Tuning electronic structure and photophysical properties of [Ir(ppy)2(py)2]+ by substituents binding in pyridyl ligand: a computational study

Iridium (III) 2-phenylpyridine (ppy) complexes with two suitable monodentate L ligands [Ir(ppy)(2)(L)(2)](+) (ppy = 2-phenylpyridine, py = pyridine, L = 4-pyCN 1, 4-pyCHO 2, 4-pyCl 3, py 4, 4-pyNH(2) 5) were studied by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT methods. The influences of ligands L on the electronic structure and photophysical properties were investigated in detail. The compositions and energy levels of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) are changed more significantly than those of the highest occupied molecular (HOMO) by tuning L ligands. With the electronegativity decrease of L ligands 4-pyCN > 4-pyCHO > 4-pyCl > py > 4-pyNH(2), the LUMO distributing changes from py to ppy, and the absorptions have an obvious red shift. The calculated results showed that the transition character of the absorption and emission can be changed by adjusting the electronegativity of the L ligands. In addition, no solvent effect was observed in the absorptions and emissions.