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The 0D cesium lead halide perovskite Cs

Perovskite light-emitting devices have drawn considerable attention for their favorable optoelectronic properties. High carrier mobilities make perovskites excellent candidates as host materials in...

Electrochemistry of surface-bound molecules is of high importance for numerous electronic and sensor applications. Extracting the electron transfer rate is beneficial for understanding surface-bound processes, but it requires experimental or computational rigor. We evaluate methods to determine electron transfer rates from large voltammetry sets from experiments via machine learning using decision tree ensembles, neural networks, and gaussian process regression models. We applied these to reproduce computational measures of electron transfer rates modeled by first principles. The best machine learning models were a random forest with 80 decision trees and a neural network with Bayesian regularization, producing root mean squared errors of 0.37 and 0.49 s-1 , respectively, corresponding to mean percent errors of 0.38 % and 0.52 %, respectively. This work establishes machine learning methods for rapidly acquiring electron transfer rates across large datasets for widespread applications.

Here, we utilize electrochemical DNA devices to quantify and understand the cancer-specific DNA-damaging activity of an emerging drug in cellular lysates at femtomolar and attomolar concentrations. Isobutyl-deoxynyboquinone (IB-DNQ), a potent and tumor-selective NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) bioactivatable drug, was prepared and biochemically verified in cancer cells highly expressing NQO1 (NQO1+) and knockdowns with low NQO1 expression (NQO1-) by Western blot, NQO1 activity analysis, survival assays, oxygen consumption rate, extracellular acidification rate, and peroxide production. Lysates from these cells and the IB-DNQ drug were then introduced to a chip system bearing an array of DNA-modified electrodes, and their DNA-damaging activity was quantified by changes in DNA-mediated electrochemistry arising from base-excision repair. Device-level controls of NQO1 activity and kinetic analysis were used to verify and further understand the IB-DNQ activity. A 380 aM IB-DNQ limit of detection and a 1.3 fM midpoint of damage were observed in NQO1+ lysates, both metrics 2 orders of magnitude lower than NQO1- lysates, indicating the high IB-DNQ potency and selectivity for NQO1+ cancers. The device-level damage midpoint concentration in NQO1+ lysates was over 8 orders of magnitude lower than cell survival benchmarks, likely due to poor IB-DNQ cellular uptake, demonstrating that these devices can identify promising drugs requiring improved cell permeability. Ultimately, these results indicate the noteworthy potency and selectivity of IB-DNQ and the high sensitivity and precision of electrochemical DNA devices to analyze agents/drugs involved in DNA-damaging chemotherapies.

We report the synthesis, electrochemistry, photophysical properties and electroluminescence of a highly luminescent pyrazolate-bridged platinum(ii) complex. The complex has the general formula of [((N^C^N)Pt)2(μ-pz)][PF6] where N^C^N = 1,3-di(2-pyridyl)benzene and μ-pz = 3,5-diphenylpyrazolate. The X-ray structure shows that the bridging pyrazolate ligand causes a close Pt-Pt interaction of 3.05(7) Å. The emission profile of the complex was determined in solution, glassy 2-methyltetrahydrofurane at 77 K, and the solid state at both room temperature and 77 K. Each emission profile displayed a strong red metal-metal-to-ligand charge transfer while the solution and glassy 2-methyltetrahydrofurane emission profiles also displayed a ligand-centred transition. The absolute quantum yields of the complex in solution and the solid state at room temperate are 86% and 39%, respectively. Light-emitting electrochemical cells (LEECs) of [((N^C^N)Pt)2(μ-pz)][PF6] were fabricated which displayed appreciable electroluminescence, among the brightest and most efficient LEECs from dinuclear compounds to date.

There is a great need to track the selectivity of anticancer drug activity and to understand the mechanisms of associated biological activity. Here we focus our studies on the specific NQO1 bioactivatable drug, s-lapachone, which is in several Phase I clinical trials to treat human non-small cell lung, pancreatic and breast cancers. Multi-electrode chips with electrochemically-active DNA monolayers are used to track anticancer drug activity in cellular lysates and correlate cell death activity with DNA damage. Cells were prepared from the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line, MDA-MB-231 (231) to be proficient or deficient in expression of the NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) enzyme, which is overexpressed in most solid cancers and lacking in control healthy cells. Cells were lysed and added to chips, and the impact of β-lapachone (β-lap), an NQO1-dependent DNA-damaging drug, was tracked with DNA electrochemical signal changes arising from drug-induced DNA damage. Electrochemical DNA devices showed a 3.7-fold difference in the electrochemical responses in NQO1+ over NQO1− cell lysates, as well as 10–20-fold selectivity to catalase and dicoumarol controls that deactivate DNA damaging pathways. Concentration-dependence studies revealed that 1.4 µM β-lap correlated with the onset of cell death from viability assays and the midpoint of DNA damage on the chip, and 2.5 µM β-lap correlated with the midpoint of cell death and the saturation of DNA damage on the chip. Results indicate that these devices could inform therapeutic decisions for cancer treatment.

Single-layer light-emitting electrochemical cells from ionic transition metal complexes (iTMCs) are relatively simple to construct and have great potential as cost effective emissive devices. Most studies to date have focused on iTMC devices from ruthenium and iridium chromophores. For practical applications, thermal stability is important for environmental robustness, and little has been said about their relative thermal stability. Here, we studied the device performance of iridium and ruthenium iTMCs with temperature to directly compare their stabilities. The thermal onset of radiant flux loss is found to be 67 °C (152 °F) for iridium devices, 45 °C higher than ruthenium iTMCs, a show of their superior thermal stability. We subsequently used temperature-dependent electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy, time resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, and photoluminescence quantum yield measurements to understand the physical origin of this substantial temperature stability difference. Prior postulates suggested that films from iridium complexes would yield better thermal stability than those from ruthenium complexes due to details of the orbital energetics. Instead, it is found that this superiority is owed to the details of kinetic effects—the competing kinetics of multiple recombination pathways and the relative rates of radiative to nonradiative processes. Such information guides the design of iTMC emitters for superior light-emitting electrochemical cells.

The effects of thermal annealing on the electrical properties of randomly oriented ZnO-coated nanospring ensembles were extensively investigated through AC impedance spectroscopy. Annealing the nanospring mats for an hour at 873 K in air showed significant change in ZnO morphology, reduced electrical conductivity due to the presence of grain boundaries, decreased apparent donor concentration, and faster decay of sub-band gap photocurrent. The role of the nanospring-nanospring junctions in the conduction of carriers in the ensemble was also examined, as well as evaluation of their responsiveness to thermal and optical stimulations. This work identifies the effects of heat treatment in the presence of air on the electrical properties of the nanospring ensembles, which are related to the mesoscopic morphology and interconnect within the ensemble and the properties of the ZnO coating.

Light-emitting electrochemical cells (LEECs) from small molecules, such as iridium complexes, have great potential as low-cost emissive devices. In these devices, ions rearrange during operation to facilitate carrier injection, bringing about efficient operation from simple, single-layer devices. Prior work has shown that the luminance, efficiency, and responsiveness of iridium LEECs is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of small fractions of lithium salts, but much remains to be understood about the origin of this enhancement. Recent work with planar devices demonstrates that lithium additives in iridium LEECs enhance double-layer formation. However, the quantitative influence of lithium salts on the underlying physics of conventional thin-film, sandwich structure LEECs, which beneficially operate at low voltages and generate higher luminance, has yet to be clarified. Here, we use electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to discern the impact of the lithium salt concentration on double-layer formation within the device and draw correlations with performance metrics, such as current, luminance, and external quantum efficiency.

Light-emitting electrochemical cells (LEECs) utilizing small molecule emitters such as iridium complexes have great potential as low-cost emissive devices. In these devices, ions rearrange during operation to facilitate carrier injection, bringing about efficient operation from simple, single layer devices. Recent work has shown that the luminance, efficiency, and responsiveness of iridium-based LEECs are greatly enhanced by the inclusion of small amounts of lithium salts (≤0.5%/wt) into the active layer. However, the origin of this enhancement has yet to be demonstrated experimentally. Furthermore, although iridium-based devices have been the longstanding leader among small molecule LEECs, fundamental understanding of the ionic distribution in these devices under operation is lacking. Herein, we use scanning Kelvin probe microscopy to measure the in situ potential profiles and electric field distributions of planar iridium-based LEECs and clarify the role of ionic lithium additives. In pristine devices, it is found that ions do not pack densely at the cathode, and ionic redistribution is slow. Inclusion of small amounts of Li[PF6] greatly increases ionic space charge near the cathode that doubles the peak electric fields and enhances electronic injection relative to pristine devices. This study confirms and clarifies a number of longstanding hypotheses regarding iridium LEECs and recent postulates concerning optimization of their operation.

It is beneficial to develop systems that reproduce complex reactions of biological systems while maintaining control over specific factors involved in such processes. We demonstrated a DNA device for following the repair of DNA damage produced by a redox-cycling anticancer drug, beta-lapachone (β-lap). These chips supported ß-lap-induced biological redox cycle and tracked subsequent DNA damage repair activity with redox-modified DNA monolayers on gold. We observed drug-specific changes in square wave voltammetry from these chips at therapeutic ß-lap concentrations of high statistical significance over drug-free control. We also demonstrated a high correlation of this change with the specific ß-lap-induced redox cycle using rational controls. The concentration dependence of ß-lap revealed significant signal changes at levels of high clinical significance as well as sensitivity to sub-lethal levels of ß-lap. Catalase, an enzyme decomposing peroxide, was found to suppress DNA damage at a NQO1/catalase ratio found in healthy cells, but was clearly overcome at a higher NQO1/catalase ratio consistent with cancer cells. We found that it was necessary to reproduce key features of the cellular environment to observe this activity. Thus, this chip-based platform enabled tracking of ß-lap-induced DNA damage repair when biological criteria were met, providing a unique synthetic platform for uncovering activity normally confined to inside cells.

A series of seven cationic bis-cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes of the form [(C^N)2(N^N)Ir][PF6] has been designed in order to examine the effect of bulky, hydrophobic phenyl substituents on the structure–property relationship of these ionic transition metal complexes (iTMCs) in light-emitting electrochemical cells (LEECs). Capping phenyl substituents on the cyclometalating and ancillary ligands allows for individual tuning of the HOMO and LUMO energy levels, respectively, yielding an emission range from yellow to red. The complexes in this series exhibit increased quantum yields, up to 70% higher than the unoptimized, archetypal [(2-phenylpyridine)2(2,2′-bipyridine)Ir][PF6]. Among these, one complex, C3, was recently reported to produce devices with superior luminance and efficiency. Simultaneous measure of the series of complexes enabled the clear discernment of trends in device performance connected to fundamental structure–property relationships that elucidate the origin of enhanced luminance. In general, phenyl substitution of the 2-phenylpyridine ligands of the parent complex produced higher luminance and faster device response than phenyl substitution of the 2,2′-bipyridine ligand. Overall, complex design and device engineering produce competitive LEECs from simple, single-layer architectures. The synthesis, crystallographic, photophysical, and electrochemical properties of the iTMCs, along with the electroluminescence properties of the LEEC devices are reported herein.

Hybrid perovskites are emerging as highly efficient materials for optoelectronic applications, however, the operational lifetime has remained a limiting factor for the continued progress of perovskite light emitting devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and perovskite light emitting electrochemical cells (PeLECs). In this work, PeLECs utilizing an optimized fraction of LiPF6 salt additive exhibit enhanced stability. At 0.5 wt% LiPF6, devices exhibit 100 h operation at high brightness in excess of 800 cd/m2 under constant current driving, achieving a maximum luminance of 3260 cd/m2 and power efficiency of 9.1 Lm/W. This performance extrapolates to a 6700 h luminance half-life from 100 cd/m2, a 5.6-fold improvement over devices with no lithium salt additive. Analysis under constant voltage driving reveals three current regimes, with lithium addition strongly enhancing current in the second and third regimes. The third regime correlates degradation of luminance with decreased current. These losses are mitigated by LiPF6 addition, an effect postulated to arise from preservation of perovskite structure. To further understand lithium salt addition, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with equivalent circuit modeling is performed. Electrical double layer widths from ionic redistribution are minimized at 0.5wt% LiPF6 and inversely correlate with efficient performance.

Much remains to be understood about the kinetics and thermodynamics of DNA helicase binding and activity. Here, we utilize probe-modified DNA monolayers on multiplexed gold electrodes as a sensitive recognition element and morphologically responsive transducer of helicase-DNA interactions. The electrochemical signals from these devices are highly sensitive to structural distortion of the DNA produced by the helicases. We used this DNA electrochemistry to distinguish the details of the DNA interactions of three distinct XPB helicases, which belong to the superfamily-2 of helicases. Clear changes in DNA melting temperature and duplex stability were observed upon helicase binding, shifts that could not be observed with conventional UV-visible absorption measurements. Binding dissociation constants were estimated in the range from 10 to 50 nM and correlated with observations of activity. ATP-stimulated DNA unwinding activity was also followed, revealing exponential time scales and distinct time constants associated with conventional and molecular wrench modes of operation further confirmed by crystal structures. These devices thus provide a sensitive measure of the structural thermodynamics and kinetics of helicase-DNA interactions.

Light-emitting electrochemical cells (LEECs) are a promising low-cost option for display and solid-state lighting. In these devices, the interplay of mobile ions, electrons, and holes makes for rich physics that can be leveraged for high performance. One example of this interplay is in the formation and radiative decay of excitons-bound electron and hole pairs. Considerations from exciton binding and Langevin recombination suggest that a low dielectric constant (ϵ) would enhance emission. However, emission is also enhanced by the product of the bulk hole and electron concentrations, which in LEECs are enhanced by the motion of small mobile ions yielding high dielectric constants. These competing effects make it difficult to predict whether active layers with low or high dielectric constants will optimize device performance. Here, the effect of varying the dielectric constant on the performance of LEEC devices from ionic transition-metal complexes was studied by systematically exchanging the negative counterions paired with an iridium complex emitter. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, constant voltage and constant current device studies, and drift-diffusion simulations were performed. The results clarify the competing effects of Langevin bimolecular recombination and ion-assisted injection processes occurring in LEECs.

Abasic sites in DNA are prevalent as both naturally forming defects and as synthetic inclusions for biosensing applications. The electronic impact of these defects in DNA sensor and device configurations has yet to be clarified. Here we report the effect of an abasic site on the rate and yield of charge transport through temperature-controlled analysis of DNA duplex monolayers on multiplexed devices. Transport yield through the abasic site monolayer strongly increases with temperature, but the yield relative to an undamaged monolayer decreases with temperature. This is opposite to the increasing relative yield with temperature from a mismatched base pair, and these effects are accounted for by the unique structural impact of each defect. Notably, the effect of the abasic site is nearly doubled when heated from room temperature to 37 °C. The rate of transport is largely unaffected by the abasic site, showing Arrhenius-type behavior with an activation energy of ∼300 meV. Detailed abasic site investigation elucidates the electrical impact of these biologically spontaneous defects and aids development of biological sensors.

Organohalide lead (hybrid) perovskites have emerged as competitive semiconducting materials for photovoltaic devices due to their high performance and low cost. To further the understanding and optimization of these materials, solution-based methods for interrogating and modifying perovskite thin films are needed. In this work, we report a hydrofluoroether (HFE) solvent-based electrolyte for electrochemical processing and characterization of organic-inorganic trihalide lead perovskite thin films. Organic perovskite films are soluble in most of the polar organic solvents, and thus until now, they were not considered suitable for electrochemical processing. We have enabled electrochemical characterization and demonstrated a processing toolset for these materials utilizing highly fluorinated electrolytes based on a HFE solvent. Our results show that chemically orthogonal electrolytes based on HFE solvents do not dissolve organic perovskite films and thus allow electrochemical characterization of the electronic structure, investigation of charge transport properties, and potential electrochemical doping of the films with in situ diagnostic capabilities.

Electrochemistry of self-assembled DNA monolayers represents an attractive strategy for understanding the intrinsic properties of DNA and for developing DNA-based sensors. Thus, there is much interest in the discovery and characterization of new redox-active probes for application in DNA-based technologies. Herein, we report a detailed study of the electrochemical properties of a perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide base surrogate, when incorporated at various positions within a DNA monolayer. We demonstrate that the redox chemistry of this perylenediimide probe is mediated by the DNA base pair stack, dependent on its location within the DNA monolayer, and activated thermally. The electrochemical features and general synthetic flexibility of the perylenediimide base surrogate appear favorable for assays that leverage DNA-mediated charge transport.

Functional nanowires and nanoelectronics are sought for their use in next generation integrated circuits, but several challenges limit the use of most nanoscale devices on large scales. DNA has great potential for use as a molecular wire due to high yield synthesis, near-unity purification, and nanoscale self-organization. Nonetheless, a thorough understanding of ground state DNA charge transport (CT) in electronic configurations under biologically relevant conditions, where the fully base-paired, double-helical structure is preserved, is lacking. Here, we explore the fundamentals of CT through double-stranded DNA monolayers on gold by assessing 17 base pair bridges at discrete points with a redox active probe conjugated to a modified thymine. This assessment is performed under temperature-controlled and biologically relevant conditions with cyclic and square wave voltammetry, and redox peaks are analyzed to assess transfer rate and yield. We demonstrate that the yield of transport is strongly tied to the stability of the duplex, linearly correlating with the melting temperature. Transfer rate is found to be temperature-activated and to follow an inverse distance dependence, consistent with a hopping mechanism of transport. These results establish the governing factors of charge transfer speed and throughput in DNA molecular wires for device configurations, guiding subsequent application for nanoscale electronics.

Light-emitting electrochemical cells (LEECs) offer the potential for high efficiency operation from an inexpensive device. However, long turn-on times and low luminance under steady-state operation are longstanding LEEC issues. Here, we present a single-layer LEEC with a custom-designed iridium(III) complex and a lithium salt additive for enhanced device performance. These devices display reduced response times, modest lifetimes, and peak luminances as high as 5500 cd/m(2), 80% higher than a comparable device from an unoptimized complex and 50% higher than the salt-free device. Improved device efficiency suggests that salt addition balances space charge effects at the interfaces. Extrapolation suggests favorable half-lives of 120 ± 10 h at 1000 cd/m(2) and 3800 ± 400 h at 100 cd/m(2). Overall, complex design and device engineering produce competitive LEECs from simple, single-layer architectures.

We report the use of silicon chips with 16 DNA-modified electrodes (DME chips) utilizing DNA-mediated charge transport for multiplexed detection of DNA and DNA-binding protein targets. Four DNA sequences were simultaneously distinguished on a single DME chip with 4-fold redundancy, including one incorporating a single base mismatch. These chips also enabled investigation of the sequence-specific activity of the restriction enzyme Alu1. DME chips supported dense DNA monolayer formation with high reproducibility, as confirmed by statistical comparison to commercially available rod electrodes. The working electrode areas on the chips were reduced to 10 microm in diameter, revealing microelectrode behavior that is beneficial for high sensitivity and rapid kinetic analysis. These results illustrate how DME chips facilitate sensitive and selective detection of DNA and DNA-binding protein targets in a robust and internally standardized multiplexed format.

A light-emitting memristor (LEM) is reported based on a metal/mixed conductor/metal structure, where the mixed conductor is the ionic transition metal complex ruthenium(II) tris(bipyridine) with hexafluorophosphate counter ions. The device shows memory effects upon the application of an ac bias, in both current and electroluminescence intensity. The observation of memory in light emission offers the potential for optical read-out of the state of memristive devices.

Electroluminescent devices from ionic transition metal complexes (iTMCs) are attractive candidates for display and lighting applications. A major limitation of application of iTMC devices is their turn-on times, which range from minutes to hours at 3 V. We report novel ruthenium and iridium complexes with pendant triethylammonium groups bonded to the ligands with methylene units of various lengths. These materials lead to devices with turn-on times at 3 V as short as 2.5 min for the iridium complexes and as low as 5 s for the ruthenium complexes.

We have electrospun light-emitting nanofibers from ruthenium(II) tris(bipyridine)/polyethylene oxide mixtures. The electroluminescent fibers were deposited on gold interdigitated electrodes and lit in a nitrogen atmosphere. The fibers showed light emission at low operating voltages (3-4 V), with turn-on voltages approaching the band gap limit of the organic semiconductor. Because of the fiber size, emission from electrospun light-emitting nanofibers is confined to nanoscale dimensions, an attractive feature for sensing applications and lab-on-a-chip integration where highly localized excitation of molecules is required.

Ionic transition metal complexes (iTMCs) are receiving increased attention as materials capable of yielding efficient electroluminescent devices with air-stable electrodes. The operational characteristics of these devices are dominated by the presence of mobile ions that redistribute under an applied bias and assist in electronic charge injection. This article reviews recent efforts in the field of iTMC devices: i) to understand their physics, ii) to improve their efficiency, colour, turn-on time and lifetime, and iii) to expose their potential applications.

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction from a nominally amorphous molecular semiconductor film reveals both the presence of intermediate-range order (IRO) corresponding to crystalline domains with an average size of a few nanometres, and the growth of these domains upon exposure of the film to moisture.

We have used in situ Raman spectroscopy to identify a luminescence quencher formed during organic light-emitting device operation. Raman spectroscopy revealed that oxo-bridged dimerization occurs during the operation of [Ru(bpy)3]2+(PF6−)2 devices, where bpy is 2,2′-bipyridine. Photoluminescence spectroscopy showed that oxo-bridged dimers such as [Ru(bpy)2(H2O)]2O4+(PF6−)4 effectively quench photoluminescence. Comparison of the Raman spectra from devices with the spectra from prepared blended films of [Ru(bpy)3]2+(PF6−)2 and [Ru(bpy)2(H2O)]2O4+(PF6−)4 demonstrated that sufficient dimerization occurs in the device to account for the luminescence quenching observed upon device driving. Dimerization occurred particularly where oxygen and moisture could penetrate the organic film. Dimerization could be a general failure mode of organic electroluminescent devices that incorporate metal complexes. Understanding failure under device-relevant conditions can lead to the development of materials and devices that are intrinsically more resistant to degradation.

Unrepaired DNA damage can lead to mutation, cancer, and death of cells or organisms. However, due to the subtlety of DNA damage, it is difficult to sense the repair of damage products with high selectivity and sensitivity. Here, we show sensitive and selective electrochemical sensing of the repair activity of 8-oxoguanine and uracil glycosylases within DNA monolayers on gold by multiplexed analysis with silicon chips and low-cost electrospun nanofibers. Our approach involves comparing the electrochemical signal of redox probe modified monolayers containing the defect versus the rational control of defect-free monolayers. We find sequence-specific sensitivity thresholds on the order of femtomoles of proteins and dynamic ranges of over two orders of magnitude for each target. For 8-oxoguanine repair, temperature-dependent kinetics are extracted, showing exponential signal loss with time constants of seconds. Electrospun fibers are shown to behave similarly to conventional gold-on-silicon devices, showing the potential of these low-cost devices for sensing applications.

We have used matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry and micro-Raman spectroscopy to identify a quenching species that is formed during operation of [Ru(bpy)3]2+ electroluminescent devices. We identify this performance-degrading product to be the oxo-bridged dimer [(bpy)2(H2O)RuORu(OH2)(bpy)2]4+ and show this dimer to be an effective quencher of device luminescence. This work is the first to detect a specific chemical degradation product formed during iTMC OLED operation.

We report the electronic structure and diverse applications of a highly luminescent ionic transition metal complex, [Ir(dF(CF3)ppy)2(dtbbpy)](PF6) (where dF(CF3)ppy = 2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-5-trifluoromethylpyridine and dtbbpy = 4,4‘-di-tert-butyl-2,2‘-dipyridyl). The large HOMO−LUMO gap (ΔE = 3.06 V) enabled high-energy electroluminescence from the complex. Single-layer devices were fabricated and found to emit blue-green light (500 nm). The strong reducing strength of the excited state (E*ox = 1.21 V) enabled effective catalysis of the photoinduced reduction of H2O to H2. It was found that the relative quantum yield of hydrogen was over an order of magnitude improved from the standard photosensitizer Ru(dmphen)32+ (dmphen = 4,7-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline).

We demonstrate an improvement in the turn-on time of electroluminescent devices based on the iridium complex [Ir(ppy)2(dtb-bpy)]+(PF6-), where ppy is 2-phenylpyridine and dtb-bpy is 4,4‘-di-tert-butyl-2,2‘-dipyridine, by introduction of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate BMIM+(PF6-). Addition of 0.46 mol of the ionic liquid per mole of Ir complex reduces the turn-on time from 5 h to 40 min. However, the device lifetime is also reduced by a factor of 3 over this range, suggesting a tradeoff between device speed and stability. These results are discussed within the framework of the electrodynamic model of device operation and are found to be consistent with an increase in the ionic conductivity of the [Ir(ppy)2(dtb-bpy)]+(PF6-) films upon the addition of ionic liquid.

We have investigated the temperature dependence of the current, radiance, and efficiency from electroluminescent devices based on [Ru(bpy)3]2+(PF6−)2, where bpy is 2,2′-bipyridine. We find that the current increases monotonically with temperature from 200 to 380 K, while the radiance reaches a maximum near room temperature. For temperatures greater than room temperature, an irreversible, current-induced degradation occurs with thermal cycling that diminishes both the radiance and the photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield, but does not affect the current. The temperature dependence of the external quantum efficiency is fully accounted for by the dependence of the PL quantum yield as measured from the emissive area of the device. This implies that the contacts remain ohmic throughout the temperature range investigated. The quenching of the PL with temperature was attributed to thermal activation to a nonradiative d–d transition. The temperature dependence of the current shows a complex behavior in which tran...

Absorption and luminescence spectra as well as luminescence lifetimes have been measured for Ru(bpy)2+3 in solution and in thin films of varying thicknesses, and these properties have been correlated with the efficiency of organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) made of the films. The lifetimes decrease for films below about 50 nm in thickness but are relatively constant for thicknesses above about 100 nm. This behavior is consistent with a model in which quenching is caused both by intrinsic properties of the molecules and by Forster energy transfer between chromophores that carries the excitation to surface layers, where the excitation is more efficiently quenched. The external quantum efficiency of the OLEDs is also found to increase with thickness, approaching 1% for thicknesses near 200 nm.

Transition metal complexes have emerged as promising candidates for applications in solid-state electroluminescent devices. These materials serve as multifunctional chromophores, into which electrons and holes can be injected, migrate and recombine to produce light emission. Their device characteristics are dominated by the presence of mobile ions that redistribute under an applied field and assist charge injection. As a result, an efficiency of 10 lm/W--among the highest efficiencies reported in a single layer electroluminescent device--was recently demonstrated. In this article we review the history of electroluminescence in transition metal complexes and discuss the issues that need to be addressed for these materials to succeed in display and lighting applications.

Ionic transition metal complexes have emerged as promising candidates for applications in solid-state electroluminescent devices. This is due to the fact that a single, solution-processable layer sandwiched between two air-stable electrodes can yield high-efficiency devices. In this paper we demonstrate tuning of the emission of these devices in the red part of the spectrum by dispersing an ionic osmium complex into an ionic ruthenium complex matrix. This is shown to lead to devices that are more efficient than those from pristine films of the matrix or the dopant alone. These devices also show improved stability compared to devices based on the matrix and feature an emission spectrum that can be tuned by the concentration of the dopant.