New platinum(II) complexes as triplet emitters for high-efficiency monochromatic pure orange electroluminescent devices

New multi-component orange phosphorescent platinum complexes [Pt(L)(acac)] (Hacac = acetylacetone, HL = (9, 9-diethyl-7-pyridin-2-ylfluoren-2-yl)diphenylamine 1, (9, 9-diethyl-7-pyridin-2-ylfluoren-2-yl)di(p-tolyl)amine 2) were prepared and characterized by spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic methods. We report the redox and photophysical properties of 1 and 2 and compare these results with the unsubstituted analogue [Pt(L)(acac)] (HL = 9, 9-diethyl-2-pyridin-2-ylfluorene 3). Efficient pure orange-emitting organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) based on 1 were fabricated. The device performance with 3, 5-dicarbazolylbenzene (mCP) as the host can furnish maximium external quantum, current and power efficiencies of 4.65%, 11.75 cd/A and 5.27 lm/W at 7 V, respectively. The device with 4, 4 '-N, N '-dicarbazolebiphenyl (CBP) as the host can perform better with peak external quantum and current efficiencies of 6.64% and 15.41 cd/A at 7.5 V and a power efficiency of 7.07 lm/W at 6.5 V. Unlike the OLEDs made from other cyclometalated Pt(beta-diketonato) complexes in which the electroluminescence spectra generally displayed both the monomeric and excimeric emissions with different relative intensities upon variation of dopant concentration, our devices emit a strong pure orange light with stable CIE color coordinates. From a steric point of view, no evidence of low-energy aggregate emission is observed for a doping level up to 12 wt.%. The present work confers a good platform for the realization of robust triplet emitters in the fabrication of highly efficient monochromatic OLEDs through the design of multifunctional chelating ligands. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.