Optoelectronic Properties of Color-Tunable Mixed Ligand-Based Light-Emitting Zinc Complexes

A series of mixed ligand-based zinc complexes (Zn1-Zn5); [(8-hydroxyquinolinato)(2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazolato)zinc(II)] (Zn1), [(5-chloro-8-hydroxyquinolinato)(2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazolato)zinc(II)] (Zn2), [(5,7-dichloro- 8-hydroxyquinolinato)(2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazolato)zinc(II)] (Zn3), [(2-methyl-8-hydroxyquinolinato)(2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazolato)zinc(II)] (Zn4) and [(5,7-dimethyl-8-hydroxyquinolinato)(2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazolato)zinc(II)] (Zn5) were synthesized and characterized. The photophysical properties of zinc complexes were examined by ultravioletvisible absorption and photoluminescence emission spectroscopy. All prepared metal complexes produced intense luminescence on excitation with a UV light source. In this study, the color-tunable characteristics of metal complexes were investigated by introducing the electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups on the 8-hydroxyquinoline ligand. The emission spectra of metal complexes showed emission wavelength at 500 nm for [ZnHBI(q)], 509 nm for [ZnHBI(Clq)], 504 nm for [Zn(HBI)(Cl(2)q)], 496 nm for [ZnHBI (Meq)] and 573 nm for [ZnHBI(Me(2)Q)] materials. A temperature-dependent PL spectrum was used to study the emission profile of zinc complex and observed that variation in the temperature altered the position and the intensity of emission peak. The synthesized metal complex also exhibited good thermal stability (> 300 degrees C). Photophysical characteristics of color-tunable light-emitting zinc complexes suggested that these materials could be efficiently used for emissive display device applications.