, Liang Zhou, Wai-Yeung Wong, Paul Raithby, Muhammad Khan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

We have designed and synthesized three nona-coordinated organoeuropium complexes (OEuCs) with the general formula [Eu(btfa) 3(FurTerPy)] (Eu1), [Eu(btfa) 3(ThioTerPy)] (Eu2), and [Eu(btfa) 3(NapTerPy)] (Eu3) by employing a primary 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-phenyl-1,3-butanedione (btfa) antenna ligand and three functionalized 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine (TerPy) ligands bearing different electron-donating groups at the 4′ position, namely, FurTerPy = 4′-(furan-2-yl)-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine; ThioTerPy = 4′-(thiophen-2-yl)-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine; and NapTerPy = 4′-(naphthalen-1-yl)-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine. The detailed photophysical properties of Eu1, Eu2, and Eu3 were analyzed using both experimental and computational methods. By analyzing the experimental and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) data in conjunction with the Lanthanide Luminescence Software Package (LUMPAC), we further elucidated the energy transfer processes in the OEuCs. Finally, the complexes were tested as the emitting layer (EML) in a multilayered device to fabricate red organic light-emitting diodes (R-OLED). Through optimization and device engineering, we have achieved a remarkable electroluminescence (EL) performance of maximum current efficiency (η c) = 12.32 cd/A, maximum power efficiency (η p) = 11.73 lm/W, and maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE max) = 10.20%, respectively, for the Eu3-based double-EML OLED. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest reported overall EL performance among the OEuCs until now.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2624-2638
Number of pages15
JournalACS Applied Electronic Materials
Volume6
Issue number4
Early online date2 Apr 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Apr 2024

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the Supporting Information of this article.

Funding

M.S.K. acknowledges His Majesty\u2019s Trust Fund for Strategic Research (grant no. SR/SQU/SCI/CHEM/21/01) and The Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MoHERI), Oman (Grant: RC/RG-SCI/CHEM/23/01), for funding. R.I. thanks HM\u2019s Trust Fund for a postdoctoral fellowship. J.D.L.D. appreciates the financial support from the Brazilian funding agencies CAPES, CNPq (421733/2018-7), and FACEPE (APQ-0675-1.06/14). G.S.S. thanks FAPITEC-SE (FAPITEC/SE/FUNTEC N\u00B0 06/2022) for a scientific initiation fellowship. L.Z. is grateful for the financial aid from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (62174160). W.-Y.W. thanks the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (PolyU 15305320), the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory of Optoelectronic and Magnetic Functional Materials (2019B121205002), the CAS-Croucher Funding Scheme for Joint Laboratories (ZH4A), the Research Institute for Smart Energy (CDAQ), and the Endowed Professorship in Energy from Clarea Au (847S), both from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, for the financial support. P.R.R. is grateful to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for funding (Grant EP/K004956/1).

FundersFunder number
Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Inovação Tecnológica do Estado de Sergipe
CAS-Croucher Funding Scheme for Joint Laboratories
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior
ZH4A
HM’s Trust Fund
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico421733/2018-7
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico
Research Grants Council, University Grants CommitteePolyU 15305320, 2019B121205002
Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee
Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de PernambucoAPQ-0675-1.06/14
Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco
National Natural Science Foundation of China62174160
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Ministry of Higher Education, Research and InnovationRC/RG-SCI/CHEM/23/01
Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation
FAPITEC/SE/FUNTEC06/2022
His Majesty’s Trust Fund for Strategic ResearchSR/SQU/SCI/CHEM/21/01
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilEP/K004956/1
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Keywords

  • 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-phenyl-1,3-butanedione
  • Förster energy transfer
  • carrier trapping
  • energy transfer mechanism
  • europium(III)
  • red electroluminescence
  • terpyridine

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Materials Chemistry
  • Electrochemistry

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