Luminescence properties of composites made of a europium(III) complex and electroluminescent polymers with different energy gaps

We present the optoelectronic properties of composites made of a europium(III) complex, Eu(NTA)(3)phen (where NTA=1-(2-naphthoyl)-3,3,3-trifluoroacetonate; phen=1,10-phenantroline), dispersed in three electroluminescent polymers, namely, poly(N-vinylcarbazole), poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole). We find that the photo- and electroluminescence (EL) properties of these composites are well rationalized in terms of the relative position of the frontier levels of the host polymers and of the europium complex. We find also that charge recombination at the europium complex sites plays a key role on the EL properties of the composites.