Utilization of a phenanthroimidazole based fluorophore in light-emitting electrochemical cells

An easily accessible, highly soluble, small-molecule phenanthroimidazole derivative has been synthesized and characterized. The synthesized compound shows strong luminescence in solution and exhibits good thermal stability. Single crystal X-ray crystallography studies were carried out. Correlations between the X-ray structures, photophysical properties and the performance in light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) are described. A yellowish green emission was achieved by using the target compound in a LEC device configuration. The constructed prototype device performance was promising with a maximum brightness of 125 cd m(-2). The results suggest that the phenanthroimidazole derivative can function as an active material in LEC devices.