Biimidazole Iridium Complexes

About

About Roll-to-roll printing of plastic electronics from solution promises to revolutionise the manufacturing of luminaires, offering a cheap and scalable method of fabricating high-efficiency light sources. White light displays are the holy grail of this endeavour and require efficient red, green and blue emitters. So far, red and green emitters using iridium-based complexes have been synthesised, but efficient and stable blue light emitter design is still a challenge in the industry. To tackle this, we have designed deep-blue emitting cationic iridium complexes that are unprecedentedly bright. A tethering strategy, where the distal components of the ligand scaffold are rigidly linked together, drastically enhances the brightness of these emitters while simultaneously invoking a deep blue colour due to the ligand’s strong electron donating capabilities. Our rigidifying strategy differs from typical strategies that use multi-dentate ligands, which are synthetically challenging to access; our strategy uses established straightforward protocols to access these complexes. The invention is primarily suited for OLED or LEEC application for visual display and lighting applications. Due to the charged phosphorescent nature of the emitter, applications relating to bio-imaging, analyte detection and oxygen sensing are also feasible. Key Benefits Deep blue emission Enhanced brightness from steric bulk and rigidified ligand scaffolds Straightforward synthesis through established protocols Highly soluble in organic solvents makes solution processing and roll-to-roll printing of optoelectronics possible Applications OLEDs for visual displays & lighting applications LEECs for visual displays and lighting Due to the charged phosphorescent nature of the emitter applications relating to bio-imaging, analyte detection and oxygen sensing are also feasible IP Status Subject to a US patent application number 62/081322 filed on 18 November 2014.