title: Phosphorescence color tuning of cyclometalated iridium complexes by o-carborane substitution.
abstract: Heteroleptic (C(^)N)(2)Ir(acac) (C(^)N = 4-CBppy (1); 5-CBppy (2), 4-fppy (4) CB = ortho-methylcarborane; ppy = 2-phenylpyridinato-C(2),N, 4-fppy = 2-(4-fluorophenyl)pyridinato-C(2),N, acac = acetylacetonate) complexes were prepared and characterized. While 1 exhibits a phosphorescence band centered at 531 nm, which is red-shifted compared to that of unsubstituted (ppy)(2)Ir(acac) (3) (λ(em) = 516 nm), the emission spectrum of 2 shows a blue-shifted band at 503 nm. Comparison with the emission band for the 4-fluoro-substituted 4 (λ(em) = 493 nm) indicates a substantial bathochromic shift in 1. Electrochemical and theoretical studies suggest that while carborane substitution on the 4-position of the phenyl ring lowers the (3)MLCT energy by a large contribution to lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) delocalization, which in turn assigns the lowest triplet state of 1 as [d(π)(Ir)→π*(C(^)N)] (3)MLCT in character, the substitution on the 5-position raises the (3)MLCT energy by the effective stabilization of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level because of the strong inductive effect of carborane. An electroluminescent device incorporating 1 as an emitter displayed overall good performance in terms of external quantum efficiency (6.6%) and power efficiency (10.7 lm/W) with green phosphorescence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and EHSRC, University of Ulsan, Ulsan 680-749, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Taewon
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyungjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kang Mun
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yoon Sup
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Min Hyung
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D003116:Color; D005453:Fluorescence; D007495:Iridium / Q000737:chemistry*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001896:Boron Compounds; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D007495:Iridium